After the Storm- JJ Maybank (Outer Banks)

23.

Arriving back at the Outer Banks was exactly what we all needed. We all forgot about all of our problems and smiled, laughed. For the first time in a long time, we all were home together. It felt so right. I leaned into the hot tub, passing a joint back to JJ. I blew the smoke into his face, causing him to sink back into the hot tub. John B and Sarah both gave me a laugh, crushing beer cans and chugging as much as they could. I had had a few beers and the few joints we'd shared with Kie.

Kie and Pope had wandered off, taking John B's boat out on the water. I could only imagine what was about to happen. They made a cute couple, really. Sarah and JB kept hooting and hollering. I was still sunk into the hot tub when I heard a car door slam shut.

"That was a car door." JB turned around to me, scurrying to put out the fire.

"You're just chicken, dude." JJ started making chicken noises, moving his arms up and down.

"Guys, no. Someone's coming." I lifted my limp body out of the hot tub, slipping into my shoes and drying my body off as quickly as I could.

I slipped back into my shirt, panicking.

"Who the hell would it be?" Sarah stood up from her seat, looking around.

"Let's not find out." JB put out the fire and began to climb up the tree.

"You're not serious."

"Do you have another plan?" He gave me a look, a look of panic.

I shook my head, feeling JJ's arm rub up against mine. I stepped up into the tree and began to climb. I waited until JB stopped and I moved to a branch behind him. JJ stood beside me, the opposite side of the branch I had been standing on. Sarah stood close to John B as we heard footsteps slowly approaching.

I leaned down to watch, trying to find out who was coming. I heard two voices talking. They sounded familiar to me as I saw two bodies come out from behind John B's house. A man walked into the house, screaming and throwing things around.

"They were obviously still here, based off the smoke man!" The anger in his voice identified him almost immediately.

I felt my face get red hot, almost as if vomit was coming up from my throat. I leaned into the branch, trying to look away. I felt a hand on my arm that was hugging the branch tightly. Rafe and his friend Barry were the ones trying to find John B, and based off of how angry they sounded, they wanted revenge. They weren't here to talk, they were here to kill.

"Shit!" Rafe's rage built up in his chest, causing him to curl down to the ground for a moment. He suddenly turned around, looking to the tree and firing a gun.

I ducked down, my ears ringing as a bullet flew by. He shot again, the bullet flying past JJ. He had bent down, his hand leaving my arm. I covered my mouth, trying to keep all the sounds (and liquids) in until they left. Tears began to well in my eyes. Rafe looked to the tree again, smiling.

"P4L." He laughed.

"Dude, we gotta go. Let's bounce. Let's bounce." Barry was trying to pull him away but he refused.

"Let's go!" Rafe snapped out of it and Barry pulled him out of the yard as they disappeared.

I looked down, seeing Sarah and John B breathing heavily as they looked up to us. I looked to JJ, watching him stand up. The bullet had went straight into the tree branch we were holding on to.

As soon as he looked over to me, I lifted my hand from my mouth and turned my head to let the vomit escape from my throat. It just kept coming for a few moments before I stood back up, wiping my mouth. I looked over to the others.

"Are you okay?" JJ whispered, maneuvering his way over to me.

"Am I okay? Don't worry about me not being able to handle my alcohol, Rafe almost just shot you."

"It missed."

"Not by a lot."

"He knows we're here. We gotta get out of town." John B turned to Sarah before looking back to me.

"We just got you back."

"We all are going, okay? No questions."

John B helped Sarah out of the tree. Kie, Sarah, and I had talked a bit alone before the boys grabbed us back in Charleston. Rafe had shot Sarah and almost killed her when they were away. Her and John B were married now too. It was kind of crazy. Pope had Kie, John B had Sarah, and JJ had me. We all were in this together.

JJ helped me down from the tree and I stood, leaning against the tree as he jumped down.

"Are you sure you're okay? I saw the way you looked when you noticed it was Rafe."

"I'm fine, JJ. I thought he was going to kill us."

"He's not going to hurt any of us. I promise, okay?"

I nodded as we headed towards the house. I watched as John B dug through the glass and broken pieces of housing across the floor. He looked devastated.

"Thank you for keeping this place looking sharp as ever, JJ."

"Trust me, it didn't look like this a few weeks ago." He scoffed, looking to me.

I had helped them clean it up shortly after I had gotten back because I knew John B would be at their throats if he had seen it in the condition it was when I came back.

"Well, we should be good until the morning hopefully. Gotta wait for the lovebirds to come back." John B looked to his room, smiling at his bed.

"You have a date or something?" I smiled at him, pointing to his bed.

"I haven't slept in a bed all summer. I'm sleeping like a baby tonight." He smiled, wrapping his arm around Sarah's waist.

"Me too." She responded.

"We'll meet them out on the dock tomorrow morning, okay? Get some rest."

"Sounds good, JB."

We all just sat there and smiled at each other for a moment before walking into our rooms.

"It's great to be back."