There were approximately three things in life that Katherine Scott  held to be the absolute truth. The first was that true love did exist, even if it wasn't always the sappy love stories you see on TV.

She deemed her parents, Genevieve and Thomas Scott, to be responsible for that belief. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamed of finding a love like theirs. The extravagant gifts just because, the diamonds to say I'm sorry—it was the idealistic love story in her head.

This truth was almost shattered nine months ago, when her mother told her that they were getting a divorce. Fortunately, they were able to reconcile their differences and stay together, for the most part.

The second was that Todd Winters was her soulmate. She believed this to be an absolute truth, because he does all of those things for her. Nobody got her like Todd. At least, until lately. The only exception to that was Sarah Cameron—which brings us to the third absolute truth.

Katherine would, without a doubt, take a bullet for Sarah. This isn't to be taken lightly, as Katherine wasn't known as a particularly selfless person, generally, but Sarah Cameron was, without a doubt, her platonic soulmate.

Katherine had a picture perfect life, looking though the rose colored glasses at her, as most people did. She was the Kook Queen of Kildare Preparatory Academy. One that everyone desired to be liked by, because the other option was an obvious poor choice.

She didn't mind that people romanticized her life, though, because truthfully, she did too. She had more money than she knew what to do with, she had a super hot boyfriend and the best friend a girl could ever ask for. Life was fucking sweet.

Her summer plan consisted of achieving the perfect sun kissed tan, saving the sea turtles, and making out with Todd—mostly that.

The thing about plans, though, is that you never account for massive curveballs thrown into the game.

Oblivious to the oncoming wrench in her life, Katherine's blue eyes scanned over her reflection, smoothing down her baby pink dress. She offered herself a confident smile, contrasting the nervousness that was bubbling inside of her.

It was Katherine's anniversary with Todd, and she promised to make it...special. Todd's parents were gone on vacation and she was going to stay over with him for the first time. She'd never felt ready before, but Todd told her she would never feel ready for their first time and she just needed to get it over with. She trusted Todd with her life, so it only made sense to trust him with that piece of her.

Giving herself a reassuring nod, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and turned back toward her bedroom door. Her black heels clicked with each step, as she sashayed down the white tiled staircase.

When she reached the bottom, she immediately reached for her keys from the bowl next to the door. "Mom, I'm grabbing dinner with Sarah and staying over there," she called.

Her mother appeared around the corner, smiling unsuspectingly. She was sporting the same red wine filled flute that she had become practically inseparable with since the initial declaration of the divorce—even though the papers had long since been shredded. "Have fun, sweetheart!" Katherine gave her a small smile, before opening the front door.

There was no doubt that Genevieve had changed, over the course of the nine months. She spent far less time in her office, and a lot more time drinking.

That seemed to be the housewife way, in Figure Eight, so who was Katherine to question it? Besides, she had much bigger concerns at hand.

The entire drive to the Winters' home, Katherine's stomach was churning. She wasn't completely innocent, when it came to the physical side of relationships, but she considered sex to be a pretty serious step in a relationship. She felt it required a certain level of trust, and she just wasn't sure if she felt that trust with Todd.

Thankfully, he was patient...

As usual, she walked directly into Todd's house, eyes immediately scanning her surroundings for him. The television could be heard coming from the living room, so Katherine started there. Her pink heels clicked along the tile, announcing her entrance into the living room long before she did.

He stood up when he saw her, a wide grin making its way onto his face. "Hey, Kat," he hummed, walking over to her. "How's my girl?"

She stifled a scoff at his question, not wishing to discuss her inner turmoil. Instead, determined to forget about the dark cloud looming over her head, she pressed her lips against his.

Not wasting any time on formalities, Todd pulled backwards until he sat on the couch, and pulled her onto his lap.  One hand trailed up her leg, while the other pulled her closer by the small of her back. The kiss was fervent and full of need.

He only pulled away from her lips to plant kisses along her jaw, before reaching her ear. "I love you, Kat," he murmured, slowly moving her dress up.

Her chest tightened at his words. It was the strangest thing—Katherine and Todd had exchanged I love you's before, but this was far more serious than Katherine imagined. Katherine tugged the bottom of her dress back down, slightly. "Hey, wait—,"

He rolled his eyes and roughly pushed her by her hips off of him and to the other side of the couch. "Always so much fucking drama with you," he chastised, making her flinch. He stood up and turned his back to her, walking to his front door.

