The ocean was cold beneath her feet, the sand sinking between her toes like quicksand. It clung to her skin, sticking in odd places, but there was something comforting about the sensation.

It was something else—a deep, almost gradual satisfaction, like the ocean was speaking directly to her, reminding her of something she couldn't quite place. She smiled softly, her blue eyes alight as they studied the horizon.

Sadie Maybank loved the ocean.

The ocean was one thing among others that Sadie felt attached to. That felt like something that drew her in every time she was in its vicinity—like it was her companion. There was something about the way the waves never stopped moving, always in motion, always relentless. It seemed to echo her own thoughts—a swirl of discontent and longing, never settling for too long in one place.

Even when the world around her felt still, the ocean remained vibrant and alive, crashing against the shore with a rhythm that calmed her soul.

She would be entranced with the way the water met sand every single time it pushed itself up, as if it belonged to be there, forever destined to arrive in the same way at the same place. Admirable, really.

Sadie hoped to belong to something like that one day.

When Sadie was little, she used to swim a lot, despite not having much swimming lessons. Her best friend used to join along with her—racing her in the vast ocean that was the Outer Banks, saltwater stinging their eyes as they laughed and splashed with smiles on their faces, pretending to be explorers or treasure hunters, or sometimes even divers like their siblings were.

Now, the only friend she had was the ocean. She was used to the solitude. It didn't bother her. It was her own choice, anyway, since she liked being alone. Her brother, JJ, was always off with his friends, doing his own thing. And her father—well, Luke Maybank had his own set of problems, mostly revolving around alcohol and carelessness concerning his children. Sadie had long stopped hoping for any kind of meaningful connection with him.

As her thoughts wandered, her hair blew around her shoulders, and she paused, staring at the sea as it melted into the horizon. The wind picked up, and dark clouds were beginning to gather above. Sadie frowned slightly. The storm was coming. It wasn't just a passing drizzle—it had the weight of something serious, the kind of storm that might uproot trees and tear through the coastline with a certain aggressiveness. The sky was bruising, a swirl of dark blues and grays.

Sadie didn't like storms. She loved water, but there was something about the ominous nature of a storm that unsettled her. She didn't mind being in the ocean when she was in control, swimming or surfing on her own terms. But the rain, the wind, the cold—it was as if nature itself was angry, and Sadie wasn't sure how to deal with that. It was messy and invasive. It soaked you through, no matter how prepared you were.

With a small frown, Sadie huffed and got up, patting her baggy jeans down in order to fluff out the sand that had latched onto them. She was sure to get all of it out, since Luke didn't like to see her clothes all messed up because she, once again, decided to ruin his fuckin' money on expensive clothes.

The last thing she wanted was for Luke to start yelling about her clothes being dirty. She never understood why he cared so much about her appearance, or why he bought her clothes that never fit. It was like he didn't even try to understand her, yet he made sure to voice his opinions about every little thing.

The walk home was quiet, only the breeze and a couple people walking and chatting quietly on the Cut. She passed by Heyward's and gave Bobby Heyward a little wave and a smile, to which he returned.

"Hey, Bobby!"

"Hiya, Sadie!"

Sadie liked Bobby. He was the kind of person you could always count on when you fell short on groceries or even just needed some peace of mind. She liked his kid, too, Pope. He was JJ's friend, she would always see him in the Chateau, but he was mostly working on Summer school or something that involved some kind of intelligence.

With a small smile, she continued on her way home, the walk quiet except for the sound of the wind whistling through the trees. Her house came into view, and she noticed JJ's motorcycle wasn't in the driveway. That meant he was probably off surfing in the storm, as he often did. The Pogues never seemed to care about the weather. They thrived on the adrenaline, the rush that came with doing something reckless, even if the storm was looming.

But that also meant that Sadie was stuck with Luke Maybank alone.

Mentally preparing herself for the possible turmoil, Sadie carefully turned down the handle of their door and pushed it open, peeking inside. The house was quiet, save for the snoring that was loudly echoing throughout the house.

Luke was passed out on the couch, his loud snores echoing through the tiny living room. Empty beer cans littered the floor, and the TV was mutely playing some infomercial no one was watching.

Sadie tiptoed to her room, careful not to make a sound. Her room was tucked away in the corner, the farthest from everyone else. She liked it that way. It was small and cramped, with peeling wallpaper and small cracks on the walls, but it was hers nonetheless.

Sighing, Sadie opened her bedroom door and hoped to the ocean that it wouldn't creak. She went as slow as possible, and froze up when she heard one loud creak. The house was silent for the time she was frozen, her wide eyes flitting past the hallway to look at the entrance of the living room, trying to pinpoint any possible sound of indication that Luke was awake.

