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"𝙄 𝙆𝙉𝙀𝙒 𝙒𝙀 shouldn't have left you two together." Rafe muttered, dragging Charlotte through the ship and back toward where she was meant to be. 

Glaring back at him, Charlotte stumbled slightly as he corralled her through one of the doorways. "Would you slow down?" She snapped, trying to gain her footing. "And where's Sarah."

Something in Rafe's face twitched slightly, "My dad's dealing with her."

After Charlotte and Sarah had been caught trying to make a phone call, the crew had altered Ward to their attempts. He arrived on the outer deck with Rafe in tow within minutes. Rafe had taken Charlotte, meanwhile Ward and Sarah had remained behind. 

Truthfully, Charlotte was afraid of what was going to happen to Sarah. Sure, it was her father she was dealing with, but if they had learned anything, it was that Ward Cameron was not mentally stable.

Pausing, Charlotte caused Rafe to run into her as she turned to face him abruptly. "We were just trying to let someone know where we were." She explained, as if needing to defend herself to him. "Does anyone know where we are...like a single person?"

When Rafe didn't answer her, she continued. "Does that not seem crazy to you? What if something happens to us? What if─if─"

Rafe's eyes were dark, jaw clenched as he spoke. "Nothing's going to happen to us. Nothing is going to happen to you. Why can't you just trust me?"

The laugh that tumbled from Charlotte's lips was accidental. "Trust you?" She repeated incredulously. "Rafe, you drugged me!"

"I told you that was for your own good." His voice came out gravelly. 

They engaged in a moment of eye contract before Charlotte spoke again. "Right....My own good."

"Jesus, Charlotte. How many times are we going to have this conversation?" Rafe snapped. 

Charlotte threw her hands up in frustration. "As many times as it fucking takes!" Her voice cause Rafe to flinch slightly, shocked by the loudness of it. 

He shook his head, taking a step toward her. "Everything I do is for your own good. Every damn thing!"

"Killing Peterkin was for my own good? Helping your dad steal the gold was for my own good? Framing one of my best friends was for my own good? Trying to kill your own sister was for my own─"

"Enough!" 

Charlotte startled at the sound of his voice, his much louder than hers had been only moments earlier. Her heart froze in her chest for a moment, her widened eyes looking up at him. 

Everything had come to a head. Everything they had been avoiding talking about had just been laid out right in front of them. There was no more running from their problems. No more pretending they could reconcile and just move on. 

Rafe's chest heaved in anger as his cheeks tinted red. "One day you'll see it, Charlotte...you'll see how much I love you─how much I've always loved you."

"So show me right now!" Charlotte pleaded, "Pick the right side...do the right thing. Give the cross back to Pope, and then you and I─we can go to this damn island. We can go to freaking Antartica for all I care. Make the call...alert the authorities, let me call my sister, and then this can all be over."

There was no lie in everything she said. 

All Rafe had to do was the right thing, and she would go with him in a heartbeat. It wouldn't be forever, but it would be enough for them to find themselves again, away from the chaos of the Outer Banks. 

Regarding her with a look of defeat, Rafe gave a small shake of his head. "You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because my dad─"

Charlotte cut him off, anger overtaking her. "Your dad is a liar, Rafe. He's shown time and time again that he does not value you. He sat idle while you threw your life away for drugs, he pushed you to resent your sister, he's belittled and demeaned your every move since you were a child, he's ignored your cries for help long enough to turn you into a murderer...don't you see that?"

In all honesty, maybe she had gone too far this time. Maybe she pushed more than she should have, because the look on Rafe Cameron's face broke Charlotte Carrera's heart. 

He looked back at her like he couldn't believe those words had just left her mouth...like she had betrayed him. 

With tears brimming in his eyes, Rafe took a small step back. "You don't know what you're─"

"But I do!" Charlotte maintained, her voice wavering in sadness. "Rafe, I've watched this happen for years...I've watched him destroy you."

"Then why didn't you help me?"

That question hit Charlotte like a slap to the face. Mostly, because she didn't know how to answer it. 

Shamefully, she had to admit that she didn't do as much as she could have to free Rafe from the grasps of his father. She had watched as Ward made snide remarks, placed unattainable expectations, and neglected his son's emotions for years. She had watched silently, afraid to say anything...because he was Ward Cameron, and she was Charlotte Carrera. 

She thought that that was how it was supposed to be. That she could never change it. 

Even when Rafe became a shell of the boy he used to be, Ward did nothing. Charlotte tried everything, her only and final solution being to break up with him. But she should have gone to Ward, should have forced him to get Rafe the help he needed. 

If that past few months taught her anything, it was that the only way to stop Ward Cameron, was to actively oppose him, to expose him for all the wrong he had done.

