ᯓ★ Rain pounded against the windows while you lay on the couch, half-reading some shitty book, lazily licking melted ice cream off a spoon.

It was painfully boring.

No signal. No noise. Nothing.

You groaned, pressing the book over your face. Of course the power had to flicker out too—no generator, no backup, nothing. You wished, not for the first time, that you were one of those Figure Eight kids with everything handed to them.

Lucky shits.

And why was it even raining like this in the middle of summer?

It made everything feel… off.

Too quiet.

Too still.

Until—

BANG. BANG. BANG.

You jolted upright, nearly dropping your bowl.

Your heart started racing instantly.

Who the hell was pounding on your door like that? At this hour?

Your mind immediately jumped to every stupid ghost story your friends had ever told you, sending a chill straight down your spine.

“Okay… not funny,” you muttered under your breath, even though no one was there to hear it.

The knocking came again.

Louder.

More desperate.

You swallowed, setting your things down slowly before making your way to the door. Each step felt heavier than the last as you leaned forward, peeking through the peephole—And froze.

Rafe Cameron. Maybe you hooked up once or twice, or your boyfriend who you caught hooking up with another girl at a boneyard party.

Your grip on the handle tightened as you quickly unlocked the door, pulling it open—But before you could even say anything.

He stepped forward.

And dropped.

His head fell against your shoulder, his body leaning into yours. Rain soaked straight through your pajamas, cold and heavy—

But that wasn’t what made you freeze.

Your shoulder felt warm. Too warm. Not rain.

“I texted you,” he muttered, voice rough, uneven—right against your neck. “Why weren’t you replying? Im sorry okay?”

You blinked, your hands hovering before slowly settling against his arms, steadying him.

He was shakingfrom the cold.

“My dad…” he exhaled, the words breaking halfway through. “He kicked me out.”

Your chest tightened.

Because you’d never—heard Rafe Cameron sound like that.