Anchor // JJ Maybank

1.

This was going to be the best summer yet. A summer of freedom and fun with her friends.  

At least that's what Cassidy told herself. 

A sharp ding from her phone woke her up with a start. Not that she was actually sleeping, just that she was too lazy to get up anytime soon. The text was from one of her best friends JJ telling her to meet him outside her house in 15 minutes. JJ was one of the first people that she met after moving to the Outerbanks three years ago with her mother. He never pushed her too hard on her past and quickly introduced the girl to the rest of the group. Even though she had known them for a shorter period of time, she was as much of their family as any one of them. 

She quickly pulled on a pair of ripped mom shorts and a light blue tank top and ran downstairs to do the daily cleanup. Every morning, Cassie went to work on picking up the empty bottles of wine and whatever else was on the menu during her mother's late-night antics.  This morning's pickup was especially difficult because red wine was spilled all over the white carpet in their living room. Luckily Cassidy picked up many tricks for getting the substance out of things during her time in the Outerbanks. It took a long time of scrubbing to get the wine out, but eventually, the stain came out and she could move on to the rest After the house looked presentable, she set out to do the hard task of getting her mother into her bed. Cassidy shuffled into their small kitchen and found her mother, Aria, asleep on the floor with a glass of wine still in her hand. Cassie let out a deep sigh, bent down, and attempted as best as she could to drag her mother into her bedroom which luckily for her, was on the first floor. 

Only JJ knew about the situation with her mom. He came over one night when he wasn't supposed to and Aria opened the door before Cassidy could get to it. Cassidy thought she would have to explain herself to the boy, but he already understood. That was one of the many things Cassidy loved about their friendship, that she didn't need to explain herself. No matter what, he would understand or at least try to and be by her side. After learning about Cassie's home life, JJ opened up to her about some of the problems with his father and the pair had been practically inseparable since. When she needed to get away from home, she would stay with him and vise versa. And when things got bad for the both of them, they always had the chateau as a place they could go thanks to the hospitality of John B.

"I love you mom," the girl whispered while stroking the unconscious woman's hair gently. Her mother wasn't always like this. But by now it had become the new normal and all she could do was help out the best she could.

Knocking at her door pulled her away from her mother and she opened it to reveal JJ with his signature smirk. She chuckled a quick hello to the boy and stepped onto the porch to join him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John B's van parked out front and raised an eyebrow curiously at the blond boy in front of her.

"And what trouble are we getting into today?" she asked, grinning at the boy and nudging him slightly. She could see the outline of John B through the window and he beeped impatiently, signaling for the two friends to get into the car.

"Ah well, that is for me to know and for you to find out Cass," he replied cheekily as he sauntered over to the van. He held the door open and waited from the brunette to get in the van before jumping in himself. "Let's have some fun"

........

It turns out that JJ's idea of fun was trespassing onto an old turtle sanctuary turned kook residence. 

The wind brushing through Cassie's hair and the sound of the sea was enough to put her at ease. Before she had moved to the Outerbanks, she had been afraid of the sea and the creatures that it held. Little did she know, the most dangerous creatures were already surrounding her. She gently rested her head on JJ's shoulder and peered up at John B with curiosity. He was balancing perilously on the edge of the roof, and by the looks of it, he wasn't super stable.