CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

AIN'T NO REST FOR THE WICKED — CAGE THE ELEPHANT
There ain't nothing in this world for free
I know I can't slow down
I can't hold back
Though you know I wish I could

STELLA HAD A bad habit of thinking her life was like a movie.

In her mind, she and her friends were the rag-tag group of five (now six, considering Sarah Cameron was on their side) for which the universe always worked in favour of. She thought that no matter how bad of a situation they got themselves into, they'd never truly succumb to failure—that whoever controlled their lives, whether it be God or the Fates, would never let them taste defeat. And as she stared out of The Wreck's front window, watching as a police cruiser drove by with its sirens blaring through the air, she found herself clinging onto this idea like a desperate child clutches their toy during a darkened rainstorm.

JJ came up to her as the sirens faded away and leaned against the window frame. "He's pinched for sure, man." Anyone else would regard his words with an air of cool indifference, but his friends could hear the underlying worry masked by his defence mechanism of apathy.

Stella shook her head. "No," she said. "They wouldn't still be patrolling if they caught him."

The night had felt longer than the one before. While the group found refuge in Kie's family restaurant, they couldn't find comfort in the chance to rest when they knew their friend was the target of a island-wide manhunt.

"Let's hope," JJ huffed. His mind wandered to the wanted poster tucked away in his back pocket. "You know, we were in that car. They're probably looking for us, too."

Stella glanced up at him, only to find that he was already staring at her. Panic flashed across his eyes and she immediately understood his concern.

JJ was on probation. If there was a warrant out for their arrest (because apparently aiding and abetting the falsely accused called for that) and he was caught, he'd go to jail. There'd be no bail, no restitution, no second chance. Only a cold cell in juvenile detention.

From across the room, Kie looked up. Her hands shook as she steadied herself against the counter. "Well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help John B," she decided.

Stella nodded in agreement and moved to help her pack John B and Sarah's food. "So, find him before they do?"

They turned to Pope, all wondering why he hadn't said anything. Come to think of it, he had been awfully quiet since they returned from Tannyhill.

"Pope?"

He kept his eyes on the ground as he passed the two girls and only lifted his head when he was within a foot of the door. "I'm gonna get gas for the boat," he said, barely glancing at JJ before leaving in haste.

"Hey, you be careful," the blond called, watching as the door swung open. "Meet us at the dock at three. Don't be late."

At the boy's lack of response, Kie huffed and dropped the bag of dinner rolls she was holding onto the counter.

The remaining two shared a look as their curly haired friend followed him out, demanding to know what his problem was.

The couple watched from the window as the sound of incoherent shouting and a revving bike engine filled the air. They scattered from the glass when they saw that Pope had driven off and Kie was making her way back into the restaurant. Acting as nonchalant as possible, the pair pretended that they were in the middle of their own conversation, not wanting Kie to scold them for eavesdropping.

Their words faded from their tongues as Kie entered the room and looked at them with an expectant expression on her face. She had seen them duck their heads out of view when she turned to face the window before coming in.

If JJ and Stella were one thing, it was definitely nosy.

A low whistle cut through the air and JJ nodded to the spot where Pope had been standing. "What was that about?"

"Did that have anything to do with what happened at Sarah's last night?" Stella questioned, finding no coincidence between Pope's attitude from the night before and this morning.

Kie furrowed her brows and returned to her spot at the counter. "How do you know about that?"

"It's Stella we're talking about," JJ replied, moving to lean against the counter with a shrug, "she knows everything."

Stella nodded and raised her brows as to say 'yeah, that's true', and turned to the other girl. "What happened?"

A heavy sigh escaped Kie's lips as she recalled the night before and the crestfallen expression after she rejected Pope's proclamation. "He loves me," she revealed, "and I kind of shot him down."

"Oh, shit," JJ gasped in disbelief. A teasing smile came over his face. "So you broke his heart."

Kie frowned at the statement. She refused to believe that she hurt him that badly. For all she knew, Pope was exaggerating a school boy crush on her that resulted from too much time spent together. She didn't rip his heart from his chest and stomp on it, she simply hurt his feelings. "I didn't break his heart," she stated, feeling guilty for the pain she had caused, even if it wasn't as bad as JJ was making it sound.

The blond shook his head, his grin only growing as he turned to his girlfriend. "You owe me five bucks," he stated, pointing at her smugly.

