what now? | outerbanks

• thirty six •

"I'm pregnant."

His eyes widen with shock, and his lips quiver as he takes it all in. The two words linger above me in the air like weights on a line, and I think I might just sink in my own pity if he doesn't answer soon. "Oh," he breathes, taking one hand from mine and running it through his hair. Not able to fully gauge the emotion of his reaction, I start to ramble, fear spilling from my mouth in a string of words.
"I'm sorry, John B. I should've told you sooner, but it felt like there was so much going on, and I was so scared to tell you. I don't know what to do; I don't know-"
"Hey, hey, calm down." He scoots in closer and pulls my frail body into his, petting my hair. "You're pregnant?" He asks for confirmation, his lips moving slightly against my hair, and I nod.
    "I don't know how, JB; we were so careful." My mind races through the past month, trying to land on how this could have happened. Suddenly, I realize. "Oh my God."
Leaning back from our hug, John B. asks, What?"
"It's my fault. I'm the one who got drunk that night at the rental. I made this happen."
"Sarah, don't blame yourself. This isn't a bad thing," he soothes, his own eyes glazing over as he thumbs relentless tears from under my eyes.
"But we're so young. How are we going to pull this off?" I sob, teary eyes and snotty nose making me feel like a child.
"I don't know yet, but we will. We always do," he tugs at my waist, and I get up from my chair slightly, climbing onto his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. I cry into his shoulder.
"I'm so scared," I cry, but I'm not sure if he can even hear me through my sobs and the fabric of his shirt. "I'm scared."
    "I know," he whispers, rubbing my lower back, and it calms me a little. "We're gonna be alright. I know it." He cups his hands around my face, and my eyes see nothing but the sparkle in his. "I've never loved you more, Sarah Cameron." And then he kisses me, my lips moving instinctively against his in a slow, nurturing kiss.
    "You're having a baby." His voice cracks out lighter than a whisper, and his mouth tugs into the meekest of smiles as I rest my forehead against his.

    "We're having a baby."

