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Panic. A noun, a sudden fear or anxiety, often causing wildly, unthinking behavior. That wasn't even a strong enough word for what Elizabeth was feeling. She had spent her whole life in the water ever since she was 5 years old. She lived and breathed the water. When she was small her Dad would compare her to a mermaid. Yet no matter how hard she tried to fight she just couldn't seem to break the endless cycle of harsh waves beating her into submission. She couldn't give up, she simply wouldn't. Not when her brother needed her. Not when she had just begun to love Sarah as a sister. Not when she had an entire family of people waiting for her return to the Outer Banks. She had to fight. It is the only thing she knows how to do.
Warrior. A brave or experienced soldier or fighter. That's what Sarah had told Liz she was. Life threw obstacle after obstacle at the young girl yet she remained victorious after every battle with a smile of pure carefree joy.
Her arms flailed in the water trying to get a grip on anything that could save her. She couldn't hear the calls of her brother or friend over the crashes of the waves and the rumbling thunder. She flailed so hard that her arms began to bruise from the fight she was putting on with the waves. Her injured shoulder roared in pain. It hurt. It hurt way more than any pain she had endured. Worse than any pain Rafe Cameron ever inflicted on her. She just wanted to escape, to be out of the cold waves. To be instead in front of a warm fire with all her friends by her side joking around. A large wave abroached clocking her in the head. She was fully submerged in the water yet relentless in her endless fight.
Water began to fill her lungs. She began to think. Was she a warrior? She sat on that thought as she ripped her way toward the surface of the water. In all truthfulness... No. Elizabeth Routledge was no warrior. She was a regular 15-year-old girl trying to do things she had no business indulging in. She wasn't a trained fighter.
For so many years of her life, she had relied on her brother and friends to be there every step of the way. When she was being bullied by Rafe they were there, when she ran away to the beach after her father died they were there, when she got her first bruise they were there. Not once did she try to take the lead.
Elizabeth never really stood out. After her father left her grades dropped from top of the class to just below average. Eventually, she stopped attending school altogether. She smiled and made small talk to people but she was never known more than "John B's little sister." That's who she accepted she was. Now that she thought about it she never really understood or discovered exactly who she was. Who was Elizabeth Routledge?
There was that feeling again. Panic. There was a realization as brutal as the wave dragging her under. Liz had never had her first kiss, got her driver's license, went to prom, had her first heartbreak, or graduated high school. She still had so much life left to live. She still had things she wanted to do and books she wanted to read and possibly write.
She was no fighter. Her limbs were growing weak and tired. Her brain clouded with a misty fog. Her heart yearned for her to just let go. She grasped at the water one last time. In that moment she knew this was never meant to be her story. John B was the most loyal, kind, and brave brother. He stuck by her side from the moment she was dropped on his doorstep. He loved her unconditionally. Even when he was going through his own grief and trauma he was there for her. That's why John B deserved to go on, to continue their father's legacy. She was just a small smart of his story. He and the rest of the Pogues are destined to be great. She's proud knowing she is their little sister. This is the end of the legacy of Elizabeth Olivia Anna Routledge. With a smile on her face and the picture of JJ, Kie, Pope, Sarah, and John B in her mind she stopped fighting letting the waves take her away to see her father.
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A/N: If you made it here thank you so much! I started writing Liz's story the summer of 2023 and immediately fell in love with her character. I knew I had to finish this book and share her story with you. Almost a year later the book is finished and i'm proud of the work I have created. If you loved this book don't be shy and give me a follow! Who knows maybe this isn't the end of Elizabeth's story.