"No, I don't," Stella immediately replied. "There's still hope."

JJ was about to argue his position when Kie opened her mouth and cut him off. "Wait, you bet on us?" Her gaze darted between the couple and they couldn't tell if she was angry or in shock. "You knew that he liked me?"

Stella chuckled and grabbed a box from under the counter. "You didn't?"

"Yeah, it was kind of obvious," JJ supported.

His girlfriend gave him an odd look before passing the box off to Kie so she could fill it with food. "JJ, you literally had no clue until I told you."

"And after you did, it was obvious that he wanted to mack on her. I mean, his eyes would do this thing like he was just begging for her to—"

"Guys, seriously?" Kie groaned, not wanting to hear their bickering or any talk about Pope's infatuation with her.

JJ sighed, his expression turning serious as he prepared to bestow his ever growing wisdom. "Look, are you sure he wasn't just being weird Pope?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't really the kind of thing that needed interpretation." She finished backing the box and showed it to Stella. "Is that enough food for them?"

Stella tried to ignore the pang in her chest as she remembered why they were packing food in the first place. She didn't want them to leave, but John B had to leave the island and there was no way Sarah was going to let him leave without her. Stella had half the mind to join the couple, but she couldn't leave the others or her mother.

Walking around the counter so she could place herself between her friend and boyfriend, she nodded in approval. "I mean, for a couple of weeks, and that's all they need, so..."

The pair gathered the little belongings they had and started for the door.

"Look, I think I actually hurt his feelings," Kie worried, grabbing her keys from the counter.

JJ took the box of food from Stella's hands and nudged her in front of him. "Don't beat yourself up too much," he advised, following them out of the restaurant. "He's completely changed his feels. The past twenty-four hours have been like Jekyll and Hyde."

"Yeah, he just needs time," Stella added sympathetically. Her mind wandered and her eyes lit up at the faint memory of a paper she had read that might prove useful. "I actually read this psych paper once that said friendships between girls and guys are harder to maintain than friendships between girls because guys can't tell the difference between platonic intimacy and romantic intimacy, so they confuse the pair and start thinking they have feelings for their girl friend when really they're just being nice to them."

Kie shook her head as she walked down the stairs. "I hate to admit it, but I miss the old Pope. At least I knew what to expect from him."

The trio turned the corner to where Kie's car was parked, only to be met with the disgruntled face of Anna Carrera.

"Where have you been?"

The teens halted in their tracks, two of them looking to the third for direction on how to handle the situation. When Kie continued to walk towards her car, JJ and Stella followed.

"Uh... I'm fine," Kie stated, wishing her mom had just stayed home. "I slept here."

Anna's eyes widened in disbelief and she let out a scoff. "Well, we were up half the night, scared to death, lookin' for you." Her gaze shifted to the girl standing next to the passenger door. "Stella, I'm sure your mom is worried sick."

At the mention of her mother, Stella recalled the many voicemails left on her phone that she hadn't had the heart to listen to. After she woke up, she had sent her mother a quick text to let her know John B was innocent and that she was alright. Any mention of where she was had been purposefully left out, and almost immediately, she was met with an onslaught of phone calls and texts raging about how she had been specifically told not to join her friends.

Stella gave Anna the smile she usually gave all the overbearing women of Kildare. She had long since perfected the slight turn of her lip and the feigned look of innocence in her eyes that showed a tinge of gratitude over their concern, and when Ana's expression softened for a moment, she knew she hadn't lost her touch.

JJ glanced down at her after watching the interaction and turned his head to hide the small smirk on his face. When he managed to reign in his pride, he faced the three women again, this time with a composed look spread across his features. Kie's mom already didn't like him and making light of a situation like this wouldn't be doing him any favours.

"I'll be sure to call her, Miss Anna," Stella said, brandishing the phone she had turned off so her mother would finally stop calling. "My phone died, but I'll try to get to her somehow."

Anna's gaze shifted to her daughter and she wondered when their relationship became so strained that a simple message like where she slept was now considered a chore. "When were you going to tell me you were here?"

Kie gestured for her friends to get in the car. "Well, I'm telling you right now."

"What the hell are you three up to?" Her mother asked, noticing the box JJ had stuffed in the back next to him.

