020 !! GIRLFRIEND

JJ walks up to the Chateau, his sister in tow, in hopes of finally resolving the little — okay fine, 'major' — issue of both Kiara and Georgie mistrusting Sarah Cameron.

When last night John B had asked them to wait for him in his Twinkie while he went to go meet Sarah Cameron in the middle of the woods, none of them had expected things to turn out this way.

Having arrived at the exact spot where John B and Sarah were meeting each other for the late night 'rendezvous', Topper had, in simple terms, gone ballistic.

He'd pushed John B down the railing of the remoted stairwell the two 'lovers' were standing atop of and waking up in a hospital room with Ward Cameron and his daughter smiling down at him had proved to be a change of fate for the Routledge boy.

Ward Cameron was now his foster father.

Which John B was quite alright with but his friends had grown skeptical.

Kiara was still bitter about the Camerons' daughter posing as an intruder in their little secret, Pope was trying to figure out how to not let any adult find out what they'd all been up to in the past few days what with a Cameron becoming a part of their 'treasure hunt' now, JJ was too busy trying to look out for his best friend's heart to care about Sarah getting a share in the gold — though he'd thought about that too many times last night but he still wasn't ready to admit it — and then there was Georgie.

Tired and frustrated Georgie.

She hadn't slept last night at all. And then today as she woke up to find that they were out of coffee again, she'd cried in the shower for what felt like a normal habit considering the amount of tears she'd shed last night when she'd been trying to cry herself to sleep.

But sleep never came.

And Georgie remained awake, haunted by the events of the night.

Sarah's screams of help, John B lying on the ground injured, Sarah crying as she knelt right next to him, Sarah not leaving his side even as the medics arrived.

Sarah acting like a war widow.

Sarah calling her dad.

Sarah kissing John B's temple as he slept unconcerned having received a heavy dose of painkillers already.

Sarah was there every single time she thought about John B.

And so, Georgie couldn't help the tears streaming down her face as she stared out at the moon pressing her cheek against her pillow and trying to forget about her sorry life for just a few minutes.

Her heart hadn't just been broken.

It had been ripped out, stomped upon, and then stabbed in mercilessly, leaving her a pain ridden helpless mess trying so hard to cry out and have someone run out to her for help but the thing is, Georgie wasn't sure there was anyone who could help her anymore.

Sure, she'd been heartbroken before when John B hadn't so much as spared her a glance and happily went on to date some girl from their school.

Some girl that wasn't Georgie.

But this time it was different.

This was Sarah Cameron.

John B had never dated a Kook before. In fact, it was a sort of unwritten rule in their group that Kooks were off-limits.

You never fraternise with a Kook just like you stay away from a scorpion.

But apparently, John B had been smitten by Sarah — who wasn't just a Kook but a Cameron too — and having her help them didn't really help with the fact that Georgie wanted to keep seeing her as the enemy.

What is she playing at? Georgie thought as she stood there on the Chateau porch, arms crossed and silently scowling at Sarah when she rolled her eyes at a remark a very angry Kiara directed towards her.

They'd figured what 'Parcel 9' meant and that it was apparently a signal — more like an agreement to an untimely death — to go to Mrs. Crain's house.

The creepy old Mrs. Crain.

The only problem now?

Getting the girls to sort out their differences.

"I told you", Sarah turns to John B shaking her head.

"Told him what, exactly? That you're a liar?", Kiara scoffs.

"That you're a shit-talking bitch", Sarah answers.

Georgie snorts earning the Cameron girl's attention as the latter narrows her eyes at her.

"Yeah, this isn't gonna work. Especially when she insists on coming up here and insulting Kie", Georgie looks at John B with a disapproving look.

"I didn't lie about shit", Kiara hisses gratefully nodding at Georgie.

"My money's on Kie . . . .", JJ murmurs next to Pope.

"Everybody shut up!".

John B's sudden yell silences everyone though it sure as hell doesn't earn him any support.

"Kie, you're my best friend. Georgie, you're . . . . you're like my sister", he pleads looking at the two girls with tired eyes.

Sister.

Georgie swallows the lump in her throat telling herself to toughen up and asking, begging her mind to shut up.

The worst kind of pain is one which you're not allowed to show because when you do you lose everything.

"And Sarah, you're . . . . you're . . . .", he turns to Sarah trying to find the right term to describe their relationship.

"Say it", Sarah gives him her classic resting bitch face.

Georgie fears hearing him complete his sentence.

"You're my girlfriend", he sighs.

She didn't think her heart could be shattered even more but boy did that hurt.

It almost feels like she was cheated on but how do you lose someone who was never really yours to begin with?

"Oh, that's new. She's your girlfriend now? What was all that talk about you just using her for information? Get a map, cut her loose", Kiara glares at him.

Sarah scoffs, "You said you were using me?".

That was it for Georgie.

She just shook her head mumbling a small 'I'm leaving' and left.

For a few minutes she only walked away from the Chateau, her arms tightly wrapped around herself secretly hurting inside.

But then she stopped midway when reality hit her.

It didn't matter anymore how much she loved John B, he was already Sarah's whether she liked it or not.

Sarah was in on the secret now and Kiara? She's sure the boys would find a way to somehow make it work.

So being the only person who opposed this relationship wasn't gonna do shit.

She just had to suck it up and go tell them that she didn't give a fuck about who John B brought as long as her cut remained safe.

She had to mature.

And that's what she intended to do when she turned back and walked, solemnly still trying to swallow the tears threatening to spill when just as she was about to reach, Sarah met her in the middle of the path.

She looked frustrated, angry even but the moment her eyes met Georgie's, she let out a loud sigh.

"Georgie, look. I get why you don't want me here but I promise you I won't betray any of you. You can trust me on that. I just want to help", Georgie hadn't expected her to talk to her but now that she had, there was no way left to run right?

Georgie gulps.

"You know why I don't want you here so why are you here? You already have everything, Sarah. We have a right to be skeptical about your involvement. We need this, our lives depend on it. Yours doesn't", Georgie admits quietly.

Sarah nods.

"I'm just trying to help. I don't even want anything, I just want to . . . . feel like I belong, somewhere where . . . . people aren't lying about who they really are. I like John B, Georgie. I really like him".

Her tone is sincere but it still hurts the Maybank girl.

She knows Sarah doesn't intend it to but it still feels like she's taunting her.

Your love for him wasn't enough.

You weren't enough.

But Sarah Cameron was.

Her infatuation was worth endangering your friendship for.

"I guess I could . . . .", Georgie swallows hoping to not let her hear the crack in her voice, "try to get along with you. As long as you're not screwing with us".

Sarah smiled.

And Georgie wondered if that smile had the same effect on John B that his lopsided grin had on her.

***
we love pain ☺️