Deep Water [OuterBanks]

31: pogues for life

The sun had all but reached its apex, warming the day and fighting back against the chill that frequently came with autumn mornings in Carolina. A tolerable sixty-five degrees had already leveled out over Charleston and Alana could tell that the day would be worthwhile—one of the last of a few warm days they'd probably get before it was time to trade in their bathing suits for long-sleeved shirts and sweaters. Although, it wasn't like the Pogue's would mind. To them, the seasons on their tiny string of islands were all the same, just one blending seamlessly into another. Certainly they'd still find time to throw a quick keggar at the Boneyard or venture out on the HMS after school—cruising along the channels of the wetlands, lined botanically with untamed reeds and bulrush.

The Kessler girl was still observing from the rear window as Pope turned down one of the neighborhood streets, her cobalt eyes swirling with astonishment at all of the houses lined in a row. They reminded her of Tannyhill, or some version of it at least; pastel colored, with a multitude of columns and perfectly trimmed hedges, each one sitting up high on precisely three stories. Simultaneously, she'd been listening to Kiara dish out information about the Limbrey's. So far, all she she knew was that they were heavily influential and that they'd been a part of Charleston since the mid seventeen-hundreds. "They're basically a bunch of fancy people. They've had like three governors in the family." The brunette eagerly informed her comrades from the passenger seat, her long legs crossed at the ankles.

"These Kooks make our Kooks look like Pogue's." JJ commented as Pope slowed the truck to a stop alongside the curb, a tall beige and white southern-style home set a few feet from the sidewalk, encased by a steel fence.

"No doubt." Alana agreed from where she sat beside the boy, her eyes squinted as she scaled the residence. "I think there's a greenhouse on the roof." She mentioned casually, its glass panes filtered with sunlight.

"You sure this is the place, Pope?" JJ asked, his voice riddled with uncertainty seeing as the invitation had clear-cut instructions for them to meet at an office and not a five-thousand square foot mansion.

"Pretty sure." Pope affirmed lowly while cutting the transmission. JJ just shrugged in response, going along with it as he pushed open the back door, his boots meeting the concrete as he stepped down from the truck.

"Fat City, for sure." The south-side teenager remarked, shutting the door behind Alana as she climbed out after him. "We would be too if it weren't for Ward." He said, looking down at all the other huge houses.

"Tell me about it, I'm still pissed." Alana shook her head, hooking her thumbs though the belt loops of her fitted khakis as Pope and Kiara rounded the truck.

"Talk about home security." JJ voiced, his blue-eyed gaze traveling up to the anti-climb spikes resting along the very top of the fence. "Are those to keep people out?" He wondered, and Kiara simply shook her head.