─☼☼☼─
—one year later—

"WHAT TIME DOES your ferry get in?" Kiara's voice carried over the phone which was sat on the coffee table. "Mom told me but I forget."

Shoving another shirt into her bag, Charlotte blew a piece of hair from her face, "I think, like, four thirty or something like that. I'll check my email after."

"You excited?" Her sister wondered, trying to hide that fact that she was excited for her big sister to come home.

Pausing for a moment, Charlotte considered the question. It had been months since she'd been home, and while she was excited, she was also scared. "Yeah," she finally answered. "I can't wait to see you guys."

Kiara snorted, "JJ hasn't shut up about the fact that you're coming home for the past week."

Charlotte couldn't help but smile to herself as she zipped up her suitcase. Despite the fact that she hadn't been back to Kildare Island in months, the Pogues had come to visit her in Durham numerous times. But the group of them hanging out in her small apartment was never the same as them hanging out in the Outer Banks. She was excited to get back to that.

"Tell him he better be ready to take me out surfing the minute I get home." Charlotte teased, grunting as she lifted her suitcase up.

Kiara laughed, "Yeah, he'll be over the moon."

Picking up the phone from the table, Charlotte heard the front door to the apartment open. "I've gotta go, Kie. I'll see you tonight?"

"For sure." Kiara affirmed. "We'll pick you guys up from the ferry. Text me when you confirm the time."

"Okay," Charlotte nodded, "See you soon."

The phone beeped as the call ended, just as a voice carried through the hallway. "Charlotte?"

"In here!" She called, rolling her suitcase toward the door. "Just finishing up packing!"

"You're still not done?" Her boyfriend wondered, letting out a laugh as he emerged into the living room. "Are we staying for the whole summer or something?"

Charlotte shrugged, honestly unsure of how long she was going to stay. The plan had been just to go back for the ceremony at town hall and then return to Durham for the summer, but after talking to her sister, she realized just how badly she missed being with the Pogues at home...no matter how many demons still plagued the Outer Banks.

Smiling, her boyfriend pulled her toward him, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm excited."

Nodding, Charlotte pushed a piece of his dark hair away from his face. "Me too." She smiled, trying to push down her nerves. "I'm excited for you to meet my parents."

He grinned, "Hope they like me."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, "You'll be fine. You're always fine."

He smirked, "You're right."

The two had only been dating for three months, but Carson Ross was a welcomed distraction for Charlotte Carerra. The two had started as friends who'd met in one of their classes, and after multiple rejections from Charlotte, and multiple attempts from Carson, the two finally started dating.

Their relationship had been fun, but Charlotte had never been all in, no matter how much she pretended she was. Because no matter what, her heart always had, and always would beat for him.

Just the thought of possibly seeing Rafe in Kildare made Charlotte want to throw up. Her mind flashed back to the last things he said to her...how vicious they had been.

They'd broken up that night after their argument began in the basement. Rafe had followed her upstairs, Charlotte kicking people out as she went. He'd then laid into her, saying everything it seemed that he had been holding in.

It had taken her a close to a year to even begin to come to terms with the fact that her and Rafe had broken up. This time hurt more than the last. It hurt so much more.

She'd known it was coming. She'd known he was using again, and that if she pushed him too far he'd break. But that's exactly what she did. She tried to help him, but instead she'd caused him to snap.

Rafe had never yelled at her like he did that night.

Maybe that's what hurt the most...was the fact that the last time they'd spoken he was screaming in her face, saying things both of them knew he didn't really mean.

He'd blamed her for his father's death. He'd blamed her for his relapse. He'd blamed her for everything he possibly could.

He'd called her names. And he'd scared the shit out of her.

Charlotte left before he had the chance to keep going. She had refused to sit there and let him treat her like that again.

But this breakup hurt so much more than the last, because this time she'd thought he'd actually changed for her. This time, she thought there was hope.

"Where'd you go?" Carson hummed, peering down at Charlotte as he broke her from her thoughts.

She shook her head, plastering on a fake smile. "I'm here."

He brushed the hair from her face and it took everything in her not to flinch. That was something Rafe always did.

Everything Carson did, Charlotte compared him to Rafe. She knew it was unhealthy...but she couldn't stop herself.

Charlotte felt like a piece of shit most days, knowing she was still madly in love with Rafe as she found herself in Carson's arms. She'd held so much back, as if waiting for Rafe to reappear in her life. Like Carson was a placeholder.

