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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻: 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹

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Cassie woke up with a blaring headache and feeling like absolute dog shit. One thing was certain, she was hungover.

All she wanted to do was just lay in bed and rot...until she got a text from Kiara telling her they were all meeting up at The Wreck to discuss the hunt for gold since she was forced to take up a shift.

Cassie groaned and forced herself out of her bed, looking in the mirror to see the slight bruises that Rafe had left on her neck. Her fingers hovered over them shakily before she shook her head, telling herself to not let him scare her. She had to be stronger than that. She couldn't let an absolute asshole like Rafe get to her just because she rejected him.

Men.

She covered up the bruises with some concealer and if anyone noticed, she would say she got a hickey or something at Midsummers from a random busboy. She then put on some jean shorts with a white, tight-fitted crop top. She paired the outfit with a blue cap and some sunglasses, hiding the bags under her eyes.

Oh, and you can't forget her signature braid.

She then made her way downstairs, making herself an iced coffee to wake herself up. Her mother still hadn't exited her room and she knew she had only been doing it as a tactic to make her feel bad for what had happened last night.

But Cassie used it to her advantage to leave without asking for permission, pulling up to The Wreck. When she walked inside, she noticed the Pogue boys inside as Kiara bustled around to deliver people their food.

"Oh, look who it is! Crunk Cassie!" JJ teased as they all watched her walk over, making her roll her eyes from underneath her glasses. "I'm surprised you even made it out of bed."

"I don't wanna hear it," she demanded as she sat down, crossing her arms over her chest. Now that she had been surrounded by the Pogues, she was starting to feel incredibly embarrassed about what happened last night. She had even forgotten some parts, but Kiara had filled her in through text about all of it. "Let me just forget it ever happened."

"Shocked you can even remember," JJ retorted, making Pope stifle a snort. JJ had even wondered if she remembered the conversation they had in her room.

"Really, Pope? You're gonna laugh at that?" She said to the boy since, recently, he had usually been the one to defend her from JJ or at least sympathize with her.

Pope shrugged slowly. "It was kind of funny. Well, apart from the passing out part."

Cassie looked in between the two boys before she huffed an annoyed sigh. She then looked over at John B, who had been leaning against the counter and holding a pepper shaker. "You okay, John B?" She asked him.

He held up his arm with the cast on it. "Just a broken arm," he told her and she winced a bit. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry. You're staying where?" Kiara came over, continuing the conversation she was having with him before Cassie had arrived.

"Tannyhill," John B answered nonchalantly.

"Wait, you're staying in Tannyhill?" Cassie questioned him, sliding her sunglasses down to the tip of her nose. She had forgotten about the Sarah issue until right now, slowly growing annoyed.

"Yeah. Ward, or, uh, Mr. C wants to be my legal guardian because I...protected Sarah from Topper. He knows about me dealing with CPS and stuff, so he wanted to help," John B explained nonchalantly.

"So you're living with Sarah Cameron," Cassie deadpanned, sharing an annoyed look with Kiara as she came owner to deliver the sodas to the boys.

"Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, all right? And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't—"

"Hey, so, like, do you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope asked, cutting John B off.

"I don't know, Pope."

"What about those little golf carts they drive around? You get one of them?" JJ added before he took a sip of his drink.

"Does it come with a sweater-vest, or do you have to buy one of your own?" Pope questioned teasingly, his hands behinds his head and a pencil behind his ear.

"Look, you promised," Kiara reminded him, changing the subject. "You said you weren't with her."

John B just shrugged and Cassie released a sigh, shaking her head. "Bro, just own it. She got you," JJ voiced.

"Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine. But I'm letting you know now that I'm not doing anything with Sarah," Kiara told the Routledge boy.

"Nah, hanging out with her isn't fine either," Cassie spoke up, narrowing her eyes at John B.

"Do you guys see her here? No, right," John B pointed out, getting frustrated with all of them. "Okay, a little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"

"Well, it's all out of whack 'cause the guy was ganja'd when he drew it," JJ said, gesturing to the map that was on the table beneath Pope's hand.

"It's 'cause the coast has changed," Kiara blinked at him and Cassie snorted, making the boy's mouth open before he took a sip of his soda.

