❛𝐖𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒❜ ― 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

𝟎𝟑𝟓.

035.
REASSURANCE AND LOVE.

❝
haunt you - social house
Must be the summer breeze, the smell of orchids
Or its the way you look, I won't forget it
Watching the devils dance outside my doorstep
Some kind of heaven I haven't seen yet
Always greener on my other side of things
Think so much of you, I can't overthink
Can't take my eyes off you, I don't wanna blink (no, no)
❞

❰ ONE YEAR AGO ❱

Avery was swinging her legs over the dock she sat on, lost in her thoughts as she stared at the water with the journal open on her lap.

She'd already written quite a bit, but she was too busy thinking about her mother's words from this morning. It didn't really occur to her that she may have been a bit too rash with asking to stay in Outer Banks. After all, it was where her mother grew up, and her dad was already fitting in well. Her parents knew how much she loved the ocean as well and to have it be so near was a dream come true for her.

But her mother had a point. What if she only wanted to stay for JJ? What if eventually, he wouldn't be as interested as he was now? She was aware of his history, but it never really came into play until recently.

She frowned, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. She'll think about the details later. All that mattered was that they were happy and together. Nothing could ruin that unless they let it.

She tapped her pen against the notebook absentmindedly, skimming over the diagram she'd drawn up. Her father's comments about her foolish dreams hadn't deterred her from making her own research as much as she could, which more often than not led her to the most inconspicuous places that made whoever was trying to find her either take longer than anticipated or shorter, since she'd usually be found in places no one would think to look at unless they stumbled on her.

The wooden dock she sat on creaked under some weight and she glanced over her shoulder to check who it was, seeing Rafe walking towards her with a timid grin. She returned the sentiment, genuinely happy to see the guy she considered to be a good friend as she scooted over to make room for him.

"Hey," he greeted once he was sitting down by her, his shoes still on as he had his snapback on backwards. "What are you doing here?"

She held up the notebook with a smile. "Just doing some notes."

"Can I see?"

She nodded, handing the book over to him before twirling the pen in her hands as she watched him draw his eyebrows together, observing the rough sketch she'd done of a cobia fish that she saw in Heyward's shop. She labeled each part intricately, which was probably the reason he was so baffled since there were parts he wasn't aware of.

"Whoa," he mumbled, glancing at her. "Did you draw this?"

"Don't be mean," she huffed. "It's a rough sketch."

"Rough? Avery, this is great," he chuckled, pointing at one area. "Weird, but great. I never knew there was this much to a fish."

She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked at the water below them and the life swimming inside. "What, you just fish and eat without thinking?"