Chapter I ... AFTER THE STORM

Giselle.

The door opened heavily and creaked with difficulty as Giselle struggled with the old lock. 117 Kingsford Street.

"Home Sweet Home.", the girl murmured and entered the building. Her gaze wandered around the entrance hall, as if someone could come out of the kitchen at that very moment and greet her with a smile. But this wouldn't happen. Giselle Caradine was alone.

There were no gardeners trimming her mother's favorite roses in the front yard, no cooks preparing dinner, and neither of her parents watching the breathtaking sunset. She was completely alone.

With just fifty dollars in her pocket and the keys to her boat and the old truck which was still in the garage. For the first time in her life, she felt like a Pogue, even though she had grown up in Figure Eight and was there now.

After an hour-long flight, a ferry ride and a short walk up to Tannyhill. Straight into the pretty, but a little run-down house with the light blue paint. Right next to the largest villa on the island, whose owners probably didn't remember her even though she had spent countless summer days with them, helping Sarah with her homework, playing with Whezzie and going swimming with Rafe.

A wave of nostalgia overwhelmed her as she tore herself away from her thoughts and locked the door behind her. Everything looked exactly the same as before, as if she had only left the house for a vacation and was now returning after two weeks. But that wasn't the case.

It had been over two years since Giselle last set foot on this island.

She carefully made her way up to the upper floor to her old room with a perfect view of the water and her neighbors' house. A large, old tree covered part of it and reached almost to the railing of her balcony. The storm had not caused it to fall; none had been able to do so before. It was older than most of the houses on the island and was just part of the property. Just like the girl.

Without wasting any more time, she quickly turned away from the window and went into the small room next to the kitchen where the cleaning supplies were kept. It was a long time ago that Caradine House returned to its former glory.

Motivated by the fresh storm air, the half-destroyed garden and the furniture covered in white sheets, she got to work.

𓃦

In the middle of the night, covered in sweat and with a sweet smile on her lips, she finished cleaning. The generator and the water pump had started without a murmur and were now giving her light, electricity and water, just one day after the devastating storm. For this reason, she decided to take a shower immediately and seize the moment, after all, the water supply could be cut off at any moment.

However, the girl let it run for a few minutes beforehand, as the faucet was probably last used years ago. To her surprise, however, it immediately flowed onto the freshly polished tiles of the bathroom next to her room without any discoloration or smell.

"That's strange," she murmured quietly to herself, as if someone was going to answer the question that was now buzzing through her head. With a quick shake of her head, she got into the shower and let the warm water rain down on her. 

How she missed everything about this house. Especially the beautiful view of the marsh, which you could see while showering, even though it was already pitch black.

After a while she forced herself to get out of the shower, she just couldn't afford the water pump and the generator since she didn't have a job at the moment and had technically broken away from her parents. So she couldn't hope for any financial support from them. Working for it was the only option.

For this reason, she left her hair down to dry itself and turned off all the lights in the house before heading out to her balcony wrapped in an old fluffy bathrobe. The fresh, slightly cool evening air sent a shiver down her body as she let her gaze wander.

The dock was still standing, parallel to the Cameron's. Just like the wall that shielded the two properties from the outside world. Here they were just among themselves.

She used to like it, she really didn't need anything but the water, her friends and her family to be happy. But that was before she was forced to leave everything behind.

Now, after two years, she was back and could start again where she had left off.

"Fuck you! Fuck you all!" a dark, male voice shouted through the night, abruptly interrupting her thoughts.

 "I swear to God, Rafe! You'll be back tomorrow morning anyway! Ward wants to talk with you about the generator and you'll help clean up!" another voice called back from further away. The lights in the house next door went out afterwards and Giselle only heard the angry sounds of the first voice, whose owner appeared to be making its way through her garden.

At that moment she realised that she was alone, unarmed and the person was almost certainly very angry. The girl unconsciously ignored the fact that she had already learned their name and quickly hurried back to her room.

At that moment she heard someone turn the key in the front door and curse loudly. "What should I do? Fuck, fuck, fuck." the person said to himself and apparently threw himself against the front door.

Giselle hurriedly reached for her bedside lamp and slipped on her slippers before slowly making her way downstairs.