"So we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed," Pope concluded.

"What about the old forts?" John B suggested after a moment.

"Battery Jasper," Kiara said in realization.

Pope pointed to it on the map and they suddenly barreled into the Twinkie, taking it to Battery Jasper. They looked over the trees, the wind whipping at their hair and clothes since they were higher up on the island. "We're in Battery, right here. So if this is parcel 9, then it's somewhere northeast of here," Pope said as he pointed to different spots on the map.

"Somewhere over there," Kiara pointed over to the left somewhere beyond the trees.

"Right."

"Over there? Guys, that's not-that's not Tannyhill, that's a subdivision," JJ told them.

"Tannyhill Plantation used to be the entire island. It got sold into smaller pieces over time," John B explained.

Pope looked down at the map, trying to figure it out. "Okay, so we're just looking for an old stone wall. Come on, let's go."

"We gotta go back in the Twinkie...again? We literally just took it here," Cassie complained as she followed them inside the car.

"Hey! Do not insult the Twink. She could hear you," John B warned, holding up a finger.

Cassie held her hands up in defense, but laughed a bit at his seriousness. "My bad, my bad."

"Okay, so the road should split up here," Pope directed as John B drove the Twinkie to the location Pope had figured out. "All right, you're gonna take a left."

John B took a sharp left, making Cassie slam into the side of the car. "What the hell, John B?" She questioned. "Still recovering over here."

"Whoops, my bad," John B replied. "Guess she really did hear you."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Corny."

"That looks like a stone wall to me," JJ pointed out to the wall beside them once John B parked the car.

"This is it," Pope said.

"Not the Crain House," John B realized as he noticed the tall, old house overlooking the wall.

They all go out of the Twinkie, walking up to the wall. "Are you kidding me?" Kiara questioned, her mouth wide open.

"Worst case scenario," JJ commented.

"Why'd it have to be here...of all places?" Pope breathed out.

"Wait, what's wrong with this place?" Cassie inquired, not knowing too much about this Mrs. Crain person since she hadn't grown up on the island like the rest of them.

"Basically...I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property," JJ told her before he shared a serious look with Pope.

"Oh!" Cassie exclaimed, looking over at Kiara whose mouth was still hung open. "Great! I like this already," she continued sarcastically.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

After throwing themselves over the stone wall, the Pogues made their way onto the property. The plants had been overgrown and it definitely seemed like the place hadn't had upkeep in years. "Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?" Kiara reminded them, wanting to make sure they all knew what they were getting into.

"Oh, yeah. No, I do," JJ replied.

"Look, honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place," John B spoke before Pope shushed him. "What?" He held his hand out with wide eyes.

"Which stories did you hear?" JJ questioned Kiara fearfully.

"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she'd been holed up ever since. On certain nights when the moon is full, you can see her in the window," Kiara detailed as she twiddled her fingers and spun around, making Cassie chuckle at her.

"No, guys, it's not funny, 'cause it's all true! I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis," JJ began before he jumped back at the sight of a statue, holding his fist up. "Jeez!"

"Hollis?" Cassie repeated.

"Hollis Crain," JJ clarified once he relaxed.

"Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" Pope asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, dude."

Pope shoved him. "Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?"

"She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it. Told me the truth...about her mother and what happened in this house," JJ went on, making Cassie roll her eyes. "So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night."

"What night?" John B dared to ask.

"It all came back to her," JJ ominously said, making Pope tilt his head at him.

"Oh, come on," Cassie scoffed under her breath at his dramatics.

The blonde Pogue then turned around, looking up at the house before back at John B. "When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink...full of blood."

Cassie looked between Kiara and Pope, who both seemed to be roped in by the story and she scoffed quietly again. "Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning, she says her father and her split up. But then, Hollis noticed something," JJ continued. "Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out and in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head, looking straight back at her."

"God, you are so full of shit," John B called him out.

"Honestly," Cassie agreed with the Routledge boy.

"Dude, I swear to God, man," JJ promised.

"Did she call the police?" Pope questioned.

"She didn't have time," JJ answered.

"Don't you think if she was telling this story to you and everyone else seems to have heard about it, the police would have already gotten involved?" Cassie pointed out, raising her brows at him.

