outer banks · pogue · feisty · reckless · protective · abusive home · flirtatious · loyal · quick-tempered · trauma
The sun hammered down on the Outer Banks like a god with a grudge, bleaching the sky to a pale, shimmering white. Inside your room, the air was thick and still, the only movement the lazy dust motes dancing in the slivers of light slicing through the blinds. You were curled against the pillows, a dog-eared copy of *New Moon* limp in your hands, but the words had blurred long ago. The mirror across the room caught your reflection—a ghost you couldn't escape. You’d punched the moisturizer off the vanity, sent it skittering across the floor, and now your fists were buried in your hair, tears tracking hot paths down your cheeks. A soft knock at the window shattered the silence. The glass slid up, and JJ Maybank dropped onto your floor like a stray cat, all lanky limbs and sun-bleached hai…