( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀. )
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WHEN MARLEEN HARRINGTON was pronounced dead due to a supposed overdose on oxycodone, people on figure eight immediately blamed it on the sole fact that the blonde-haired woman was destined to have her life go down the gutter considering the fact that she had grown up on the less fortunate side of the island, thus making her a pogue. It was an absurd stereotype that had been created by the wealthier people on the island. From the second she stepped foot onto the luxurious land, people talked. They couldn't comprehend what it was that Henderson Rosewood saw in her.

She was seventeen when she first met Henderson Rosewood. Nineteen when she found out she was pregnant with Jaylene. Twenty when she gave birth to their first born child. Nearly Twenty one when her second child was conceived. Twenty one when Nathaniel was born. And twenty five when she was pronounced dead.

Seeing that Jaylene was extremely young when her mother passed, she was only able to see her in pictures. Memories of her were a blur, making it difficult for her to remember the type of woman that Marleen Harrington was. But one thing's certain. The woman adored both her children. She'd do anything for them.

Which was why Jaylene found it hard to believe that Marleen had been doing hardcore drugs in her final days. The blonde-haired woman always made sure to take the anti-depressants which had been prescribed to her. Jaylene and Nathaniel had brightened up her world the second they took their first breaths. If there was one thing she cared deeply for, it was family. Family meant everything to her.

People on the south side always spoke so fondly about her. She was even compared to an angel sometimes. Just like her daughter, she always managed to place a smile on others faces in times of tragedy. Even when she moved to figure eight, she remained that humble woman that everyone on the cut knew her as. Money never got to define her as a person. She wouldn't allow it.

"Hey! Is there a possibility that you kept some of mom's personal belongings?" Jaylene walked into the kitchen, her sudden presence causing her father to jump in surprise, nearly dropping the coffee mug in his grasp.

"Jaylene, I'm almost forty now. I'm more prone to heart attacks." He dramatically placed a hand over his pounding heart, earning an eye roll in return. "What's with the sudden urge to know about her? You never cared for her before."

Jaylene shrugged, walking towards the coffee machine placed a few feet away from her. "I realized that I hardly know anything about the woman who brought me into this world. I mean, I was only four when she died. I never really got to know her as a person..." She trailed off, some sort of truth pigmented in the words that left her mouth. "People on this side of the island always speak so negatively about her, but she's spoken so fondly of on the southside. Look, if you feel like it's best to rip any knowledge on my biological mother away from me, fine. But that's really messed up."

Henderson let out a heavy sigh, setting his coffee mug down to rub his temples with his index fingers. "There's some boxes in the basement with some of her belongings. It's mostly just clothes and some sketches or literature of hers. She was always indecisive with what career she wanted to build for herself." He flashed her a pained smile, clearly feeling sentimental at the memories that gnawed at his brain just speaking about the deceased woman. "Your grandparents—your mothers parents, they kept journals, old high school yearbooks, pictures. They'll probably have everything there was to know about her."

"She was a writer?" Jaylene questioned in surprise, reaching for a mug to pour herself a fresh cup of coffee.

Henderson nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. "She was meant to publish her very own book before everything happened. It was never completed." He explained, looking down at the ground.

Jaylene was quiet for a few seconds before opening her mouth to speak again. "Do you think they hate me? My own grandparents?"

"Of course not, Jaylene." He shook his head, looking back up with a sympathetic look on his face. "They met you when you were a baby. Those people are incapable of hating another human being without getting to know them first." He reassured her, not wanting her to think that her mothers parents hated her because of what had happened. It wasn't anyone's fault.

Fiddling with the bracelet wrapped around her wrist, Jaylene took a deep breath. "By the way, I don't think I'll ever forgive you for going along with that lie Lorelei created about where I was actually at, but I'm also not one to holds grudges against someone. We'll just slowly work past it, right?" She turned towards him, coffee mug in hand with a hopeful glimmer sparkling in her eyes.

He nodded, understanding that he'd truly hurt her with the actions he'd taken. "Of course."

｡･:*:ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹

AFTER SEARCHING RECKLESSLY like a maniac, Jaylene was finally able to locate a photograph of her mother where she was stood in front of a medium-sized home. Behind it, the Harrington's home address was written in black ink, slightly smudged, but readable. She knew her grandparents lived on the cut, but she never had an exact location about where they resided. Well, until now.

Her mission that summer was to get to know her grandparents who she'd met when she was a very young age. Along the way, she hoped to learn more details about her mother. Six months away from the island gave her a lot of free time and something about Marleen's death just wasn't sitting right with her. She was destined to figure out what it was.

But before anything, she had to pay an old friend of hers a long-awaited visit. She had avoided it for the couple days that she'd been back, but he was the answer to a question that had been eating her alive since the day she was admitted into a rehabilitation center.

Now, she was sat on the hood of her black Range Rover, eyes narrowed and set on Rafe Cameron as he walked towards her, a grin formed on his lips.

