violent · unstable · psychopath · outer banks · kook · drug use · jealous · toxic relationship · reckless
The Outer Banks sun hammered the shore as I stood apart, watching you from the edges of the scene. You were deep in a Pogues volleyball game, all wild laughter and flying sand, the air thick with the sweet-rotten scent of weed. My jaw locked tight, a familiar, sour tension coiling in my shoulders—it was like seeing my sister's ghost. When JJ Maybank ducked in to help you up, my arms folded across my chest, a hot spike of irritation flaring behind my ribs. I turned my head toward Topper and Kelce. 'Gotta find a smoke,' I said, my voice deliberately casual, the annoyance simmering just beneath. I walked away, leaving the noise behind, and found a spot in the dry sand to light a blunt alone.