CHAPTER FORTY-THREE:
LATE NIGHTS
(episode three: prayers)

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ARDEN AND KIE MUTUALLY decided not to mention the heated moment that occurred outside Kie's house. It was clear to Haven that both girls were angry at each other, for entirely different reasons, but they had more important things to focus on, things they couldn't afford to be divided for. Even Arden and Brec were getting along, though Haven could tell it was more for the benefit of getting through Charleston in one piece. It was nice, though. For a moment, she could pretend.

"My parents are so paranoid of me being a pogue, like it's the worst thing that could ever happen," Kie sighed the moment they got on the ferry. The door to the back of the van had been jammed open by JJ's tool box he'd left in the back seat, allowing the group to sit around on the floor and outside the door as they waited to dock back on land. Kie used this as another opportunity to rant about her parents, though Haven noticed how careful she was in choosing her words. Like one wrong move would send Arden up in arms again. 

"Hey, I hear they got good weed at boarding school, though," JJ pointed out as he rolled a blunt of his own. 

Kie frowned at him. "I'm not going to boarding school," she insisted, like she had any choice in the matter. "They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up and throw me in a van."

"Would boarding school really be that bad?" Brec asked, to which Kie gaped at her.

"Uh, obviously. I'm not made for the boarding school life. I'm a pogue."

Haven wanted to roll her eyes but thought better of it. In all honesty, Haven could see both sides. Anna and Mike just wanted what was best for their daughter, even if she didn't necessarily agree with them. And Kie only wanted freedom, to be friends with whoever she wanted to be friends with, not having to feel like she was suffocating. It was a lose-lose situation.

"Well, I say," JJ cut in before Brec could reply. "That we just crumble some herbs right now."

Kie took the blunt without hesitation, raising it to her lips and inhaling deeply. Smoke lingered in the air as she breathed out, taking another hit before passing it on to Arden, who took it and handed it to Haven without a word. Normally, Haven would've just given it back to JJ, but not today. She took a hit, albeit not as sharp as Kie's, sighing at the scent that clung to her clothing then. She didn't have a change of clothes with her, but hopefully the smell would wear off before she had to see her mother again.

"Hey, Kie, have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asked, finally tearing his gaze away from Limbrey's letter. He frowned as he saw the blunt back in Kie's hand but didn't say anything, just looking at her with an expectant glint in his eyes.

"Like, twenty million times."

"That's quite a few times," JJ chuckled.

Arden giggled and adjusted his cap on his head, lovingly brushing some of the hair back from his face. "Kie, your phone bill's gonna be through the roof," she commented, but Kie didn't seem in the mood for jokes, even then.

"Some random lady at a hotel keeps answering," she told them, blunt raised again.

Pope sighed. "Well, until we hear from them again, we gotta try and clear his name. And right now, this letter's our best bet."

"Right. Stay on task," JJ mumbled to himself.

Haven laughed and nudged his foot with hers. "You think you can stay sober enough for that? No more weed after this?"

"Oh, come on," he scoffed. "There's always time for weed, even on recon missions."

At that, Haven rolled her eyes. Typical JJ. "At least try and keep the signal clear?"

Pope's gaze snapped to her then, and she knew he was thinking of it too. Times back in John B's van, easier days where Pope used to say that exact same thing to JJ. That version of Pope and Haven never would've thought they'd be here, sneaking off on a boat, too far gone to be salvaged. But that version of Pope and Haven were a means to an end. This was all that would remain, and Haven was slowly beginning to accept that.

Suddenly, her view of Pope was blocked by Kie hopping out of the van and holding out the blunt to him. "What Pope are you going to be today?" she asked, which surprised Haven. Kie used to be so against Pope using weed. But when Kie used it, then it was different. 

"I'm good," Pope declined, though it was clear he hesitated. "I'm gonna try and focus."

Kie rolled her eyes but nodded to herself anyways. "Right. Good Pope," she commented, as if that was a bad thing. "Boring Pope."

The other girls frowned at her, even Brec, but they were silenced by Pope shaking his head at them. He didn't want another fight. And as Kie and JJ started switching the blunt between them, giggling to themselves, it was just easier to bite their tongues.

Haven had been here before, and she didn't like it one bit.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

THE FERRY RIDE TO Charleston lasted way too long. Haven was nothing short of relieved when the car was finally on the road again, allowing her some space from Kie as she sat between Brec and Arden in the back. Sure, being so close to Arden was awkward to say the least, but Arden was nothing but civil... It actually kind of scared Haven. She wondered when the mask would slip again.

