𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄 , 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄
𝟐𝟕:𝟏𝟓 - 𝟑𝟕:𝟎𝟎
𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘢𝘮 » 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩

❦

AVA'S POV:

While making our way to Rixon's Cove to talk and cool down after Midsummers, JJ slides next to me, grabbing my wrist gently and pulling us to the very back of the group.

"What happened to your cheek?" He asks, biting his lip while glancing at the visible red hand mark while slipping off his white shirt and shoving it into his backpack.

"Rafe happened," I grumble, rolling my jaw in annoyance.

"What the fuck did he do?" He raises his voice, coming to a stop with his face screwed up in disgust and he stares at me intently, waiting for my answer.

I shake my head and push his shoulder forward, getting him to start walking again, "Don't start something, J. It was just Rafe being Rafe. He wanted to speak to me and I was dumb enough to let him."

"Please tell me he didn't—"

My eyes widen and my head turns to him, "J, he didn't. He didn't rape me, J."

Swallowing anxiously, he nods before shoving his hands into his pockets, "You have no idea how much I want to kill him."

I bite my lip, "Are you okay? I shouldn't have ran off, sorry."

"No, no," He waves me off carelessly, "It's fine. He didn't get chance to touch me before I was escorted off the property."

"Yes, I saw. It was very dramatic, but I loved every second. Looked like some shit out of a sit-com," I laugh, pulling my dress down.

He watches me do it once more before his eyes run up and down my body and then he clicks his tongue, "Ava— fuck, you look amazing. That dress is fucking sexy on you."

I smirk at him, smacking his chest, "You know I hate them. Kie's mum insisted I wore it, instead of my usual shorts and tank top."

"I prefer the dress," He hums, "Reveals more of your boobs and ass."

I glare at him, pressing my tongue against my cheek in annoyance, "JJ, your asshole side is peeking through."

He chuckles, "I—"

"Cindy," I deadpan, cutting him off before he has time to protest, "I only saw her for a second, but she was pretty as fuck and I doubt you even know her second name."

"I don't even think Cindy is her first name." He mutters, receiving a stern glare for me, causing his face to fall straight again, "But, I know you. It's very very different."

In front of us, the others sit down around the campfire and John B lights a match, setting the whole thing alight. I plant myself beside Kie, shuffling my dress down so my underwear isn't revealed to everyone. JJ and Pope throw a few more sticks on the fire before sitting opposite us, John B sliding down beside Kie.

I purse my lips, "Pope, do you have any cigarettes?"

He shakes his head and JJ shoves his hand into his pocket, "I do." JJ throws me the pack, blowing a kiss at me jokingly before winking.

I nod at him, "Thank youuuu."

I ignore Kiara's glare light the cigarette, holding it between my index and middle finger before gently placing it between my lips, sucking in the poison before swiftly blowing the remaining smoke out. I look up, noticing JJ staring at me, a small smile on his face and once he sees my eyes on him, he winks before moving his gaze towards Pope.

"Hey, guys," Pope starts, scratching the back of my neck, "So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?"

John B glances up at JJ, raising his fingers and creating guns, waving them a few times at the blonde boy.He shrugs, looking between us all, "Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed."

"You ready for this?" John B raises an eyebrow.

Kie's eyebrows furrow and she looks at me in confusion, earning a shrug. We're both completely clueless to what the boys have planned.

"Yeah." I say after the long silence, "We're ready."

"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." John B tells us, smirking slightly.

"Oh my god." Pope sighs, "Here we go again with this."

"No. Alright, wait. Hear him out, alright?" JJ jabs his stick into the fire, causing a few sparks to fly out.

"It's been here the whole time." John states, running a hand through his hair before turning to Kie and I, "It's on the island."

My eyes widen and I forget I'm smoking for a second, causing me to cough and small puffs of smoke pass my lips. I smack my chest with my hand and eventually calm down, "Are you fucking serious?"

Kie smiles, "Oh my God."

Pope places his hands together and rests his elbows on his knees, "I'd like to voice my skepticism."

"I'm sure you would, Pope." John stands up in front of us, putting on a posh British accent, "But can I please present you with my evidence, sir?"

Pope holds a hands up to him, "Proceed."

"Alright, so in my backpack. . ." He holds up a piece of paper, "I have a letter from Denmark Tanny."

I blow out some smoke before raising my eyebrows in confusion, "Who the fuck is that?"

"Do you feel the need to swear in every sentence?" Pope tilts his head at me.

"Yes, I fucking do, Pope." I snap, "Not every sentence, but most."

"Anyway," John B clears his throat, causing our gazes to fly back to him, "Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out."

"What?" Kie takes the paper from his hand, her eyes scanning over it and causing a smile to form on her face.

"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my— our dad," He glances at me for a second, "he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom."