"Look, I-I don't know, but that's the story Hollis told me and that's what I believe. If you wanna go in there, be my guest. Actually, please do, you may be more useful with your head sliced off," JJ insulted, but before Cassie could retaliate, John B pushed past him since he didn't care about the stupid story either that JJ had probably just made up on the spot. "Wait, bro! Dude!" He pulled him back.

"What? What?" John B demanded in annoyance.

"You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer, man. You got a cast on," JJ pointed out.

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay?" John B admitted and Pope gave him a shocked look. "I got nothin' to lose, right? You comin' or what?"

Cassie and Kiara shared a glance before they both followed after him. The former looked over her shoulder, flipping JJ off for what he said even though he was turned the other way.

They snuck through the overgrown wildlife, crouching down just in case. "Hey, come on. Come here," John B whispered. "So here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."

"Okay, like, what kind of water? Like, pond water?" Pope wanted some clarification.

JJ chuckled, "Bong water?"

They all turned to him, giving him a look. "No. It-it just said look for water, okay?" John B said, not wanting to deal with JJ right now.

"That's the shittiest secret message ever," Kiara complained before she stepped forward, walking through the tall grass.

"You wanna complain a little more, Kie? Nobody said it was gonna be easy," John B called out to her.

"I'll search the northeast quadrant, you search the northwest quadrant," Pope instructed JJ.

"The-the decapitation quadrant!" JJ exclaimed, gesturing over to the northwest part of the property.

"If you're scared, just say that," Cassie teased him as the others split off.

He glared at her. "May I remind you of the dirt I have on you? Don't think you wanna be messing with me any time soon," he said quietly, stepping toward her.

She narrowed her eyes and stepped toward him, making them just a few inches apart. "Thought you said the timing was bad? Don't wanna start any unnecessary shit?" She reminded him, using his own words against him. Although she knew JJ had every right to expose her, that didn't mean he could stop her from screwing with him.

Who would she even be without making fun of JJ Maybank?

So she does remember last night, the boy thought to himself which had made him glare down at her even more. When JJ didn't say anything in response other than his glare, she smiled up at him before she walked in the same direction as Kiara. JJ watched her walk away before he scoffed, not believing her audacity.

Cassie caught up with Kiara as they wandered through the leaves. "So, was your mom mad this morning?" Kiara asked the girl. "My parents were pissed which is why they made me take up that extra shift at The Wreck."

Cassie shrugged. "Didn't get to see her this morning."

"So you just slipped out?" Kiara assumed and Cassie nodded. "Phew, girl, I'm praying for you."

"Hey, psst! Hey, come on. It's the only place we haven't looked," John B whispered once they all ended up making it to the end of whatever maze they were in, seeing a door that led to underneath the house.

JJ ran out of his "quadrant," flailing his arms at something flying overhead. "Oh, shit," he muttered, almost falling over. Cassie laughed at him before Kiara covered her mouth, not wanting her to accidentally alert anyone of their presence.

"My bad," Cassie mumbled from underneath Kiara's hand, causing the girl to slowly take it away.

"Here we go." John B stepped inside the small door that lead to underneath the house, shining his flashlight so that they would be able to see. They all crouched as they walked through the place, seeing the amount of old, broken down furniture that there was.

"Down came Mrs. Crain / And cut off all our heads / Up came the sun / And dried up all the blood," JJ sang like it was nursery rhyme.

"Can you stop?" Pope demanded and JJ halted.

"Let him keep going so Mrs. Crain hears him and chops off his head," Cassie said to the Heyward boy. "He would be more useful decapitated, right?" She gave a pointed look at JJ.

"Ha-ha," JJ replied sarcastically with an eye roll.

"You see any water?" Kiara questioned as John B continued to flash his light right around. "Another dead end?"

JJ reached out and felt the pipes above their heads. "There's not even water on the pipes."

"There's no water here," Pope concluded.

"Not a dropamino," JJ added in an accent.

"Know why we didn't find it? Bad karma," Kiara voiced, looking directly at John B.

"Oh, God. Here we go," John B breathed out.

"You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decide to rope in Barbie, and the trail's gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not," she confronted and Cassie nodded from behind her.