But despite the guilt she felt, she was not going to sit here and let Rafe place the blame on her. "I'm not your enemy, Rafe. Those kids─the Pogues─ they're not your enemy. The only villain here is your father."

Rafe chewed on his lip, considering what Charlotte had said. His face was written in sadness, his eyes a fiery mixture of hurt, and anger. 

However, instead of commenting on everything that Charlotte had just thrown at her, he grabbed her arms and pulled her along with him. "You and Sarah won't be seeing each other for the rest of this trip. I hope she's happy with what she's done."

Charlotte furrowed her brow, wincing slightly as Rafe's fingers dug into her arm. "This wasn't Sarah's fault...she didn't force me to do anything. Have you not listened to a word I've said, Rafe? This isn't even about you at all anymore. This is about your father...about what he's done."

They arrived back in the hallway that led to the staterooms. Pausing in front one of the rooms. It wasn't the one Charlotte had initially woken up it, but it was close. 

 Wheezie was seated on the bed, her worried eyes glancing up when the door opened. "What's going on?" She wondered, noting the tension that hung in the air between her brother and Charlotte. "Where's Sarah?"

As gently as he could without causing a scene, Rafe shoved Charlotte into the room with Wheezie, giving her a look as if to say don't say a damn word. 

"She's with dad." He answered his sister, looking between the two girls. "You two hangout in here for a bit. I have to go talk to Rose."

The door slammed before Charlotte had a chance to argue, and much to her dismay, she could hear the sound of the lock clicking from the outside. 

Grabbing onto the handle, she attempted to pull it open, anger coursing through her, "RAFE!"

"Char, please tell me what's happening." Wheezie's voice caused Charlotte's anger to subside slightly, instead being replaced by guilt. She was scaring Wheezie.

She hated lying to Wheezie, but she also wasn't about to sit there and launch a hate campaign against the younger girl's brother and father. 

"Nothing." The lie tasted like poison on her lips as wore a comforting smile. "Just couple problems."

Wheezie gave her an inquisitive look. "But I thought you weren't a couple?"

Everything within Charlotte crumpled, no longer having the energy to cover up the truth. Wheezie caught the shift in her and instantly picked up on it. "It's about the cross isn't it? And you and Sarah don't want to be here."

Sighing, Charlotte sat down on the bed next to her, "It's not that we don't want to be here, Wheez, it's just that we wished we had more of a─"

Charlotte cut herself off, voices seeping through the walls from the next room over. Giving Wheezie a quick look, she moved closer to the wall so she could better hear what was being said. 

"Sarah is never going to be on our side, Rose!" The anger Rafe had been showing earlier seemed to have multiplied tenfold once he was away from Charlotte. Even from one room over, she almost flinched at the intensity behind our words.

Wheezie stood up from the bed, her face paling slightly. "Is that Rafe?"

Sticking her arm out, Charlotte prevented her from getting any closer, not wanting her to hear whatever her brother was about to say. "Just stay there, Wheez. You don't wanna hear what he's saying right now...trust me, okay?"

Luckily, the youngest Cameron didn't object, allowing Charlotte to resume her eavesdropping. 

"She thinks she's a Pogue now...transformation complete. And now she's dragged Lottie into all of this. So, as long as she knows where we are, we are never gonna be safe. We need to think logically about what we need to do to contain her─"

His sentence was cut short, and Charlotte was thankful for that. Her blood was already running cold at his words...what he was willing to do to his sister. 

A man's voice had come across the intercom, ordering all crew and passengers to report to the Tween Forward Hull. His instructions had been explicit...it wasn't a request, it was an order. 

A sense of worry washed over Charlotte as she moved away from the wall, reaching out to grab onto Wheezie's hand. 

Within moments, the lock to the door was turning from the outside, quickly opening to reveal Rafe and Rose. The latter of which wore a slightly worried expression as she looked to Charlotte and Wheezie. "You girls okay?"

Stealing a glance at Rafe for a moment, Charlotte rose her brows. "Great."

Rose nodded, looking over her shoulder. "Well, come on. One of the crew members is going to take us where we need to go."

Gently, Charlotte guided Wheezie out of the room, allowing her to join Rose as they were led back through the ship. They were headed in the direction that her and Sarah had escaped through. 

Rafe remained close to Charlotte, keeping his hand on her lower back as if to ensure she wasn't going to run.

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte turned to look at him. "I'm not gonna go anywhere, Rafe."

His eyes flickered down to her for a moment as his Adam's Apple bobbed. "I know."

They were led to the hull where it seemed that most of the crew had already gathered. Red lights flashed from up ahead, signalling that some sort of alarm had been triggered...something was happening. 

"What's going on?" Wheezie demanded, turning to look at Rose. "Where's dad?"

"I don't know." Her stepmother answered, attempting to keep her voice from swaying. "Just keep moving."

