family. | outer banks x oc

the dinner.

I decided to go find my friends. I assumed there was a lot I had to explain. It was about a 15 minute walk to my house from Topper's, and it took under a minute to walk into Heyward's shop from my house.

Unfortunately, that gave Shoupe enough time to show up on the Heyward's front door.

I find myself standing next to JJ. "What the hell?" I whisper to him. My eyes are pinned onto the Heyward boy being pushed around by Shoupe.

I begin to make a theory of what happened-- based on the conversation I overheard at the Thornton's.

JJ doesn't say anything. Instead, the boy makes a confession. Which, by the way, was a lie.

"It wasn't him." JJ states.

Everyone's attention turns to him. Kie's expression shifts a bit when her eyes catch mine.

"It was me." JJ continues.

He starts to walk towards the group surrounding Pope.

"JJ-" I start.

"He tried to talk me put of it, but I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes on Figure Eight that I lost my shit." JJ explains.

He continues to walk closer and closer to Shoupe, Pope, and Heyward.

"I can't let you take the blame for something I did." JJ says, now directing his voice to Pope. "You've got too much to lose."

"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope asks. His voice barely makes a sound.

"I'm telling the truth." JJ lies. "For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth."

Everyone's silent for a short moment.

"I took his old man's boat, too."

"What the hell?" Heyward scoffs.

"JJ, come on." Pope says. Silently begging for the boy to stop lying.

"Just shut up, Pope!" JJ yells.

The rise in his voice makes me flinch a bit.

"Just shut up." He says, only quieter.

"He's a good kid." JJ says, now directing his voice to Shoupe. "You know where I'm from."

"Yeah." Shoupe nods.

"This was all me."

I silently scoff as Shoupe begins to wrap handcuffs around JJ's wrists. The vision of someone I loved being pushed into a cop car by, the one and only, Shoupe made me nervous, to say the least.

Last time this happened, my brother never came back.

I watched as Kiara walked away, and Pope yelled. I stood infront of the Heyward home, praying JJ would come back soon.

--
Tears filled my eyes while I pulled the small, blue dress on. I tried to pull them back, but I couldn't stop thinking about the horrible things they were probably doing to JJ.

I knew that if I attempted to apply mascara, it would run down my cheeks anyways. I also knew what it felt like to watch someone go into a cop car and never come back the same.

I couldn't expect the Maybank boy to be any different.

When I walked downstairs, I didn't say anything to my father. It was clear I was upset, and I wasn't going to try and hide it.

--
I walked into the Thornton house, for the second time today.

"Welcome!" Ms. Thornton exclaims as we walk into her large home.