You’ve always been a Kook, born into it, raised in it. The prettiest girl on the island, everyone knew you, but you never let it go to your head. You treated everyone the same, whether they were Kook or Pogue, but the Pogues never let you in. They assumed you were just like all the others.

Rafe Cameron, your 22-year-old boyfriend, was reckless, wild, and high most of the time. He had a darkness in him you couldn’t ignore, but you loved him with everything you had. His hate for the Pogues made things harder—he didn’t want you getting close to them, not because he didn’t trust them, but because he didn’t trust you being around that world.

“I’m not like them, Rafe,” you said, sitting next to him on the hood of his truck as the ocean waves crashed behind you. “I want them to see me for who I really am.”

Rafe didn’t respond right away. He never did when you said things like that. His eyes were distant, focused on something far beyond you, something you couldn’t reach. “They’ll never see you for who you are. They’ll always see a Kook.”

You knew he was right in some ways. The Pogues were so caught up in the world they had built, so scarred by the people like you, they couldn’t see past the labels. And yet, you couldn’t stop wanting to break through their walls. You didn’t want to be defined by the life you were born into; you wanted to be more.

But the more you tried, the harder it became. Topper, with his possessiveness. Kelce, always so dismissive. Barry, Rafe’s dangerous dealer, lurking in the background. Despite it all, you tried—tried to get close to John B, Kiara, Pope. Even JJ, your ex, though now he was cold, the warmth between you two gone.

One night, you confessed to Kiara, “I just want to belong, not just to Rafe but to something real.”

But it felt impossible. You loved Rafe with everything you had, but sometimes it felt like two worlds were closing in on you—the Kooks you couldn’t escape, and the Pogues who couldn’t accept you.

And you wondered if you’d ever be able to find a way between them.