Obx 4

Chapter 10

Kiara's pov

I woke up groggy, my head pounding from last night. I stumbled to the bathroom, barely making it to the sink before I started to throw up. Great, just what I needed—a killer hangover on top of everything else. After a long shower that didn't do much to wake me up, I got dressed and headed downstairs, trying to shake off the exhaustion.

The Pogues were already gathered in the living room, talking quietly amongst themselves. The tension from yesterday still hung in the air, but I wasn't sure if it was just in my head or if everyone else felt it too.

"Good morning, guys," I said, trying to sound upbeat despite feeling like absolute crap.

"Morning," they all echoed back, though JJ barely mumbled his response. He was sitting in the corner, eyes downcast, clearly still distant from everything.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked, trying to break the awkwardness.

"We're waiting for you," John B replied, glancing over at me. "We're trying to see where the coordinates lead to."

"Oh, right," I muttered, remembering the discovery from yesterday. "Do you need my laptop? It's right here."

I grabbed it from the small table by the couch and sat down between John B and Cleo, with Pope and Sarah standing behind us, peering over our shoulders. JJ stayed seated across from us, not saying much, which just made my chest tighten. Things between us were still unresolved, and every second of silence from him felt like another wall going up.

I opened the map app and typed in the coordinates we had found. The screen zoomed in, showing a location in the ocean just off the coast of OBX.

"Well, guys, look at this," I said, my voice a little more animated. "At least it's near OBX."

"That's a start," Pope said, squinting at the screen. "But it's still somewhere in the middle of the ocean."

"It's in a weird spot," he added. "No one's mapped it out."

"That makes sense, though, right?" Sarah chimed in, resting a hand on the back of the couch. "The treasure's gotta be hidden in some uncharted area if no one's found it yet."

"Yeah, but it also means this isn't going to be easy," Pope said, rubbing his chin. "There's no telling what's out there. It's not like it's a known wreck."

"We've got JJ's charter boat," John B said, his excitement clear. "What are we waiting for?"

I sighed, glancing at JJ again. He hadn't said a word. "Yo, wait," I interrupted. "Can we just take a break? I just woke up with a killer headache and I'm really not in the mood to go treasure hunting right now. Let's do it tomorrow."

John B looked disappointed. "Kie, we've been waiting on this—"

"She's right," Sarah cut in, giving John B a look. "We still have work today, and if we rush into this, we'll just mess it up. Let's take the time to plan it out properly."

Cleo nodded. "Yeah, and we'll need to make sure we have all the gear we need. This could get dangerous real fast if we're not careful."

"Fine, fine," John B relented, though it was clear he was still itching to go. "But tomorrow, we hit the water."

As the group dispersed to get ready for work, I stayed back, packing up my laptop. Sarah lingered for a moment, her eyes flicking between me and JJ, who was still sitting quietly, lost in thought. She didn't say anything, but I could tell she was worried.

At the Surf Killer shop, we fell into our usual routine. The smell of wax and fresh boards filled the air as I got started on the custom orders we had lined up. Cleo helped me with sanding, while Pope worked on inventory. John B and JJ were out front, helping customers and tuning up boards.