Cassie's POV

I wake up to an empty bed and note from Rafe telling me he's with Kelce and Topper. I roll out of bed and as soon as my feet hit the ground, I feel bile rise up my throat. I dash towards my bathroom, dropping to my knees in front of the toilet and throwing up. My head spins and I sit up, wiping my mouth on my arm. The cause of my morning sickness not being very clear until I remember an important fact.

my period is late

I scramble off the bathroom floor and immediately climb into the shower. After getting washed and dried up, I head into my closet. I slip on a blue v neck dress covered in flowers and throw my curls up in a messy bun.

I grab my phone and purse, racing downstairs.

"What's got you in such a rush?" I hear my dad ask and I spin around to see him sat at the kitchen island with Anna.

"I-I need to see Sarah" I lie with a tight lipped smile.

"Okay. Have fun, sweetie" Anna smiles softly.

I give them a quick wave before speed walking out my house and towards the nearest store. Keeping my head down low, I enter the store and make my way towards the feminine products isle. I grab a pregnancy test and head to the check out. The older woman at the till gives me a sympathetic look and I smile at her weakly as she scans the test. I pay for it and shove it in my purse, thanking the woman before exiting the store. Instead of heading home, I anxiously make my way to the chateau.

As I reach the residence, I see JJ leaning against a hot tub that is new and Kiara talking to Pope about the device the boy is building.

"Hello, gorgeous!" JJ greets me and I smile, my hand tightening on the strap of my purse.

"Hey, J" I reply politely before heading inside the house.

I walk straight into the bathroom and close the door. Dropping my purse on the counter, I open the test and take it. While I'm waiting for the results, I sit on the side of the bathtub and anxiously bounce my leg. The door opens and my head snaps up.

"I'm in here!" I yell but JJ is already standing with the door open.

Kiara nudges past him and Pope stands back, all of them giving me worried looks.

"Are you okay? What's going on?" Kiara worries, crouching down in front of me.

"It's nothing, Kie. Don't worry about me" I assure her.

"Holy shit, Cassie" I hear JJ speak and I look up to see him holding the pregnancy test in his hand.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kiara asks and Pope looks over JJ's shoulder, nodding.

"Have you looked yet?" Pope asks me and I shake my head 'no'.

My eyes water and Kiara stands up, walking over to the boys. She takes the test from JJ and looks at me with an expression I can't read.

"W-What does it say?" I stutter.

Kiara gulps, turning to look at the boys and my heart drops.

"Guys?" I choke out.

"It's positive, Cassie" Pope answers.

"Oh, fuck" I breathe out, a tear running down my face.

JJ is the first to step forward and pull me up into a hug. I bury my face in his chest and let out a sob as Pope and Kiara wrap their arms around me too.

"It's gonna be okay" Kiara assures me, rubbing my back.

"We've got you" JJ adds.

"We're here for you" Pope states.

"All the way" JJ and Kiara agree in unison.

After a while of crying and letting the Pogues console me, I pull myself together and Kiara helps me clean myself up. Kiara and Pope continue what they were doing before hand and I sit on the edge of the hot tub with JJ.

"How you holding up?" The blonde asks me curiously.

"I'm gonna be a mom, JJ" I mumble in awe, the realisation finally setting in.

"I always knew you'd be a milf" He replies with a cheeky grin and I laugh, pushing him playfully away from me.

"In all seriousness, you're gonna make a great mom" He adds, throwing his arm around me.

"Thanks, J" I smile, laying my head on his shoulder.

"How's it feeling?!" I hear Pope shout and I slightly turn my head to see Kiara still in the bucket.

"Feels good!" The girl replies.

"John B pullin' a Houdini" JJ declares.

"Yeah, where is he?" Pope asks curiously as he lowers the pully for Kiara to get out "I got my scholarship interview tomorrow. We gotta get this done!"

I lift my head up and stand up straight, crossing my arms over my chest. A fast walking figure catches my eye and I see it's John B walking towards us.

"Look at what the cat dragged in" I comment loudly, nudging JJ's shoulder with my elbow.

"Hey! Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything!" JJ hollers at the brunette.

"No, he did not! I did that!" Pope counters but John B ignores them both, storming towards the chateau.

