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❝ my board broke in half, duh ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

As we near the end of our shift, Kiara heads through to the back to clean up while I man the till. I find myself doodling on the notepad, assuming that nobody will come in this close to closing time.

I am quickly proved wrong when the door opens and I lift my head to see my older brother, Rafe, with Topper.

"Psycho" I greet my brother who scowls at me.

"Runt" He spits in distaste.

"Two coffees, Pogue" Topper says, disgust laced in his voice and drops cash on the counter.

"Whatever, Thornton" I scoff, turning to make the coffees.

Once I've made them and reluctantly held myself back from spitting in them, I turn to boys. I hand Topper one and look to my brother with a blank expression.

"Tell dad I won't be home tonight. I'm staying at the chateau again" I say and he rolls his eyes at me.

"Dad doesn't care if you're home or not, and he doesn't care where you stay either. None of us do" My brother snarls, snatching the coffee from my hand and walking away.

An aching pain strikes my chest like it often does around my family and my eyes tear up pathetically, but I refuse to let them see me cry.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out, assholes!" I hear Kiara scream and I shake my head, a small smile tugging at my lips as the ache fades.

"You okay, lovie?" My best friend asks, poking her head around the door with a frown.

"I'm fine, Kie" I wave her off.

Before she can object, her dad calls her back through and she rolls her eyes, heading back. The door opens again but fortunately for me, this time John B and Pope enter the restaurant and I grin widely.

"What's up, guys?" I greet them.

"There's a storm coming so I thought we'd pick you up" John B shrugs.

"We didn't want you walking...alone...in a hurricane" Pope adds in concern and I smile gratefully, my heart swelling at how much they care.

"Thank you" I say sincerely and they both wave me off.

I head through the back, untying the apron from around my waist and Kiara looks up from the dishes.

"You leaving?" She asks me.

"Yeah, the boys came to pick me up" I explain, putting the apron with the others.

"That was sweet of them" She comments with a small smile and I hum in agreement.

"Stay safe, Kie" I tell her, pecking her cheek.

"You too" She warns me with scolding eyes and I grin cheekily.

"When am I not safe?" I gasp jokingly, walking backwards towards the doors.

"Sylvie Cameron!" She snaps sternly and I wink at her.

"See ya later, pookie!" I holler, walking through the doors.

John B swings his arm around my shoulder as we exit the Wreck and I reach up to ruffle his messy hair. The rain pours heavily, completely drenching us and we run to the van, climbing in.

"We're not going straight home, are we?" I grin mischievously, leaning forward in between the front seats and both boys turn to me with smirks "Hell yes"

John B starts up the van and heads towards the beach. Once we arrive, I strip down into my bikini while the boys grab their boards and peel off their shirts. I grab my board from Pope and we run towards the water.

"It's a double over head out there, bro!" Pope exclaims as we stop to look at the waves which are dangerously crashing against each other.

"Double overhead?" I repeat, sharing a smirk with John B.

"Those aren't surfable waves, bro" Pope declares.

"Says who?" John B laughs, running down the beach.

"Come on, slow pope!" I holler sarcastically, chasing after the Routledge boy.

I dive into the freezing cold water, paddling through the choppy waves on my board before deciding I've gotten far enough. I wait for a second before seeing a huge wave coming my way and I grin excitedly, getting ready.

"Whoo!" I scream, riding the wave before wiping out.

I resurface and a laugh leaves my lips as I climb back on my board.

Ever since I was a little girl, the water has always had a calming effect on me. No matter how chaotic the waves are, I feel completely at peace. Adrift in the ocean is my happy place, something no one can take from me.

After one too many wipe outs, the smartest of the three of us decides it's time to get out the water. I watch the boys swim to shore but I'm determined to catch one last wave, so I swim further out.

"Time to go home, Vie!" Pope yells.

"Two minutes!" I reply.

The biggest wave I've seen all night heads straight for me and I smile giddily, turning my board.

"Vie, no!" Pope warns me.

The wave catches me and I stand up on my board, but within seconds I'm thrown forward.

"Holy shit!" A scream leaves my lips, although it's quickly silenced by the wave going over my head.

Most people in my situation would probably be panicking or at least worrying, but I feel calm. I let myself float in the water, revelling in the silence underneath the storm above the waves.

My eyes open and I look up at the surface to see the surfboards of Pope and John B, making me swim upwards. I resurface behind them and they don't even notice me.

"Vie! Vie, where are you?!" They shout.

"You looking for me?" I ask sarcastically and they both scream like little girls, turning in fright.

"You bitch!" John B yells at me accusingly and I give him an innocent smile.

"Me?" I ask in faux confusion.

"Yes, you" He snaps in a brotherly tone, grabbing my arm and gently pulling me towards him.

I climb onto the front of his board and we paddle to shore.

"You could have drowned!" Pope scolds me as we walk up the sand.

"Oh, my board!" I chirp, seeing my cherry red surfboard wedged into the sand.

I jog over to it and pull it out the sand to reveal it's only half the board.

