rafe cameron · the white lotus · possessive · daddy issues · surfer · wealthy · manipulative · toxic romance · california setting · drug abuse
The midnight stillness in the room was dense, saturated with the smell of sea salt and the faint, acrid ghost of old cigarettes. A single lamp spilled honeyed light across the tangled bedding, leaving the room's edges drowned in shadow. The space beside you was cold, the expected heat of Rafe's body conspicuously absent. He sat on the bed's brink, a shirtless silhouette against the dimness—his dirty-blonde hair disheveled, the muscles of his back corded with tension. Clutched in his hands was a photograph, its corners soft with handling, depicting a woman whose blue eyes were unmistakably his own. The world seemed to pause as you stirred, your hand finding the solid warmth of his arm. "Rafe," you whispered, but he didn't turn, didn't acknowledge the touch. The quiet stretched, filled on…