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Bronwyn's POV
The sun was starting to set and the dark yellow light was shining through the car window, heating up the small part of my forehead that was touching the glass. My eyes were adjusting to the harsh light coming through when Declan reaches up to pull down the visor. I sit up and do the same thing, then sitting abruptly back into my seat with a grunt I did not intend to have.
"Good morning sunshine," Declan jokes, turning down whatever he was listening to on the radio. I pull my sunglasses on, still annoyed with how much the sun was burning my corneas, and chuckle slightly.
"How long was I out?"
"Well I kinda lost track between Indiana and Tennessee." He jokes rolling down the driver window, as a large gust of wind blows in and throws my hair into many directions. "Sorry it was getting a little stuffy in here."
I nod, rolling down my window to balance out the amount of wind going in and out of the car. "So how long do you think till we get there?"
"About two hours, you slept for a long time Roni," He replies looking over at me smiling. I roll my eyes and stare out the window.
"Do you think you're gonna miss living in Michigan?" I ask removing my eyes from the scenery to look at Delcan. He keeps his gaze on the road but I knew he was listening.
"Of course I will, but not as much as I missed living in Outer Banks," he replies shifting his grip on the steering wheel. "What about you? Are you excited to actually be going back?"
It takes me a minute to respond. "At first I thought it was the worst thing in the world. I mean we just moved away two years ago, I was starting to get over the friendships I had in OBX. But now we're going back so it's like reopening a wound I didn't know I had." I twist the ring on my right ring finger, something I do every time I get nervous or fidgety.
"Do you still feel that way? Like you'd rather live back in Michigan then go back to where we grew up. Where all of our closest friends live?"
"Not anymore. I mean the only thing I think I'll miss is Laila. It took me a while to realize that we all belong in Outer Banks." I see Declan nod his head out of the corner of my eye, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
I turn on the bluetooth function in Dec's car and connect my phone to the stereo, opening up the Spotify app and scrolling through the many playlists I have.
"Please please please no Harry Styles or the Jonas Brothers or anything like that." Declan pleads and I chuckle. I shuffle my 'summer nights' playlist and the first song that comes on is Santeria by Sublime. "That's more like it."
Declan and I start to scream out the words, throwing our arms up and dancing along to the songs that follow, having the time of our lives.
//
The two hours to OBX pass and as we get closer I feel my pulse start to pick up, my heart beating a mile a minute. The thought of seeing my old friends blooms butterflies in my stomach.
My family moved to Michigan two years ago when my dad was called in for an assignment for his job. He is a behavioral analyst who helps solve some high-risk cases, the most important being the one that forced us to move over nine hundred miles away from the one place we had ever known. For the most part, he was able to travel to the newest case and then come back a few weeks later... that particular one took much longer. He was very vague in the explanation he gave as to why we were coming back to Outer Banks, but he seemed very tense so I decided to stay off his back.
My mother decided it would be best to rent out our home instead of completely selling it, that way we could use it as a vacation home if we got the chance.
We didn't.
But now we're back, in our childhood home, like we had never left. Declan drove slowly through town, and we both took in the familiar sight. The windows were down and the sun was starting to set over the water, creating a canvas of watercolor as we approached our home. I took a deep breath as Dec shut off the car and laid back in his seat.
"Well, we're here." He says. "Does it seem weird to you?"
"Does what seem weird?" I ask unbuckling and looking over at him.
"That we're actually back. It honestly seemed like this was just a joke, I mean I didn't think we would be moving back here anytime soon. There are a lot more job opportunities for both mom and dad back in Michigan so I thought this whole thing wasn't gonna happen," he laughs and makes a clicking noise with his mouth.
"C'mon, let's go unpack," I say opening up my door and stepping outside for the first time in hours. The breeze coming off the water brings a refreshing mist with it, making my face damp ever so slightly.
My parents had gotten there a few minutes before us since we had gotten stuck behind two traffic lights that they miraculously missed. They had already brought several boxes inside when I walk in with the one I'm carrying. We had left all of our furniture in the house for the renters, but our rooms were adjusted to fit more of a wide range of potential customers. So our bedroom essentials were the only boxes we had to unpack, except for some of the kitchen stuff my mom could not live without. The rest was sold with the house back in MI.
They both greeted us as we passed one another with boxes in our hands. Our house was one of the smaller, but wealthier parts of Outer Banks. Our rooms were on the upper level though, which made my legs burn after four trips up and down them with heavier loads of clothes or decor.
Everything was out of the moving van by 8:30, and we all went our separate ways to start actually unpacking. I placed my clean sheets and comforter onto the bed and slipped on the pillow covers. I looked around my childhood room as it slowly started to look more like mine, although it could use a new coat of paint.
I hear Declan knocking some stuff around in his room and I pull my lips up into a small grin, remembering all the memories we had late at night with rooms across the hall from each other. All the mischief we would get into.
//
I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until I woke up and checked my phone that read 2:36am. I groan and roll onto my back, now fully awake. For about twenty minutes I try to go back so sleep, ultimately giving up and sitting up in my bed.
A walk sounded very nice at that point, so I slip on a pair of shoes and throw a sweatshirt over my head. I climb out my window and climb down the makeshift of a ladder I had made as a youngster when I wanted to sneak out and see my friends. It was a wonder how it's stayed together after all these years.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness with every step and something about everyone being asleep made me feel peaceful. I heard the calming sound of the water and for a moment I close my eyes while I walk.
When I open them I notice a dark figure approaching from a far distance away, but seeming to be in a hurry. My heart rate picks up a little, curious as to who else is up and about at this time. I slow my pace a little as their's seems to pick up. After a few moments they're extremely close to me, but it takes a second for me to recognize who it is in the darkness.
