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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡
the truth

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・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

"How's it feeling?" Pope asked Kiara, who was currently in a container that was being held up by some wire, and a tree branch. It was the next morning, and they were fortunately able to calm JJ down to get him to rest.

"Feels good," Kiara told him.

"All right, I'm taking you down."

"Okay."

"Be careful!" Kyla shouted from where she was standing next to JJ, who was sitting on the edge of the hot tub. She then looked over at him and asked, "You feeling okay?"

"Ky, you gotta stop asking me that. I'm fine, seriously," he told her, since the girl kept on asking from the moment he had woken up.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm kind of a—"

"Mom?" JJ finished for her making Kyla raise a brow. "Yeah, I think we all know that by now," he teased, making her roll her eyes at him playfully. "John B pullin' a Houdini," JJ then said after a moment.

"Yeah, where is he?" Pope asked. "I got my scholarship interview tomorrow morning. We gotta get this done!"

"Yeah, and I gotta get back home so my parents don't think I died. They're used to Kie being out like this, but definitely not me," Kyla added and Kiara nodded from where she was swinging.

"Speak of the devil. Hey!" JJ called out once John B appeared at the Château. "Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything."

"No, he did not. I did that," Pope corrected him, which made JJ shake his head.

"Hey, John B," Kiara said once they noticed that he was walking right into his house, just ignoring them. Pope then finally got her out of the container, watching John B with a confused expression as he did so.

"Hey, what's up?" Kyla asked, sensing that maybe something was wrong. Maybe the fishing trip with Ward didn't go well, she thought.

"Okay, that's it?" JJ questioned in offense and Kyla slightly nudged him, signaling for him to tone it down a notch with the attitude.

"Uh...what's that all about?" Pope asked JJ and Kyla as he and Kiara walked over to them.

"I was gonna ask you the same question," JJ replied.

"Let's go check on him," Kyla suggested before they nodded, walking into the house to see John B clattering through his drawers and cabinets. Kyla and Kiara glanced at each other in confusion at his actions.

"You all right, man? What — what's up?" Pope asked as John B opened a cabinet, only to slam it shut again.

"What are you looking for?" Kiara questioned, but he just kept on ignoring them.

"Bro, what's going on, man?" JJ asked, even him getting worried about the brunette boy's state.

"John B, did something happen wi — Oh, my God," Kyla breathed out once she saw John B take out the gun from underneath the couch cushions.

"John B, what do you need the gun for?" JJ asked as he stepped towards him.

"Just — No!" Kiara exclaimed.

"Talk to us!" JJ shouted in John B's face before the Routledge boy shoved him down on the floor. Kyla gasped, making her way over to JJ as John B kept on walking.

"John B, chill! What are you doing?" Kiara said in disbelief.

"What, are you JJ now?" Pope asked in disbelief before John B shoved him out of the way as well.

"Shi — Are you okay?" Kiara asked Pope, who was just staring at the wall in shock.

"Come on," Kyla whispered, pulling JJ up from the ground before she handed him his cap that fell off his head. He took it from her, putting it back on angrily.

"John B, what the hell are you doing?" Kiara questioned as she followed John B out of the house. The three quickly followed her before they made their way outside, seeing John B get on JJ's motorcycle. "John B, what the hell?" Kiara yelled.

"Ward knows about the gold! He killed my dad," John B told them, making them all stop in shock before he drove off.

"John B!" Kiara called out after a second of hesitation, running after him with the others. But, it was no use since the motorcycle was obviously faster than their legs.

"Shit!" JJ exclaimed.

"We gotta — we gotta do something," Kiara said, nodding her head so that she could try and think of something, as well as make sense of all of this.

Kyla just stood there, shocked about what John B had just told them. Ward killed his father? Sarah's dad? There was no way, she thought. She didn't know who to believe: A Pogue...or her best friend's father who was nice to her ever since the moment they had met.

She knew she couldn't choose between them, not when her friendship and trust with the Pogues would be on the line. So she settled for something else.

"You guys can think of something," she said, making them all look over at her. "I'll go home and cover for you, Kie. And for anything else I need to cover just in case this information comes out, all right?"

Kiara started to nod. "Yeah. No, yeah, that's a good idea. Do you know when you'll come back to meet us or something?" she asked.

Kyla shrugged. "There's a chance that I'm gonna get grounded, so...if I don't come back, that's why," she told her sister. She then glanced around at the three of them and added, "Everything will be fine."

"I'm not so sure about that," JJ said, looking down at the grass before he looked back up at Kyla. "But thanks, Ky. For your...words of encouragement."

She shrugged again, tilting her head. "What else am I here for?" she replied jokingly, even though her facial expression told otherwise.

"You're here because we trust you," Pope said, making her look at him with some surprise on her face. "I think you earned my trust a long time ago, but I just wanted to ignore it 'cause...you were a Kook," he admitted.

"Yeah. Me, too," JJ agreed with a nod in Pope's direction.

They then all looked at Kiara, waiting for what she had to say. The girl eventually sighed and said, "You're my sister. I've trusted you my whole life, believe it or not."

Kyla smiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes from all the emotion she had been holding in before the two sisters hugged.

She now knew which side she had chosen.

・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

The next day, Rafe and Tara sat out on the Glissons' back deck smoking weed, drinking, and making out. Tara blew some smoke in Rafe's face before they started to make out on the couch they were sitting on. Well, Tara was sitting on Rafe's lap while he sat on the couch.

"Rafe?" Wheezie called out as she walked towards them, and they quickly pulled away from each other. Tara also quickly moved to sit on the armrest.

"I'm sorry," Rafe told his younger sister in a deep voice.

Wheezie chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna tell anybody," Wheezie assured him before she walked over towards the railing, looking down. Tara grinned lightly at the girl since it seemed like she forgotten that Rafe and Kyla were once a thing.