The car doors opened and he gave the older woman an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Miss Anna, we gotta go."

Stella got into the passengers seat and watched with a deep set frown as her best friend argued with her mom.

Anna's shouts of caution were promptly ignored and by the time Kie settled into the driver's seat, a whirlwind of complex emotions were written all over her face.

As they drove away from the seaside restaurant, Stella looked over. "You okay?"

Kie nodded, but kept her eyes on the road ahead. Her chest rose and fell, and her hands shook despite gripping onto the wheel. "Yeah," she replied curtly. "I'm fine."

They sat in silence, overly cautious of their surroundings after passing two cop cars on the way to The Cut. It didn't take long for the green SUV to pull into JJ's driveway, and when the car was put into park, he leaned forward between the two front seats and let out a small huff. His hand found Stella's arm and he fiddled with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Home sweet home," he said, staring at the house like it was the centre of all his nightmares.

Stella turned around in her seat and touched his wrist. "Do you want us to come?" She asked, concern swimming in her stare. "'Cause we'll come."

Kie nodded in agreement.

"No." JJ shook his head and took his hat off, trying to gather the scraps of courage he left behind the last time he was at his house. He didn't want the girls anywhere near his father and he knew that this was something he'd have to do alone. "This will only take a second."

The door to the back seat opened and JJ stepped out. As he walked to the door of his house, he turned around to face the girls one last time.

Stella gave him a reassuring smile and he nodded at her, but once he disappeared into the rundown house, her smile dropped and a sigh escaped her lips.

Kie reached over and cupped her hand around Stella's wrist, giving it a small squeeze. They were both worried for the blond, images of his battered body standing in the hot tub flashing in their minds.

Five minutes passed by in a cloud of tense silence.

"It's too quiet," Stella stated. Her eyes studied the house warily and she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not.

Kie looked over at her. "Do you think his dad is home?"

"I don't know," the golden girl confessed. "We would've heard them if he was."

Just then, the door flew open and JJ walked out. His brows were knit together as he walked down the rocky path.

When he settled back into the back seat, Stella turned to him. "How did it go?"

JJ didn't say anything, but offered a tight lipped smile. He tried not to think about his father high out of his mind on prescription drugs and passed out on their couch or the way his arms embraced him after leaving bruises on him days before. He tried not to think about the way he told him he loved him or the advice he tried to give him about Stella.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he lifted a set of keys.

With nothing else to say, the trio headed towards the storage garage, completely unaware of the two men watching them on their motorcycles.

THE SMELL OF salt water and the sound of restless seagulls filled the air as JJ opened the garage the Phantom was stored in.

"There she be," JJ mused, staring at the boat in awe. "Hey, girl. A 1983 Formula 402 SR1. The Phantom."

The girls shared a look as they followed him into the room.

"The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours. Forty years old!" He exclaimed, patting the side of it. "Forty. And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."

Kie shrugged. "It's kind of a junker."

"Yeah," Stella drawled, nodding her head slightly, "she doesn't look like much."

He turned to them in disbelief. "Really? She's right there, guys. She can hear you." At their unimpressed faces, he gave them a look and pointed at the boat. "Let's just put it this way. You would not be smokin' weed right now if she never existed, okay?"

The trio walked up to the trailer and started to prepare it for Kie's car. "I just hope it runs."

"Oh, no, she'll run alright. She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got."

Outside the garage, they could hear a bike engine rumble. Assuming that it was Pope, Kie went to greet him. But when she saw who it really was, she stopped in her tracks and began to back away.

"Hey, there," Rafe Cameron said as he strolled into the room. "What's goin' on? JJ? How you guys doin'?"

The three Pogues could feel panic set in because where Rafe Cameron went, chaos usually followed.

Behind them, somebody let out a shout of glee. "Well, well..." The trio turned just as Barry pulled out a gun and pointed it at JJ's chest. "See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money."

There was a second of silence before Barry's fist flew and hit JJ in the face. He sent another blow to the blond's stomach, causing him to fall to the ground, and Stella lunged forward.

"JJ!" She shouted, only to be held back by Rafe.

"Not so fast, Star."

The Kook king grabbed a hold of Kie's arm as well, ignoring the way the pair struggled in his grasp.

"Rafe, let go of me!" Kie shouted, trying to get free from him.

