Phoebe is Kiara's cousin. She moves to the Outer Banks after a tragic car accident. Leaving her parents dead. On the island she quickly becomes friends with the Pogues. She joins them on the search for gold. All the while; she awaits her armored fat...
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Freeport. A Tiny town off the coast of a tiny island. The Bahamas. Twelve Hours. That's how long the trip will take us to get home. My skin was covered with goosebumps as the cold breeze from the night kissed my skin. Sarah, Cleo and Kie sat with me as we silently watched the waters crash amongst shore. Lights from the town twinkled from a far as JJ and Pope pulled to boat in. I watched as the two of them argues over something, they clearly didn't want us hearing. JJ took several glances at Kiara. It suddenly became obvious. I knew JJ has feeling for Kiara. And I know Kiara has feeling for JJ. I wasn't blind. Pope clearly upset rolled his eyes and stocked off. JJ following him close behind. "They're arguing aren't they?" Cleo whispers to me. "Mmhm." I hum, nodding at my friend. "About?" She asked. I point at Kiara. Cleo nods her, finally understanding what was going on. "Hey, Pope?" Cleo calls out, running up to the boy. "Let's go find some food. Hopefully we find a corner store." She said. Pope shrugs his shoulders, making his way off the boat. Cleo followed behind him. "I think I'm gonna take a nap." I sigh, pushing off the boat and heading for the bedroom below. "Wait, Be!" Sarah joins me down stairs. "Rafe." She starts. "What's going on with him?" She asked. "Oh, um..." I say, looking for words. "He's, uh, trying to be some business man now. Something about stepping up to the Cameron name. I don't know. He rants a lot about it." I say. "Do you think he's gonna come back for you?" Sarah, pushed the narrative. "He's obsessed with you. He loves you." She adds. I playfully roll my eyes, laughing. "Rafe, he's complicated. He obnoxiously makes things bigger than it needs to be. But the time we spent to together in Guadeloupe was like a break from everything. Treasure hunting, my parents, cops, bad guys chasing us. And for the first time in a long time, I got a taste of what that life is like. And when we get back. I don't think I can do it anymore. The seeking treasure I mean. It's exhausting. And it scares me." My words spilled out of my mouth like water as I rambled on about my lifestyle and choice of people in my life. "God! If my parents could see me know." I giggled. "I think my mom would have probably encouraged it. And my dad, would do anything my mom thought was good. He loved her." I sighed. "How long has it been? Since they died?" Sarah asked. "About six months. I still have nightmares about that night. Sometimes I feel like I still have their blood and guts splatter on my face." I looked down at my hands. "Yeah, that's kind of horrific." Sarah agrees. "Mike, Anna, and Kie. Showed up to the seen hours later. I was still covered in blood and guts and I think about it everyday. No matter how many showers I take, I will never get that feeling of them on me. And Rafe. Rafe makes me forget. I love him, Sarah. I don't think there is anyone in the world I have loved so much. But loving someone in the place for someone I care about, seems like a pretty great way to live, too." My fingers clammed together as I slowly breathed. Sarah laid a reassuring hand on my arm. "That sounds....intense." Sarah breathed. "Is that a bad thing?" I questioned, easing my brow for confirmation. "It's definitely a deep thing. The way he watches you; it's like he's willing to leap in front of you and take a bullet or something. If you move; he moves. Like magnets." Sarah describes me and Rafe like objects. Inanimate objects that didn't mean much in the end. "Love is supposed to be calm." Sarah says. I shake my head. "Love is a heart attack. Love is severe. Love is the best and worst of everything. Love is hating someone with every inch of your soul. Yet, spending even a minute without them is the worst pain you've ever known. He makes me angrier than any other person in this whole wide world. And yes, sometimes we laugh. And it's sometimes that breathless laugh. But in between all those moments of joy, there are so many more aggravation and irritation. And that's what love is to me. Love is the easiest thing in the world when it happens on accident. But it doesn't get real until you do it on purpose." My body began to ache as I suddenly felt hallow yet still heavy from the exhaustion I began to experience. "I think I'm gonna sleep now." I sigh. I quickly hop in bed, kicking my shoes off my feet and