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

XXIV: Flare

flare
noun. a curvature of the topsides outward towards the gunwale; a pyrotechnic signaling device, usually used to indicate distress.

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Call her impulsive, call her reckless, call her anything you wanted, but Lee Carter refused to live like a fugitive. When Pope had suggested that they hide in an abandoned carport at the edge of the Cut, Lee had reluctantly gone along with his plan. She knew that John B was being accused of murdering Sheriff Peterkin and that she was said to have aided and abetted him. She also knew, however, that her mother was probably worried sick about her daughter—and stress did not mix well with chemotherapy.

Despite knowing that it was in her best interest to lay low with her friends and pray to God that Sarah Cameron would tell the police the truth, Lee knew that she had to do something. So, that night when her friends were fast asleep in Kiara's car, Lee quietly slipped outside to go off on her own. She wanted to head directly to John B's house and retrieve her bike, but she knew that it—as well as the rest of the Cut—was likely swarming with cops. Unfortunately, her bike at John B's place would probably act as evidence against her in court. As if her father's gun wasn't enough.

"Lee," John B whispered hoarsely from inside of the car as she slipped out.

Lee whipped around, her eyes wide as they met John B's. "John B," she said slowly.

"Where are you going?" he asked, leaning forward to see her standing outside of the car.

Lee bit her lip. "I have to go home," she explained. "For my mom."

John B shook his head and opened his mouth to protest, but Lee put up a hand to signal him to keep quiet. "What if you get caught?" he asked.

Shrugging, Lee smiled softly. "Then I get caught and I tell the truth."

John B stared at Lee for a moment, considering her words. "This is a stupid plan," he finally said.

Lee nodded. "Very."

"Be careful," John B said, reaching out to Lee.

She wrapped her arms around him in a short embrace. "I will."

Then, she turned and ran through the forests of the Cut, careful each time that she approached the tree line to check street signs and make sure she was going the correct direction. When she was little, she and the Cameron kids had frequently played cops and robbers. Lee had almost always been a robber—Sarah refused to not play the cop and had always convinced Rafe to be on her team. While Lee had disliked playing the robber as a kid, the keen ability to hide from wandering eyes that it had given her was now much appreciated. Every time sirens slowly approached or flashlights beamed through the woods, Lee was quick to drop to the ground behind a tree, entirely noiseless.

Approaching her house, Lee could see several police cars on the street and knew that there were probably cops waiting for her at every entrance to the house. Hopefully, her mother wouldn't have let them inside or Lee was going to have an exciting ambush waiting for her if she ever made it into the house. Although she hadn't climbed a tree in years, Lee knew that the tree with branches hanging over her roof was probably her only option.

Just outside of the sightline of the cop in her backyard, Lee carefully began to climb up a tree, slightly away from the edge of the woods. It wasn't easy work and, in fact, Lee almost immediately regretted leaving her friends at all—but there was no turning back. She struggled up to the first layer of branches and heaved herself onto the sturdiest of them, breathing heavily. Looking to the right, she eyed the next tree over—the one that would lead her directly onto her roof. Kneeling slowly, Lee wrapped herself around the branch and began to inch towards the other tree. She felt like Curious George, but she couldn't remember the last time that George had been a fugitive framed for murder.