CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: HOME SWEET HOME

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sleeping on the tables at the wreck wasn't the most comfortable, but nobody found us, so it was a win. i awoke to the sound of sirens. it was probably a good thing, as ridiculous as it sounds. looking to the side of me, i noticed that jj wasn't there, so i went to look for him. 

"morning, j," i rubbed my eyes tiredly as the boy stared outside. 

"hey gorgeous," he wrapped his arms around my waist as i stood in front of him, listening to cop cars all around. 

"sirens wake you up?" he asked, resting his chin on my shoulder. 

"mhm," i hummed, feeling more comfortable in that moment than i did when i slept. "i wonder if my aunt knows about everything going on. i wouldn't exactly know, cause we don't have electricity still."

"if she does, i'm sure she'd be on her way back immediately, princess. she takes care of you good, you know that?"

"i like to think that you do a better job of doing that," i chuckled as pope came over to us.

"he's pinched for sure," jj said, turning to the boy. 

"no, they wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him," pope replied, glaring outside. 

"let's hope."

"you know, we were in that car. they're probably looking for us, too," kie said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. 

pope shrugged, "well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help john b."

"so, find him before they do?" jj wondered as pope gathered some things together. for some reason, he seemed off, and i don't think it was just me who noticed. "pope?"

"i'm gonna get gas for the boat," he stated. 

"hey, you be careful, okay?" kie said to pope, who completely ignored her. something had to of gone on between the two of them. 

"meet me at the dock at three. don't be late," pope changed the subject, walking out of the wreck. we all looked at one another before kie followed behind him. 

"you wanna see what's going on?" jj loosen his grip on me as i nodded, on the same page as him, as per usual. we walked outside to the deck, watching the two argue. with pope obnoxiously revving the engine of the motorcycle, we were unable to hear what it was that they were actually arguing about. it ended with him driving away, and it wasn't difficult to tell that kie was upset. 

a loud noise interrupted us before we could say anything to one another; a helicopter. 

"who the hell is that?" jj inquired, looking at the helicopter that was very low to the ground. 

"couldn't tell ya," i groaned, realizing that it was probably some search team or something along those lines. 

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"so, care to explain what that was about?" i blurted as the three of us headed back into the wreck. 

"pope confessed his love to me last night," kie stated to me as we headed to the kitchen to gather food for john b and sarah, "god, that sounds even worse saying out loud."

"is that a bad thing?" i asked her. it was shocking to me that she couldn't sense his crush on her.

"i just never thought of that, you know? i guess he caught me with my guard down, and i wasn't expecting it. all i know is, i handled it very wrong. but i tried to mend things this morning, and you both saw how that went," kie explained. 

"you sure he wasn't just being weird pope?" jj doubted, taking a loaf of bread out of kie's hands. 

"it wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation. is that gonna be enough food for them?" kie countered, realizing that the food didn't seem like enough. 

"i mean, for a couple of weeks, and that's all they need, so-"

"besides, they're not using a lot of energy sitting on the boat all day," i mumbled. 

"elsie, did you forget that they're fleeing?" kiara looked at me and grinned. 

"no i just, nevermind," i rambled, deciding that i should just stop talking. 

"look, i think i actually hurt his feelings," kie returned back to the original conversation. 

"hey, just because you feel bad doesn't mean that you're subjected to have the same feelings towards him," i said to her. sure, i could understand where she was coming from, but what was she supposed to do? maybe she was a bit too forward about it, but she tried to apologize. 

"yeah, don't beat yourself up too much. he's completely changed his feels. the past 24 hours have been like jekyll and hyde," jj added, carrying the crate of food outside. 

"i hate to admit it, but i miss the old pope. at least i know what to expect from him-" kiara was cut off short by her mother. 

"where've you been?"

"um, i'm fine, i slept here," kie pointed back at the wreck. 

"well, we were up half the night, scared to death, looking for you," anna, kie's mother, replied. "were you even going to tell us?"

"well, i'm telling you right now."

"alright, what the hell are you three up to now?" she put her hands on her hips, suspiciously looking at jj and i. 

"i'm sorry, miss anna, we just have got to go," jj spoke up politely. 

"sorry-"

"no, i'm sorry, absolutely not!" she interrupted kie. "have you heard what's going on?" oh, if she only knew what was really going on. we were right in the center of it.

"mom, i'll explain later," kie opened the car door. jj hopped in the passenger seat while i went in the back. 

"have you seen the storm coming in? this is not safe!"

"i'm sorry mom, i have to go!"

"these cops are armed, kiara. you're gonna get shot," anna persisted. 

"i have to go!"

"i am not letting you do this!"

"mom, john b needs me!" kie raised her voice. it was weird seeing a parent being so protective; not only for me, but for jj too. we were both raised in such dysfunctional households that we didn't truly understand what it was like to have two parents there that both cared about you deeply. for our whole lives, jj and i relied on each other. 

"you need to stay here!"

"i understand, i'll be careful," kie reasoned as she slammed the door while she had the chance. "sorry, i'm sorry!" her voice broke; i knew she felt terrible about the entire thing. 

"open the door right now kiara! this is not safe! stop! stop!" miss anna shouted repeatedly as her daughter drove away. 

"you okay, kie?" i held a hand on her shoulder as her hands were fixed on the wheel. 

"yeah, i'll deal with her later," she sighed.

"i guess my place is the next stop," jj huffed, clearly not excited about it, but he was the same as me. he'd do anything for any one of us. 

a few minutes later, we pulled up to jj's house. 

"home sweet home," he smiled with tears in his eyes. 

"do you want one of us to come?" kiara questioned him as he ran a hand through his hair. 

"jj, i've talked to him once, i can do it again for you," i massaged his shoulders from the back seat. 

"no," he shook his head, opening the car door. "this will only take a second." 

he walked up to the house, and before stepping inside, he glanced back at the two of us. kie reassured him with a smile as i did the same. 

"kie, i guess you didn't hear what i did?" i drawled, thinking of when i visited jj's father. "the other night, when the three of us went back to my place, did you uh-"

"the yelling?" kie mentioned, to which i nodded. 

"the day after jj's rampage, and the hottub, i just- i couldn't see that happen to him anymore."

"it happens on the regular?" kie asked, not realizing the extent to jj's daddy issues. she knew he wasn't very active in j's life and the bare minimum, nowhere near to what i knew. 

"well, i uh, visited luke. jj's dad. i took the gun with me, and i left the safety off. jj knew something was up, which is why we got into a mini argument," i told her as she listened. "but you know what? he like, listened to me. luke maybank, worst father of all time, listening to me. maybe i was just imagining things, but it seemed almost as if, he wanted to try and be better for his son?"

"you've got guts, elsie," kie grinned. 

"hey, anything for a fellow pogue."

a few moments later, jj was walking out of his house. i could see right through him; he was hurting. maybe kie wouldn't truly notice it, but i did. 

"how'd it go?" kie said to him. with a fake smile, he held up the chain with the phantom key on it. 

our plan was officially in action. 

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{1511 words}

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