Kie whistles, announcing she's done with the paper before passing it over to Pope, knowing I read it over her shoulder.

"After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please. . . because that farm is. . .

I rest my cigarette between my lips and we all clap our hands against our knees, causing a drumming effect.

". . . Tannyhill plantation." He finishes.

Kie tilts her head, "Tannyhill?"

"Yeah." John nods, "So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit ton of rice, which pissed off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him." He pauses for a second to make sure we're all following.

I sigh, "Is this a long story? Can't you just summarise it? We don't need to know his whole life story. We want the gold, not him."

John B rolls his eyes at me before continuing, "So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."

Kie smiles brightly, biting her bottom lip, "Where?"

"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except, there's no wheat." He walks over to Pope, shining his flashlight on the paper, "You see, wheat is code for gold. Check this out. The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."

Kie and let's out a little laugh, smiling back at me happily, "Holy fucking shit." I gasp, smirking.

"All we need is an original survey map of the property and we've found the gold!"

JJ shoots up off of the log he was sat on and matched round to John B, engulfing him in a hug and patting his back.

"Okay, so this might have a small chance of being true." Pope mutters.

Kie taps my knee, "Dude, it's like King Tut!"

"Fuck yeah, baby!" I raise an arm in celebration, throwing my head back to blow the smoke out above us all.

JJ pulls away from the hug, keeping one arm on John's waist, "I'm so proud of you right now."

"Thank you. That's really sweet of you." John whispers back, patting his cheek before completely moving away from JJ's grip.

"Okay, so, guys." Pope looks up from the paper, "What's the plan?"

"Good question." John B points at him, "So, Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She'll bring an original survey map—"

My excitement quickly comes to a stop and I notice JJ's eyes shoot over to me warily as I tilt my head and furrow my eyebrows.

"Hold on," Kie stops him before I have the chance, "Sarah? Why Sarah?"

I stand up, blowing out a cloud of smoke before raising my voice, "Why the fuck did you bring Sarah Cameron into this, John?"

"This is gonna be good," JJ looks at the floor, taking his hat off to ruffle his hair.

I ignore him and continue to stare daggers towards my twin brother, "Fucking speak then."

"Sarah, um, she— she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and that's where I got the letter." He stumbles, motioning random stuff with his hands like he usually does when he's anxious.

"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kie asks, grimacing at the thought of one of her best friends hanging around with her sworn enemy.

"Yeah, um—"

"He was mackin' on her," JJ blurts.

My eyes widen and I roll my jaw angrily, taking another puff of the cigarette, "Please tell me you wasn't."

"I wasn't mackin' on her," He states, smacking his best friend to be quiet.

"You were totally mackin' Sarah Cameron.," JJ shrugs, stepping away from John.

"I wasn't mackin' on her, okay? I was using her for access." He snaps angrily.

"There was access, alright," JJ mumbles. Usually I would've laughed, but the ability for me to find that funny is overwhelmed by the fact the my twin brother is working with Sarah Cameron.

"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kie asks, glaring at him angrily.

"I was trying to get into the archives—"

I raise an eyebrow, "Is that a yes?"

"I- I left out key details!"

Throwing my cigarette into the fire, I walk over to him, sending a shove into his chest, "You let a fucking Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Life?"

"What about the t-shirt company, bro!" Kie snarls.

"I was just using her for information." John B shoves me back and JJ gently stops me from falling over, his hand resting on the lower of my back.

I send him a nod of thanks before clicking my tongue at my brother, "Why don't I believe you?"

"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here. Okay, so that we can pay off a boat, or- or, uh," He points at Pope, "Send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies. Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?"

I raise my eyebrows, "Do you want an honest answer for that or—"

John B holds his hand up in my face and I slam my lips shut, "Just— just stop."

"Look, you don't know her yet. Ava and I do!" Kie tells him, "You can't trust her."

"Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club." Pope points out.

"Rafe and Sarah are different human beings." John B argues.

I purse my lips, shaking my head, "You'd be surprised how similar they actually are."

JJ looks at Kie, "What did she did to you, exactly?"

"She's like a— like a spitting cobra." Kie snaps, struggling to find the correct words, "First, she— she blinds you, and then—"

"This is a bad analogy," Pope says quietly.

"Listen to Ava and I!" She shouts, silencing everyone instantly.

"Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take." I state, looking around at all the three boys, "It doesn't matter if she's already filthy rich, she'll try to take it."

"Will you just shut up, Ava?" John B yells, going to walk away, taking the Twinkie keys out of his pocket.

"You, John Booker Routledge, are an idiot. A massive fucking idiot." I kick a pile of leaves as we all follow after him, no one speaking to each other.

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it's christmas eve eve tmr omg

i don't know why i'm updating this book so much and not my others but whatevs