riptide- outer banks

121 | stranded

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Drowning seemed like a more viable option.

Crashing into a telephone pole would've been less enervating.

Literally having anything else happen would've been better than what was happening right now.

Because what was happening right now was too much, altogether too much for her to handle at this particular moment. Kori wanted to combust. Her head was killing her, a dull ache radiating from just behind her eyes. She was sitting in the sand, gaze far from where it was fixated as the entire world fell apart in her hands. Her arms were draped over her legs, the sound of yelling continuing to fill her eardrums. Yelling that she couldn't help but flinch at and hate entirely.

"You realize we're all in danger now?" John B shook his head at his best friend. "All of us. All of us are screwed."

"Can this wait?" Kiara asked from a few feet down. "We're trying to figure out how to get out of here."

JJ's jaw locked. "I didn't ask any of you guys to come help me, all right? I didn't want any of you to come follow me!"

Kori's head snapped up, eyes finding her brother. He couldn't be serious.

"Follow you?" John B boomed.

"Yeah, follow me!"

"You think we had any other choice, JJ?" He wavered, hand flying out. "What about Pope, huh? He just threw away his whole life for you!"

Turning to him, JJ yelled loudly. "Pope, I don't know why you did what you did, man, okay?! I didn't ask you to do that!" He swiveled back to John B. "I didn't ask you to involve yourself, John B."

There was a pause.

"But no. It's my fault. It's always my fault."

"Please stop." Kori stammered out, hands trembling by her head.

"Yeah, it is your fault. It is your fault." John B shot back. "Just like the Enduro was your fault!"

"Okay, then go!" JJ bellowed. "I'll take the hit and I'll gladly do it. Because my life is already over in the first place."

"Guys!" Kori shouted, flying to her feet. "Just shut up! Shut up!"

John B turned back to her, immediately taking note of her exhausted composure and strained breathing. But JJ didn't look at her. His gaze was down, focus somewhere on the sand. Not on her when she spoke again, head shaking.

"Can we not do this right now? Please." She pleaded, taking a shaky breath in. "We're screwed, okay. So what? JJ's right. If anyone doesn't want to be here right now–" Her gaze wandered over the scattered group. "You don't have to be. Leave if you want to. But I won't."

She brought her hands up, covering her face with a loud exhale.

"And this shit happening? It's not JJ's fault." Kori bitterly shrugged her shoulders. "It's mine. It's Luke's. It's Groff's. So can we all just chill the hell out? Please."

Then she was falling back down to the sand, arms draped over her legs once more.

Right as a siren echoed through the air, Shoupe's voice coming out next. "Hey!"

Logan turned to the water with a curse under his breath. The sheriff was in a zodiac, arriving at shore in less than a minute. He jumped out of his boat, wading through the water with a shake of his head.

"Well, you guys finally did it. Beached yourselves." He paused, eyes set on the one who seemed to be at the center of it all. "JJ, I got you!"

Before Shoupe could get even remotely close to him, Kori stepped between the two of them.