saltwater | outer banks

12| doses & mimosas

"WHERE ARE WE GOING now?" Venus pulled herself out of the Twinkie and followed after her friends, a yawn escaping her mouth.

"We're getting on the internet, only rich people have electricity right now," Pope replied.

"What, too hungover to keep up?" JJ quipped, grinning as he led the group towards the steps of the hotel they'd arrived at.

A stifled chuckle escaped Kiara, earning a glare from the Beck girl.

"Sorry," she laughed, "you were really drunk. When we were on the phone, you were practically about to confess your love for me."

Venus rolled her eyes, a pink hue coating her cheeks as she playfully shoved Kie's shoulder.

"Would it be so bad if I did?" she teased. "But I'm not hungover." She shot a glare in JJ's direction. "Just tired."

"Hm," John B hummed, his tone somewhat bored. "I wonder why."

"And that's our cue to head out," Pope commented, skipping up the stairs with JJ in tow.

"Yep," the blond agreed.

Kiara's eyes widened as she sped up her pace, falling into step with Pope and JJ as they led the group inside. She knew where their conversation was about to go and didn't want a single part of it.

"John," Venus sighed out, stopping mid-walk. The Pogue didn't stop moving forward, but he still lingered behind everyone else. "John B," she repeated, her tone firmer.

His hands were stuffed in his pockets as he turned to face her before he got to the bottom of the steps.

Venus had avoided the topic of her sudden leave last night since John had picked her and JJ up this morning. Everyone's minds had been elsewhere, but there was a tension she could feel between them now that nearly made her wince.

She had no one to blame but herself and her inability to refuse Rafe Cameron. The guilt of leaving her friend hit like a bag of bricks once she woke up and now she needed to face the music.

"What, Venus?" He kept a straight face, looking indifferent with the encounter.

Although John didn't want to hear any of her excuses, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay angry with her for long. It had been months since his father went missing—John B knew that better than anyone—and he was just now coming to terms with the fact that Big John was probably dead. Everyone else had gone through the process of loss and accepted what was, leaving the Routledge boy eons behind; but that wasn't something his friends meant to do.

The last thing John's friends wanted was to hurt him, but obviously, none were as close with his father as he was. Yes, when Big John was pronounced as missing, everyone was sad and beyond worried. But now the law wanted to pronounce him as dead, and when the law wanted to do that, the chances of them being wrong were slim to none. So, it was a silent consensus amongst the town that it was time to move on.

Maybe, on some level, he expected Venus of all people to understand what he was going through. Her dad was always gone overseas, unable to communicate with his family more than a few times a month and John B couldn't even remember the last time the man was home. If any of the Pogues would understand, it would be her, wouldn't it?