Katherine could feel her heart beating out of her chest. "W-where are you going?" Her voice was small. She quickly scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over herself, as she raced towards him with big doe eyes.

Todd's entire demeanor changed from welcoming to cold. It was burning through her already aching chest, but what hurt the most was that he didn't even seem to care. "I'm going to catch up with Rafe and Kelce. Don't wait up." He gave her a lasting look, before closing the door in her face.

Despite feeling like she was crumbling at the core, she stood firmly, biting at her cheek as she stared at her feet. She had no idea how long she'd stood there. It felt like an eternity, before she finally opened the door, letting the warm summer breeze slap her in the face.

White hot tears streamed down her face as she walked down the dark driveway alone. Todd was long gone, not even giving her a second thought. Katherine should be used to it by now. Truthfully, she was, but she knew the routine. They would fight, she would apologize for being naive and dramatic and they would be fine.

Truth be told, commitment had always scared her. Or at least, it did with Todd. Crossing that bridge with him meant that he really and truly had her in every way possible, and Katherine wasn't sure if she was ready for that level of commitment with him.

Nevertheless, Katherine slid her phone out of her purse and pulled up her message thread with Todd to text him.

i'm sorry baby.

i love you so much. please don't be mad at me.

i promise i'll be better.

And for Todd she would, or so she thought. Because, little did Katherine know, when it rained, it poured. Literally.

Katherine was running on fumes when she pulled into the Cameron's driveway, blinded partially by the rain that was warning Agatha's incoming. It was stupid for her to be there, because Sarah was using the same excuse of staying at Katherine's house, so that she could sneak around with Topper, but, judging by the lack of cars in the driveway, it seemed that Ward and Rose Cameron were nowhere to be found, either.

Katherine could have gone home, but that was one existential crisis that she was not yet ready to face. So, instead, she trudged through the forming wake of rain water that covered the walkway to the home that was equally as large as her own and twisted the doorknob, thankful it was unlocked.

She was visibly shivering when she walked into the cool house, thanks to the rainwater drenching her. Her heart sank when she heard footsteps trudging down the staircase, but was momentarily relieved to see that it was only Rafe, who paused halfway down when he met her gaze. Her stomach twisted into a knot when she realized that Todd was likely here too and that she'd look like a psycho girlfriend following him here. "Kat?"

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, owl-eyed. "I didn't know you guys would be here."

With a frown planted on his lips, he trotted down the stairs the rest of the way. Even standing a mere foot away, he towered over her. As intimidating as Katherine knew he could be, she was surprised to only see concern in his eyes. "Whoa, hey, it's just me here," he explained, his icy blue gaze scanning her face. He brought his hand up to move the stray hairs that stuck to her face. Her jaw clenched, immediately noticing the contrast of his warm hand to her chilled skin. He noticed this and dropped his hand back down to his side. "You should go change clothes."

She nodded her head, dropping her gaze from his, as she started up the stairs. Halfway, she turned on her heels to face Rafe again. "Todd doesn't need to know I'm here." Her voice was small, but only from the overwhelming weight on her chest. If Todd wasn't here, then where was he?

Rafe hesitated, before finally nodding. Katherine padded lightly the rest of the way up the stairs and pulled her phone out when she was just out of the Cameron boy's line of vision. She opened her message thread yet again and no response.

where are u?

To the blonde's surprise, she got a response before she could even make it to Sarah's bedroom. Her heart felt like it was thudding so loudly, Rafe might even hear it downstairs.

i already told u i'm with rafe and kelce. She rolled her eyes at the message.

fuck.

its like u don't even fucking trust me.

u always want to pick a stupid fucking fight for no reason. we're done. i'm over the stupid bullshit kat.

Katherine felt her heart wrench in her chest at the last message. Todd had a sick way of making her feel loved and hated in a matter of a single hour, but never had he let it go far enough as to say they were done. Her jaw clenched, as she set her phone down on Sarah's bed, where it would stay for the rest of the night.

Katherine was kicked down to what she would officially deem her lowest point—begging for a boy. Her brain was frazzled and the caking of mascara under her eyelashes was a perfect representation of how well she currently had her shit together.