"Hey, Johnathan!" I snap but he ignores me too, entering the back door.

"Okay, that's it?" JJ scoffs.

"Uh...what's that all about?" Pope asks.

"I was gonna ask you the same question" JJ replies.

I shrug JJ's arm off me and enter the chateau with Kiara by my side, the boys following behind us. As we walk in I see John B frantically trashing the place as if he was searching for something and he starts to scare me, the angry look in his eyes making me nervous.

"You all right, man? What- what's up?" Pope asks but John B continues raking through the living room.

"What are you looking for?!" Kiara snaps.

"Bro, what's going on?" JJ asks worriedly.

"John, can you just answer us?!" I demand.

Chills run down my spine as my best friend pulls JJ's gun from the sofa bed and stares at it in silence.

"John B, what do you need the gun for, man?" JJ asks, walking towards the brunette "Talk to us!"

JJ tries to take the gun from the manic boy but John B throws him onto the sofa bed and my eyes widen.

"Johnathan!" I gasp in shock.

"John B, chill!" Kiara shrieks.

"Are you out of your god damn mind?!" I yell as he storms away.

"What, are you JJ now?" Pope snaps, blocking the boy's way.

John B throws Pope at the table and my fear turns into anger.

"All right, that's enough!" I scream at the brunette's retreating figure.

"Shit- Are you okay?" I hear Kiara ask Pope as I storm outside.

"John B, what the hell are you doing?!" Kiara shrieks, running out after me.

John B jumps onto the motorcycle in the driveway and I try to rush forward to grab him off it but Pope holds me back, giving me a stern look .

"What the fuck is going on?!" I shout at John B.

"Ward knows about the gold!" John B stresses, hurt and anger clear on his face "He killed my dad"

I stand frozen in my spot as my best friend speeds off and Kiara screams his name, running down the driveway with Pope and JJ.

"Holy fucking shit" I mutter.

☁️☁️☁️

"What now? We just go up to the front door and ask, 'Hey, have you seen John B?'" JJ asks sarcastically as we sit on the HMS Pogue outside the Cameron residence.

"Look, he lives at Tannyhill now. It's plausible. We can play dumb" Kiara argues.

"Play dumb?" JJ scoffs.

"It's pretty late" Pope comments and I nod in agreement.

"Look, I've never seen John B like that. We should honestly be going to the cops" Kiara states.

"The cops- Yeah, and say what, Kie? We're worried about our friend because he's gone off on a rampage because Ward Cameron killed Big John? Like, they're not gonna believe us!" JJ rants as Pope looks through binoculars for any sign of John B.

"Hey, I see Ward" Pope declares.

"Let me see" I perk up, taking the binoculars from the boy.

I look through the binoculars and see Ward exiting the house, alive and from what I can see, unhurt.

"Doesn't look dead to me. Let's go home" Pope says, getting behind the wheel.

"I second that" I nod, putting down the binoculars.

"Wait" JJ replies.

"What?!" Kiara snaps.

"Uh...Okay. Obviously, Mr Cameron is fine, and even if John B was here, he isn't now, okay?" Pope explains "Plus, I have the biggest , most important moment of my life in six hours"

"Yeah, well, our friend is in trouble" Kiara argues.

"I'm in trouble!" Pope retorts "Guys, I haven't been home in three days. My dad's probably put all my shit on the street by now"

"Okay, so that's it?" Kiara asks "In a time of need, you're just gonna bail? You're just gonna walk away?"

"Kie, that's not fair" I tell her with a frown.

"Okay, yo, guys, can we not do this right now?" JJ groans.

"Hey, I have a scholarship interview in the morning" Pope declares.

"Okay, well, what about John B?!" Kiara yells.

"Why is it always about John B?!" Pope shouts in frustration.

"It's not always about John B. You're so stupid. It would be any of you in this situation" Kiara states.

"Oh, bullshit!" Pope protests.

"This is about friendship!" Kiara screams.

"Bring it down" JJ huffs and I pat the blonde's shoulder sympathetically.

"Look, this is about Pogues for life!" Kiara cries out and I start to worry about how distressed she looks.

"What about forensic pathology, huh?" Pope asks.

"Forensic pathology?" The girl scoffs.