When she didn't get any, Sadie opened the door further, to which, thankfully, it didn't make any more noise.

Sadie wasn't really sure what to do. She had been at the beach since the moment she'd woken up—which was four hours ago—but now, she didn't really have anything to do other than sit around and do nothing.

Sadie hated doing nothing. If she wanted to do nothing, then she would've just slept all day.

She got up and dug through her backpack, pulling out her coloring book and a set of markers. It was a little childish, maybe, but coloring helped ease her mind. She flipped to a picture of a mermaid surrounded by fish and started filling in the lines, her strokes slow and deliberate. 

"Perfect," Sadie whispered.

As time flicked forward, the wind picked up and it had begun to rain, the sky a mixture of dark blues and greys. The alarm had gone off earlier, indicating that there was a hurricane incoming.

Sadie was still planted at her disk, colouring. She hadn't moved even when the alarm sounded. She knew Luke was awake, because the TV was on again with a louder volume, and she kept hearing bottles hit the ground or the fridge opening.

Actually, that was the exact reason she stayed at her desk. She was desperate to avoid the man at any cost—even though she was thirsty. She would die of thirst, for all she scared at the moment.

Usually, when there were storms like this, though, JJ would pick her up and take her to the Chateau and let her stay there with John B and, sometimes, with the others.

Sadie liked the Chateau, it had many things that she could explore. Especially the small library. It had millions and millions—not really, Sadie's exaggeration—of books lined up neatly on each shelf, each book begging her to open it and explore its inner world.

If it wasn't obvious yet, Sadie loved books. More than she loved herself, really.

Books were a way of exploring immense worlds, to see past the reality and enter the world of imagination unimaginable. Even with the words on paper that were trying to perceive a specific image, every other person reading would experience a different point of view. Because not everyone had the same imagination, which was why everyone had their own little unique aspects belonging to them.

This was Sadie's—the ability to think like a full-grown adult.

She had always excelled in her studies, being at the top of her class. In school, she was what you would call a nerd, but she didn't classify herself as that. She said she was just intelligent.

JJ always made fun of her because of that and did call her a nerd. But she knew he wasn't serious, though. Just because he didn't like her didn't mean he made fun of her on purpose... right?

Either way, when the rumbling engine of a motorcycle cut through the air harshly, Sadie wasted no seconds to leap up to her feet. She raced to get her pink raincoat out of her closet and put it on, before she exited the room and went toward the shoe rack at the entrance beside the door.

Her shoes were beaten-up converse passed down by JJ when he was in the fourth grade. She was in the fifth grade but they fit her perfectly, mostly because she had short... everything.

Once she clicked the door open, she hurried out and saw JJ—he wasn't wearing a raincoat or anything, so the water was soaking him completely. His hair was wet and sticky on his face, his hood doing minimal work.

"C'mon," JJ nodded toward the seat behind him, blonde hair wet and jerking with the movement.

Without saying anything, Sadie hopped on the back, without a helmet, which she always thought was safety hazard. However, when she addressed it as so, JJ only made fun of her again because she was a wuss. Sadie didn't know what that meant, but she didn't take offence to it, partially because she didn't really care.

Sadie never liked motorcycles, anyway. They were loud and fast, and when you sped up, the wind just got all in your face and basically blinded you and suffocated you to the point you could barely breathe.

That was what Sadie looked like now, struggling to breathe as the cold air and rain slammed down hard on her face, despite the hood of her raincoat covering her. But the rain was going down sideways, so it didn't really matter if she covered her face, the direction was all messed up anyway.

So, she did what she thought to do to shield herself. Albeit hesitantly, she slowly hid her face into JJ's shoulder, trying to find some shelter. But, as expected, JJ shrugged, indicating that he didn't like her resting her face there, so Sadie backed away, but her arms remained wrapped around his waist.

The rest of the ride was dead silent, tension between both of them. JJ began to go even faster, which only made Sadie wrap her arms harder around his waist in fear of falling off. She could see him tense, though.

Weaving through the empty streets of the Cut, the rain poured harshly against their heads. Sadie felt like she was in a freezer, or in Alaska with all the penguins. However, her mood came to an instant relief when the Chateau entered her view.

Almost immediately, she hopped off the back, now uncaring of the fact that if she were to fall, she would get seriously injured. Her footsteps clattered against the stairs and she pushed the door open, the lights of John B's home greeting her.

Sadie was surprised the power was still on. Actually, she was relieved. She really didn't like the dark, especially when it was raining. So she was really grateful that John B's power hadn't died yet.