Stepping back from him slightly, Charlotte reached for her bag. "We should get going, we don't want to be late."

─☼☼☼─

As they stepped off the ferry, Charlotte was met with an instant sense of belonging. No matter how much the Outer Banks reminded her of Rafe, it was home.

"Wow," Carson muttered, surveying the island in front of him. "This is...something."

Charlotte turned to look at him, trying not to be off-put by his attitude. "Just wait until you see it for real," she encouraged, breathing in the salty sea-side air.

Carson nodded, wanting to believe her. "Yeah, you're—"

He didn't finish his sentence, as a shocked gasp had fallen from his girlfriend's lips at the motion of someone wrapping their arms around her, hoisting her from the ground.

Charlotte's confusion melted into laughter at the sight of the familiar blonde head of hair who had thrown her over their shoulder. "Hey, J." She greeted, grinning as he set her back onto the ground.

"Damn, Charley Carrera back in the OBX is a sight for sore eyes." JJ declared, reaching out to take her bag.

It was then that he sister finally caught up to JJ, panting as she pulled her sister into a hug. "Sorry," she breathed, "Couldn't keep up with him."

Charlotte felt all of her apprehensions over being home begin to fade away. "Thanks for picking us up, Kie."

Her use of the word us is what caused JJ to finally turn toward Carson, his smile fading slightly. "Ah, yes. Duke Kook, good to see you."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte shot JJ a warning glare. He'd refused to call Carson anything but that. Meanwhile, John B always insisted on referring to him as Carter even though he surely knew that was not his name. Essentially, they were hellbent on making him feel as unwelcome as possible.

Kiara was a bit kinder, and offered Carson a small smile. "Welcome to the OBX, Carson."

Carson gave Kie a small dip of his head, "Thanks, Kiara. Looking forward to my time here."

Even though she should have been excited, Charlotte felt an almost sense of dread at the thought of having her new boyfriend here. This was her safe place, no matter how much bad had happened here, and letting an outside in felt almost...wrong.

Noting the look on her sister's face, Kiara tried to redirect the conversation. "We should get going. Mom and dad are waiting for us."

A shudder sigh fell from Charlotte's lips at the prospect. Despite the fact that it had been a year and a half since her parents had sent Kiara away and had tried to have Charlotte face a similar fate, the relationship between the parents and their eldest daughter was stil frayed. They were amicable with each other, but every time Charlotte looked at them, she saw what they had done, how they'd betrayed hers and Kiara's trust.

"They're excited to see you," Kiara muttered quietly so only her sister could hear as the four of them began down the dock. "Mom hasn't stopped talking about it for days."

Charlotte gave her a weak smile in return, trying her best to move on from what had happened. If Kiara could do it, she should be able to as well.

"So, do we call an Uber or something?" Carson questioned, looking around the parking lot for their mode of transportation.

Kiara held in a laugh, JJ rolled his eyes, while Charlotte winced, embarrassed─she wasn't sure for herself or for him.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Charlotte shook her head, "No, Carson. There are no Ubers in Kildare."

At least he didn't seem embarrassed. "Oh," he nodded, "So how are we getting to your parents house?"

As if on cue, the sound of a horn startled two out of four of them standing there. Charlotte and Carson hadn't been expecting it, Kiara and JJ had. The latter two of which were wearing grins as the van bounced through the gravel parking lot.

"Oh my God," Charlotte laughed, realization dawning on her.

There was almost no way that the Twinkie should have still been alive...but somehow it was. And the fact that it was filled with the rest of her best friends made the whole situation even better.

"The Twinkie lives," Charlotte breathed, shaking her head at her sister and JJ. "I'll be damned."

JJ threw an arm around her shoulder, shooting her wink, "She's unstoppable."

─☼☼☼─

Charlotte would be lying if she said she'd listened to more than five words of their dedication at town hall. Shoupe and the Mayor sung their praises for finding El Dorado, but Charlotte could not have cared less.

She didn't seek validation from any of those people, the same people who had tried to knock those kids down again and again.

So while everyone applauded for the seven of them, Charlotte scanned the crowd. It's not that she expected him to be there, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted him to be. Yet, when she didn't find a pair of blue eyes staring back at her, Charlotte felt a clench in her chest.

