riptide- outer banks

110 | the one who waited

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The porch was still. Too still for the internal chaos they all felt. It'd been quiet for a while now, everyone silent because of the fear circulating throughout the group. JJ hadn't come back yet either. He was still out there, searching. Everyone was either scared, tired, or feeling utterly helpless. And night had long since fallen, only increasing the worry they felt.

Kori had left at eight this morning and it was now nearing ten o'clock. That meant that she'd been gone for almost fourteen hours. The seventeen year old girl had been gone the entire day and they hadn't heard anything. Not a single call or text in the past fourteen hours. They'd heard nothing and that's what scared them the very most.

Besides the rustling of leaves in the few winds that passed, the only other thing to break the silence that had fallen was the creak of the boards under Sarah's pacing feet. She couldn't sit on the steps like Kiara or on the arm of the couch like John B. She couldn't stand near the railing like Cleo or sit still at all. Not when Kori was still out there and they had no idea where she was or if she was even okay.

Sarah decidedly stopped, eyes finding her brother. Logan was leaning up against the wall of the house, gaze pinned on something far off. She knew he was losing it. Internally, his mind was a mess, but she was done pretending like this was okay. Like waiting around would solve anything.

"Logan, think. Please." She voiced, pulling everyone's attention to the siblings as his focus remained down. "Is there anywhere—anywhere else—she might've gone?"

John B let out a sigh, bringing his hand up to the bridge of his nose. "I told you, Sarah. I already checked. She wasn't in any of her usual spots."

"And JJ's still out there— triple checking." Pope pointed out.

"I've already gone over every possible place she could be. I've got nothing." Logan said, head shaking. "And if JJ hasn't found her yet, that means she doesn't want to be found."

"At least not right now." Kie spoke up from the steps.

Sarah exhaled, unable to do anything else. "Guys, what do we do? What do we do?"

Hearing the desperation in her voice, Logan's jaw locked. "I should've stopped her. I should've stopped her and I didn't. Okay? I didn't."

The silence that followed was brutal.

John B's eyes were glued to a divot in the wood, unfocused as he spoke. "He's gonna find her. JJ's not gonna come back unless it's with her."

"Then let's go help him." Sarah decided, head nodding. "I know you and Logan already went out, but I'm done sitting here. I'm not just gonna wait here and hope she doesn't crash out, disappear, or do something she can't come back from. Okay?"

Pope was the first to stand. Her words had hit too close to home. "She's right. Us sitting here does nothing. Kori needs us and we're gonna show up."

Cleo pressed off the railing, coming to his side. "Let's go find our girl."

Kiara stood, turning to face the group. The worry on her face was evident. She'd seen Kori storm off and she'd done nothing to stop her— same as Logan. And as her best friend, she felt like she'd failed her. "She's out there with no one, thinking that she has to do this on her own."

"Then we prove her wrong." John B declared, gaze shifting from Sarah to Logan to Pope and Cleo. "We find her. All of us. Before she convinces herself that she doesn't need to be found."

Sarah's heart thudded within her chest, but it wasn't just frantic anymore. There was purpose behind it, calming her just enough. "Okay. Let's go find her."