Sea You Soon // An Outer Banks Fanfiction

37- Open Up

The days following my dream felt like a haze. I woke up, got dressed for work, worked an extra-long shift, came home, and went to sleep. If I was lucky, I would remember to choke down some food in between everything. I barely saw anyone during the day, and I was starting to wonder if anyone even cared about me. 

Almost a week after mine and JJ's fight, I talked to John B for the first time. I was laying on my back, staring up at the ceiling, trying to decompress after my long shift. My brother tapped lightly on my already open door and timidly entered my room.

"Hey Pais, I just wanted to see what's up. You haven't been yourself and it's weird and a little bit scary."

I scoffed and sat up, looking John B in the eyes. "You think?" I responded, chuckling humorlessly. 

John B suddenly became defensive and said harshly, "What's your problem?" 

My eyes began to well up with tears as I choked out, "The most important person in my life won't talk to me right now."

My brother looked confused for a second before a look of realization overtook his features. "I told you-" he started.

I cut him off and muttered, "I don't need to hear it. Besides, it's not really his fault. I was the one who fucked up. I should've known JJ is insecure and takes things the wrong way sometimes."

"What happened?" John B asked, a look of genuine concern on his face. 

"I don't want to talk about it. Can you please just leave me alone?" I pleaded. 

Without another word, John B left the room, closing the door behind him a little too hard. 

Without realizing it, I had drifted off to sleep. I woke up an ungodly number of hours later to a loud commotion coming from the living room. I groggily raised my head from my pillow to see that it was now dark outside. 

I slowly got out of my bed and opened the bedroom door. I saw my brother along with all of our friends standing around a figure I wasn't yet able to identify. The sound of the door closing behind me caused everyone to go silent and turn their heads. JJ shot me daggers that could've killed. 

"Uncle T?" I questioned, instantly recognizing the person standing in the middle of the living room. His face broke into a wide smile as he crossed the room to wrap me in a tight embrace. 

"What are you doing back here?" I asked, confused.

"Well, I'm getting ready to move to Mississippi for good and I thought I would come back and see you guys for a bit, besides, I have a few things I need to take with me," my uncle responded, acting as though we hadn't seen him in over a year and this was perfectly normal. 

"It's so good to see you," I responded, not knowing what else to say.

The night was filled with laughter, and for a while, I actually forgot about what had happened between JJ and me. I almost felt happy, until I accidentally made eye contact with him as he quickly looked away.

I felt a quick sear of pain go through me before I could even identify what was hurting. I just felt bad...everywhere. I knew that this was something that I needed to fix, but I had no idea how to go about it.

I brushed off my feelings, determined not to let JJ ruin my night. 

Uncle T stuck around for a few more days before deciding that it was time for him to go back to Mississippi. Although it was fun to have him around, I forgot how nice it was to not constantly have an adult around.  I liked our life the way it was, and I felt like we did an okay job of taking care of ourselves.

The following morning, Uncle T was packing the last of his things, getting ready to leave in the afternoon. Everyone was out somewhere, but I was sitting on the living room couch, reading a book. I felt like I couldn't hang out with the Pogues as long as JJ was there. I know that it wasn't really true, but JJ always looked at me with so much contempt that I felt like I was unwelcome. I decided it was better if I just wasn't around. He clearly needed his space. 

I was sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking a glass of water when I heard a sharp knock on the front door.

My uncle was sitting on the couch, watching TV and I gave him a confused look. I got up from where I was sitting and timidly went to open the door. When I pulled the door open, I saw two men and a woman standing there that I had never seen before. 

They told me their names and that they were working for the DCS and before I knew it, they were coming into the house. I was pushed to the side, confused. 

Uncle T got up from where he was sitting and started questioning the people who had just walked in. "What the hell is all of this about?' he asked in an authoritative voice. 

The officers quickly began explaining that they had caught wind of two underage teenagers living alone in this house with no adult supervision.

Without missing a beat, my uncle's face turned into a look of false confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he stated convincingly. 

"We heard word from some people around town that Paisley and John Routledge were living here by themselves," the officers explainer further. 

"I have been living here with the two of them since their father went missing over a year ago," my uncle replied matter-of-factly. 

The officers looked confused, but there was nothing that really suggested that my uncle was lying. Before the officers left, Uncle T asked them what he needed to do in order to legally emancipate my brother and me. The people working for the DCS gave my uncle the paperwork and told him where to drop it off. 

As soon as Uncle T and I were the only people left in the house, I turned to him with a relieved look on my face and said, "I can't believe they came when you were here." 

"I guess we just got really lucky," he responded.

Later that afternoon, after Uncle T left, John B and the rest of the Pogues came back from wherever they had been.

In that moment, I knew exactly what I had to do. I quickly approached JJ and asked him if we could talk. He barely looked at me before shaking his head. "Paisley, there's nothing to talk about."

I nodded quickly and tried to blink back my tears. I stumbled toward the front door and grabbed the keys to the Pogue that were sitting on a small table to the left of the door. 

"Where the hell are you going?" John B asked, lightly grabbing my right arm. 

"Out," I responded with a tone of finality.

As I walked out the door and closed it behind me, I could hear my brother yell, "If you ruin my boat..."