Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Prologue.

Dropping the three large bags to the floor by my feet with a thud, I turned to sit on the bed behind me with a heavy sigh. My mind was running at a hundred miles per hour and the crazy floral wallpaper surrounding me wasn't helping my headache. Scrunching my eyes closed, I flopped back on the bed before a small knock at the door grabbed my attention.

"Abby, dear. I've brought you a tea." The soft voice came from the older woman stood in the doorway.

"Thanks, Nana." I smiled weakly up at her, noticing the pained look in her eyes. These past two weeks were just as tough on her as they were on me, I'm sure.

"Is that everything?" She nodded down to the bags on the floor as she walked in, placing the hot mug on the table next to me.

"Just one more bag, then I'm done." I said, finding the strength within me to stand back up. The thought of walking through Nana's small creaky house would normally make me so happy. I didn't visit often, but it reminded me of being a kid and spending my summer days here when mom was busy working.

Outer Banks. My birth town and where I grew up for the first 7 years of my life. That was until my father died. My parents were born and raised here. Childhood sweethearts, meaning that every little detail of the place reminded her of him. She couldn't cope, which is why we moved away. Away from the town. Away from the ocean.

But three weeks ago, my life changed forever. I still see the silver Mercedes hurtling towards me every time I close my eyes. The piercing sound of metal crashing into metal embedded in my brain forever. But that wasn't even the worst part of it. The worst part was the silence that followed. Because that's how I knew.

Mom was dead.

I opened the trunk of my rusty old Volkswagen Beetle, proud that the old thing made it on such a long drive. Lifting out the last duffel bag, I looked out at the peaceful water. The stars from the night sky sparkled on the surface just like I remembered all those years ago, but they somehow seemed less magical to me now. Slamming the trunk closed again, I heard voices and laughter come from the house beside Nana's.

I looked over towards the noise, watching as a group of four kids walked out the door shielded in the shadows. The boy at the front caught my attention as he walked into the spotlight from the porch. His yellow shirt was barely buttoned up, hanging loose over his body. But it was the way he wore his red baseball cap back-to-front that made him look familiar to me.

"Little Johnnie B? Is that you?" I called, grabbing all of their attention. The dark haired boy looked over, squinting through the darkness at me. I took a few steps forward, a small smile creeping onto my lips as a confused look fell on his face. "What, I move away for 10 years and you just forget that I exist, huh?" I joked, trying to jog his memory.

It seemed to work, as I watched the confused expression slowly light up in recognition. "Scabby Abby Miller? No way?" He laughed out as he quickly walked towards me. His friends remained still behind him in the darkness, watching the odd reunion in silence.

"Ouch. All these years later and that nickname still hurts my feelings you know!" I laughed as he reached forward to pull me into a big bear hug, almost lifting me off the ground.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, letting go of me and looking down at the bag at my feet. "Are you..."

"Moving in with Nana." I finished the sentence for him. "Yup!" The wide smile remained on his face for a few seconds longer before it dropped suddenly.

"Shit. I heard about your mom. Sorry, I'm sorry, I just worked it out. Are you ok?" He panicked, putting two and two together.

My own smile faltered, although I tried to hold it a while longer so as not to make him uncomfortable. "I've been better."

A small cough came from the girl standing behind, reminding him that his friends were stood waiting. "Look, we're in a bit of a rush, but tomorrow, we're catching up proper ok?" He said as he started to step away.

"Rushing around at 11 o'clock on a Tuesday night. You've not changed one bit John B." I laughed, shaking my head in amusement and waving him off.

The group of friends started walking towards the van parked on the gravel when John B caught back up to them, and I couldn't help but chuckle softly when I heard their excited voices talking over each other with curious questions.

"Who was that?"

"She seems nice."

"Nice, Pope? Really? This is why you are always friend-zoned, man."

I walked back into Nana's house, spotting her in the kitchen as she wrapped an apron round her waist. She smiled up at me when she saw me closing the door. "I know it's late, but since it's your first night here I thought I would treat us to some chocolate chip pancakes."

"Sounds perfect, Nana. Let me just take this bag to my room and I'll be back out." I carried on down the small narrow hallway, entering my new bedroom, before quietly closing the door behind me. I set the bag down on the bed, unzipping it slowly and pushing the clothes off the top.

Carefully, I lifted out the white shoe box from the bottom of the bag, placing it on the bed and opening it up. The photograph of mom and I at the very top still managing to take my breath away even though I knew to expect it, but this time I was quick to place it to one side. Instead I picked out the blurry photograph of a silver Mercedes, focusing closely on the dark shadowed figure sitting behind the wheel. After a minute longer, I gently placed the photograph down on the bed before picking up the letter behind it, unfolding it slowly.

Dear Miss Miller,

Please find enclosed the screen grabs from our CCTV footage on June 2nd. We believe this is the car in question and have tracked the license plate for you. We can confirm the car is registered to the Outer Banks, NC, area and wish you every luck in your search.

⚓ ⚓⚓

A/N

Hi guys! This was just a short introduction into my story. Everyone please welcome Abby Miller to the Outer Banks world! My story is currently taking place a couple of weeks before the start of season one and will all tie in together nicely. Bring on hurricane Agatha 😊