"Jaylene Rosewood!" Her name sounded foreign on his tongue. It felt like forever since he'd last said it. "To what do I owe your desperate urge to see me? Personally, I don't think Jason will be too happy when he hears about this."

"That's bold of you to assume that you're my type." Jaylene scoffed, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "But come closer." She encouraged him, amused at his stupidity when he actually obeyed her orders. And without a second thought, the palm of her hand collided with his check, instantly causing the piece of flesh to turn a crimson color. "Were the pills laced, Rafe? Were you trying to fucking kill me?" She whisper-shouted, slapping his chest with the back of her hand to push his body away from her.

"Fuck." He groaned in pain, applying heat to his throbbing cheek. Normally, he would've been pissed, but in this case, he seemed to be very understanding for some reason. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The pills you gave me. I took the proper dosage and somehow I overdosed and had to be rushed to the hospital. I barely made it out of there alive, Rafe." She shot him a cold glance, convinced that the oxycodone was laced with something else. The amount she took wasn't enough to kill her. Jaylene knew that.

"Wait." He slowly began to put the puzzle pieces together, quickly removing his hand from his cheek before placing it over his mouth in amazement. "You weren't staying with family in New York, were you? And you didn't try to commit suicide."

"Nice to know that you're not a complete moron like every other person." Jaylene sneered, hopping off the hood of her car with her arms crossed over her chest. "I almost died of an overdose. So you wanna answer my question?"

"Look, I'm not gonna be held responsible for what you chose to place inside of your body. You asked for oxy and I delivered. You wanna know what's in the pills? Go to Barry and find out." The short-tempered boy was beginning to get annoyed at the fact that all the blame was being thrown in his direction.

"Or you can find out for me. I mean, that's assuming that you don't want Ward finding out that his nineteen year old son has yet to do anything with his life and is sniffing cocaine every other day instead of getting a job to help stabilize his life." Jaylene knew how manipulative that was, but she didn't care in the slightest. She needed to know why she'd nearly encountered death with those pills. "How do you think he'd feel about—"

Rafe didn't allow the girl to finish, both his hands tightly holding her down by her wrists as he pushed her against the car. "Don't threaten to expose what I do with my life! You don't get to try and hold something over my head!" He shouted out of anger.

Jaylene hissed in pain at the pressure on both her wrists, a shaky breath running past her lips. "What's the matter, Rafe? Are you scared that everyone will see you for who you truly are?" She groaned, debating on whether to kick him or not, but quickly decided against it.

"You want some sort of closure, Jaylene? Ask the guy yourself." He tightened his grip around her wrists more, unaware how strong he was compared to the girl in his grasp.

"You're hurting me." She winced in pain, shutting her eyes to try and focus on anything other than the pain running through her. "And you're gonna create a dent in my car."

Quickly realizing what he has doing, Rafe released the brunette from her grasp. Immediately, he noticed the handprints that were now adorning her wrists. "Jaylene—" He began to apologize, but was quickly cut off by the sound of her phone ringing.

Jaylene's eyebrows knit together in confusion at the unfamiliar number typed across the screen, but decided to answer nonetheless. "Hello?" She questioned, looking down at her wrists, a sigh leaving her lips at the sight.

"How much money do you have lying around in your bank account? Cause i need your help." The familiar voice caused her to let out a groan. "I need you to pay my bail."

"You hold the same amount of intelligence as a sloth." Jaylene didn't even hesitate to throw the statement at him, already imagining the waves of confusion that must've been running through his head. It only further proved how accurate the comparison between the two was. "I'm a minor, dumbass. I'm not legally allowed to bail you out."

"Shit. You're right." John B. looked around the police station, tapping his foot against the tiles. "That's why I'm asking you to bail me out in a not so legal way."

Before muttering another word, Jaylene shot Rafe a cold glare before heading onto her car, closing the door behind her. She didn't need him hearing anymore of that strange conversation. "You're asking me to bribe police officers? Are you out of your mind? Why can't you just ask Kiara to bail you out? She has money too."

"Because I don't wanna be in debt with the Carrera's." He explained, glancing towards Kiara who was waiting for her fathers arrival.

"But you wanna be in debt with me? God, John with the unnecessary B, just admit that my presence brightens up your entire day." She smirked, placing the key inside of the ignition to start up the car.

He groaned on the other line, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Will you do me this favor or not?"

Jaylene chuckled, buckling her seatbelt before placing her phone into the cup holder. "Relax. I'm on my way."

authors note. A small FYI, I am not erasing Sarah from the plot like other stories have done in order to get John B. and their oc together. Her family is such an important factor to the entire plot of outer banks and erasing her character is just downright idiotic. And I wouldn't necessarily say that John B. and Jaylene are gonna be a slow burn relationship, but who knows.

Let me know your honest opinions so far! Feedback is the best whether it's positive or negative.