riptide- outer banks

111 | all i have

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They just sat there in the dark for a few moments. It almost seemed to calm the ever churning waters, but that's just it. The ocean never sits still long; it isn't natural for it to. The waves come, soft first. Then angry. Full of power and depth. Unforgiving.

That's just how life was for Kori– one big, stupid riptide.

"So is this the part where you tell me you're fine...?"

Both girls immediately sat up, heads turning to the left as JJ came around the corner.

"You look like shit." He said, gaze dropping down to the hat in his hands.

"So do you." Kori retorted, taking in his rugged appearance. He looked tired and worn, face still carrying the weight of the truth, the search, and everything else that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

"Pope called me." JJ confessed, head nodding at the ground. "Told me where you've been."

Kori said nothing as Kiara stood, gaze shifting from either blonde. "I'm gonna let you two talk."

JJ waited until she shut the door to continue, blue eyes full of hurt when he lifted his head up again. "I really don't wanna do this whole stupid thing where we pretend like we're fine when we're not. So please...just tell me what's going on."

Kori couldn't look at him. She just couldn't. "I told you yesterday. I'm fine, JJ. Nothing's changed."

He closed his eyes. "So we are gonna do the whole stupid thing? 'Kay."

"No, we're not doing anything." Kori responded, finally standing. "Can we just drop it? Please."

JJ shook his head at her. "No. We can't." He paused, scoff falling from his lips. "Kori, you literally went to see Carrie! Like, what the frick? You're not fine. So stop giving me that bullshit. I'm so, so sick of it!"

Kori exhaled, head beginning to shake. "Jayj, why are you pushing this so hard?"

Seeing the tears form in her eyes made his heart sink. "Because I'm your big brother. I know you. That means I can always tell when you're not okay. And you're not okay, Kor. At all. So please...just tell me what's going on inside your head." He paused, voice barely audible when it came out. "I need to know."

Silence followed his plea, but not for very long.

"I'm not okay." She whispered, gaze potently flickering back up to him. "Neither are you. And now it's clear to me whose fault that is." Kori regained her composure, tone much more abject than before. "Whenever anyone hears the name Maybank, I know there's always one thing that crosses their mind– is it gonna be me...or is it gonna be you? Out of the two of us, which one will end up like Luke?"

JJ took a step forward. "Kori–"

"No, I'm not done." She chided, head tilting down. "You wanted this, JJ." Letting out a short breath, she continued. "Whether you wanna admit it or not, you know it's true. Shoupe's questioned it. We've questioned it." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's been happening our entire lives. It's just the reality we live in. Which one of us will end up just like him?"

"Neither of us." JJ rebuked.

"The reality is pretty obvious, isn't it?"

"No, it's not. It's not."

Kori shook her head, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to stop her emotions from coming up. Not this time. "Carrie isn't your mom. She's mine, but she abandoned us both. She wasn't there for us. Detached since day one– let's face it. If she cared, she would've been there. But she wasn't because she gave up. She walked out long before she got pushed over the edge and dipped. My mom did that." She paused for half of a breath. "And then there's Luke, who apparently isn't your dad either. He's mine and he turned to the bottle to cope the second life got hard. But even that wasn't enough–much like us–so he turned to abuse. He yelled. He hit. He scarred. And for some stupid reason, I feel like he took it out on you more than he did on me. Oh, but then he couldn't hack the system either and dipped just like Carrie. My dad, my blood did that."