𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒; outer banks

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

"He is such a baby," Renna laughed before turning back towards Ivelle, who was watching her son walk up the stairs sadly. "He'll be fine in an hour, mum. He just needs to let it sink in." She needed to let it sink in too.

Atticus was sitting on the armchair across from the twins, head laying on his arm as he watched them bicker back and forth. He took the time to admire their innocence, the naïve children oblivious to the harshness of the real world they would soon have to face. 

Whilst he was watching them, he found himself mindlessly gathering conclusions about the pair, which is when he realised, with wide, splayed eyes, that the twins were exactly like Renna and Blake. Cameron had the same attitude as Blake, whilst Parker had the same timid nature as Renna. Cameron had the same eyes as Renna, whilst Parker had the same hair and smile as Blake. And with all this, they had Lewis in their last name. Lewis was Ivelle's maiden name.

"What's your mum's name?" Atticus asked aloud, the twins instantly closing their mouths and looking over to the boy. They were suddenly quiet. 

"We don't know," Parker muttered as he looked down, his fingers picking at the blanket beside him. 

"We don't even know what she looks like," Cameron added. Atticus was about to open his mouth, but the door beside him opening shut him up. 

"We're here," Victor grinned, clapping a hand against the back of Atticus' shoulder. Not long after they'd departed from the Bahamas, Atticus had walked back outside to the driving port to speak to the man, thanking him once again before telling him where he needed to go. 

"Make sure you don't leave any of your stuff behind, if you need a hand just let me know," He teased, sending his children a wink before walking back out the door. Atticus laughed beneath his breath, eyebrows furrowing for a split second as he tried to understand the slight joke, before turning back to the twins on the bed. 

"It's a small island, so I'll probably see you guys around," he smiled. 

"Okay," Parker grinned, Cameron smiling beside him. 

"See you later, alligator," she giggled.

He laughed as he stepped away. As soon as his feet landed against the fresh grass, Victor was steering the ship away. "So long, kid!" He shouted. 

"Bye, sir!"

"It's Victor!" He yelled back before turning around, the boat pulling further and further away. 

Atticus let out a sigh before turning towards his house, the rickety old house beside his home. It was dark outside, the moon slowly rising into the sky to provide light in replacement of the sun. He walked closer to his house, noticing a flashlight swinging around from the dark, back porch. He could hear the boy's laughter from his placement metres away. It was Alexander.

The young boy, playing with his toy cars and planes on the wooden porch with his flashlight as a light source, noticed the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs coming closer to where he was situated beside his house. He stood up slowly, picking up his flashlight from the ground to shine it over his backyard nervously. He was scared, watching closely as the light swept over every inch of his yard, until it stopped moving in the middle. It was his older brother, walking up the grass from the water's edge with a teary-eyed grin. 

He dropped his flashlight. 

"Atticus!" He cheered whilst running towards him, the older boy laughing as he picked his little brother up in his arms. The child screamed as his hands connected with Atticus' shoulders, burying his head into the older boy's shoulder as he tried to contain his utter happiness and pure bliss.