salt water | outer banks

2| the weak and feeble

VENUS STOOD WITH JAX on their front porch, taking in the damage done by Hurricane Agatha. It had been three days since she'd seen the rest of the Pogues. During that time, she helped her mother and Jaxon prepare for the storm to hit Kildare island and had also seen Rafe once upon his request.

"Rafe, I'm busy. What is it?" she questioned through the phone.

"Can you come over?"

Venus eyed her brother who had been unloading a few cans of gasoline to keep the generator they had going once the power went out in the storm. The generator wasn't the best but the Beck family prayed it would work well enough to keep the fridge cold so the perishable food wouldn't go bad.

"Can I ask why you need me to come over now?" She grabbed a bag of groceries from the bed of his truck and took it inside as she spoke.

"Who's that on the phone, Venus?" her mother questioned softly as she put away some of the food in the pantry. She'd come home early from the law firm she worked at, still in her black skirt and long-sleeved blouse.

She mouthed Rafe's name and set the bag on the counter.

"Oh, tell him I said hi," she smiled, "and to stay safe during the storm, they don't know exactly how bad it's going to get."

The Beck girl sighed. "My mom said hi," she muttered.

"Tell her I said hi, too. But just—is there any way you can become un-busy?"

"Rafe, in case you didn't see the news, there's a big ass hurricane headed straight for the island. We have to get everything situated before it hits and then I have to check on some friends to make sure their houses are situated," she explained.

The Kook didn't ask about who these friends were and she was thankful for it. He'd probably start complaining about it if he'd found out.

Her mother gestured that she was going to run back into town, presumably to help prepare a few of her friends for the storm. Venus gave her a thumbs up and a tight smile before focusing back on the phone call.

"Fine, fine," he uttered through the phone. "I'm coming over there."

"Rafe—wait. Maybe I can go—"

"I'll see you in fifteen," he cut her words off and hung up the phone without saying anything else.

Venus pinched the bridge of her nose and pushed her phone into her back pocket.

Jax's brows furrowed as he saw his sister in her disgruntled state. He'd been pushing their mother's plants inside because she had claimed that they were "too fragile" for the storm.

"Maicy, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. It's just...Rafe being Rafe."

"Ah," he hummed and shook his head. "What, is he planning to visit or something?"

"Yes, actually. He said he'd be here in fifteen and just hung up. God knows what he wants now." Venus crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the countertop.