"No!" I scream in horror "Not Oakley!"

I feel a pat on my back and I turn to see Pope give me a sympathetic look.

"RIP Oak" John B declares.

✯¸.•'*¨'*•༻❁༺•*'¨*'•.¸✯

I enter the chateau behind John B and see JJ sat on the sofa bed. He looks up at us and practically cackles in surprise.

"You two look like drowned rats" He comments.

"Not in the mood, Maybank" I spit, storming into the hall.

I pull open the spare closet and grab the shovel, slamming the door closed again.

"Whoa, where you going with that?" JJ asks, wide eyed as he steps in front of me.

I look up at John B who shakes his head at JJ, pulling him out my way. I then storm past them, back out into the rain, and grab the half of Oakley I have off the porch. I round the back of the house and drop the board, sticking the shovel into the ground angrily.

After making an oval shaped hole, I drop the shovel and grab the half board, shoving it into the ground. The board goes down an inch or two before stopping completely and I groan loudly, pulling it back out.

I drop to my knees and start impulsively digging the hole deeper with my hands. Angry tears cloud my vision and I scream in frustration, throwing dirt across the yard.

"Vie! Hey, that's enough" I hear JJ's voice and he grabs my wrists, looking at me in concern.

"Leave me alone" I huff, trying to pull away from him but he pulls me closer.

"What's wrong?" He asks me.

"My board broke in half, duh" I scoff, glancing at the broken board.

"I know you loved Oakley, but we both know that's not why you're out in a hurricane, crying as you bury the thing" JJ states and I realise he's right.

"You're right" I nod and he lets go of my wrists, tucking my wet hair behind my ear "It was Rafe"

"Are you okay? Did he hit you again? I swear to God, Vie, I'll kick his ass" JJ growls, searching my body for injuries.

"No, JJ. He didn't hit me" I assure the blonde, grabbing his hands to calm him down and he does.

"What happened?" The Maybank boy asks me.

"I asked him to tell my dad that I wasn't gonna be home and he made a stupid comment about no one caring whether I went home or not" I explain and JJ frowns "I know it's stupid but I realised he was right, and I guess...it hurt to be reminded that no one cares"

"Hey, listen to me" JJ says, lifting my chin up to look at him and I gulp "I care, Vie. And so does Kie, and John B, and Pope. We all care about you, and nothing you say is stupid to me"

I throw my arms around the boy and let out a sob, hiding my face in his neck so he can't see me cry. He wraps me up in his arms, holding me tightly and rocks me back and forth slowly.

We sit there for what feels like forever before JJ gets up, carrying me with him as he heads inside. The boy sits me on the kitchen counter and I hear John B snoring from his room, letting me know he went to bed. JJ runs a cloth under the tap and I sober up, wiping my runny nose on my wrist with a laugh.

"I look like such a mess when I cry" I croak and JJ turns to me.

"I think you look beautiful when you cry" He says with a straight face and my cheeks heat up, making me glad the power is out so he can't see the redness in my face.

He wrings the cloth out and walks over to me, lifting my chin up once again. I sit still, in complete silence, as he washes the dirt and tears off my face before grabbing my waist gently and lifting me off the counter.

As I wash my hands in the sink and dry them off, I feel him fiddling around with my hair which makes me smile in amusement. Once he's done, I lift my hand to my head to feel he's done a messy job of a bun and a laugh leaves my lips as I turn to face him.

"Don't laugh at me, I tried" He whines.

"Where'd you get the hair tie?" I ask him curiously and he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.

"I may or may not keep one on my wrist in case you need it" He admits and my lips tug up at the edges.

"Really?" I ask in awe.

"Yeah. Since 6th grade" He shrugs.

"6th grade?" I gasp in surprise and he nods.

"You asked for a hair tie the first day of summer in 6th grade and I didn't have one, but Logan Green did. He clearly had a huge crush on you, but you had no idea. After you all went home, he made a joke and all the kids laughed at me" The blonde explains, looking out the window to our right.

"JJ, what was the joke?" I ask in concern and he hesitates.

"It's a hair tie, Maybank. If you can't give her something as simple as that then no wonder your dad beats you up, you probably deserve it" JJ says through gritted teeth and my heart drops.

"That fucking asshole" I growl angrily "If I ever see him again, I will kick him in the balls"

A laugh leaves JJ's lips and he turns his gaze to me.

"No, you won't" He tells me in amusement.

"Want a bet?" I argue, raising a brows.

"As a matter of fact, I do" He tells me.

"$10 says I kick him in the balls" I declare, holding out my hand.

"Make it 20" JJ retorts, shaking my hand.

He then grabs me and throws me over his shoulder. I squeal loudly and cling onto the blonde tightly as he carries me through to the living room. He throws me onto the sofa bed and giggles erupt from my throat as I hit the mattress. JJ crawls into bed next to me and pulls me into a warm hug.

"Night, hot stuff" I hum, closing my eyes sleepily.

"G'night, angel" He murmurs and my lips tug up at the nickname.