When she spotted John B, he looked wide-eyed as if he was surprised but his expression didn't seem that startled, probably because he was expecting them. He then smiled, "Hey, Sadie."

"Hi," came her short answer.

Sadie stood there for a couple seconds, unsure of what to do. She never spoke to John B properly, because she barely ever spoke at all. She liked him, though, he was nice.

It wasn't until JJ finally passed through the door, greeting John B briefly while dripping water on the floor of the Chateau more than Sadie was. He closed the door before grabbing the spare bag beside the pull-out couch. He opened it and fished the inside of it before he managed to get out a pair of pink pyjamas.

"Here," he said, handing them to Sadie.

She took them and stared at them for a few seconds. These were not the PJS she wanted. She wanted the blue ones with the bubbles and Ariel, but she also didn't want to complain. So, begrudgingly, Sadie reached out and took the clothes.

"Bed, Sades."

"Yeah, yeah."

Heading into the bathroom, Sadie began to undress. It was hard, though, because all the clothes were sticking to her foot, arms, and stomach like they belonged there. She hated the feeling so much, so she went as fast as she could to avoid feeling it any longer.

When she put on the PJS, she looked down at them with a small frown. These weren't the ones she wanted at all, she really wanted the Ariel one. That was her favorite. Like any normal child who didn't get what they wanted, Sadie glared down and exited the door, giving JJ the meanest stare she could muster up as she went and fell face-first onto the pull-out couch.

Since they didn't technically live here, Sadie and JJ slept on the pull-out couch, much to her dismay. The couch was small and barely fit them, and most of the time, Sadie would find herself on the floor because JJ would have kicked her off.

As she tried to sleep, John B and JJ were in the kitchen talking. It annoyed her really, really bad, but she was too tired to get up and tell them to shut up, so she tried to focus on the rain outside.

"Miss Amy, bro..." Sadie heard JJ say, followed by the clinging of a bottle hitting a counter. Beer, probably.

John B chuckled. "She's definitely got a thing for you."

"I know!"

Sadie would've rolled her eyes at that, but they were closed. John B always tended to humour JJ just for the fun of it. Miss Amy did not like JJ, and she never had. She'd never even noticed him, she only ever acknowledged him when they were cleaning the Cut. And, well, during cleaning, everyone was out and acknowledging each other.

Either way, it was funny to see how gullible JJ was.

For the next hour, Sadie had to deal with hearing pointless conversations between two best friends who thought she was asleep. She was too lazy to get up and could feel herself drifting off, so she didn't see any point in admitting that she was awake.

However, as time ticked away, sleep began to sink into her brain, casting her mind to enter the dream realm. And slowly but surely, Sadie finally fell asleep, dreams filled with imaginative worlds of ocean rulers and sandcastles.

☾

The next morning, Sadie's sensations pricked at the uncomfortable feeling of a foot pressing harshly against her back. What a way to wake up. She sighed heavily, already knowing whose foot it was.

JJ had always been a kicker whilst asleep. Sadie sometimes had the suspicion he was in a secret Fight Club or something, like the movie. Or maybe he was Karate Kid, but she doubted that, JJ didn't have many morals to fit that description.

She rolled to get away from JJ's sleeping figure before she sat up and looked out the window. Although, the sunny skies returned, the backyard of the Chateau was ruined. The trees were fallen down, sticks and stones all over the grass, and the HMS POGUE had moved a few inches closer near the house. If it'd just moved a little more closer, it might've even hit JJ and Sadie.

When she noticed that she was alone, she figured John B was still asleep as well. So, without wasting another second, Sadie hopped off of the pull-out couch and headed toward the bathroom where her toothpaste and toothbrush were already sat in a small container.

Because they spent so much time in the Chateau, JJ and Sadie had some of their toiletries already there, like they were waiting for them to arrive every time they left. John B didn't mind, in fact, it was sort of nice to have company rather than just be alone.

Sadie turned to the switch and flipped it, but much to her bad luck, it didn't turn on. She groaned lowly, annoyed by the lack of power. She knew there was going to be some complications with the storm arriving, but it was still annoying.

She was also sure that Figure Eight had already patched their mansions up already.

Sadie had always hated the division the Outer Banks presented to their society—that people had to be divided into two sections because they just couldn't be equal since the one lacked something from the other.

Sure, the Cut was poor and they didn't have backup generators like those snobby, rich people in Figure Eight did, but they had their advantages. They had skills far more advanced than people in Figure Eight—because upper class people didn't bother listening in school or learning in general, too busy getting handed money every single day by mommy and daddy.

Sadie scrunched her nose up in discomfort. She really hated them—especially douches like the Cameron's. Although, she didn't know them very well... or, at all, Sadie didn't like the Cameron's. They were the stereotype for rich people.

