Waves

e i g h t

~PRESENT~

Amelia had no idea what she was doing. When she arrived back in Outer Banks, she told herself that since she wasn't staying in North Carolina, she didn't want to get involved with anyone, especially not JJ. She knew that it was for the best. But she should have known better.

She should have known that as soon as she saw JJ again, she would have no self control. How do you fall in love with someone and just forget about them, moving on so quickly? With JJ she knew that was impossible. Especially after last night.

She had no intention of kissing JJ. She had no intention of even seeing him. But seeing him did make her feel a certain way. She knew she had missed him, but she didn't realize just how much she did until she felt his mouth against hers again. And now all she could do was long for the next time she would be able to feel his lips again.

Her feet padded along the grass, playing nervously with her fingers as she stared at JJ's house ahead of her. She debated even coming here, but she knew after last night she needed to see him. She knew that they needed to talk about what had happened.

As she reached the front door, her hand hovered in front of it a minute, hesitating to knock. She could feel the nerves building up in her stomach, and she took a deep breath as she attempted to reach for the door. Before her hand could make contact, the door was pulled open and JJ was standing in front of her.

Her heart sank as she took in JJ's appearance. His eye was black, and his mouth had small cuts and were stained with blood. She remembered that John B had said that his dad was home. Her eyes continued to scan over his face, and without hesitation, her hand reached up to him, her fingers brushing over the bruising that was prominent on his face. He flinched slightly at her touch, and Amelia frowned. She stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around him and he melted instantly into her touch. She could hear the sobs escaping his mouth as he crouched over, resting his head into her chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Her hands found his hair and she ran her fingers gently through it.

She could feel her heart aching at the sight of him in front of her.

After all this time that she was gone, she was glad that she could still be JJ's comfort person.

"What happened, JJ? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Amelia asked as JJ pulled himself out of her embrace. Tears fell from his eyes, and she had never seen him look so hurt before. Not even when she left.

He shook his head. "No, no. I'm good." Amelia could hear his voice trembling.

"JJ, are you sure? If you need to go, I can take you. I'm sure it won't take long-"

Amelia stopped as she heard the footsteps coming from inside of the house behind JJ. Her heart began to thump as she saw JJ's face change. "Who's here, son?"

JJ's eyes looked up to Amelia's. He looked scared. Then, Amelia's eyes met with JJ's fathers. "Oh, who do we have here? Pretty little thing, huh?" Amelia could tell that he was either drunk or high right now. "But I'm not really sure why she's here. You know that I told you that no one should be here right now. I'm trying to lay low. You just can't listen can you?" He stepped closer to JJ. "Can you!" Amelia flinched as his voice grew louder into a yell, and she quickly took a step back. " You're just a worthless piece of shit." He spoke as he grabbed JJ by the shirt, slamming him against the frame of the doorway.

"Stop!" Amelia's voice cried out as JJ didn't even try to fight back, his father's arm slung back, ready to make contact with JJ's face.

He quickly turned to face her, a laugh escaping from his lips. "I'm sorry, did you say something? You think you can just come here and get involved in shit that's none of your goddamn business?" He pulled away from JJ, taking a step closer to Amelia. Amelia took another step back, almost falling down the front porch steps, catching herself on the banister. "You don't want to go there with me, honey. It was a big mistake, you showing up here." He continued to walk down towards her, quickly grabbing hold of her arm. Amelia tried to pull away from him, but he was too strong. His grip grew tighter against her skin as she tried to get away from him, and she could feel her skin burning. Amelia felt her heart pounding and the tears forming in the backs of her eyes.