✸⁎⋆✶⭒✭ 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 ✸⁎⋆✶⭒✭

PROLOGUE: Leo Maybank's Last Moments

                   Leonie Maybank was eighteen years old when she died on August 16th, 2019. Her obituary would say something along the lines of this: "Leonie, known by most as Leo, Maybank was born on April 4th, 2001. She was eighteen years young when she passed away in a single-car accident on Friday, August 16th. Everyone in the Outer Banks knew Leo has a lively, hardworking young woman. Most important to her was her siblings. She is survived by her younger brother, Jordi Jamison Maybank (JJ), and her younger sister, Poppy Maybank..." .... and something about how much of an incredible fucking heart Leo Maybank had, despite every pain that broke her over the years—that she had been saving up to go to college to pursue her dreams of being a nurse—that she raised her siblings from the moment they were born, even when she was a child herself.

What the obituary didn't mention was that last moment. No one whose life ends in tragedy had a beautiful last moment. Well, some might be lucky enough, but that made them the anomaly in such a situation. The obituary explained how Leo died, but what it failed to mention was how she left the world when she died—what her last words were to each person who meant something to her; what moments would be lived on in the hearts of everyone else. The names of all those in Leo's life who had to survive without her.

"JJ—it's—JJ, just calm down—I'll be home soon—what do you want me to say? I just...I need to see him, okay? I just want to talk to him. I need to make sure he's okay. It sounded really bad over the phone—"

"—why do you keep giving him chances, Leo? What the fuck has he done for you in the last year you've been hung up on him? Huh? Give me one reason."

The overcast of the bright outdoor lights from the Cameron household made it easier to see the frustration on Leonie Maybank's face as she talked with her younger brother, JJ, on the other line. The two of them wouldn't find a happy medium on the phone call, both of them knew that, so the conversation was only elongating Leo walking up to the Cameron's side door and using the key that her ex-boyfriend, Rafe, gave her nearly a year ago. Maybe that was exactly what JJ wanted to do—prevent his sister from walking into the reason why she'd cried for nights upon nights for months—but he knew it was a lost cause. Leo never listened to him.

The older sibling ran her hands through her curled hair in frustration, having just gotten off her shift at the Kildare Marina not too long ago. "You know why."

"You can't fix everyone, Leo. Some people just don't want to be fixed," JJ's voice was hushed on the other end, but she could still hear his frustration. That meant their younger sister, Poppy, was in the room. They always tried to hide their arguments with each other around her. "He made the decision to get into the heavy shit—"

"He got his fucking dealer from Dad, JJ—"

Leo's burst of anger over that specific situation was hushed by JJ's next words. "I get it, okay? But you can't put that on him. Rafe made the decision to go to him. Everyone on the island knows Barry deals. Don't put that on Dad just to excuse his fucked up decision."

"There's plenty I can put on Dad, trust me..." knowing that the comment would only upset her brother, she clenched her jaw and threw her head back against the headrest. "I need to go. I'll be home before one, I promise, just...tell Pops I love her. I have the day off tomorrow and I got my paycheck from the Marina so I figured we could get on the ferry."

There was a dead silence on the end of the phone. Leo hated it. JJ knew there was nothing she hated more than when he didn't answer her, especially when he was mad. They fought often over small things, little bickering like regular siblings, but they never had big disagreements. Both of them struggled with their anger and impulsivity, so they knew how the other felt most of the time. A misfortune they'd inherited from their father, Luke.

One thing that always caused heated arguments between them without fail was Rafe Cameron. Leo hadn't necessarily intended to break the class divide in the Outer Banks: the Pogues and the Kooks, as high-school as it could get, separating the working class from those who paid the working class. While there was always tension between the two, most of the time they minded their business and blended well during keggers. Leo and Rafe fucked that up for everyone.

"That's fine. I'll have Pope tell his dad I'm going to take the day off...I'll see you later."

Leo tapped anxiously on her steering wheel, glancing over at the Cameron porch for a moment before sighing. "Okay. I'll be home soon. I love you."

"Love you too, Lulu. Be safe."

