Riptide - An Outer Banks Fanfiction

Chapter 3

Trigger warning - Chapter contains scenes of abuse

'The price about having a soft 

heart is feeling the 

world's pain.'

- J. Lynn

. . .

     The sky had turned dark and littered with stars by the time Rip and her brothers made it back home. She had picked Finn up a ways back after he claimed that he was tired, whilst Noah was following close behind. With every step closer they came, the deeper her heart beat in her chest. The one storey house was more of a shack then anything, and it was practically falling apart at the nails and submerged in darkness. Gloria's home had the sense a sort of quaint charm to it but Rip's was nothing short of decrepit. Junk and sharp metal and glass was scattered carelessly across the yard, making it a deadly sort of obstacle course to reach the house. There was a hole in the roof, right above Rip's, Noah's and Finn's bedroom. On a cloudless night Rip couldn't help but love the fact that she could see the stars through it, promising a better life. But when the storms came . . . she was lucky that none of them had fallen ill because of it.

Noah and Finn had turned silent as they approached the house. The energy that they had not long before had completely disappeared, being replaced with fearful caution. Rip could recognise it anywhere. Too many times she had their exact same expression on her own face.

Rip navigated the yard, gently tugging Noah behind her who had joined hands with her so they didn't get separated.

When they reached the window to their bedroom Rip put Finn back down to ease the window up as best she could. It never opened up all the way, but it was enough to slip the boys through. She lifted Finn up through it with Noah shortly following. She was about to slide the window down when Finn grabbed her hand.

He didn't have to speak, she could see the words in his eyes.

She gave him a small smile and looked to Noah, who gently pulled Finn away so she could close the window.

Rip walked to the corner of the house and took a shuddering breath, trying to calm her heart that had begun to quicken its pace. Squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head, Rip pulled herself together and gathered every ounce of courage she had and forced her legs to take her to the front door.

Teasing the door open, she slipped through the gap and shut the door as quietly as she could. Not that it mattered, the hinges on the door hadn't been oiled in years and had a permanent aching squeak to them.

There was no movement in the house but Rip still imagined that she was as light as a feather as she moved on the balls of her feet not making a sound whatsoever. It wasn't long after they had moved in that she had committed the best route to her room to memory.