riptide- outer banks

113 | twist the knife

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The two Maybank siblings walked forward, light eyes pinned on the courthouse. Side by side, shoulder to shoulder, they walked like they owned the ground beneath their feet. Kori's expression was filled with defiance– chin high, green gaze set like steel on what lay ahead. JJ was a beat behind, but just as hell-bent. He had the same glint to his eyes as his sister– a cocktail of anger barely leashed, recklessness, and fortitude.

Two kids who'd been told their entire lives that they wouldn't make it. Two kids who'd lost everything and still seemed to come back swinging. The world had taken and taken and taken from them, but here they were. Not asking. Not begging.

Just showing up as if hell itself had no power to stop them.

And then they saw their favorite person.

Kori didn't flinch when she saw Mike, but she did stop. "Hey!" She called out.

Turning from his daughter, the man locked onto her grit-filled gaze. Something close to shock seeped into his face when he set eyes on her though. He hadn't seen the seventeen year old girl in a long time and now that he was just a few feet away from her, everything in him stilled. It was like he was eighteen years old and he was meeting Carrie all over again.

Because Kori looked just like her.

Mike's throat went dry as she tilted her head at him, a sweet smile slipping onto her face. Even just the tilt of her head was the same. It was almost like seeing a ghost– one that still seemed to haunt him from his past, reminding him of how he'd screwed up. Kori was too much her. And JJ by her side–just as stubborn, just as dangerous–was no better. A spitting image of the best friend he'd had all those years ago and lost.

Still smiling, Kori kept her eyes on him. "Nice to see you, Mike."

He inhaled. "Kori,"

"See you inside." She remarked, all the sweetness in her expression vanishing into nothing as her smile dropped, her gaze hardened, and she walked inside.

Mike shook his head, letting out a quiet scoff. More so of disbelief than of anything else. He still couldn't get over just how much she resembled her mother. He was stunned at how much she looked like someone he used to know all too well.

Kiara's brow knit together as she took in his expression. "What?"

"Nothing. I just–" He pushed out a breath as his head shook. "She's Carrie, alright."

Her face contorted the second the words had been spoken. "What did you just say?"

"She looks just like her. It's crazy. The way she walks, the way she glares– she's her mother's daughter, alright."

Kiara's face twisted with immediate irritation. "Kori is not her mom. She's my best friend and she's nothing like either of them. If you paid any attention at all, you would know that."

Mike bit his tongue. He knew better than to say anything until his daughter was finished.

"You can't see her past her last name because you don't try. If you looked at her without your stupid high school baggage, you would see that she's kind. She's loyal. And she would do anything for her friends. For me. So would JJ. You would know that if you actually cared."

At that, Mike shook his head. "I do care. I do, Kiara."

"Then why do you still look at them like they're their parents?" She asked, her words stinging. He knew she was right. "You only see them for where they come from. Guess what? Kori is my best friend, dad. My best friend. And JJ–" She let out a breath as her hand came up. "You know what he means to me. So please...try to see them for more than just their last name. For me."