The three beeps on the other end made Leo's heart drop, and the blow-up she'd been expecting to come all night finally hit. She launched her phone somewhere in the passenger's seat, lost until she had the energy to find it again, and stared ahead down the road of expensive houses out in Figure Eight. Before she could give herself the opportunity to drive away, Leo quickly pulled the keys from the ignition and got out of the car, managing not to slam the door behind her. Knowing her luck, it would fall off. The damn thing was on its last life anyway, and there was only so many repairs JJ could pull out of his ass for it.

Leo hated that she knew the path so well. Go past the newly-cut lawn that the Cameron's surely spent hundreds to get perfect and green, then past the lining of shrubbery that Rose insisted added character to the house, past the 'small' seating area out back where they hosted their annual barbecue parties, then there was a door that led to the indoor gym they'd fixed up in their home for Rafe. Leo had the key to that. One short turn and she would be at 'Rafe's corner of the house' which his father had given him when Ward realized Rafe wasn't going to college. Neither was Leo now.

She traced those footsteps like a memory, the black key Rafe had given her still fitting perfectly in the door. Every time, she expected for it to be changed. Every time, it surprised her that it never was. The indoor gym was a mess, enough to make her eyes roll, because Rafe never cleaned up after himself and always left the maids to do it. She ignored the itch in her hands to pick things up along the way and treaded quietly through, the White Converse with a million little doodles from her sibling silent with her.

Leo heard it before she saw it. The sound of someone laughing—a girl laughing—a laugh that Leo knew distinctly well, churned the upset that had already formed in her car earlier. Clutching onto her keys with a death grip, Leo decided not to delay the inevitable. She'd been through it before, after all, hadn't she?

Without waiting another second, Leo took a hold of Rafe's door handle and opened it, scoffing sardonically at the stupidity of him always forgetting to lock the damn thing. She lived her whole life locking doors from her father. On the other side of the door was something she hadn't been all too surprised to see.

Rafe glanced up the moment he heard his door open, scrambling to get rid of the evidence on his desk that only had one purpose, and it wasn't studying—but then he stopped. He was a world away and in a daze from whatever he'd gotten from Barry that night, and then made eye contact with Leo. The two of them broke it at the same time to glance over at the girl laying in Rafe's bed, her clothes discarded in every direction, looking freshly-fucked by Leo's shirtless ex-boyfriend. The same girl that Leo had caught a few months ago, and the same reason why he was her ex in the first place. Her name was Daphne, Leo remembered. How could she forget?

Leo didn't say anything to that. Didn't once look at Rafe again. Didn't look at her again. Instead, she turned around hastily, still gripping her keys tightly in one hand so they'd give her a hold on reality. Not that that helped, with Daphne calling out his name, and Rafe calling out her name, and her calling out for a fucking prayer from God to get her away as quickly as possible. She'd not gotten far enough down the hallway even with her quick legs, and her entire body froze in defense when she felt a hand jerk her wrist back.

Leo whirled her head around instantly to glare at Rafe, her eyes stinging and anger seething through her skin. "Don't you ever fucking touch me again—"

"Lo, wait, just hold the fuck up for a second," he rushed out, tears already coming down his cheeks. His hands ran through his messy hair, further showing the panic coursing through his body when he saw her begin crying. "I just—I'm not thinking straight—I was waiting for you, and then I went to go see Barry, and then I ran into D—"

She shook her head, curling her lip in disgust and turning around to go out the front of the house since he was blocking her usual exit. "Keep your fucking excuses to yourself. I'm over it."

"Lo—" he tried again, following after her, jogging ahead through the hall to get in front of her once again. "Lo, I promise, I promise—it was a mistake...I didn't mean to—I regret it—"

"'You regret it' ..what is that supposed to fucking do to make me feel better, Rafe? Huh? Is it supposed to make this all go away? Change things? Get out of my way. Seriously, get the fuck out of my way before I hurt you—"

His face was wet with tears now and he went forward to her again, trying to hold her in some way. "Then hurt me, okay? Hurt me. I deserve it—"

Leo recoiled away from his touch, taking a step back and holding her hand to her mouth stop the lump from forming in her throat. She'd been here before. Been in this situation with him, in this place with him, and she'd left him once. She'd walked right out the door, and that had been enough for her. It should have been enough. JJ was right. She should've known better.