pulling the covers up to my neck. Sarah didn't say anything else about Rafe. "I'll wake you when we get back home." She hums. My eyes begin to fall as I feel sleep take over my mind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I could smell it. Salty marsh. Seafood cooking. Lavenders growing. Kildare. I could help but player a smile on my face once I realized where we were. Home. Pushing off the bed and up the stairs to the deck, I was immediately blinded by the bright sun. I raised my arm to cover my face from the harsh rays. "As much as I love this place. I'm so not ready to check in at home." Kiara sighed. I took a deep breath. "Yeah. You don't think they'll kick me out for good, right?" I questioned my cousin. Kiara raised a brow. "At this point, I wouldn't put it past them." She sighed. "Why are you two worried. Aren't y'alls parents chill?" Cleo asked. I shook my head. "Not really. And Mike and Anna aren't my parents. They're my aunt and uncle. My parents were killed by a drunk driver." I explained to the girl. "Hmm." Cleo hums, raising a brow. "Where's Sarah." I asked, changing the subject. "She went off to find John B., see if he made it back?" Cleo explained. Pope, JJ, Kiara and I hop off the dock. We slowly walk down the street towards Figure Eight. It was still pretty empty in the morning, so the roads were quiet. I was grateful we didn't have to worry about neighbors spotting us before we could reunite with family. I could see the house up the hill. The red farmhouse roof stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the green leaves. "This is us." Kiara says, pushing the gate open to the driveway. "Home Sweet Home." I breathed. "Damn, Kiara, Phoebe. Y'all live here? The is like the White House, man." Cleo gasped in shock at the size of the house. "Yeah, only the White House has less security." I was stealing to feel nauseous and worried. Mike and Anna were the easiest to live with. Yes, me and Kiara give to a hard time. But then again. We tell the truth. Even if it's absurd and irrational. "How bad you think it's gonna be?" Pope asked. Kiara and I stopped at the edge of the porch. "Scale of one to ten. Twenty." Kie says. "Do you want us to hold up here?" Cleo asked. "No, I don't want to bombarded them with too much at once." I shake my head. "Okay, well..." Cleo drags, trying to find words. I pull the girl in for a hug. "Thanks." I whispered. I was starting to consider Cleo as my best friend. She was funny, witty. And confident. "Thanks for walking us." Kiara says. I take Kiara's hand in mind, pulling her up onto the porch, but she stops shortly after turning to JJ. He hadn't said a word since we had gotten off the boat. He was usually quite boisterous and loquacious. So it was odd not to hear his voice. "Bye, Jayj." Kiara says. JJ smiles softly, giving her a nod. "Come on." I say, pulling her up. Kiara and I watched the Pogues leave the property before turning to the front door. "You knock. I can't do it." Kie breathed. "Yeah, of course." I smile. The door is long and wide and covered in dozens of window. So my knock wasn't much of a surprise when Anna had walked past the door and immediately swung it open, pulling Kiara in for a hug. "Hey, Mom." She cried as Anna held her Kie's face in her hands. "I'm really sorry." She sobbed. I stood awkwardly in the back as I gave the mother and daughter a moment. "Phoebe!" I heard my name as I saw Mike rush down the stairs, pulling me into a hug. "Oh, Phoebe. My niece. I missed you." He sighed, holding me tight in my arms. The door of us pulled each other for a group hug. "I'm sorry." I apologized. The tears were beginning to stain my cheeks as I sobbed and begged for forgiveness. A warm fuzzy felling grazed my ankles. Breaking me from the hug. "Oh, my God!" I cried out. "Echo, I'm sorry." I sobbed, immediately picking my cat up and squeezing her with love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I'm gonna go check on JJ." Kiara says, steeping into my room. She was completely showered and clean. Kie had put on a mustard yellow shorts with a green bralette. And a cropped flannel to go over the bra. "Yeah, okay. I'll meet up with you later." I just really need another nap. Kiara nods, heading out. Mike and Anna had left too. I assumed they went out to the police station. Sheriff Shoupe probably needed to be alerted about us. I tie my hair up into a bun. Ready for sleep to take over. But I'm suddenly interrupted by a loud knock on the from downstairs. "Coming!" I shout. Racing down the stairs into the foyer. I didn't even bother to look through the glass before swinging the door open. There he stood. Rafe.
