sour | outer banks

c h a p t e r / t w o

kiara carrera 🥥🌞  •  7:30 AM
drinking coffee as we speak
hardly awake rn but we got this!!!
i hope bri isn't still asleep LMAP

me  •  7:31 AM
here i am!!!!!! good morninf :D
still trying to prepare myself for today 😅

sarah cameron <3  •  7:33 AM
it'll all be good babe i promise

me  • 7:33 AM
i hope so

kiara carrera 🥥🌞  •  7:34 AM
amd plus we'll prob have some classes and def lunch tgt

sarah cameron <3  •  7:34 AM
TRUE!!!!!

me  •  7:35 AM
speaking of lunch
breakfast! i'm hungry af
gonna go eat something then meet y'all at school :D

kiara carrera 🥥🌞  •  7:35 AM
eat something yummy!!! love you so much

sarah cameron <3  •  7:36 AM
C U SOON LUVVVV U 💘💘💘💘💘

Once the conversation ends, I swipe out and seem to lose control of my own hand as I scroll down to my message with J, tempted to text him and ask if he's okay after last night. I can't get him off my mind, and I feel like I just need some sort of sign that he's safe. No, I can't. That would just be too awkward.

But then again, what if he's not okay? And no one has checked on him? And what if he's at Luke's?

I'm eventually able to psych myself out of even clicking on our message, cause I know I'll see the last text I sent him last month and my heart might just break all over again. I force myself to put my phone back down, and take a seat on my bedroom floor in front of my full length mirror, replicating last night's look by tying a few small braids in my hair. I also put on some mascara and blush to match my shirt, as well as my favorite peppermint chapstick.

Just before I head out of my room, I realize that I fell asleep last night with all of my jewelry on, so I quickly fix my crooked necklaces and rings, including the thick metal band that JJ left here that I now wear on my thumb, which is where he would wear it. It's my favorite one of his, which means it might have been one of his favorites too, so I'd rather keep it on me at all times rather than letting it sit in my room collecting dust.

I give myself one quick glance in the mirror before giving Fia a kiss on her head and telling her that I'll be back later, and grabbing my things from the place that I set them out last night. I fit my schedule, phone, and keys in my hands with my backpack hanging off one shoulder and head down the hall to meet dad for breakfast.

I greet him with a groggy 'mornin'' and a tired smile, and let my backpack slip off of my shoulder onto the floor next to my seat at the kitchen island. I put the rest of my things on the counter next to me as dad returns my greeting in a much happier tone and slides me a bowl of my favorite cereal across the counter.

"Mornin', kid!" He says to me with a big grin as I wrap my hands around the bowl and let out another yawn. I dunno how it's even possible to be such a morning person like dad. This whole waking up at 7 AM routine is so totally not my thing. "How was your night last night?"

I hesitate a moment before responding and play it off by eating an extra spoonful of cereal just as dad asks his question. "It was good!" I tell him simply, nodding my head to make my words seem more believable. Dad still has no idea about what happened last night but I'm just not ready to give him the details yet. I've hardly come to terms with it myself, so I'm sure as hell not ready to talk about it with someone else who didn't even see it happen.