what now? | outerbanks

• fifty-two •

Sarah

    It's morning now, though I feel anything but rested. John B. was able to get me back asleep last night, but even without nightmares, I was restless. Staring into the sunlight, I should feel warm, safe, but all I feel is off.
    I sit on the edge of the bed, hands clasped over my stomach, staring at the floorboards. The woman's words echo in my ears. Give it back.
    John B. watches me, leaning his tensed frame against the wall. He hasn't let me out of his sight since last night, and I know it's because I scared the hell out of him. I scared the hell out of myself.
    "I have to tell them," I say, my voice still rough from sleep.
    He hesitates, then nods. "Then that's what we'll do." He walks over to me and takes me in his arms, swaying back and forth while kissing the top of my head.
    The rest of the Pogues are already gathered on the deck when we get there, sprawled out in various stages of exhaustion. Cleo is sipping coffee, Pope has his notebook open, Kiara is flipping through a book JJ stole from the library, and JJ, in pure JJ fashion, is half-asleep against the railing, using his sunglasses to shield his face from the morning light.
    "Alright, you called a meeting," JJ mumbles, pushing his shades up. "What's the sitch, Princess?"
    I ignore the nickname and take a breath. "Something's wrong." That's all it takes to get their attention. Everyone sits up straighter, removing distractions and focusing on me with furrowed brows.
    "What do you mean?" Kiara asks.
    I shift, fingers curling into my sweater sleeves. "I had a weird dream last night. A nightmare. And—" I glance at John B. for reassurance before looking back at them. He nods to tell me that I can keep going, that I'm okay. "I think they have to do with the curse."
    There's a long beat of silence between the six of us; we're all waiting for the other person to speak.
    JJ exhales, pushing off the railing. "Sarah." His voice is already irritated, like he sees where this is going. "You don't believe in that stuff."
    I look him dead in the eye. "I didn't."
    "But now you do?" Pope asks, neither confrontational nor inviting. There's a lull in the conversation again. I don't have to answer for Pope to understand. "Okay," he starts, flipping his notebook closed. "Tell us everything."
    I do. I tell them about the woman and the fire. About how she was pregnant and that she looked like she knew me. I tell them how she urged me to "give it back." Even reciting the words back to them makes a shiver run down my spine, and a strange chill blows in the wind, rustling my hair. By the time I'm finished, the energy on the boat is tense.
    Kiara rubs a hand over her face, overwhelmed and somewhat aggravated. "Okay, let's just—let's just take a step back. What does this mean? Are you saying the curse is real? That we shouldn't take the treasure?"
    "I don't know what I'm saying!" I admit, my hands flying up in exasperation. It takes me a moment to control my emotions. "But I know one thing: I don't want to mess with something that could hurt my baby."
    JJ scoffs. "You've got to be kidding me," he says, shaking his head amusedly like he's making sure everyone else is hearing this too. "You're the one who pleaded to come. The one who swore up and down that you could handle this, that nothing was gonna stop you—"
    "JJ," John B. says, his voice tight with warning. He puts a hand up in JJ's direction like he's trying to create a barrier, trying to protect me, but JJ's already in motion, pacing the deck.
    "No, seriously! Now you're having second thoughts? Now that we have the treasure in our hands?" He gestures wildly. "What was all that talk before about trusting yourself and knowing your body?"
    "Don't talk about my body," I say through gritted teeth, glaring. Cleo stands up and holds her hands at her head, removing herself from the deck altogether.
    "I'm out," she mumbles under her breath. I wish I could leave with her.
    "I was fine with all of this until I had visions of a burning pregnant lady, JJ."
    "Visions, Sarah!" JJ throws his hands up. "That doesn't mean it's real! It means you had a bad dream because this whole thing has been a stress-fueled nightmare and you're overthinking it!"
    "JJ, stop," Kiara cuts in, shooting him a sharp look.
    "No, don't 'JJ, stop' me," he snaps, pointing at me. "She's the one who wanted in. Now she's the one trying to backpedal like we didn't just risk our asses for this."
    I clench my jaw, swallowing down the anger that claws up my throat. "First off, you didn't risk shit! I'm risking the most here." At this point, I'm furious. "I'm not saying we just leave it behind, I'm saying we be careful. I'm saying we figure out what this actually means before we bring something cursed home with us."
    JJ exhales hard, running a hand through his hair. He's still aggravated, but I can tell through cracks in his shield that he's more freaked out than anything, but he doesn't know how to show it. He's deflecting.
    Pope clears his throat, stepping in. "Look, arguing isn't gonna solve anything. The real question is—what do we do now?"
    "If the treasure really is cursed, shouldn't we know what the hell we're dealing with?"
    John B. nods. "Yeah. Before we take it back to the OBX, maybe we need to learn more."
    I exhale, relieved that someone is actually listening.
    Pope thinks for a second, then speaks back up. "I bet Noel knows more about this; maybe he can tell us something."