riptide- outer banks

eighty | everything to lose

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The tension in and around that boat as they accelerated through the water was thick. There was no other way to describe it. Ward Cameron had caused pain to every single person there. Every single person sitting in that boat had been hurt by him in one way or another. Some more than others, but no one had been left out in the torment caused by his gluttonous behavior.

Except Jose. Jose was pretty damn lucky he hadn't been hurt by him yet. It'd only been thirty minutes though. And Ward Cameron could do considerable damage in way less time than that.

Kori bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced at him, head barely shaking. What the hell was wrong with him that he thought coming with them would be a good idea? His son hated him. She assumed Sarah did as well— her aversion being slightly less than Logan's. It just made no sense to her. If he wanted to repair their relationships, going against what they'd asked didn't seem like the plausible thing to do.

And she knew he wanted more than anything to have his children back.

In some twisted way, Ward did love his children. Maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth about that one thing. That everything he'd done had been for them. It was a hard pill to swallow considering what he'd done to all of them, but maybe it really did come down to wanting to protect his family. That didn't mean she trusted him though; she would never trust him.

Kori let out a small breath, the quiet sound barely penetrating the strength of the tension that had settled. She glanced over at Logan, noting his detached gaze. There was also a sort of pertinacity in his expression as he avoided his father's gaze. Her eyes shifted to the other side of the boat, locking onto the man. He was looking past her, attention solely set on his son.

He wanted Logan to look at him.

Maybe it was anger, maybe it was pettiness, but whatever it may have been, Kori didn't particularly care. Her brow came together as she fully faced her ex-kidnapper. "Hey, Ward." She voiced, forcing his attention onto her just as she raised her middle finger in the air. Then she was smirking at him.

Ward simply inhaled, eyes resettling on the river to his right as her hand dropped back down in her lap. Sarah had turned to her dad at that, but John B just shook his head at her crude gesture. After nine years of being her best friend, he was used to it by now. Big John's brow had come together, eyes hesitantly watching as she turned to Logan.

He had lifted his gaze, but only briefly. A short exhale followed, her attention wholly devoted to him. She didn't care that Big John was watching—she honestly hadn't noticed—and she didn't care that Ward had redirected his gaze to them. The only thing that mattered was Logan and the fact that he wasn't okay with this.

Without another thought, she laced her hand through his. The stiffness in his posture loosened at her touch, gaze subsequently softening as he locked onto her green eyes. She was there for him. That one little gesture was meant to show that she was not afraid of Ward. She had his back and he would not have to talk to him if he didn't want to.

And he didn't want to, so he wouldn't.

"Just keep your eyes on me." She murmured.

Logan gently nodded his head. She had only said six words, and yet they meant everything to him. She meant everything to him. The way she'd gone from his mortal enemy to the person he seemed to trust most. In some odd way, they had the same wounds. They had the same scarring, left there by a careless father they'd once been able to trust. And neither of them had a mother to save them from his anger. They were the same, yet oh so different.