𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝙅𝙊𝙃𝙉 𝘽 ¹.

𝙭𝙞𝙞𝙞. 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤 & 𝙟𝙪𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙩

( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉. )
▬▬▬∘◦ ☆ ◦∘▬▬▬

THE ONE PLACE Jaylene didn't wanna be at was on board the Carolina Belle ferry as it sailed through the ocean, making its voyage towards the land of Outer Banks. Especially not looking the way she did. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, eye bags extremely noticeable due to the lack of sleep she'd received the previous night, and dry tears adorning her cheeks as she sat on a seat with her knees pulled up to her chest, hugging her body as she received worried looks from passengers on board the ferry.

There was a tight knot in the pit of her stomach with a lump formed in her throat as she kept thinking about the words written in the last couple pages of her mothers last journal she'd written in. She'd practically memorized them by heart after thoroughly analyzing every single paragraph last night and into early morning.

Since reading everything last night, Jaylene now understood why her grandparents had said what they said the previous day. She couldn't even imagine confronting her father after learning that he'd put her mother through an unbearable amount of pain. He made it out to seem like he cared so much about Marleen and wouldn't do anything to hurt her, but he had completely shattered the 25 year old. And if she had overdosed, it was him who provoked her. He and Lorelei were to blame for the sadness Marleen endured in her last days.

Jaylene let a shaky sigh fall from her lips as she shivered at the amount of eyes set on her. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, causing people to quickly look away as if they hadn't been staring the entire time, but she knew they were mostly concerned with how much emotion the girl lacked. But it was a set of particular brown eyes that stood out to her the most. The eyes belonging to John B. as he shot her the slightest smile from where he and Sarah sat near the balcony of the ferry.

"You like her, don't you?" Sarah noticed the concern glazed over his eyes as he stared at Jaylene from a far. He looked at her the way any girl would want a guy to look at them. It was like she was the only person he had eyes for.

John B. tore his gaze away from Jaylene, shaking his head in deep denial. "Of course not. She's my friend...I think."

"Rafe has had a crush on Jaylene for like the longest time now. He looks at her the exact same way you're looking at her right now." Sarah pat the boy on the back, internally laughing at his failed attempt of trying to deny his noticeable feelings towards the Rosewood girl. She found it adorable how determined he was to make her think otherwise. "He denies it too, but I know my brother too well. I mean, I don't blame him either. She just happens to be the type of person you'd want to have in your life."

John's hands were sweaty as he wiped them dry on the material of the suit he wore. He'd known for some time now that he felt something for Jaylene Rosewood, but he'd never admit it out loud. Even before the whole treasure hunt for the gold began, he always found her attractive. He only used to like her for her looks, unaware as to what her personality looked like.