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𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗦𝗜𝗫
𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆

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・・・・☆・・・・☆ ・・・・

Kyla and Kiara walked up to their house slowly, not wanting to entering it because they knew they would have to suffer the wrath of their parents. Nonetheless, Kiara opened the door and two sister's stepped inside. The younger Carrera girl glanced at her sister before she called out, "Mom."

"Dad," Kyla said after a moment as they stepped further into the house. They then saw their mother outside on the porch and made their way over to her.

"Oh, thank God," Anna breathed out, placing her hands on the table for a second before placing them on her hips. "Oh, my God. Where have you both been? We were up all night long. I was at a hospital."

"Well, the truck broke down, and then both of our phones died. And we didn't have a plug. I—" Kiara paused, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah," Kyla added with a shrug, wanting to remind her mother that Kiara wasn't the only one to blame.

Anna then started to laugh, making the two sisters glance at each other in confusion. "Well, of course. That makes complete sense. The plug? Of course. The plug," she said with a breathless laugh before she sat down on the couch.

Kyla swallowed hard, looking back over at sister again since she didn't know what to say. Kiara took in a deep breath before she said, "John B's back."

Anna looked over at her daughters. "Yeah, I heard that. I heard that on the news. I heard he's arrested for murder."

"Yeah, but he didn't... he didn't do it, okay? We promise. Somebody's framing him," Kiara told her, looking back at Kyla for help.

Kyla sighed. She knew that Anna would be more likely to say yes to her over her sister, but at this point, she didn't know if Anna would even consider what she was about to say. "And he's gonna need money for a good lawyer," Kyla said, putting her lips in a tightly forced grin.

Anna scoffed. "I can't do this with you both."

"Mom, this is really important," Kiara told her and Kyla nodded.

"You guys didn't even call me," Anna said shakily, completely ignoring what the girl's were saying.

"John B's been arrested for murder. I mean, do you understand that? It's not all about you," Kiara said and Kyla nudged her, giving her a look. "What?" Kiara whispered as their mom sat up, walking over to the railing.

"Saying that won't help our case," Kyla whispered back to her, but Kiara just shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

The sisters then looked back at their mother, who was staring at them from across the porch. "That's exactly what I was thinkin'...at four in the morning...when I was out on the beach looking to see if your bodies had washed up with the tide. I was definitely thinking, 'This is all about me'," Anna said, starting to cry. Kyla looked down at her feet guiltily, not being able to look her mother in the eyes. "Jesus, you guys treat me like shit."

"You treat us like shit," Kiara corrected her and Kyla looked over at her, not knowing if it would be a good idea to talk back right then. "You don't even trust us."

"Why should I trust you both? All you guys do is lie to me! Especially you, Kiara!" Anna shouted, starting to get angry just as their father walked over.

"When have I lied to you?" Kiara yelled back.

"Kiara, stop it! Everything you're doing is for these boys."

"It's about the boys," Kiara said mockingly.

"It is always about the boys. You're putting these boys above everything else and you're dragging your sister down with you," Anna said and Kyla raised her eyebrows at her mother. She was tired of people thinking that the Pogues were making her do these things since she was just so 'perfect'.

When in reality, she wasn't.

"God, you are so worried that I'm gonna sleep with a Pogue like you did! Well, guess what? I already did," Kiara revealed with a shrug, grinning mockingly at her mother.

"And I almost did," Kyla added without even thinking, making Kiara look over at her in shock.

Mike turned to his wife and started to say, "Let me handle this. This—"

"No, no," Anna cut him off before she pushed away from him. "No! No! I'm done. I don't think you guys have any idea how hard we have worked to try and give you guys opportunities that other kids do not have!"

Kiara looked back over at their mother. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that I don't care about those things?" she questioned.

"Yes, and you should! Your sister did and then you — and then you changed her!" Anna exclaimed.

"She never changed me!" Kyla shouted, finally losing her temper for the hundredth time that day.

"Well, I'm sorry I don't!" Kiara yelled at the same time. "Look, I'm a Pogue, and I always will be! Kyla is starting to accept that she is one now, but I never made her be a Pogue! This is why I hate coming back here!" Kiara continued without her sister.

"You hate coming back here?" Mike asked her, placing his hands on his hips with an angered expression.

"Baby, you wanna live like a Pogue?" Anna asked Kiara before she picked up her clothes basket. "Let me show you what that's like." She then tossed the clothes over the porch, making them fall onto the grass. "Go live like a freaking Pogue! Get your butt out of my house!" Anna yelled and Kyla's mouth parted at her mother in shock. She knew that she was only talking about Kiara, but she had her back on this one. "Nobody's stopping you!"

Kiara looked over at her father with tears in her eyes before she nodded slowly, walking towards the steps. "There's more where that came from, Kyla. So you better decide what kind of life you wanna live," Anna threatened.

Kyla swallowed hard, taking in a deep breath as she glanced between her parents. "I don't care what kind of life I live as long as I'm living it with my friends and my real family," she said before she followed after Kiara, fighting back tears.

She knew she was going to regret what she said later. Hell, she was already regretting it now. But there was no way she was going to let her parents kick Kiara out without also kicking her out.

"Why did you do that?" Kiara asked as they strayed farther away from the home. "They only kicked me out, you still could have gotten them to agree with you."

Kyla shook her head. "No, I wasn't just gonna leave you, Kie," Kyla told her. "I did that once before and it didn't work out. You're my sister and we have to stick together. Especially now," she explained and Kiara took a deep breath in, nodding slowly. "So, you and Pope? Are you guys, like, official now?" Kyla asked, changing the subject to something, hopefully, happier.