In fact, she didn't have a clear plan of what she would do when she got there, but she had a lot of confidence in herself and the turquoise lamp with little hearts that she had had since she was eight years old.

Suddenly the sounds from the ground floor stopped, just as she slowly walked down the stairs. "Who the hell is there?" the person muttered to himself and exhaled loudly and annoyed.

"Sarah? Wheezie? I hope it's not you. I fucking want to be alone." The girl held her breath. She knew these names.

"I'll call the police, I swear," the voice threatened, still not seeming to be visibly worried. But she was. Panic flooded through her and her heart rate increased rapidly.

"Come down or I'll come up." That wasn't a request, she realised, but an order. "It's okay, I'll be down in a moment," she answered without thinking and heard someone gasp.

"But I'm armed," she said quickly it and tightened her grip on the bedside lamp. The steps creaked beneath her feet as she stopped on the last one.

"I'm going to turn on the light, okay?" the person murmured, far too close for her liking.

With a click, the entrance hall lit up and Giselle looked into the astonished and confused face of a very handsome guy, with piercing blue eyes and messy blonde hair. He wore expensive branded clothes and the air smelled of his special cologne. A scent she knew.

"Ellie?" he asked, his voice trembling. His hands were shaking and he held one of them out towards her, as if he didn't believe it was real before he could touch her.

"Rafe," she answered hoarsely and subtly lowered her gaze a few centimeters. He took a step towards her and she could literally see his thoughts racing. He didn't understand why she was here. Giselle gave him a gentle smile and closed the last space between them by hugging him.

His body was shaking slightly, so she gently ran her hand over his back. "Is it really you?" he asked quietly into her hair, taking in her signature scent that he had missed but that he had smelled on a few lonely days when he spent time in the house again.

"More real than I ever was," she replied simply, hugging him tightly. Rafe was here. She would never have to be alone again.

𓃢

"Tell me? What are you doing on Kildare?" Rafe asked her. After he had somehow broken into her house, she had quickly changed clothes and made them both some tea before they sat down in the living room.

"I turned eighteen in February and I promised you that I would come back as soon as I could, as soon as I was of age," she explained and sipped the hot tea.

"Where are Karen and Gabriel?" She lowered her gaze to his hands, which rested nervously on his lap as he played with his ring. Somehow he behaved differently.

"They've disowned me, kinda." A desperate smile spread across her face and Rafe's eyes widened. "All I have is the boat, the old truck, the key to the house and fifty dollars," she explained as he continued to stare at her in disbelief.

Someone like Rafe Cameron had never had to worry about money, nor had she. However, that had now changed. "I can give you money, Ellie. You know that, right?" His blue eyes searched hers and she didn't notice that they were slightly red. Not because he was crying or anything, no, she was pretty sure it was something else. That, with the nervous hands and the shaking leg, were clear indications that something was very wrong with Rafe.

"How are you doing? I heard that someone called after you before you broke into my house." He laughed heartily and looked outrageously good, she had to give him that.

"Yeah, that was Rose. I still don't get along well with her." The boy licked his lips nervously. "Otherwise I'm fine. She'll be over it by tomorrow." Giselle tilted her head slightly.

"Sorry about the house. You left a key and whenever I need some air, I go here. Now of course I'll have to stop." A grin graced his face, but she was still suspicious.

"You can still come here anyway, it's really no problem. There's still space in the guest room or my parents' room," she offered him. Caradine House wasn't as big as Tannyhill, but it would be enough for her and one more visitor, since he wouldn't even be here all the time.

"That's really nice, thank you," he said, letting his eyes wander around. The furniture was no longer covered with the white sheets and everything was cleaned sparkling clean. "I missed being here," he murmured, more to himself than to her. Actually, he meant that he missed being here with her. However, he cleverly ignored this detail.

"I'll go to sleep then," Giselle broke the silence. Rafe tapped his hands on his thighs. "Of course. Sure." She nodded.

"And it's really okay if I'm here anyway?" he asked politely again. "Mi case es su casa, Cameron," she replied, already standing in the door frame and giving him an irresistible smile.

"It's good to see you again," he called after her. "I second this!"

On the way up, however, she had the feeling that he had been keeping something important from her and she immediately decided to find out. Whatever the cost.

