𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

one hundred thirty one.

─☼☼☼─

IN HER TWENTY one years, Charlotte Carrera had never had a night so painful, so hopeless.

She didn't sleep, not a single wink. She'd been glued to the upper deck, eyes scouring the still rolling ocean for any sign of her two friends. Kiara and John B had been next to her the whole time, their eyes doing the same thing as they looked for the loves of their lives. Charlotte may have lost two of her best friends, but Kiara and John B had lost their soulmates.

Speaking of, Charlotte had felt Rafe's eyes on her all night. He'd sat on the deck, watching her carefully. As much as he tried to hide it, Charlotte could see hints of sorrow washing across his features every now and then. He'd lost his sister, the last remaining family he had on the continent. Rafe and Sarah had their demons, darker than most families, but at the end of the day, they were still that...family.

By the time the sun had begun to rise high in the sky, their ship had banked on land. They would never board that ship again, Charlotte knew. It would never get them home. Too much damage had been done.

Coughs sputtered from the group of them as they hauled themselves to shore. They were water logged, exhausted, and heartbroken.

John B had veered off down the shoreline, looking desperately for any sign of Sarah and JJ. The rest of them awaited his return, not a single word being spoken between them. What was there to say?

Charlotte lowered herself down on the sand next to her sister, wanting to be there for her in any way she could. She knew nothing she could say would reach Kiara in that moment, so she didn't speak. Despite the silence, Kiara's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly in the presence of her older sister.

"Hey," John B panted, appearing on top of one of the sandbanks near where the group of them sat. "I looked everywhere...I couldn't find them," he admitted, voice wobbling. "I couldn't find them."

Kiara sucked in a sharp breath, her face tightening in defeat. She bit down on her lip, turning to Charlotte. The older of the two stared back at her younger sister, she too at a loss. Neither of them said anything, but both of their faces crumpled in the same way, giving in to the sadness, but not letting go of the hope.

─☼☼☼─

Night fell upon them again. A full day of searching with no results.

The six of them sat in the same dunes they'd washed up on, too afraid to move anywhere in the hope that their friends were still out there.

A fire cracked between them, heating up the cooling night. A makeshift shelter sat behind them, their reprieve from the blowing sand.

Charlotte sat next to Rafe, needing his comfort after spending the day comforting her sister. She didn't reach out to him, nor did he to her, but just being close was enough to calm her heart, if even slightly.

"Maybe they washed up further down the beach," John B proposed, hope quivering in his voice. "We should keep looking."

Kiara's eyes were rimmed with red as she spoke. "We'll look at first light. We're no use to anyone in the dark."

Again, they prepared for another heart wrenching night ahead.

─☼☼☼─