Kiara shrugged, sniffling as she wiped her eyes. "Honestly...it didn't feel right," Kiara admitted and Kyla furrowed her brows slightly. "I mean, in the moment before it happened...it did. But, you know, after...I don't know, it didn't feel special."

"I'm sorry, Kie," Kyla said sadly.

"No, no, it's okay. It's just...I thought I liked him like that. I really did, but..." she trailed off, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"But what?" Kyla asked, wanting Kiara to let her know what was wrong so that she could try to help her.

"I feel like I forced it," Kiara answered, shaking her head. "I don't think I actually liked him. I think I was just forcing it because I felt bad and...I don't know, I just feel like I never really liked a guy like that before."

"Wait," Kyla said, grabbing Kiara's shoulder softly to stop her and make her turn towards her way. "What are you saying?"

Kiara took a deep breath in, looking down. "You wanna know the real reason why I was so mad when Sarah and you dropped me this past year?" she asked and Kyla nodded slowly. "It's because I...it's because I liked her. Like, as more than a friend," Kiara revealed, looking back up at her sister as tear fell down her face. "When I liked Sarah, I realized that I actually never had a real crush on a guy before and I really only ever payed attention to the...t-to the girls. And I never wanted to say anything because...I was scared."

"Oh, Kiara," Kyla said, pulling her sister into a hug, where she started to cry harder. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm proud of you."

"I-I wanted to make sure I wasn't just being — being weird so that's why I...that's why I did it with Pope, but — but there was nothing there," Kiara told her through her sobs, making Kyla hug her tighter.

"No, you're not weird, Kiara," Kyla said, stroking her back comfortingly. "You're exactly who you need to be. And there is nothing wrong with that," Kyla assured her.

Kiara started to calm down a bit, so she pulled away, wiping at her face to get rid of the tears. "Thank you," she said and Kyla nodded. "Just...please don't say anything. I'm not — I'm not ready for the others to find out. Especially...especially Pope and Sarah," Kiara said.

"My lips are sealed," Kyla told her with a small smile to try and cheer her up, and Kiara let out a breathless laugh before she sniffled. "So do you still like Sarah now or...?"

Kiara laughed again. "Definitely not, I got over that a while ago," she told her. "And even if I did...she's totally in love with John B now, so it wasn't like anything was gonna happen." Kyla nodded, knowing that she made sense. "But, uh...you mentioned almost hooking up with a Pogue," Kiara brought up, putting the focus on Kyla.

The girl's eyes widened, remembering that she did, in fact, say that. "I...did?" she asked, playing a dumb.

"You did," Kiara told her when a knowing expression. "And, well, John B is taken and Pope likes me, so that means...there is only one Pogue left. You have anything so say about that, or are you just gonna lie again?" she questioned, but her tone was teasing.

Kyla groaned softly and replied, "Look, the reason why I walked away from JJ before was because he told me that while I was drunk the other night, I started to make out with him and then I tried to...you know..."

"Oh, my God," Kiara breathed out.

"I know, I know! But he stopped me 'cause he didn't wanna take advantage of me and he also said it would just ruin the Pogues, which is how I got mad and then I realized I actually do like JJ, but he doesn't like me and he thinks that dating me would just be horrible," Kyla said at a rapid speed before she took a deep breath in, calming down. "Like, can you believe that?" she asked slowly this time.

Kiara glanced away guilty. She had been the one to tell JJ that a relationship between the two would ruin the Pogues and their friendship. She might have been right about the friendship part, but she was kind of exaggerating about the Pogues part. But now she had just indirectly hurt her sister's feelings, so she felt horrible.

"Maybe he thought that because you were drunk, it wasn't actually you're real feelings making you do that. Maybe he didn't wanna get his hopes up, you know?" Kiara said with a shrug, not wanting to reveal she was the source of this issue.

Kyla shook her head. "No. If JJ actually liked me, I feel like he would have let me go through with it, or at least tell me the truth from the start," she argued softly.

"Well, even if he doesn't like you, which I still think he does," Kiara said, making Kyla roll her eyes, "I feel like he didn't wanna tell you because he didn't want to make things awkward. And, well, now things are obviously awkward."

Kyla sighed. "That's true. Ugh, I don't know, this is confusing. Like, we've had so many moments with just the two of us and I guess I caught feelings then, but I didn't realize?" she told her in a questioning tone, furrowing her brows. "I don't know, I only realized just before, which is convenient," she said sarcastically before she sighed again. "I just never thought I would like someone like JJ."

Kiara gave her a sad smile. "Look. I know that I said the two of you being together wouldn't be good, but I only said that to save everyone's friendship. I think you guys would be an amazing couple and if he doesn't think so, then...that's a loss for him. You're an amazing girl, Ky. You shouldn't let what a stupid guy, like JJ, says define you," she told her.

Kyla grinned, gaining some confidence. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Kie. I'm not gonna let him define me 'cause if he doesn't want me, then he doesn't want me. It won't matter because there will be other guys practically begging for me on their feet."

Kiara nodded. "That's the spirit."

"Wow, I'd never thought I would say that," Kyla said, her eyes widening at herself. She was always so used to doing things for other people, especially Rafe, but now...she wasn't going to do that anymore. Especially for a dumb guy.

"Well, you did, and I'm proud of you," Kiara said before they hugged again.

"I'm proud of you, too."