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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲: 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

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Cassie has this thing that when something is bothering her, she can't stop thinking about it. That's why she kept thinking about the Rafe thing, and that's why she kept thinking about how to get back Sarah all these years to name a few examples.

When she was younger, her mother had told her that there was no such things as bad thoughts, that only your actions talked. But she guessed she shouldn't really be taking life lessons from someone who was a cheater and a murderer.

Nonetheless, when when she tried to stop thinking the "bad" thoughts about a certain blonde Pogue with those entrancing blue eyes the next day at school, she ended up failing.

Miserably.

The Maybank boy had been clouding her thoughts and all she could think about what had happened last night between them. That hadn't been the first time they had been so close and it hadn't been the first time they had almost kissed but this...this felt different somehow.

They were both mentally coherent, first of all, whereas the other two times neither of them were. Second of all, he also given her mouth-to-mouth, meaning they technically kissed but not really because it was to save her life. And third of all...well, there was no third of all, they had almost just kissed before Savannah just had to knock on the door.

Why had they been almost kissing? And why had Cassie constantly been dreaming about kissing him?

Oh wait.

Oh.

Oh, no, no, no.

No, it can't be.

I don't like him.

Do I like him?

No, I can't possibly like him.

I hate him.

But why do I keep dreaming about him?

It has to be the adrenaline again.

But I don't feel the adrenaline right now.

Oh.

Shit.

Fuck.

Fuck my life.

She couldn't think about this sudden realization right now. She had to focus on school. She looked at the board, seeing the teacher write the word "extortion" on it in reference to a book they were supposed to be reading for class.

Cassie tilted her head at the word. Extortion. Pope had used that word to describe what Gavin had been doing to Ward and Savannah in order to be paid more money to keep quiet.

Gavin.

Pope had also mentioned Gavin said something about covering up something prior to Rafe shooting Peterkin. At the time, Cassie assumed it had something to do with Big John, but his death never had to do with a plane.

What else could he have covered up that had do with a a plane?

Cassie squinted her eyes at the word as she theorized before her eyes began to widen, her muscles tensing up once she realized: her father's death.

She began to put all the pieces together in her brain: Gavin mentioning covering another thing up, Gavin being the pilot that survived the plane crash her father was in, Savannah knowing about the gold before they knew about it, the way that Ward had caressed her mother's face after she killed Gavin...

Were they having an affair? Had her father known about the gold too? Had her father been purposely murdered by Ward and Savannah because he found out about their affair?

Cassie held a hand up to her mouth, feeling as if she was about to be sick. She quickly grabbed her backpack from her chair and got up, rushing out of the room despite the teacher calling out her name for her to stop.

She had to get answers. She had to know the truth.

She raced home, determined to confront her mother no matter what she would do to her. Once she got inside her house, she called out, "Mom!"

She paused when she saw her mother sitting at the kitchen island, looking over at her in confusion. "Cassie, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Mom, how did Dad die?" She questioned her mother immediately.

Savannah tensed up, giving her daughter a confused look. "Cassie, what kind of a question is that? You know the answer."

"Do I know the answer?" She challenged, stepping further into the kitchen as she stared her mother down. "Or was that a lie like everything else has been a lie?"

Savannah blinked at Cassie before she slowly stood up from her hair. "Cassie, what the hell is going on?"

"Answer the fucking question."

Savannah stood up a bit straighter. "Your father died in a plane crash, Cassandra. We both know this."

"Oh, yeah? And was the pilot Gavin? Ward's pilot? The same pilot that was on the runway when Rafe shot Sheriff Peterkin?" Cassie interrogated, being careful not to reveal that she knew Gavin was dead.

Savannah's mouth had ran dry. "How-how do you know who Gavin is?"

"Oh, trust me, I know about a lot of things," Cassie drawled and her mother narrowed her eyes at her. "Tell me how Gavin survived that plane crash and Dad didn't. Unless...unless it was planned this whole time. Unless Dad somehow also knew about the gold by being friends with Ward."

"Cassie, you shut your goddamn mouth right now."

"No!" Cassie barked and Savannah recoiled a bit. "No, I deserve to know the truth! Did Ward kill Dad? Did you kill Dad?!" She cried out. "Are you screwing Ward Cameron?!"

Savannah stared her daughter down, her jaw clenched and her eyes as wide as saucers. She had no idea how this idea, that had been so close to the truth, had gotten into her head but she was determined to flush it out.

"Cassie, you're acting crazy," Savannah deflected.