But while they continued into the hull, Rafe paused, his hand falling from Charlotte's back. He turned slightly, as if looking for something. 

"What?" Charlotte wondered, following his line of sight in hopes of finding an answer. "What's wrong?"

Turning to look at her, Rafe nodded to where Wheezie and Rose had just gone. "Head in there. I'll be back in a minute."

Apparently he wasn't too concerned about her running off anymore, because without waiting for an answer, Rafe was making his way back toward the direction they had come from. 

"Wait, Rafe!" Charlotte's calls fell on deaf ears as he disappeared from sight, leaving her to mull over her options; Do as he said and join Wheezie and Rose, follow after Rafe, or make a break for it to try and find Sarah... She was leaning toward the third option. 

But she knew that was risky. Wherever Sarah was, Ward likely was too, and Charlotte was already treading on extremely thin ice with him. 

But, staying here meant abandoning Sarah...maybe she needed help. 

She was in the middle of her very heated internal battle when something caught her ear. It wasn't the confused murmurs from the crew within the hull, nor was it the incessant sound of the alarm overhead...it was a whistle. 

It took her a moment at first, but something clicked in Charlotte's brain. 

When her and Kiara were kids, they had a dog that they were absolutely obsessed with teaching tricks to. One of their favourite things to do was teach the dogs different whistle tones...it almost became like a secret language between the three. 

She hadn't heard a whistle like that in years...how in the hell was she hearing it now in the middle of the ocean?

Turning her head, Charlotte caught sight of a hand sticking out through one of the doorways, fervently beckoning her toward it. 

Quickly stealing a glance back toward the hull, she ensured no one was watching her, and then, ever so hesitantly, she took a couple of steps toward the doorway. 

When she was mere inches away, the hand reached back out and grabbed a hold of her, yanking her threw the doorway and out of sight. 

A startled gasp flew from Charlotte's lips as she stumbled over the doorframe, prepared to defend herself against whoever the hell this was. 

But as she righted herself, she soon realized there was no need to defend herself...not at all. 

Standing in front of her was none other then Kiara and JJ, both of them staring back at her with wide grins.

"What the fuck?" Charlotte rubbed at her eyes, convinced this was another side effect of her concussion. "What the fuck?" She repeated. 

Kiara had her enveloped in a hug within a matter of seconds while JJ remained at his post, still focused on whatever job they needed to do. "Holy shit, Char. I'm so happy to see you." Kiara muttered, tightening the grasp she had on her older sister. 

Letting out a breathy laugh, Charlotte relaxed in her sister's arms, a complete feeling of relief washing over her. "You wanna talk about being happy to see someone?" she wondered, pulling back to look at both JJ and Kiara. "I've never been happier to see two people in my life than I am in this moment."

"Feeling's mutual, Charley." JJ assured, giving her a quick wink before pressing his back up against the side of the doorway. "Now, what are we working with in there?"

In that moment, everything clicked. 

They had been the reason everyone had been called down to the hull. This was all part of their plan. 

"About ten guys give or take." Charlotte answered, recalling what she had seen. "I think that's all of the crew."

JJ chewed on his lip. "But no Ward."

"No." Charlotte answered, glancing back into the hallway. "I have no idea where he is."

"We can't wait any longer." Kiara declared, giving JJ a look. 

Contemplating for a moment, JJ finally nodded. "Let's go then. Charls, keep watch. Make sure Ward doesn't show up."

"Aye aye, Captain." She mocked, raising two fingers to her forehead in salute. 

"Come on." Kiara whispered, motioning for them to follow after her. They did just that, Kie and JJ making for the door to the hull as Charlotte stood on alert, ensuring that Ward─or Rafe─ didn't appear to derail their entire plan. 

The minute the door slammed, shouts of protest were heard from within the hull, the entire crew trying to free themselves. 

"Push it!" Kiara yelled, her and JJ struggling to get the door closed all the way. Glancing over her shoulder, Charlotte ensured no one was coming before rushing toward the two of them. She positioned herself behind JJ, reaching out to help the two of them close the door. 

After a struggle, it finally closed all the way. 

"Lock it!" Kie ordered, prompting JJ to secure the door closed. 

"Check the other door!"

The call from the crew member from within the hull caused Charlotte's heart to plumett. "There's another door"! She yelled, already half way toward it. 

JJ scrambled after her, the two of them reaching the door just in the knick of time. It slammed with a loud bang, angry yells from inside seeping through the cracks. 

As JJ locked the second door, Charlotte let out a quick breath, struggling to calm her heartbeat. She hadn't expected this...but that seemed to be the theme of her life. 

"Well," JJ breathed, propping himself with his hands on his knees. "Whatta you two lovely ladies say we go get this damn cross?"

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