He stared helplessly at her, waiting for her to do or say anything to make the situation change, but before either had the words to continue, they were interrupted. The sound of a throat clearing made both of their necks turn, blinking away their tears enough to notice Rose standing there, a glass of wine in her hand and a look of utter shock at what she'd just walked in on between them. Clearly, she'd been able to get an idea of what happened based on her step-son being shirtless and faded, and her eyes fell on Leo for a split second to see the young girl ducking her neck down so that the tears didn't show on her cheeks.

"Rafe, go to your room," was all Rose said, never once looking at him, only focused on Leo.

Rafe's eyes widened in disbelief. "We're not done here—"

"Yes, we are," Leo interrupted him, her voice cold and distant when she lifted her head again to meet his painful stare. She cleared her throat and started forward in Rose's direction where the front door was, nodding at the woman. "I'll see myself out."

"Have a good night, Leo. Drive safe. The roads are slick."

Leo nodded and didn't say anything more. She didn't look back at Rafe. The lump in her throat was becoming unmanageable, so she was relieved to hear Rose usher Rafe away before he chased after her again. She'd just rounded around the staircase when a loud bang startled her enough to flinch again in her dazed state, looking instantly in the direction of Ward Cameron's study. The door was cracked which was unusual for the man. He'd always been an anomaly for Leo—always kind, but always...off. Leo hated the way he treated Rafe, and he loved her for the way she changed Rafe. All she did was care like his father never did.

She ignored the bad feeling in her gut and glanced through the crack in the door to see that a good portion of the things on his desk were on the ground now, which must have been the sound, and he was on the phone, pacing around back and forth with a scowl on his face. Distracted. Sobering up, she was just about to turn around and avoid any intrusion when she heard that sentence—the one that made her blood turn cold.

"I got rid of the problem! Everyone's convinced he's gone off on another one of his psychotic episo—"

Ward Cameron stopped mid-sentence on the phone when he saw Leo Maybank standing outside the threshold of his study. A blank expression cut out every feature of her face, the tears from earlier returning as the horror slowly started to sink in. Ward blanched the moment he realized her there. His phone slowly fell from his ear and into his pocket, taking a step forward with a chuckle and smile of exaggerated ease.

"Leo, wh—"

"You..." she breathed out in disbelief, shaking her head and swallowing hard. "You..."

Ward's facade fell along with his face. "I don't know what you think you heard, but—"

"What did you do to him?"

Those were Leo Maybank's last words to anyone on this Earth. Ward Cameron was the last person to see Leo Maybank alive. Because seconds after she said those words, seconds after the realization hit her, she ran and allowed her memory to guide her through the house and back to her car. The last thing that she heard was the string of curse words out of Ward's mouth, and the sound of his footsteps hitting the floor when he chased after her, yelling her name in an effort to stop her.

Leo didn't. She'd been thankful that her car didn't lock properly in that moment because she was able to get in and start it with shaky hands after a few missed attempts to get her key in the ignition. The gears shifted to gas, and she'd pressed the pedal down hard right as Ward broke through the lining onto the street. Nearly hitting him in her attempt to drive away, a sound escaped her mouth when she heard his hand hit the side of her car in frustration. Then all she saw in her rearview mirror was Ward Cameron's panic.

Leo tried to pay attention to the road, her adrenaline rushing and hands shaking more than she'd ever experienced in her life, glancing all around the front of her car to try and find her phone while keeping an eye on the road. She needed to call someone—anyone—Peterkins, JJ, Shoupe, anyone—

"Come on, come on...where are you? Damn it! Where are you—"

Just like that, eighteen years of someone's life were over in an instant.

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"JJ...um...well, JJ lost his older sister, Leo, a few months ago. A little bit after my dad disappeared. Leo was one of those people that you just loved. She spent more time throwing popcorn at the drive-in movie screen than she did actually watching the movie. She was a better sister than she was a good sport. JJ hasn't ever really been the same. He tries, you know, for Poppy. But he misses her. She was a piece of the Outer Banks. Something died here that night. We all felt it."

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