"No, no, I'm not acting fucking crazy!" Cassie screamed as she neared her mother. "How can you cage me in my room and then call me crazy?!"

"No, no, I'm not dealing with you right now. Clearly, you've been drinking or something," Savannah said as she tried to walk away, but Cassie had blocked her and grabbed her arm roughly. "Cassandra!" Savannah scolded, trying to rip her arm away but Cassie's grip had been too strong.

"Tell me the goddamn truth right fucking now!" Cassie demanded.

Savannah was finally able to rip her arm away, cradling it since Cassie had definitely just left a mark. "You wanna know the truth? You wanna know the truth, huh?! Your father was an abusive piece of shit!" She yelled and Cassie let out a confused huff, not expecting her to say that. "You wanna know where you got your alcohol problems from?"

"My alcohol problems?" Cassie repeated.

"Oh, don't act so dumb now. I know about you always sneaking bottles of alcohol every night. You think I didn't know?"

Cassie's face twisted, her chest heaving. "If you knew this whole time, why didn't you try to stop me? Why didn't you care?!"

"Because I knew what would happen if I tried to stop you. The same thing your father would do to me when I tried to stop him," Savannah explained before she pointed to her arm, gesturing to the marks that Cassie had just left on it. "He did the same to me, Cassie, but worse."

"No," Cassie shook her head, not believing it. "No." She didn't want to believe her father, someone that she looked up to, was abusive toward her mother. Was that why she was the way she was? So angry all the time? Was it in her blood?

"Oh, yes, honey," Savannah confirmed. "I hid it from you because I knew how much your father meant to you but behind closed doors...he was a monster."

Cassie began to cry. "So what? So you and Ward killed him? Because he abused you and then you ran to Ward for help? Were you and Ward having an affair and dad found out and you killed him? Is that what happened? And then you had Gavin cover it up for you by crashing the plane on purpose?" She rambled.

Savannah froze, not knowing how she had gotten it so spot on. But she couldn't confirm that. Not when Cassie could have possibly been recording this conversation right now, which she wasn't because she stupidly let her emotions get the best of her.

When Savannah didn't respond, that's when Cassie knew the answer. "Oh my God," Cassie breathed out, backing up against the wall where she had almost fallen over. "Oh my God."

"Cassie..." Savannah stepped forward.

"Oh my God," she repeated as she started to cry.

Savannah took another step forward. "No, Cassie, that's not—"

"Get the fuck away from me!" Cassie screamed before she ran out the door, back out to her car.

"Cassandra!" Savannah ran out after her, seeing her daughter get into her car. She tried opening the door, but Cassie locked it just in time. "Open this goddamn door right now!"

Cassie didn't listen as she started the car, backing out of the driveway which had made Savannah step back. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know where to go. All she knew what that she had to get away.

Savannah cursed loudly before she went back inside, rushing over to her computer that Cassie had been at the other day. She went through the search history, seeing multiple searches about Gavin and Ward. "Fuck," Savannah cursed, knowing that Cassie must have done some digging of her own which is how she found out about everything. "FUCK!"

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Cassie decided to go to Kiara's. Even though it had been right down the block, Savannah knew Kiara was still in school so it wouldn't make sense for Cassie to be at her house. She also parked the car a few blocks down, not wanting Savannah to potentially see it.

She knew that Kiara's parents would let her in. They liked Cassie. They knew her backstory. If she pulled through with a sob story, they would let her in to have her wait til Kiara came home.

But when Cassie walked up to Kiara's, only for Kiara to pull up in her car at the same exact time, both girls furrowed their brows. "What are you doing here?" They both asked at the same time. "I have so much shit to tell you," they both said again. "Oh."

Kiara brought Cassie inside the house, sneaking in since she didn't want her parents to know anything yet. Kiara had given Cassie a change of clothes, which had just been some jean shorts and a cropped graphic tee, since she was still in her school uniform as Cassie rambled on and on about what happened.

"Wait...so you think that Ward and your mom are having an affair...and that they killed your dad?" Kiara slowly queried, trying to wrap her head around it all.

"Yeah. I also think that maybe my dad also knew about the gold, and they also killed him so he couldn't get in the way or something," Cassie continued. "I don't know, I just know that since Gavin was the same pilot that was the pilot in my dad's plane crash...it can't be a coincidence. Especially not after Savannah just killed him."

"No. No, you're right. It makes sense," Kiara breathed out, running a hand through her hair. "Holy shit. Well, did your mom confess to it? Did you get it on tape?"