Carson caught her eye once. and Charlotte felt her stomach churn. It was him who she was looking for, even if it should have been.

And when he came to greet her after the ceremony, she could barely force herself to give him a genuine smile.

It felt wrong having a boy here, one who wasn't Rafe.

It always should have been him. God, why wasn't it him?

"You okay?" Carson questioned, having noted the distressed looks on his girlfriend's face far too often over the past few days.

"Yeah," Charlotte lied, giving him the best smile she could muster as she reached for a drink. "Just a lot...reliving everything that went down in South America."

Carson nodded, as if he understood...but he didn't. "It's hard hearing everyone cheer for you, hey?" He teased, not at all catching onto the fact that Charlotte was more scarred from that adventure than she cared to admit.

Charlotte toyed with her diamond necklace, the one Rafe had given her for Christmas two years earlier. "Right." she muttered, trying not to roll her eyes. "Because that's my biggest concern."

Her boyfriend either didn't hear her, or didn't care enough to respond, "What are we gonna do tonight?" He wondered, glancing around. "Are there any bars or anything?"

Catching sight of her friends gathered around one of the tables, Charlotte knew exactly what they were doing that night. "Probably hangout with the Pogues," she answered.

Carson scrunched up his face, "The what?"

God, he was getting on her nerves.

"My friends," Charlotte clarified. "Come on," she mumbled, nodding toward them.

As they arrived at the table, Kiara gave her sister a small smile. "You good?"

Charlotte nodded, downing her drink, "Great."

Pope and Carson had already launched into some intellectual conversation, while JJ and Cleo were arguing over something stupid. Sarah and John B were off on their own, in private conversation. That left the two sisters.

"He's not here." Kiara said quietly, eyes flickering to her sister. "I've barely even seen him over the past year."

That didn't make Charlotte feel better...not at all.

Noting the way her sister's face paled, Kiara spoke again. "He's alive." She assured. "I know that much."

Charlotte didn't mean for it to happen, but tears stung at her eyes. She cleared her throat, giving her head a small shake. "Good. That's good." She whispered.

Kiara opened her mouth to speak, but JJ cut her off. "Who the hell is that?" he demanded, nodding toward an older man who had approached John B and Sarah at their table.

The man was looking at the group of them, as if wanting them to join the conversation...so they did.

"Wait here," Charlotte instructed Carson, not wanting him to join her for the conversation.

"Can we help you?" Pope questioned, immediately suspicious of the unknown man.

The man gave them an understanding smile, acknowledging their uncertainty. "Yes, I wanted to tell you all it's remarkable what you all did." He looked at each of them. "Royal Merchant, El Dorado, Denmark Tanny. Impressive resume. Impressive."

Hearing it from someone other than the mayor, who Charlotte had no use for, it was quite remarkable what they'd managed to pull off over the course of a summer.

The man continued, lifting his briefcase onto the table, "I was wondering, if you all might be so kind as to look at an item of mine."

Cleo rose her brows, "Oh yeah? What type of item is that?"

"It's a manuscript," he answered. "I would investigate it myself, but I'm too long in the tooth. I need partners, and you all were the very first on my list."

Charlotte studied his expression, looking for any sign that he was less truthful than he was letting on. Most people his age did not have a group of young adults on their list of potential partners.

Deciding there was only one way to find out, Charlotte extended her hand, "May I?"

The man smiled, placing the manuscript into her palms. "I was hoping you would."

Gently, Charlotte opened the book, her eyes scanning the pages as Pope did the same from next to her. The two of them made quick work in deciphering the context of the script.

"1718," Pope breathed, "Geez, this is old."

Charlotte thumbed through some more pages, "Exhibition notes...dates."

"This is a captain's log," John B deciphered, looking to the man. "This shows the exact position of the ship."

The man nodded, "The exact location where the ship sailed and where it stopped."

JJ furrowed his brows, "Who was the captain?"

A pause came from the man, his eyes meeting each of theirs in turn. "Edward Teach."

Charlotte felt her breath catch in her throat, as recognition dawned on her. She recalled the name from a history class she'd taken at Duke.

When she spoke her next words, she honestly believed this man was playing with them...there was no way.

"Blackbeard."

─☼☼☼─

-an-

ooooops.

sorry guys heehee

this will be the last chapter until season 4, but i am so excited for the chapters that will come with it!

see you all soon.

-maddy xoxox