𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 - jj maybank

- 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻 Sarahʼs lap, Kaci Flores rested on her back, holding her babyʼs hands as he sat up on her stomach. The two girls couldn't stop smiling; one of them had just gotten married to their guy, and the other was finally going to be reunited with hers. Yesterdayʼs mess was stuck in their stomachs, making the world feel a little lighter as they carried the memories on with them. Their eyes stung a little from the crying, but they really did it. They got through it, and now they were coming home.

"Okay, girls, are you ready?" asked John B, nodding to them from the sandy beach they stopped at. Charleston was only a couple of hours away from Outerbanks, so they decided to stop there for a while to get necessities.

"Yeah." Kaci lifted Kaz onto her chest, slowly getting used to his heavy weight and stood up from the boat, feeling a little dizzy from her lack of food and water. She and Sarah climbed off the edge of the boat, landing onto the sand with the boys, who carried a large, empty gas tank each.

"Hey, listen, we're gonna get some gas, find a phone, and get out of here, right?" said John B.

"How are we gonna pay for the gas?" questioned Sarah.

"Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out."

Luis, who still wasn't settled on the thought of returning home, smiled and slung his free arm around his little sisterʼs shoulder as they walked further down the beach together. There was a time when he thought he'd never see her again, but she was here with him now, and she even had her own little kid. The only way things could've been better were if Jordan was still with them.

The four of them walked for a little under an hour in desperate search of a gas station. Kaz was growing sleepy under the sun, tucking his head into his momʼs armpit and clutching onto her shirt a little tighter. John B laughed at the little noises he made, comparing him to a gremlin, which earned him a slap from the protective mother.

"That looks so good," he commented as they went past a couple eating lunch. "I'm starving."

Luis nodded in agreement. "I'd do anything for some pizza," he said, sighing at the thought of it.

Kaci shook her head. "A peanut butter sandwich."

Her brother looked at her dumbly. "You don't even like peanut butter."

Sarah laughed. "That's what I said!"

"Yeah, well, it's my favourite now, so..."

"We gotta get some food," John B decided, walking up the steps to the restaurant near them. "Follow my lead."

"Okay."

He turned to the other girl, who was glaring at a rich couple that were giving her judgemental looks. "Kaci, give me Gremlin," he said quietly.

"No," she answered, not looking up to him, as she was too distracted threatening people with her eyes.

"Kace -"

"No," she repeated firmly, slowly losing her temper. The man whispered something in the womanʼs ear, which caused her to look the teenage girl up and down.

Kaci tossed her hair over her shoulder and strutted towards their table with a firey look in her eye. Sarah winced, knowing what was coming. John B grinned, missing this side of the girl. Luis sighed, thinking she had grown out of it by now.

"Excuse me, do you have a problem?" she questioned, standing in front of their table fearlessly.

The woman stared at her for a moment, taking her time to train her eyes on Kaz. "You're a bit young to have one of those on your hands, don't you think?" she suggested. Her tone wasn't as kind as her words.