"Fuck, I didn't record. Okay, but even if I did, she technically didn't confess to anything," Cassie told the girl and Kiara cursed. "She only said that...apparently, my dad had alcohol problems and he...hit her."

"What?" Kiara asked, standing up from her bed. "He did?"

"Apparently," Cassie said. "She said that's where I get my...alcohol problems from." Kiara gave the girl a sad look before she pulled her friend into a hug, knowing that she needed it. "I-I didn't know he did that to her, Kie. I-I didn't. But-but is it wrong that I'm still upset that he's dead?"

Kiara pulled away, gripping her best friend's shoulders. "Of course not, Cece. He was your father. You didn't know he did that, okay? You only knew him as your dad. Don't beat yourself up over this," she assured the girl and Cassie nodded slowly. "And with the alcohol stuff..."

"I know, Kie. I'm-I'm trying to fix it. I am. It's just, it gets so hard sometimes."

"I know. It's okay. We can get through it together."

Cassie nodded before she thought back to what Kiara had to say to her. "Wait, what was the shit you had to tell me?"

"Oh. Right. It kinda seems not as crazy now after you told me this, but..." Kiara began to explain the letter that Pope had received from someone named C. Limbrey. How they could help clear John B's name and how they needed to get to Charleston by tonight to do it.

Cassie wasn't sure if she trusted this person and Kiara didn't trust them either, but she said they were all willing to do this if it meant having a chance at clearing John B's name. That's why Kiara came home. To tell her parents she needed to go to Charleston.

The two girls made their way downstairs, Kiara preparing to tell her parents. They saw they had been sitting outside and the two girls shared a look, venturing out onto the porch.

"Kiara? Cassie?" Anna questioned from where she sat, furrowing her brows. Mike also looked confused, crossing his arms over his chest. "Shouldn't you two be in school?"

"Uhh, yeah, but...we need to go to Charleston," Kiara slowly revealed..

"Excuse me?" Anna asked, blinking rapidly at her daughter.

"I need to go to Charleston. Today. With Cassie, JJ and Pope," Kiara told her.

"Why?" Mike asked.

"Um..." Kiara hummed, looking over at Cassie for help but she just shrugged, not knowing what to say. These were Kiara's parents, not her's. She had no right to try to convince them to let her daughter leave. "It's, uh, to help John B."

Anna glanced at her husband before she looked back at Kiara. "Baby, no, you can't go to Charleston on a school night."

"But this is my chance to finally clear John B's name!" Kiara shouted, growing mad.

"Baby—"

"What does it mean now for you to clear John B's name?" Mike pointed out. "He's gone." Oh, how wrong he was. But they couldn't tell him that.

"Mike," Anna warned with wide eyes.

"He's gone," Mike repeated, looking at his wife.

"Michael!" Anna cautioned louder, standing up from her seat.

"You have to accept it!" Mike continued to his daughter and Cassie pursed her lips, feeling severely out of place.

"Stop it!" Anna yelled, making Mike put his hands on his hips frustratedly and turn around. Anna walked over to Kiara, getting close to her. "Listen to me. I understand that what you are going through right now is incredibly difficult."

"Do you?" Kiara shot back.

"Baby, I do. All we're trying to say is that we're worried 'cause you're spending all of your time with these boys," Anna said to Kiara before she glanced at Cassie. "You, too." Cassie cleared her throat, looking down.

"God, Mom. They're not just some boys that I found on the street!" Kiara complained.

"I know that, Kiara. I'm not saying—"

"They're my best friends!"

"I know that!"

"Since kindergarten! Our only friends!" Kiara told her, bringing Cassie into it as well. They had once been just Kiara's, but now they had also been Cassie's. The Blake girl would have smiled warmly had it not been for the context.

"I understand that, but you are not a little girl anymore, Kiara!" Anna told her with wide eyes.

"I'm a Pogue, Mom! Sorry!" Kiara yelled as she started to walk away. Cassie followed as she kept silent, trying not to step into the argument that she clearly didn't belong in.

"No. Actually, you're not, Kiara, 'cause you live on Figure Eight!" Anna shouted as she followed both girls. "Don't you walk away when I'm talking to you!"

"God, you — I'm still one of them! You're so worried about me being a Pogue because you got pregnant with a Pogue, and then you had me!" Kiara exclaimed.

"Kiara—"

"Which is such a tragedy, by the way," Kiara added sarcastically.