"Did you want some, or..." Rafe trailed off, pointing to the drugs and alcohol on the table. Tara's eyebrows raised at him, even though she didn't really care if the younger girl accepted it or not.

Wheezie turned around to look at them. "You legitimately just offered me drugs? I'm 13," Wheezie told him.

Rafe scratched the back of neck. "Uh..."

"He was kidding," Tara spoke up, sending Rafe a look. "But, I mean..." she trailed off, shrugging slowly.

Wheezie gave the blonde a look before she changed the subject and said, "This is a sweet crib. How'd you con the Glissons into letting you crash here?"

"I, uh...I didn't tell them is how, all right?" Rafe told her slowly as he started to clean up the table a bit.

"Why not just stay with Tara? You two seem pretty...comfortable with each other," Wheezie pointed out.

Tara arched a brow at her. "Wow, aren't you observant?" Tara replied sarcastically, a wide grin on her face. "But I would have let him stay if it wasn't for Topper. He can be pretty protective over me," the blonde told her and Wheezie nodded, understanding that very much.

"And the Glissons are in Sun Valley all summer, so keep a lid on it, please," Rafe added.

"I mean, as long as you let me stay here whenever I want," Wheezie said as she sat down on the other chair.

"Yeah. Dad trying to kick you out, too?" Rafe asked her.

Wheezie sighed. "Worse. I am officially the least favorite daughter," she said, and Rafe hummed and laughed at that. Tara rolled her eyes, placing a hand on Rafe's shoulder comfortingly since she knew he could relate. "Sarah and Dad are going to the Bahamas, and did they invite me? Nope."

Tara shook her head in annoyance. "Sarah seems to get everything she wants, doesn't she? I wonder if it ever gets tiring for her," she said.

Wheezie shrugged. "Probably not."

"Wait. They're — they're going to the Bahama house? In summer?" Rafe questioned and Tara gave him a confused look at his question.

Wheezie nodded. "Yeah. I mean, according to Rose, it's 'business'." Rafe hummed again, leaning back in exasperation. "I mean, they're all up in some new development, and for some super-secret reason, they're going to the Bahamas."

"That's bullshit — excuse my French," Tara replied angrily. "Rafe is much more qualified than Sarah, who's off busy with those Pogues."

Rafe then abruptly got up, making Tara's hand fall off of his shoulder. "You — you know, I-I know about, like a billion times more about the business than she does. What — what is this?"

"It's okay, baby, I know," Tara said with a pout, standing up and placing a hand around his arm comfortingly as he began to shortly pace side to side.

Wheezie groaned. "We're the black sheep. Get used to it, Rafe," the brunette told him as she got up and went over to her backpack.

"Yeah."

"Baa!" Wheezie exclaimed.

"Shut up, okay?" Rafe warned.

"Baa!" Wheezie repeated.

"Hey, shut up!" Rafe shouted as he pounced forward and grabbed his sister's wrist, making Tara's eyes widen. "Wheezie, I told you to shut up, okay?"

Wheezie pulled her wrist away from him. "Don't tell me to shut up!" she yelled back. Rafe backed away a bit and ran a hand through his hair before Wheezie threw her money at him. "Here, my life savings."

"Life savings..." Rafe muttered twice under his breath as he picked the money off of the floor. He then sat back down in the chair and Tara looked down at him. "I'll pay you back."

Wheezie nodded and replied, "Whenever."

"Hey, he will," Tara said. "I'll make sure he does," she assured Wheezie, and the younger girl just shrugged.

Rafe started to nod his head. "I know this looks really bad right now and everything, but... Like, I'm gonna — I'm gonna get my shit together, okay?" he told her, pointing at himself. "Like, I will." He sniffed, continuing to nod. "I'm gonna get it tight, like, you know..." he started to knock on the table, "...like, real right. You'll see." He then leaned back against the chair. "Um...yeah," he muttered before he started punching the armrests.

Wheezie sighed and just walked away before Tara quickly grabbed Rafe's hand for him to stop. "Rafe, stop, we can figure this out, okay?" she told him. "We can drive to the runway and convince your father to take you instead of Sarah."

Rafe nodded again. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a — that's a good idea," he agreed, rubbing his chin area with his hand.

"But first...I think we should tell Kyla the truth about us," Tara told him slowly, walking over and sitting down in the other chair.

Rafe gave her a crazed look. "What?! Since when do you ever tell the truth?" he questioned.

"You're right, I don't. But I think Kyla needs to know. She needs to know that when she makes the biggest mistake in her life, then there will be consequences," she replied, her eyes darkening.

"I don't know..." Rafe trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Me or her, Rafe?" Tara asked. "Because I distinctively remember that you chose me first almost a year ago," Tara added, her eyes narrowed.

Rafe swallowed hard before he nodded again. "You're right. I-I did. And you know what?"

"What?"

"It was one of the best nights of my life," he told her, making Tara smirk. "And the Midsummers night, too."

"Well then...let's go tell the truth for once, shall we?" Tara said maliciously, getting up and holding out her hand for him to take.

"We shall," he replied before he sniffled and got up from his seat, taking her hand in his.

Kyla and JJ seem to be getting closer 😉 it's all about the little things, guys. I also just want to remind you all again that this is a slowburn between the two of them since I hate rushed romances and I just love all the angsty buildups and ahhh, sorry I'm gonna get carried away.

I also just wanna say that I know that Rafe and Tara are kind of cringy, they're supposed to be that way since Tara is like completely obsessed with him — she probably has a shrine to him in her room tbh.

But next chapter is where everything starts to pretty much fall completely apart, so make sure to vote and comment to make me wanna update faster 😏 ( jk i'll probably still update anyway cause I love this book )