Faded Heart

I. Paradise on Earth

When I was younger I thought living at the beach was the best thing that happened to me. The Outer Banks wasn't the best thing that happened to me, but living here was interesting in its own nature. I grew up surrounded by breathtaking sites and countless memories. It wasn't paradise like the tourons made it out to be, but it was home. What more could someone ask for?

    The sand in the distance was encased by the water, and through the dark shade of my sunglasses, I could see the view of the heat waves radiating in the horizon. It was summer in the Outer Banks, meaning the beaches were filled with tourists working on their unacceptable pale-ish tint. During my short seventeen years, I had seen enough sunburnt people to fill a lifetime. 

    My thirteen-year-old sister, Elise stood next to me as we made our way down the sidewalk. The homes surrounding us were quite large and that was being modest. The houses on this side of the Outer Banks were bigger than any normal suburban residence on the mainland. Not that I was complaining, my family's house fit right in with the rest of what was known as Figure Eight.

    The Outer Banks was divided into two parts, Figure Eight and the Cut. Figure Eight was home to the Kooks, the families that had more money than they knew what to do with. This is where my family called home.. On the other side of the island were the people that lived in the Cut, where the working class, who barely made it by week to week. They were known as the Pogues.

Despite living on the Kook side of the island her entire life, I always found my sister's light eyes marveling at the neighborhood houses. I on the other hand was used to it at this point. "Em, do you think that I am going to live in a house like this when I'm older?" She said, her small hand practically squeezing the blood flow out of mine.

    "Of course, you will." I responded, assuring my sister that our family's wealth was not just a temporary thing, like she seemed to think. We'd been rich since the founding days of the Outer Banks, I was pretty sure we'd stay that way for a long time. Unlike the people on the cut side of the island, we never had to worry about our future.

    Even though my sister was still young, I could tell we were going to be complete opposites of each other in every way. I stood tall, at 5'10, with long legs and a tiny waist. In contrast, my sister was of smaller stature and still holding on to some of her baby fat. Also, while I sported dark hair and dark eyes, my sister contrasted with light hair and light eyes. I always wondered how she looked so different from both my parents, who sported the same dark hair and eyes that I did.

    We made our way to the front door of the Cameron house. The Cameron's were one of the many rich families that called the Outer Banks home. It was around the time that the family would be expecting Elise for her daily play date with her best friend, Wheezie Cameron. Each day I longed for the time I dropped her off at the door, so I could do whatever I wanted with the rest of my day. I could tell she was getting anxious to go to the beach with the youngest Cameron.

    We were greeted at the door by Sarah Cameron, her brown eyes meeting mine. Sarah was the eldest Cameron daughter, a few months younger than me. Sarah and I were never friends, in fact, I always tried to stay away from her and her friends. Although I was a Kook like her, I never fit in with her crowd. She sported itty-bitty jean shorts and a strapless tube top, like almost every other girl in the Outer Banks right now.

    "Hi, Elise." She said opening the door to leave room for my sister to come in. Her small frame leaned against the glass door, which screamed that her family was rich. "Wheezie is out back."

    As soon as Elise was out of sight, Sarah's attention turned towards me. "How's your summer going, Emerson?" She asks, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I was instantly skeptical of the blonde being nice to me. Even if she wasn't being genuine, she had a way of making it sound like it a thousand times over.