"Kiara! Seriously? This is not fair! Stop it! Do not walk away when I'm talking to you! Turn and look at me right now!" Anna screamed and Kiara slowly turned, but Cassie noticed a truck parked in their driveway.

She squinted her eyes, seeing...Pope and JJ inside. Her insides twisted once she had made eye contact with JJ through the window and he sent her a little wave. She cleared her throat and glanced back at Kiara, sending her an apologetic look before she made her way down the porch steps.

"I am so sick of this shit! Every single time that you get in trouble, you try and stir up the pot between us, and I am not having it anymore!" Cassie heard Anna scream as she walked down the steps toward the truck Pope and JJ were sitting in.

"Hey, we were gonna pick you up, too. What are you doin' here, princess?" JJ asked her casually once she made it over to his window, and she felt her stomach flutter. Is he just going to pretend last night didn't happen?

"Uh, figured some shit out that I needed to tell Kie," she answered and JJ tilted his head in confusion. "And then she told me what y'all found out and then she needed to tell her parents we were leaving for Charleston."

"Yeah, they're taking it really well," JJ noted sarcastically and Pope hummed, making JJ look at him. "How'd you get this rig? 'Cause I know your old man didn't let you have it."

So I guess he is gonna pretend last night didn't happen. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe it shouldn't have happened. I'm just freaking out over nothing. I don't like him. I don't.

"I undid the intake valves on the carburetor. Made it start pinging," Pope told him.

"And you're just gonna take it to your cousin Jeff's house. Just gonna get it fixed."

"Crash overnight," they both finished and Cassie thought about the plan, thinking it could work for Pope. As long as everything went smoothly, which is usually never did.

"I think I'm rubbing off on you, Pope. Lying to your old man, stealing his truck," JJ observed and Pope looked over at him. "Kinda sounds familiar." Pope just gave him a look and JJ held his hands up, his lighter in one hand. "All right, that was a sore subject. My bad."

"I'd say we have about 18 hours before he absolutely loses his shit," Pope guessed and JJ hummed. "So as long as we get it back before then, I think we're good."

JJ then looked back over at Cassie, who was still standing outside the car. "Do you wanna get in or—"

"Oh, my God! Boarding school? What are you talking about?!" Kiara exclaimed in a high voice before she started walking down the steps, away from her parents. The three Pogues turned their attention to her, their eyebrows raising.

"It's just an option. It could broaden your horizons, baby. Could get you out of OBX," Anna explained as Kiara continued to walk away.

"I'm not going to boarding school!" Kiara yelled without looking back at her parents.

"It would give you structure, Kiara!" Mike called out after her.

"They're not my people!"

"Look at your life right now, Kiara! Look at your life!" Mike yelled before JJ opened the truck door, getting out so the two girls could get inside. Cassie got inside first, wanting to make sure she didn't have to sit next to JJ.

"It's good to see y'all, Mr. and Mrs. Carrera," JJ greeted awkwardly.

Pope stuck his head out the window and said, "Hi, uh, ma'am, sir. I-I promise to have her back at a reasonable hour and safe," Pope told her parents and Cassie shut her eyes at the boy.

"What are you doing?" Kiara hissed at the boy.

"Kiara, listen to me. You wanna go, then you can go. But if you don't come back at the proper time, then don't come back at all!" Anna threatened.

"She's bluffin'," JJ assured her with narrowed eyes before Kiara hopped into the car. "Y'all have a good day," he said before he got into the car, making them all squish together. It was smart of Cassie to get in next to Pope so she wasn't practically sitting on JJ's lap.

"This shit would be so much easier without parents," Kiara pointed out and Cassie glanced over at her. "Shit, sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," Cassie replied as Pope began to back the car out of the driveway. "Found out both of my parents are apparently assholes, so..."

"Both?" JJ quizzed.

"Right, yeah," Cassie breathed out, sharing a meaningful look with Kiara. "Basically, I'm pretty sure my mom and Ward are having an affair and they killed my dad either because A. He was an alcoholic who was abusive, B. He found out about their affair, or C. He was getting in the way of finding the gold. Or possibly all three. And then they got Gavin to cover it up like how they got him to cover up Rafe shooting Peterkin."

Pope almost swerved the car as JJ blinked, clicking open his lighter repeatedly.

"Huh. Okay. What the fuck?"

authors note!
looks like cassie made two realizations
in this chapter but doesnt want to accept
one of them 😝 don't forget to vote for this
book in the fanfic awards! the link to the
voting book should be on my message
board! ty guys for reading and lmk if yall r
enjoying (although the slow burn is hella
slow LMAO)