He shook his head at her. "It's not you we want, Kie. Where's John B?"

The two girls shared a look. It was held for a moment, perhaps less than a second, but they managed to formulate a plan. As if they were counting to three in their heads, Stella twisted her own arm to loosen Rafe's hold on her and when he was distracted enough, Kie brought her hand up to slap him across the face.

"I don't know!" The curly-haired teen shouted.

Rafe stretched his neck, the stinging in his cheek setting in, and he turned to the girl still in his hold. Placing a hand on each of her arms, he squeezed Stella so hard that bruises would surely be left in his wake.

"I don't want to hurt you, Stella," he said in a low voice. "Just tell me where John B is."

Stella narrowed her eyes at him and in a deadly calm voice said, "I don't know."

"Look, I'm not playing around! Where is he?"

"Even if I knew, do you really think I'd tell you?"

Rafe poked his tongue to his cheek and shook his head in dissatisfaction. "And here I thought we were friends," he drawled.

At the crazed look in his eyes, she couldn't believe that she had ever given him the benefit of the doubt—that she ever believed that he was capable of being more than the asshole everyone believed him to be. A single moment of kindness did not cancel out years of torment. Her father had taught her that much.

Letting out a scoff, Stella pulled the corners of her lips upwards until a smirk was spread across her features. Her head tilted and her voice filled with condescendence. "Was it worth it? Daddy's approval, was it worth it?" she taunted without an ounce of forgiveness. "Did he even care? Or is this just another mess of yours he has to clean up?"

His jaw clenched at her jabs and he backed her into a nearby table. "Shut your mouth," he seethed, his face getting so close to hers that she could feel the heat off his breath.

With a glare as harsh as hell's worst punishment, Stella leaned closer to him and spit out the saliva that had been pooling in her mouth.

Rafe flinched as her spit hit his face, but he gave her a wicked smirk as he brought a hand up to wipe it off. "I really wish you didn't do that."

"I know what you did," Stella stated in disgust.

"What?" He urged, toying with her and daring her to out all of his sins. "What did I do, Stella? Go on, tell me. What did I do?"

She stared at him, wondering when he became so deranged. "You murdered Peterkin."

The sound of Kie's shouts or JJ's pained grunts faded into the background as Rafe rushed forward and wrapped his hands around her neck.

"Don't you ever say those fucking words again," he ordered, his grip getting tighter with every word. "Understand? Do you understand? Where's John B?"

Stella ignored the pounding in her head as she gave him a snarky smile. "Bet this isn't the first time you thought about choking me."

Kie let out a loud shout before running over to Rafe and pushing him in an attempt to save her best friend. Her attempt somewhat failed as he dropped his hold on Stella and replaced her with Kie.

Stella fell to the ground, weakened by the lack of oxygen. She struggled to catch her breath as she gripped at her throat.

She was the first one to see Pope arrive and watched as he grabbed a crowbar and slammed it into Rafe's back the same way he described being jumped with a golf club.

The following moments were a blur as Pope's presence caused Barry to lose his focus on JJ. The blond grabbed the drug dealer's foot as he moved to help Rafe, and he fell to the ground causing the gun to clatter against the concrete floor.

"Stel! Kick it!" JJ shouted.

Stella reached over and pushed the gun away so it slid under the boat. Her head still felt fuzzy and any sudden movement sent her into a fit of dizziness.

When she looked up, she saw Pope punching Rafe repeatedly until the Kook no longer fought back and blood splattered on the ground. "Pope," she called, seeing that the fight had been won. Her throat burned at her attempt to talk and her voice came out in a raspy whisper. "Fuck— Pope, he's had enough."

Pope was in a trance, but once Kie and JJ snapped him back to reality, he had only one thing to say.

Leaning down with a warning glare set on none other than the Kook king, he steadily ordered, "Stay off The Cut."

While Pope got even, JJ rushed over to where Stella sat and helped her stand. "You okay?" His fingers brushed her neck and she let out a cough.

Nodding her head, she allowed him to guide her to Kie's car. "Yeah, you?"

He opened the door for her and tilted his head.

"Golden, Sunbaby."

RAE SPEAKS !
stella does not know when to stop talking like rafe had her by the throat and she was still giving him sass

anyways, there's one more chapter and then we're onto season two, baby! i'm not ready to part with stella yet :)