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Chapter One
Return to the Outer Banks
Townes stepped off the ferry, her shoes hitting the wooden planks of the dock with a soft thud. The summer air was thick, heavy with salt and heat, and the sun blazed high in the sky, reflecting off the calm water. She inhaled deeply, letting the familiar smell of the Outer Banks wash over her. It felt the same as it always had—the bright, easy charm of a beach town that welcomed her back every summer, wrapping her in the comfort of routine.
But this time, she felt different.
"Townes! Finally!"
Her mom's voice jolted her back to reality. She turned to see her mother waving, looking out of place in her crisp white linen dress among the tourists and locals in flip-flops. Beside her, Charles stood with his arms crossed, more concerned with checking his watch than welcoming her home.
"Hey, Mom," Townes greeted, trying to muster some enthusiasm, her lips curling upwards in a faux smile. "Charles."
Charles Lexington: The man who tore her life apart.
It had been a muggy afternoon, the kind of day where the humidity pressed down like a weight. Townes was sitting in her dad's small house, one leg draped over the arm of the couch, flipping absentmindedly through an old magazine. The house was different from the one she grew up in—smaller, cozier, and filled with mismatched furniture that didn't belong together any more than her parents did. Since the separation, her dad had moved into this modest bungalow, while her mom stayed in their airy summer house on Figure Eight, living the Kook life as if nothing had happened.
Townes was used to the awkward silence between her and her dad, the unspoken tension that had been hanging in the air ever since the separation between him and her mom. They didn't talk about it much. It was just something that lingered between them, like a bruise they were both too scared to touch. But today, something felt different. Her dad seemed... distant– even more than usual.
He stood by the kitchen counter, nursing a beer, staring at the floor like it had all the answers. Townes watched him for a moment, feeling that gnawing sense of unease in her chest. Something was wrong, and she could feel it creeping closer, like a storm on the horizon.
"Dad?" she asked, closing the magazine that resided in her hands. Her voice held a form of uncertainty, wondering if she really wanted to hear what was on his mind. "What's going on?"
Her dad flinched, like he hadn't realized she was paying attention. He ran a hand through his thinning hair, sighing heavily. "We never really talked about what happened with your mom and me, did we?"