She removed the wet, clinging clothes from her body and left them in a pile on Sarah's hardwood floor, before digging through her best friends drawers to find shorts and a T-shirt. After getting dressed, she did her best to wipe away the stray mascara, frowning at the sight of her red puffy eyes. She looked truly pathetic.

A shaky breath fell from her lips, but before she could wallow in her self despair, a knock came at the door. She looked in the mirror at the door's reflection, watching Rafe walk in. "I didn't say come in," she muttered, immediately looking down at her hands.

"I didn't ask," he retorted. She expected him to walk in, but when she didn't hear his footsteps against the wood, she looked back up at him. "Where's Todd?" Her face contorted and her shoulders shrugged. "Are you guys...okay?" Rafe hoped she didn't catch the hopefulness in his voice that his friend finally fucked up badly enough, but Katherine was too caught up in her own brain to even give it a second thought.

Her shoulders rose and fell again, but she couldn't stop her frown from deepening. She finally looked up at him, bottom lip quivering as she shook her head no. A stray tear fell from her eye that made Rafe's fists clench and unclench. Fuck, he hated to see her cry.

Rafe had been madly in love with Katherine for as long as he could remember. He would quite literally kill for the girl and in that moment, at the thought that Todd hurt her enough to make her cry, he wanted to kill him.

He finally strode over to her, not being able to stand it anymore. Katherine's eyes widened in surprise when Rafe spun her around and pulled her into his chest in an embrace.

Katherine had to admit, it was nice to feel like someone was there for her, no matter how unworthy she felt in that moment. She let her hands loop around his waist and she gripped his shirt ever so slightly in her hands, feeling as though it was the only thing grounding her at that moment. Her shaky breathy stilled, as he planted a gentle kiss on top of her head.

Her relationship with Rafe had always been a tricky one. Ironically enough, he was her first kiss when she was fourteen. As much as she wanted to hate it, because he was her best friend's brother, she actually really liked it.

She looked up at him through her damp lashes and her breath hitched in her throat. Rafe wet his lips with his tongue and, still fuzzy brained, she found her eyes darting to the small action, noticing the small smirk that formed just before looking back up at his darkening eyes.

Rafe brought a hand to her cheek, cautiously, allowing his thumb to trace the soft skin there. He swallowed thickly, when her eyes fluttered closed, leaning against his hand. His thumb trailed from her cheek, down to her bottom lip that was swollen from crying. The small intimate action made her breath hitch. He used his pointer finger to tilt her chin up to bring their faces closer together, causing her eyes to open.

"R-Rafe," she choked out, showing the affect he was having on her.

"Yes, Kat?" He hummed out lowly, his breath fanning her face. Only then did she notice their closeness and this made her stature unsteady, but Rafe only held her closer, her body pressed flush against his. He slowly leaned his face closer to hers and before she could protest, he closed the gap between them, hungrily allowing his tongue to explore hers, barely able to think straight after tasting her on his lips. He knew he wasn't going to be able to bring himself to stop, now that he'd gotten that far.

Katherine gave into the feeling of relief in her stomach, practically chasing it after the night that she'd had. She slid her hand under the back of his shirt, allowing her cool fingertips to brush against his hot skin. One thing led to another and articles of clothing littered the ground between Sarah's room and Rafe's.

He hovered over her in his bed, moving his lips from hers down her neck and to her bare chest. "You're so fucking beautiful, Kat," he sighed.

Katherine's mind was slowly starting to catch up with her and wandered to Todd and what he would do if he found out that she slept with his best friend. "Rafe, wait," she said softly.

"Shh," he soothed, but his face was stern. "I'm going to take care of you sweetheart, okay?" He gripped her wrists in his single hand and pinned them above her head and she didn't protest—she couldn't. She was frozen.

She squeezed her eyes shut, doing her best to ignore the burning and the stinging that slowly ebbed away into a more comforting feeling. He wasn't as gentle as he could've been, but really, Katherine didn't mind. Anything to help her escape the pain of the evening she'd had.

Even if she did just lose her virginity to Rafe Cameron.

Authors Note.
WE'RE HEREEEEE! Wow this has been a long time coming, and I really have to applaud myself, as my ADHD brain finally allowed me to finish an entire book, before beginning to publish it.

Buckle up ladies and gents, because you're in for one hell of a ride!!