The Deep End » Outer Banks [JJ Maybank] BOOK ONE

II: Sunken

sunken
adjective. having sunk or been submerged in water.

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The morning after Hurricane Agatha, Lee didn't wake up to sunshine pouring through her window, as she'd hoped. It had been two long nights in a row—one filled with blue eyes and blonde hair and the other with howling wind and heavy rain. She wanted to sleep for as long as the world would let her. Instead, she woke up to the sound of someone knocking frantically on the front door at an absolutely ungodly hour. Well, it would be ungodly, except that Lee's alarm clock was blinking 12:00 in bright red to let her know that the power was out.

"Lee!" her mother shouted from downstairs. "Can you get that?"

Lee groaned, crawling out of bed and pulling on a pair of jean shorts. Great, she thought, glancing out at the branches strewn across her backyard. More yard work. Lee stumbled downstairs and threw open the front door to reveal John B and JJ, each of them sporting a shit-eating grin.

She stared at them for a moment before going to close the door, saying a quick, "No."

JJ stuck his foot in front of the door, forcing it to stay open. "Aw, c'mon, Lee, you know you love us!"

Lee shot him a look that screamed, do I?

"Lee, the crabs are gonna be all over the marsh today," John B said, walking into her house.

"I didn't invite you in!" she protested, but the boys ignored her.

Her mom walked up as she was trying to push her friends back outside. "John B! It's good to see you, honey, it's been too long!" her mom said, pulling John B in for a hug. She looked tiny next to John B, only pale skin and fragile bones next to his tanned muscle and bright brown eyes. "And JJ, has it been a full day since I last saw you?"

"I don't think so, Mrs. Carter," JJ responded, sticking his tongue out at Lee as her mother hugged him.

"Well," Lee's mom continued, ignoring Lee as she made slicing motions across her throat at the two boys, "I'll let you three go back to whatever you were doing! Lee, just let me know if you'll be home for dinner. Oh, and you boys are welcome to join us!"

Lee and the boys made faces at each other as her mother walked into the kitchen, humming as she went. Lee tried to keep from yelling at them about waking her up and then intruding in her home. She swatted at John B's hand as he patted her head mockingly.

"If I was four inches taller, John B, your ass would be grass," she threatened once her mom was out of hearing range.

"Okay, crabby," JJ said, putting his hands up in surrender. "We're going, whether you like it or not."

"I'm not even ready yet," Lee mumbled in complaint, rubbing her eyes in a show of sleepiness. "I just woke up."

John B raised an eyebrow in confusion. "We're just going crabbing. You just have to put on a swimsuit and you're good to go."

Lee shook her head. "No, no, no. I need to do my morning skincare routine, and fix my hair, and find an outfit—"

"Doesn't sound too hard!" JJ said, cutting her off.

"Yeah, we'll help!" John B quickly agreed.

Lee protested as the boys picked her up, each lifting her from one side and dragging her upstairs as she shouted at them. "Guys, I have so much work to do to clean up the mess Agatha left in the yard! I can't go crabbing!"

"And we'll help you with that, too," JJ promised, sending her a sly grin.

"You better," Lee mumbled as they set her down inside of her room.