"This is exactly why I didn't wanna tell you guys about Sarah," John B admitted as he stepped closer to her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. What the hell's the deal? What's going on with you two?" He questioned before he looked at Cassie. "Or three." Cassie just scoffed at him.

"Nothing!" Kiara denied.

"Nothing? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?" John B assumed before Kiara smacked him in the face, making them all gasp.

"That's my girl!" Cassie smirked.

"That echoed, dude!"

"Stop treating me like I'm some girl that's obsessed with you instead of your best friend who's actually trying to look out for you," Kiara contended.

"Did you, uh, hit me?" John B queried.

Kiara raised her hand up, showing the dead mosquito on her palm. "Skeeter."

"Skeeter?" He repeated.

"Yeah, you see it?"

"Yeah." John B then slapped Kiara, making Cassie immediately take a step forward at John B angrily since it had reminded her of what Rafe did to her at Midsummers.

"Ooh, hey, all right, no..." JJ chastised John B.

Kiara stopped Cassie from going any further, holding her hand up to her show her that she had this. "Where's your proof?" Kiara demanded the Routledge boy.

John B held his hand up and she shined her flashlight on it. "Skeeter."

"Yeah?" Kiara then slapped his arm. "There was probably one right there."

John B slapped her arm back. "There's one right there."

"Yeah? Really? 'Cause you saw that?"

He tapped her forehead, "On your forehead."

"You're dead! That's it. Today's the day that you die," Kiara warned as she backed up, but there had been a light smile on her lips. "Today's your funeral."

"Hey, John B," Cassie said and he looked over at her, allowing her to slap him in the face.

"Wha-Hey!" He whisper-shouted in shock. "Your proof?"

Cassie shrugged, holding up her empty hand. "No proof. You just don't slap my girl and get away with it," she replied before she fist-bumped Kiara.

All of a sudden, a bunch of mosquitoes started to appear out of nowhere and nip at them, buzzing around like annoying little pests. Someone then slapped her arm and she turned to see that it had been JJ. "Seriously?" She questioned him.

He shrugged, a smirk on his lips. "There was a skeeter."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Uh-huh, sure." She then slapped his arm back, causing them to erupt in a slapping fight just like John B and Kiara were in just before. "Hey, there's one right there!"

"No, you got one there!"

"No, you!"

"No, you!"

Kiara and John B shared a glance, giggling at what they were doing before the latter focused up. "Okay, guys, enough. We gotta focus." He pulled them apart, but they were still trying to hit each other from over John B. "Hey, I said enough."

"He started it," Cassie pouted.

"Yeah, and I wanna finish it," JJ smugly replied.

John B pointed at him. "No. No." JJ released an annoyed sigh, but ultimately listened to the boy.

"Aw, look at that. Good, little JJ listens to his papa. Why don't you roll over now, boy! Come on!" Cassie mocked him like he were a dog, making Kiara cover her laughter.

"See, man!" JJ gestured over to the girl, getting fed up.

"Just-just leave it," John B breathed out, not wanting to deal with them.

All of a sudden, Pope began moving pieces of wood around on the floor, causing a ruckus. They all looked over, their eyes widening since they were supposed to be incognito. "Pope. Hey, Pope!"

"Hey! Help me move this. Help me move this," he whispered to them without any explanation. They all started moving the planks of wood, shushing each other for being too loud while doing so.

They then peered down the hole that was underneath the planks of woods, revealing a well. "Well, well, well," Pope joked.

"That was a good dad joke," John B muttered.

"They built this part of the house right over it," Kiara shook her head.

"This is where she hid the bodies," JJ added.

"Oh, dude, come on," Pope shoved him.

"Stop," Kiara whined.

"No, I'm dead serious."

"You're about to be dead in a second," Cassie threatened.

"Hey!"

"Stop it!" Kiara scolded them.

JJ shook his head, "It was never an outhouse."

"She probably doesn't even know it's here," Kiara reasoned.

"So...we found water," Pope looked at John B with hope.

"We're gonna need a really big rope."

authors note!
all im gonna say is that jj
is always finding an excuse to
touch or nudge cassie if yall have
noticed that 😝