Obnoxious, snobby, money-hungry.

Finally done with brushing her teeth, Sadie rinsed her toothbrush and rested it on the counter. She brushed the knots in her hair away, wincing every few seconds as one was pulled against her scalp too harshly. She really didn't have much to her routine—not like how Kiara did.

Sadie had once seen Kiara do something called skin care. It was supposedly good and hygienic for the skin, made it glow and stuff. Sadie didn't know why it mattered, really, maybe because Kiara was a girl or maybe because she was half-rich. Sadie didn't know nor care that much, she just thought it was a little interesting.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw John B coming out of his room—his hair was messy and his eyes were puffy, clearly, he'd just woken up. She then moved her gaze to the pull-out couch that JJ was still lazily sleeping on, face squished into the pillows and hair rumpled.

John B smiled at Sadie before he moved toward his best friend, "Bro, JJ. Get up," he said, brushing hand against JJ's blonde hair.

A muffled mumble was JJ's answer, "I have polio, bro. I can't walk."

John B rolled his eyes at  him and opened the door to go outside. Sadie followed with furrowed eyebrows, inquiries entering her mind as she glanced back at JJ. What's polio? And why does he have it?

When they went outside, the thunder was still booming, as if the storm was still at bay—still waiting for the right moment to show up again.

She heard John B yawn. "Oh, man. That's no good," he said, interlacing his fingers behind his head.

Sadie followed his gaze to where the tree she'd seen this morning had fallen. The roots were completely pulled off, as if a link had been severed. The tree took some dirt with it, too, it fell the complete opposite way so that it was almost touching the ocean not that far away from the Chateau.

Sadie frowned slightly at the sight. "Poor tree."

As John B went his separate way to explore, Sadie went over toward the tree. Although it had completely been destroyed, she looked down at the scattered dirt underneath, trying to analyse it somehow. Sadie always had the need to dig into things like it was a mystery and she was a detective—to open and go through every and each clue to find out it's true meaning.

So, as she gazed down at the dirt, she found a trail of ants rush by in a single file line. It reminded her of school, and the way they would have to go to assemblies or get ready for their other classes. The teachers would make them create a line to avoid having the students wander off.

It was admirable, sort of, how ants that were still insects with minimal amount of knowledge, or none at all, had the same structure as humans did when doing something important—like transferring food, or maybe even heading back home. They stayed in a single file line, like they were meant to do that.

It was a stretch to think like this, maybe, but Sadie couldn't help but let her mind travel to so many destinations of imaginative worlds that may never have the possibility to become reality.

A voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Agatha did some work, huh?" JJ's voice entered her ears, making her turn around as she saw him holding a beer bottle as he drank. She frowned—typical JJ—but she didn't like seeing him drink, she didn't like seeing anyone drink.

"Yeah, she did," John B responded, taking ahold of a loose branch and shoving it off of the HMS POGUE. He continued to clean it, standing on the edge and taking out the branches that had fallen.

Sadie watched him, silently questioning herself why he was doing that. But she didn't have to, because JJ asked him directly. "What're you thinkin?"

"I'm thinkin' that the storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze," John B said, hopping over and into the HMS POGUE, bending down to fish out more branches to throw away. "All those drum are gonna chase the crab."

Oh, Sadie's eyebrows raised in realisation. John B was talking about fishing—they were going to go fishing. That seemed ideal. After all, all the fishes began to pour out and come close to the surface after storms, making it easy for fishers to capture them. And even though Sadie loved fish, they were still delicious, so she didn't mind eating them.

"What about the DCS?" JJ asked, "Wasn't that today?"

"Nah, they ain't gettin' on the ferry."

DCS had been practically chasing John B down, claiming that he needed to get into the foster system because they suspected that his uncle was never home and his father, well... his father was lost at sea. So he didn't really have anyone to stay with him despite him being underage.

Sadie never liked it when DCS arrived, they scared her for some reason. Especially the ladies that came for John B specifically—they always had a threatening demeanour and looked down on kids, even if they didn't realise it.

But sometimes, Sheriff Peterkin helped John B. She was a very nice lady—Sadie liked her a lot, only because she always gave Sadie some sort of treat she had on her whenever she would see her, or even just casual, polite conversation. Sadie liked Sheriff Peterkin, she was the best Sheriff yet.

"I mean, c'mon, think about it," John B continued, a small smile on his face. "It's God tellin' us to fish."

•

AUTHOR'S NOTE.
okay so—i lowkey suck at introduction chapters so i'm sorry if this is kinda bad, but i hope you enjoyed! sadie's a little loner, but that's okay 'cause she doesn't really mind it.