sour | outer banks

c h a p t e r / f o u r

HIIIII BFFS

thank u for almost 4k reads on the story!!!!!! the fact that so many of you still love miss brielle and my books so much makes my heart so full and i'll forever be grateful for all of you <33

n e wayyy chapter four is here!! not sorry for the little cliffhanger at the end of last chapter hehe but i hope this makes up for it ;) HAPPY READING!

ENJOY -katie <3

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

b r i e l l e

"Brielle?"

The sound of JJ's voice causes me to stop immediately in my tracks and I turn my body slowly around to face him, my sneakers digging holes into the sand below me. Unsure of how to approach this situation, I stay silent for a moment longer before speaking, my heartbeat echoing in my ears. "Um- hi." I begin nervously, hoping he can hear me from where I stand a few feet away. "I was just going, don't worry, I- I didn't know you would be here."

"S'okay," JJ assures me in the gentlest of voices. If he spoke any differently I likely would have shattered, an unfamiliar fragility having swallowed me whole since everything happened with us last month. "Come sit. If you want."

Without taking a single second to weigh my options, I shuffle quietly back over to him and sit myself down next to him on the cold sand, an awkward amount of space left between us. I look over at him in the darkness, overwhelmed by the mere sight of the boy who I never thought would talk to me again, especially not after the kegger. "Hi." I say softly.

"Sup?"

"Nothing." My gaze redirects itself towards the gently crashing waves in front of us, knowing that my heart will overpower my brain and take control of my words if I look at the boy next to me any longer.

"What're you doin' out here this late?" Thinking about you, but I'll never tell you that. Except it's probably pretty obvious.

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Nowhere to sleep." Just when I thought my heart couldn't drop any further.

I stay quiet for a moment after hearing JJ's words, not really knowing what to say. I feel absolutely terrible wondering just how many nights it's been that he hasn't had anywhere to stay. I lost track of time after the first week we spent apart, and it's all blurred together since. One question burns through my mind though, and it takes a lot out of me to voice it. "You haven't been at your dad's, have you?"

I shut my eyes tight and keep them shut until he answers, knowing that no matter what his answer is, I'll unintentionally try to find a way to blame myself. "Yeah, I have. No big deal, though. Just sneak in through the back once he's clocked out." Goddammit. "Dad's been off his shit lately. Like, more than usual. House was a fucking mess this morning before school, so I haven't been back there all day. And I didn't really feel like going back tonight."

JJ's always felt comfortable talking to me about his dad. He opened up to me within the first week we had known each other, which is not something that I'll ever take for granted. Even though it's been a while since the two of us have had a civil conversation with each other and the current topic isn't ideal, it's comforting somehow to know that he's still able to confide in me like that.

"I'm sorry." I eventually say at a volume just above a whisper, unable to muster up a longer response at the moment. With the overabundance of feelings hitting me all at once right now, it seems as though my brain is running behind and just caught up to the fact that I'm really sitting on the beach with JJ. I begin to wonder if I'm actually even here right now or if this is just a dream of some sort, but the nerves in my body tell me that it's real, and I manage to feel a slight sense of calmness even in the midst of the upsetting circumstances.