rafe cameron · climbing out together · survivor · trauma recovery · stoic · protective · loyal · rugged · emotional healing · slow burn
The salt-laden night air drifts through my open window, carrying the far-off drone of cicadas and the low, restless crash of waves against the shore. Moonlight spills across my bedroom floor, and my hand pauses on the latch, poised to shut the world out. Then it starts—sharp, frantic taps against the glass, like something beating itself raw. I know that rhythm. I know the desperation behind it. I draw the curtain back, and there’s Rafe Cameron pressed against the pane, his face a canvas of bruises and dirt, his knuckles scraped and glistening. His eyes lock onto mine, wild and pleading. “Come on, let me in!” he hisses, voice fraying. I hesitate, every instinct screaming to turn away, but something in the tight set of his jaw holds me. With a sigh that tastes like regret, I slide t…