"Guys, I've read this thing like a thousand times and it makes no sense," Kie commented about ten minutes into the trip. She had Pope's letter in her hands, the paper worn after so many reads. "I mean, the Limbreys own, like, half of Charleston. What do the Kook kings of Charleston know about a murder on Kildare Island?"

"Yeah, and why you specifically?" JJ frowned, unusually serious as he patted Pope on the shoulder. "That's the other creepy thing, you know?"

Pope sighed, but didn't have a chance to reply before Kie was holding the letter out and pointing to the last sentence. "Please come alone," she recited, her nose scrunching up. "That's hella sus."

"Some horror movie shit," Brec piped up with a shiver.

At that, Arden caught her eyes, a surprised grin on her lips. "I was going to say that," she commented. 

Brec shrugged, but her own smile was hopeful, like maybe, she was finally being accepted. "Well, you know what they say. Great minds do think alike, Arden."

"Hm, I don't know about that."

But progress was progress, even if Arden wasn't ready to admit it yet. Brec sat back, clearly content, even going as far as to kiss Haven's cheek when the girl squeezed her hand. Pope and Kie were still talking up front, oblivious to the little interaction occurring in the back, when suddenly, steam started to fog up the windscreen. Haven's stomach dropped at the sight, immediately turning to look at a wide-eyed JJ.

"I thought you fixed this thing," she exclaimed, a hint of accusation in her voice.

JJ quickly raised his hands in surrender, wincing when Arden leaned forward with a glare of her own. "I did, I swear, but she's never been perfect, I might've missed something."

"Great. Just great."

"Pope, pull over," Kie ordered as more smoke filled the air. It started to filter into the truck, JJ yelling through coughs that he had sensitive lungs. Haven wanted to laugh at the irony, but she too started sputtering at the overwhelming smell, pulling her arm away from Brec to cover her nose. "Pope, come on."

"Okay, okay," he exclaimed, struggling to guide the vehicle onto the grass beside the road. Suddenly, they hit a bump, the whole van jolting as it sped down into a ditch. "Oh, shit—"

"Pope," Haven cried out, heart skipping a beat. "Pope, watch what you're doing—"

"I'm trying," he protested, and alas, the van's engine gave out altogether.

For a moment, the group sat in stunned silence. Through the rearview mirror, Haven spotted one of the hubcaps laying out on the road, having flown clear off when they hit the ditch wrong. The smoke was only getting worse by the second, to the point that Haven found it hard to breathe. She was one of the first out of the car, lungs burning as she kneeled over and gasped for air.

"JJ, I'm never getting into that thing again," she glowered at him as he came to stand at her side.

"Oh, come on now, that's a bit—"

"Don't even try to say it's dramatic," Arden cut him off with a delirious laugh. "Look at it, JJ, it's useless."

"And it looks like it's going to blow up," Kie added, to which JJ frowned in denial.

"It's not going to blow up," he insisted, looking for someone, anyone, to agree with him. Unfortunately, he caught Brec's eyes, smiling hopefully. "Brec, tell them it's fine."

"It does kind of look like it's blowing up, JJ," she winced, causing him to sigh and wheel around to the only other guy of the group.

"Look, you probably just unhooked the radiator, Pope," he told him, then laughed when he caught sight of the hubcap. "Oh, damn. I haven't seen this before. You knocked the entire hubcap off."

"JJ, that's not funny," Arden scolded, but almost immediately, a smirk split across her face. Haven had to admit, it was kind of amusing. Pope's face was a picture of pure despair as he struggled to lift the hood of the van. JJ was clapping and hollering as he went to collect the hubcap. Even Brec was giggling, her hair windswept and her eyes bright. At least they weren't all freaking out. That wouldn't do them any good.

"You might wanna reschedule your meeting tonight, Pope," JJ said as he came over to hand the boy the missing hubcap. He took one look at his van and winced. "To maybe, like, next week or something, 'cause that looks messy."

Apart from Pope, the only one who wasn't laughing or smiling in some way was Kie. She had her hands running through her hair in pure distress, struggling to find a solution to this new problem of theirs. "Uh, okay, so Plan B. We could, um... take public transportation! We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes—"

"Motorbikes?" Arden cut in with delight. "Damn, it's like you read my mind, Kie. I've been looking at saving for a bike, you know. I want to be one of those cool mums that Logan can brag about when she's older, and she—"

"Arden," Pope cut in with a pointed stare.

"Yes?" she beamed.

"Not the time."

