what now? | outerbanks

• twenty-three •

    I'm suddenly awakened by the sound of a knock at the door. It's loud, and I wince as the pounding grapples with my hangover. I turn over in John B's embrace to see the alarm clock. Nine in the morning; much too early after last night's celebration. I roll back over and shut my eyes again, hoping to fall back asleep soon, but the knocking continues.
    "Babe, someone's at the door." I try to nudge John B. awake, but I've known him to be a heavy sleeper, and I'm not expecting him to wake up.
    I sit up and wait a few seconds for the blood to rush through my head before sleepily shuffling around the room and finding a nightgown to slip over my bare body. I don't care too much, but I quickly run a brush through my hair to make myself a little more presentable.
    Hoping not to wake anyone else, I stealthily flit through the hallways to the front door, which I open slowly so as to not make a loud sound.
"Can I help you?" I ask before opening the door completely. When the door finally does open, and the person on the other side comes into view, I'm a little surprised.
"Hi, um- I'm Sofia; Rafe's girlfriend." She smiles sweetly as she talks, and I see that she's holding something in her hands.
"Yeah, I know who you are. Look, I'm really sick of all this Kook bullshit. Just say what you have to say and leave." I sort of feel bad for being rude, but so much has happened, and I'm fed up.
"I'm sorry for coming so early in the morning, but I'm really just here to give you this. It's a gift, just a little congratulations for... everything," she says, and I'm suddenly awkward and embarrassed.
"Oh, thank you. Sorry for being rude; it's sort of an instinct at this point, you know, after everything," I laugh off awkwardly.
"Yeah, no. I get it, don't worry." She shrugs it off and gives me a little smile before handing me the wrapped gift. When I grab it, she catches sight of my left hand and points down at it.
"Is that new? It's beautiful!" I hold my hand up to her with a girlish grin and show off my ring.
"Yeah, actually; John B. proposed yesterday after the ceremony." She pulls me into the hug, and although I'm surprised by the sudden closeness, I hug her back.
"Oh my goodness, congrats!" The smile stays on my face, and I wait for her to say something else. "And, um, about yesterday; I'm really sorry that Rafe ran off like that. I've really been trying to get him to talk with you, but you know how hard-headed he is; sometimes even I can't get him to budge."
"Thanks; it's not your fault." I shrug off her apology. "I don't know why I keep expecting him to change." I don't know how she's dating him. She's nice and calm, and he's everything she's not.
    "He's really not like that with me, you know? He keeps saying he wants to change, and that he needs to talk to you about the money and Wheezie and your dad, but every time he gets the chance, he- he freaks." Sofia paces back and forth on the front steps, her hands firm on her hips as she talks.
    "I know. He does," I say, leaning against the creaky doorframe and tracing the outline of my lips with my pointer finger.
"You know what? Why don't I give you my number? I would love to talk more and maybe even get together," the short brunette says, shuffling through her purse before grabbing her phone to hand to me.
"Uh, yeah, totally," I mumble as I type my number and contact into her phone, texting myself from it to make sure it goes through.
"Okay, then. Well, I've got to get to work. Have a nice day, Sarah." The girl turns around swiftly and heads to her car. Her short, softly curled hair bounces as she walks, and she leaves the slightest trace of coconut in the air. She smells like my mother did.
"Thank you, again, Sofia," I call out to her as she gets herself adjusted into her car seat.
"No problem. Oh, and I'm not a Kook!" She calls back to me in a friendly manner, her lips curling into a genuine smile. I guess Rafe and I have similar tastes.
I stand there silently in the doorframe watching her car leave the driveway. I close my eyes and take in the cool morning air, the smell accompanied by sweet songs from a chorus of birds. I lose myself in this trance, but jump out of my skin when I hear a sound behind me in the house.
"Shit!" I scream, clutching at my heart and breathing out in fear. There, behind me in the kitchen, is Kie. "God, you scared me."
"I can tell," she wearily explains, motioning to my thrown state. "I heard voices down here and just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Someone at the door,"
"No, yeah, everything's fine. It was Rafe's girlfriend, actually."
"What?" The girl whisper-screams, trying not to wake the house. Her face is painted with disgust.
    "Yeah, I know, but she was actually really nice. She came to give me a congratulations gift that she forgot to give me at the ceremony yesterday."
    "So how did such a nice girl end up with Rafe?" Her brown eyes squint in suspicion as she hoists herself up onto the counter.
    "You know better than anyone that he's not totally evil, Kie. I guess she calms him." She shoots me a glare as I shrug, and I raise my hands in defense, knowing what I said is true.
"Who even is she anyway? I've never seen her before." Kie grabs her phone and starts typing various spellings of her name, searching for any social media accounts.
"I don't know. She said she wasn't a Kook, so," I shake my head slowly in confusion, "I guess she's kind of a mystery."