Cruel Summer || JJ MAYBANK

06. Chapter 5

*The next day*

Parklynn woke up the morning after the party still feeling a bit shaken up. She wasn't nearly as worked up anymore, it was just hitting her that someone literally could have died last night.

With a huff she sat up and got out of bed, checking her phone for notifications before going downstairs. There was a missed call from Rafe, which she didn't feel like answering, and just some other alerts from random apps. The time read 10:34 AM. I guess from the long night she had yesterday she slept in extra late.

She put her phone down and stood up to stretch. The sunlight seeping through her window hit her right in in the eyes making her squint, although it felt good on her skin. She started over to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

After getting ready, she picked up her phone and headed downstairs to grab something to eat, considering the group never got to to eat last night.

As she walked into the kitchen she noticed the house seemed very quiet. Opening the fridge she grabbed the orange juice and poured herself a glass. Having no energy to cook, she just grabbed a pop tart from the pantry and headed outside to the deck.

She sat down in one of the porch chairs just letting the breeze and summer sun hit her. It was a nice day in obx, not a cloud in sight and there was a perfect amount of breeze. She could hear the waves crashing in the distance and could smell that salty air. The girl loved doing this in the mornings. It was such a calm and peaceful start to the day, especially after a night like last night.

She sipped her orange juice and nibbled at her pop tart as she heard the sliding doors open. It was her father.

"Good morning sweetie, did you sleep well?" He came over and gave her a small hug.

"Yep very."

"Good, did you have fun last night?" He asks her.

"Eh, it was okay, a huge fight went down."

"Yes, I heard there was a gun involved?"

"Yeah, there was."

"Okay, as long as you had nothing to do with it."

"Well, Topper was the one who started the fight, and I did try to break it up a few times, so I guess I had some part in it."

Her dad raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Topper?"

"Yeah, he tried to drown a kid, he's such an asshole."

"Well I'm glad you tried to interfere with it then, just be safe, I don't need you getting shot, or drowned for that matter."

"Yeah yeah I know dad." She says with a smile.

"You remind me so much of your mom, she would have done the same thing."

Her smile grew wider as she looked down and swirled her orange juice around. Her father got up giving her a pat on the shoulder and headed back inside.

"By the way, I think Rafe is looking for you. He came by this morning but I told him you were still sleeping. He said he would call."

"Yeah I got it, thanks." She said uninterested.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Not paradise, and we aren't together, I don't like him like that."

"I think he likes you like that."

"Yeah...I know, I just need a small break from the Camerons and Topper for a bit after last night."

"Hey, that's no problem, everyone needs a minute sometimes, go do something solo."