"It's my life. Everything I've worked for" Pope explains.

"That's your priority?!" Kiara shrieks.

"Stop with the moral high ground bullshit!" Pope yells in her face.

"Excuse me?" Kiara says in disbelief.

"Pope, come on" JJ sighs.

"No! No, no. She has no room to talk!" Pope hollers in anger before turning back to Kiara "Where were you when Big John went missing? You weren't there. You weren't there for John B. You weren't there for any of us. Remember your Kook year?"

"Dude" JJ warns him.

"Yeah, you forgot about us. Now you feel guilty" Pope spits.

"Give me a break!" Kiara screams, pushing him and I jump to my feet but JJ pulls me back "That what you need?! You need a break?! Move!"

"JJ, do something" I snap and the blonde jumps into action.

"Hey! Yo, yo, yo, cut it out, all right?!" The Maybank boy demands, pushing them apart "If I'm the one mediating, we've hit rock bottom"

"Bow, now" He tells Pope "Go!"

Kiara sits down at the back of the boat with tears running down her face and Pope does what JJ tells him to do.

"Pope, I'll drop you off" The blonde adds.

We sit in complete silence as we head towards the Heyward house and once we arrive, Pope turns to us.

"Good luck tomorrow, Po" I smile, patting his back.

"Yeah, good luck, dude" JJ adds.

"Thanks, guys" He nods, stepping off the boat.

We wait until he's safe inside to pull away from the dock and make our way home. The HMS Pogue comes to a stop at the Carrera dock and I turn to my sister.

"You coming, Kie?" I ask her and she nods, pulling herself to her feet.

"Get home safe, JJ" I tell him, ruffling his hair.

"Will do, Cassie" He smiles, pecking my cheek.

Kiara stops in front of JJ and I lowly whistle, stepping off the boat.

"I'm gonna head in, Kie" I tell her and she nods, turning back to the blonde.

I walk away, giving them a little privacy to talk and enter my house to see Rafe on the sofa, watching some action movie.

"You didn't have to wait up" I speak in a soft voice and he turns to me, jumping off the sofa when he sees it's me.

"I was worried about you" He says, pulling me into his arms "It's late, Cas"

"I know, I'm sorry" I mumble, kissing his jaw "It was an emergency"

"What kind of emergency?" He asks curiously.

"The Pogue kind" I grin knowingly and he rolls his eyes, leaning down to peck my lips.

"A letter came for you in the post" He tells me, handing me a white envelope.

The first thing I notice is my mother's handwriting and my heart drops.

"You can head to bed, I'll be right up" I mumble and he frowns.

"Is everything okay?" Rafe asks me.

"Yeah, I just need a minute alone" I smile, pecking his cheek before walking into the living room.

I hear his footsteps heading up the stairs as I sit down of the sofa and I open up the letter, hesitating before unfolding the paper.

To my dearest daughter Sandy,

If you receive this letter I am sorry to say that I have passed on. I'd like to firstly apologise for being a terrible mother to you, Cassandra. I sincerely hope you'd forgive me for all the times I wasn't good enough or made you feel as though you weren't good enough, because my dear, you are more than enough. One day you're going to have children of your own and I know that you'll be a wonderful mother, much better than me or my own mother. I couldn't be happier to see that you have found a boy like Rafe to spend your life with, I know he'll treat you well. I'm also very happy to see you've found your family in the Outer Banks, that you've finally found yourself. In my will I have left you our house in Manhattan and a fund I set up when you were a child for a house, new car, etc. Although I didn't show it very often, you mean more to me than anything and I love you with my whole heart. I hope you have a wonderful life ahead of you, filled with love and happiness, because that's what you deserve. I love you, Sandy, and I hope we will meet again one day.

Lots of love from your mother x

I lower the paper and smile sadly through my tears, letting out a quiet sob. 

"Cassie, are you okay?" I hear the voice of my sister and she sits down next to me.

I hand her the paper and she skims over the words, a frown tugging at her lips.

"I'm so sorry" She tells me, pulling me into a hug.

I grip on to her tightly, letting her comfort me for the second time today and catch my tears as they fall.

"Thank you for this, Kie" I croak.

"Always, Cassie" She replies.