JJ

"You're not listening to me," Kiara grunts from underneath the van, screwing something in with a wrench. "I'm fine."
"You just seem off, Kie; and don't say it's just the nightmares because I know it's not. It's something else." She's been off lately, but I know it's not her bad dreams because she's had those for a long time, and this new vibe is something completely different.
    "I can't believe we're even working today. It's like, forty degrees," Kie complains, changing the subject and rolling out from underneath the van, walking away without looking at me. Her feet stomp defiantly up the steps to the shop as I snake an arm around her waist.
    "Kie, you know it's Bluefin season. It might be cold, but them babies are bitin' good right now." I open the door for her and let her into the shop first, following close after. "We gotta have plenty of bait on deck and something warm for people to pick up. Quick lunch, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah. Cleo made something yesterday; said she put it in the fridge, so all I have to do is heat it on the stove," she explains, turning at the counter and opening the fridge with searching eyes. I smile wide when I notice the beanie on her head is mine, and that her hoodie is too.
"My goodness, you look like a model straight out of JJ Maybank's Closet Magazine," I tease, pressing up to her back and resting my chin on her shoulder, kissing her jaw and neck.
"Do I now?" She teases back, turning so we're facing each other and peppering kisses to my lips and nose. "Wonder why." She scrunches up her nose and pulls from my embrace, walking to the stove with a little extra saunter in her step.
"You know, maybe we don't have to work today," I stutter, watching as her hips sway back and forth at the shop's counter.
"Oh, now you decide? Too late, buddy."
"No really. We can totally go back home if you want."
"You just want to get me in bed, huh? Is that it?" Her tone is confronting and stern, and it scares me a little.
"Oh, no. I was just joking, Kie, I swear," I say, backing away from my joking nature and waving my hands in a dismissive manner.
"I know, doofus. I was kidding." She lightly punches me in the gut and then places a kiss on my cheek before walking somewhere in the back of the shop. I can't help but smile and think, That's my girlfriend.
My head snaps when I hear the bell above the door jingle, the door shutting behind a tall, familiar man. Eli Pritchard, a local fisherman.
"Aye, Mr. Pritch! Blues bitin' good this morning or what?" I ask, offering the man a welcoming smile. There's an odd intensity surrounding the man as if something is eating at him, but I disregard it and chalk it up to cold weather. "We got plenty of bait and food, perfect for the cold day."
    "Yeah, caught a couple earlier this morning," he says, walking up to the counter, his hood heavy against the wooden floors. "But that's not why I'm here today." I can tell Kie hears him say this, because her feet shuffle suspiciously from the back of the shop, and she ends up standing next to me, a wary look on her face.
    "How can we help you, then?" Kie offers, her voice jumping a few octaves into her usual customer service voice. I slowly put my hand in my pocket, my fingers finding the familiar shape of my pocketknife, and I wrap my hand around it in preparation of any sudden movements. I've been through this enough times.
    The tall and lean man with his wild hair and sun-beaten face fingers at a brochure sitting on the counter, and he purses his lips like he's looking for the right way to put something.
"What do you know about the Siren's Tear?" He asks, looking up into my eyes with an inquisitive aura.
"Like, Captain Red Morgan? That Siren's Tear?"
"JJ, what other Siren's Tear?" Kie whispers, nudging me in the side.
"I mean, my dad used to tell me stories about the Captain, but I don't know a lot. Why?"
"I got an offer for you and your friends," he says, holding up something gold and shiny in his hands. I can see the slightest etchings on the object, but he shoves it back in his pocket before I can make out what it is and what the etchings say. "It could be risky, though, so think it over. Here's my number; give me a call after you talk it over with the others." Kie grabs hold of my hand when I remove it from my pocket, and we watch Eli slip a piece of paper on the counter before turning around and walking out of the door.
The two of us stand there in silence for a moment, contemplating everything that just happened, and the. Kie breathes out a deep breath.
"That was weird, right?" She questions, raising one eyebrow.
"Yeah, but I'm intrigued," I say honestly, leaning back against the rugged wood and looking at my girlfriend next to me. She widens her eyes at me and crosses her arms, scoffing.
"Absolutely not," she spits, walking away to find something else to focus on. "We're not doing this."
"Kie, you know the story of Captain Red Morgan. You know how much money is wrapped up in that tale," I argue, trying to justify my interest in the offer.
"JJ, are you forgetting how much money we just made?"
    "Come on, Kie, listen to this," I urge, quickly typing into the search bar of my phone and then waving it in her face. "The Siren's Tear..."
    Kie raises an eyebrow, not looking at me. "JJ, we just walked away from El Dorado with more money than we know what to do with. Not to mention all of the trauma it brought. Why on earth would we go looking for more treasure?"
    "You know as well as I do, treasure's not about the money. It's about the adventure, the rush," I press, and Kiara rolls her eyes.  
    "We've had our fair share of adventures already. Plus, we've got enough cash to last us a lifetime. I'm good."
    I stare into her, my eyes full of persistence and endearment. I'm not giving up that easily.
    "It's not just about the money, Kie. It's the story behind it," I continue, my voice lowering with enthusiasm. "The Siren's Tear is supposed to be this legendary gem. A pirate's treasure—said to have sunk with a ship off the coast back in the 1700s. Some say it's cursed; others say it's worth a fortune. And nobody's found it yet."
    Kiara smirks, but the twinkle of curiosity in her eyes betrays her, and I see right through her tough facade. I'm convincing her. "Cursed? Are you seriously falling for that? Aren't you the one always saying it's not about the fairytales."
    "It's not about fairytales!" I shoot back, throwing my hands up in frustration. "But the mystery, Kie! The hunt... It's something we haven't done in a while. Besides, this one's different. I can feel it."
    The brunette looks out at the ocean, the fading light making the water shimmer. "I don't know. We've got what we need now. We could go anywhere, do anything. Why go looking for another maybe treasure? We're good."
    I sigh, holding her hands in mine. "We could stay settled like we are now. Yeah, we could. But that's not who we are, is it? We're the Pogue Pack. Why not do this? If it fails, we have all of this to come back to. It's a win-win situation. We need to chase something more. Something bigger."
    Kiara's shoulders tense, and her pearly teeth gnaw at her already shredded lip. I can tell she's fighting herself in her mind, weighing the two arguments.
    "Maybe we could... just look into it," she says slowly, the words spilling from her mouth as if it's against her will, like they're escaping a prison of some sort.
    My eyes instantly light up, clutching her shoulders in excitement. "Yes! That's all I'm asking! A little research. We'll figure out if it's real, then decide if we wanna go after it."
    The girl hesitates, but something in her is shifted. "Fine," she relents, rolling her eyes, but her tone is softened. "But I'm not going out there looking for some ghost ship, okay? We'll see if it's even real first."
    I grin, a triumphant look crossing my face as I clap my hands together. "Deal. But I'm telling you, Kie, this one's going to be worth it. You'll see."
    Kie shakes her head but can't help the smile that tugs at her lips. "I swear, you could talk anyone into anything."
    "That's my superpower," I say with a smirk, giving her a playful shove. "Now let's go do some digging. The Siren's Tear won't find itself."
    Kiara laughs, the sound light and free like music to my ears. We're bound for some adventure; we both know none of us can sit still for that long.