bad kids // jj maybank

one

The Claremont's had always had money.

Evie's great grandparents had made good investments, and their children and children's children had continued their legacy of success. Her family had houses all over the world, and Evie had never lived in the same place for more than a year. Her parents insisted on expensive boarding schools for their children, designer clothes and fancy cars, extravagant holidays at exotic resorts, and absolutely everything they could ever ask for.

Except a stable childhood and functioning parents, apparently.

Evie thought about this as she drove over the bridge to the Outer Banks. She'd been to the house on Kildare Island once before, back when she was an only child and not the oldest of five. It had been a sleepy coastal town, she remembered, and she'd met a few nice kids on the beach.

"How much farther to the new house?"
Evie blinked, turning to face her younger sister.
"Not long now, El. Can you wake the others up?"

Eleanor, or Ellie, had been born shortly after Evie's last visit to the OBX, when she was eight years old. Now she was eighteen, and Eleanor had grown into a stubborn ten year old with above average intelligence.

After Eleanor had come Indie, short for Indiana - she'd been born there, funnily enough - and then Olivia.

Six months ago, the last of the Claremont sisters had been born. Adelaine, Addie for short, was the brightest light in Evie's world, and the most adorable, snuggly little girl. Evie's mom hadn't ever gotten to hold her, though; as she'd died giving birth to her.

Evie thought she'd known pain before that, but being left the sole parent of four young kids at seventeen was a whole new level of hell. Not because she didn't love them; her sisters were Evie's whole world. But because she was only a kid herself - a kid all alone in the world, now she didn't have her mom.

But she didn't have a choice. So she'd made it work. And making it work meant moving her family to the Outer Banks - the only house she'd bothered to keep when deciding what to do with her families properties. She didn't know why, exactly, she'd chosen that house, they could've had any, could've stayed in California, but the truth was she couldn't bear to be anywhere near there, the pain of everything that had happened in that house threatened to swallow her whole just thinking about it.

They'd had to move, so here they were.

Gasps came from the backseat as they drove up the tree-lined driveway. Evie smiled. This was why she'd chosen this house - it was a mansion, like the others; but it was right on the beach and had a certain sort of charm that couldn't be found in any city.
"Wow, I like this one", said Indie, with a big grin on her face. "There's so much to explore!" 

Evie smiled softly. All she wanted was to give her sisters the childhood she wished she'd had. And this was the perfect place for them, far from any troubles or drama, away from the memories that plagued her like vengeful ghosts.

"Let's get our bags first, hey? And then we can go inside".
"Yay!"
"Mines too heavy!", whined Indie.
Evie unbuckled Addie from her car seat, lifting the baby onto her hip before going to the other side and doing the same for little Olive. Being four, she could walk just fine, but preferred Evie's comforting embrace.
"I'll get it, don't worry. Do you want to unlock the door?"
"Yes please!" Indie grinned.
Evie gave the silver key to the girl, who bolted off up the front steps to the door, and saw Eleanor struggling with her own bag and two others.
"Thanks, El", she said.
Eleanor shrugged and stepped shyly through the front door.

The house was exactly as Evie remembered it from ten years prior. The large entranceway had two staircases twirling up the sides of the room, leading up to the bedrooms on the second and third floors, and through the open archway lay the living area and kitchen.

Evie helped her siblings get settled into their new bedrooms, before finally stepping into her own. It was sunny and open, facing the beach and the neighbours place - she vaguely remembered her dad introducing her to the people that lived there - they were called the Cameron's; and they'd had three kids. But, she didn't exactly trust her fathers choice of friends.

Sighing, she sat down on her new bed. She'd get around to unpacking later; right now all she wanted was to sleep. It was four in the afternoon, though, and she had kids to look after. Sleep could come later.
It never did, though.

Evie swore under her breath realising she would have to go to the shop and buy groceries, before any of them could eat. She grabbed her wallet and slipped downstairs, checking on her sisters. They were busy setting up the playroom for Olive and Addie, a gesture that warmed Evie's heart. They always helped when they could, and she knew she couldn't do this without them.

"I've got to go to the store to get some food, will you girls be alright by yourselves? I'll put Olive down for a nap first, and take Addie with me."
"Sure," Ellie laughed, "we've got so much more house to explore!"
"But we won't go outside, promise," interjected Indie.
"Alright. Call me if you need me, I'll be back soon".
She'd gotten Eleanor a phone as soon as she realised she couldn't bring all her sisters with her everywhere she went. It hurt her to leave them anywhere, knowing they weren't really old enough to be by themselves, but as with most things these days, she didn't have a choice.

As Evie pulled up to the nearby convenience store, she noticed a group of friends about her age sitting on a picnic table outside. She walked past them with her head down, clutching Addie to her hip. She knew what it looked like, she'd heard it all before.
All the mocking laughs, the unsolicited comments, the scathing glares. If only they knew the truth, but Evie liked the pity even less.

Entering the store, Evie made a mental list of everything they needed. She walked around the aisles and picked up things she knew her sisters liked - having to cook every meal for her entire family wasn't always possible, so snacks  were important. Addie started babbling over her shoulder, and Evie whipped around to see what was behind her. She was met with the unexpected sight of a boy, probably one of the kids from the bench, in front of her. He had sandy blonde hair and a chiseled jaw, with piercing blue eyes that crinkled with a smile when they met hers.

"Sorry bout that, I'm just too irresistible," the boy said, motioning to Addie on Evie's hip.
Evie nodded, turning back around to return to her shopping, until he spoke again.
"Are you new around here? I don't think I've seen you before. I'm JJ," he said.
Evie swallowed. "Yeah, we just moved here today, actually. I'm, uh, Evie".
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Evie. And what's this ones name?" JJ asked, speaking softly now.
"This is Addie," Evie smiled.
"She's cute. You moved to the right place; teen pregnancies are pretty common round these parts," JJ started, but seeing the look on Evie's face immediately shut up. "Sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's ok," Evie bit her lip. "I'm used to it. She's my sister though, not my daughter."
"Oh, right. Yeah, that makes sense".
"Anyway," Evie said, "I've gotta finish... groceries"
"Of course. Nice to meet you, Evie. And you too, Addie. Welcome to the OBX," JJ smiled.
"Yeah. Thanks."

Evie looked at Addie and said under her breath "JJ, huh. He seems nice?"
Addie babbled in response.
She couldn't deny JJ was attractive. But she couldn't afford to get close to anyone, least of all a boy. Little did she know they would meet again the very next day, and all his friends too.

And her life, unbelievably, was about to get infinitely more complicated.

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A/N:
hey guys! this is chapter one of bad kids, my new JJ fic!!
please leave feedback and let me know if you want more 😊

- soph✨