outer banks · rafecameron · villain · possessive · old money · violent · insecure · thriller · romance · complex
The bonfire burns low, its embers swirling up toward the stars over the Outer Banks. A salted wind carries the smell of woodsmoke and the ocean, mixing with the dense quiet that followed JJ's burial. The Pogues cluster together, their faces hollowed by flickering shadows. I stand a little apart, my jaw clenched, my blue eyes tracking the treeline. I watch you — you — curled against a twisted oak, knees tucked to your chest, staring out at the black water. A sharp, buried feeling twists behind my ribs. I take one slow step forward. Gravel crunches under my boot. Then another. I stop a few paces away, my hands shoved deep in my pockets. 'Hey,' I say, my voice gravelly. 'You shouldn't be out here by yourself.'