𓃦

Giselle was woken up by the warm rays of sunshine tickling her face and the unmistakable smell of freshly baked pancakes. A small smile crept onto her face and her thoughts immediately went to the nightly encounter the previous day. Apparently Rafe had decided to stay a little longer.

Wasting no time, she immediately stood up and slipped on her slippers before swapping her pajamas for a t-shirt and shorts that she had brought with her. A look in the mirror revealed that her hair was completely sticking out, as always, which made her grab a brush to comb it through properly and then put it into a loose bun.

She quickly gargled with the mint mouthwash again. Normally she did all of this and brushed her teeth after breakfast and Rafe had seen her a thousand times right after getting up, but they were still kids back then. A lot had changed and she hadn't forgotten the longing looks she'd given him the year she'd left Kildare. How could she not? Maybe she had been a little in love with Rafe before, but she was young and stupid back then and everyone liked him after all. So who could blame her?

The girl hopped downstairs at a run and followed the delicious smell into the spacious kitchen of the house. She had no idea that he also apparently had some food stored here in case he spent time here.

So she stood in the doorway with her hands crossed over her chest and watched as the blonde boy tried to make pancakes with his back to her. Admittedly, she wasn't the best cook herself and couldn't really judge whether he did it well, but it smelled pretty darn good.

"Good morning, Cameron," she greeted him. He immediately turned around and the corners of his mouth twitched up imperceptibly. "I made breakfast." The boy pointed to the pan where a pancake was burning. However, he didn't notice this and just continued to look at her admiringly, as if he had never seen anyone like her before.

"Shit!" He threw his hands against his head as smoke began to rise and he realised what he's done. "Fuck!" He quickly grabbed the pan and threw it into the sink. Giselle immediately rushed to him and started coughing. "Everything's fine, nothing's happening," Rafe reassured her and scraped the damaged pancake off the metal. 

"I don't think you can eat it anymore," she murmured in observation. "I wouldn't have thought that actually," he said with a laugh and opened the window so that the smoke could escape.

"Sit down now. Please." With an inviting gesture he motioned for her to sit down. Giselle just rolled her eyes and flopped down on the chair. Rafe sat down across from her and shook cream to drizzle it onto the pancakes. The girl cut the dough and then let it melt in her mouth. "Mhm." She closed her eyes in pleasure. "Do you like it?" A nod from her was answer enough.

They spent a few minutes in comfortable silence until Rafe spoke up again. "You're welcome to come over with me later. Sarah and Wheezie missed you too. They will be happy to see you again." She lifted her gaze to look into his beautiful blue eyes, which were no longer as red as last night. In fact, she had been lying awake yesterday and now had a guess as to what had happened to him. 

"Yes, gladly. I'm looking forward to seeing them again." "But be warned, they've both changed too." Changed too, which suggested that he also knew he wasn't the same anymore. This confirmed her uneasy feeling. Still, she forced herself to nod.

 "Change is not always bad. I've become different too," she replied and stuffed another piece of pancake into her mouth. "So you're no longer the golden girl with the enchanting smile? I find it hard to believe that, Ellie," he said with a charming smile.

"Just shut up, Rafe," she said, slowly rolling her eyes with a small smile. "So you're no longer the perfect son with the incredibly charming nature and the thousand girls who are after you?" she replied sarcastically. 

The girl had expected him to joke back, or at least smile, but she noticed the way he tensed his jaw and clenched his teeth. "How you take it," was your only answer, which made her raise her left eyebrow slightly. "Rafe? Is there really nothing you want to tell me?" Giselle asked again. She had known this boy all her life and it hurt to see him like this and not know what she could do to make him feel better.

"It's all okay. Just stay out of my business." His voice was cold, cutting and hurtful. Was she such a bad person for worrying about him? "Okay. If you say so," she said emotionlessly and saw a glimmer of remorse flash in his eyes. But she probably just imagined it.

author's note ... 

first chapter is finally out! i love softer rafe so much and i can't wait to write him more! 

fun fact, the title of this fic was originally supposed to be either sunset kiss, bared teeth or reflections (based on the song) until i've decided on shattered glass!

also i've actually already pre-written a few chapters so new updates should be soon! 

𝔖hattered 𝔊lass 

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