"Oh," her smile faltered. "Right. Sorry. Back to stressing I go."

It took them a while but eventually, Brec suggested calling a tow-truck and taking the van to a proper mechanic. While JJ pouted and claimed she was denouncing his 'hard work' even he had to agree it was the better choice. So they waited on the side of the road for what seemed like hours, eventually arriving at this dingy workshop right when they were meant to be meeting the Limbreys. It was honestly terrible luck, but Haven had gotten used to it at this point. Her phone started buzzing frantically around sunset with messages from her mother, but she refused to look at them. She didn't want to ruin her mood just yet, even though she knew the fall was barrelling at her like a steam train.

Well. At least she had something to tell Maisie about when she got back.

"Hey, you," she smiled at Brec as she sat down beside the girl on what looked to be a milk crate. Pope and Arden were under the awning bartering with the mechanic as he checked out the radiator. Kie was sitting in the back of a nearby truck, JJ leaning up against it as the two spoke quietly. Haven had almost considered joining them, but then she noticed Brec sitting alone, frowning down at her phone, and her feet took her over to her girlfriend instead. "You okay, babe? You're quiet tonight."

"I'm alright," Brec insisted, but her face almost immediately faltered at Haven's expectant stare. With a sigh, she handed the girl her phone, a string of text messages lighting up the screen. "It's just this."

Surprisingly, the texts were from her mother. They were nothing short of furious, demanding that Brec returned home and stopped chasing after her 'trouble-maker' girlfriend. Haven frowned at that. She knew Brec's mum and sister didn't really like the idea of her, but they'd never even met before. She thought they were being a bit harsh.

"I'm sorry for dragging you along, Brec," she sighed, hanging her head as she handed her the phone again. "I shouldn't have assumed that you'd just be okay coming with us."

"No, it's alright," Brec insisted. "I wouldn't have come if I didn't want to, yeah? You keep apologising, but nothing about this is your fault. You're missing John B. You want him home. I get that."

Haven smiled. It was the small things that reminded her of why she was with Brec. Even when the sour feeling came and she couldn't fight it, Brec was just so nice. Like a best friend... 

"So," she said, kicking at a loose stone on the ground with the toe of her shoe. "What are you going to do about them?"

Brec sighed, then shrugged impassively. "There's nothing I can do. They'll probably ground me, but at least I had fun while I could," she said, matter of fact about it. Strangely, a smile tugged at her lips then, though it was wistful, like she was dreaming of another life, a place where she wasn't Brec Buchanan. "And besides, at least they care, right? I didn't even expect them to realise I was missing until I came home."

Haven's heart panged, and she reached out to hug Brec close. "That's fucked," she murmured into the sudden silence. "You shouldn't feel that way about your own family."

"I know," Brec acknowledged. "But it is what it is. They won't change."

Haven sighed. "At least you have me? And the girls? You can't forget Leo and Alison."

"Yeah," she chuckled, but the sound was weak at best. "My best friends."

A few more hours passed before they finally got to leave. The van struggled to roar back to life but she did it, and fortunately for them, they all had enough money on them to split the cost for it. Knowing there were no places that would accommodate them at this hour, not to mention that they'd just given up all of their money, they decided to drive out to a nearby field they'd noticed on the way there and just sleep in the car for the night. JJ and Arden negotiated for the front seats, leaving Haven and Brec to share the back with Kie and Pope. 

"Well, this is cosy," Arden commented as they closed the van door, silence ensuing. "The pogues, Haven and Brec having a sleepover. Never thought we'd see the day, am I right?"

Haven noticed how Arden deliberately excluded her, like she was there but not really. Fortunately, Brec was already asleep so her already sad mood wasn't made worse by Arden's dumb comments. That was all that mattered to Haven. She didn't even retort anything to Arden when she looked at her, just scoffing and settling back on the floor.

"Goodnight, guys," she said, to which only JJ and Pope replied.

Silence again. Kie caught Haven's eyes through the darkness, shining with something that Haven couldn't comprehend. Quickly, before she could change her mind, Kie turned to Pope and pressed a kiss to his cheek, laying back as a surprised smile tugged at Pope's lips. Haven sighed, but was glad that her heart didn't ache for once. Instead, she clenched her eyes shut, rolling around so she could cuddle into Brec's back.

At first, she didn't think she'd be able to sleep. Yet slowly but surely, her eyes grew heavy, and her consciousness faded out of the world. She was met by John B, of all people, on the other side, and spent the whole night dreaming of them surfing together.

Huh. Well, that was weird.