𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑
𝟏:𝟒𝟎-𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟎
𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 »𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙚

❦

I walk up the dirt road to the Chateau, my hands frantically patting my short pockets, searching for my cigarette box. Groaning in annoyance, I throw my head back, realising I must have left the box in my room this morning.

As I near my house, I see JJ's Dad's truck parked up and my eyes wander over to my bedroom window that overlooks the front yard. The window's wide open and I can see the back of JJ's head inside.

I gently push open the front door before trudging a few metres to my plain bedroom door. I remember when it used to be covered in surfing and fishing stickers. Dad thought they were childish, and we ended up having a fight that lasted for hours; in short, he won.

"Hey, J? Have you seen my cigarettes?" I ask while shoving my door open.

My body stops, and my chest begins to pump and down at the sight in front of me. My face pales almost as if I've seen a ghost, but somehow this is worse. JJ and some random blonde touron are on top of each other making out with their shirts off and the my bed covers ruffled up around their waists.

"Oh, shit. Sorry,"I apologise, "Didn't mean to interrupt," I raise my hands in a surrender before I close the door behind me.

I make my way outside and onto the porch, but when I hear familiar footsteps behind me, I rush down the steps and into the garden.

"Ava!" JJ calls, "Ava! Stop— fuck— stop running! What's wrong?"

I have a bad habit of crying when angry so when I whirl around to face him, he notices as tears pour from my eyes and soak my cheeks. His eyebrows furrow and I scoff, "What's wrong with me?"

"Yes. Why the fuck are you crying?" He asks, the worry evident in his voice, taking a step forward.

Shaking my head, I move back while squeezing my eyes shut for a second, taking in a deep breath, "I'm a fucking idiot. I really thought you liked me," I breath out so quiet it's almost a whisper.

"What are you talking about?" He questions, becoming even more confused.

"I like you, J," I shout, throwing my arms up, "And I actually thought you liked me. Yet, here you are, macking with some random touron in my fucking room!" I can tell my words angered him as his nostrils flare and he presses his tongue against his cheek.

He steps closer, his fist clenched, "I liked you, Ava! So fucking much! I even admitted it, kinda. Then you went to see Rafe and lied to me about it! I thought you were done with him but clearly not!" He snaps, taking me by surprise.

"I am done with him," I shout, not bothering to question how he found out, "How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Well, that's not what he said." He spits.

I furrow my eyebrows and I lower my voice slightly, "You spoke to him? What exactly did he say, JJ?"

"He spoke to me while I was out and told me that you and him got it on," His jaw clenches at the thought of me being in Rafe's bed, "And I had no reason not to believe him."

I shake my head, trying to hold back a chuckle at the stupid comment, "That didn't happen. Yes, I went over to Rafe's because he asked me to. But nothing fucking happened! I told him I was done with him because of you."

His mouth drops open a little bit, "Because of me?"

"Oh my fucking God," I roll my eyes, "Yes, you. I'm in love with you, J. And Rafe just... isn't you. I only want you." I sigh, biting my cheeks. More cliché shit.

"You're in love with me?" He raises an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

"Yes," I glare at him, warning him to not joke, "but we can't date. Not now."

He grimaces, sticking his neck out, "What?"

"You fucked another girl because you believed something Rafe Cameron said. You'll most likely do it again," I shrug, my eyes flicking between his.

His shoulders drop sadly, "Wow, A. You don't trust me."

"I do," I reply quickly, "with some things. But when it comes to girls, that's your weak spot, playboy," I tease, smirking slightly "Just prove to me that I can trust you."

"I'll try my best," He steps closer, grabbing me by my waist and pulling me into his chest, "Just for you, Ava Booker-Routledge. The most annoying girl in my life."

I glare up at him, "Says the most annoying boy in my life."

~~~

JJ went home straight after that because his Dad needed some work doing.  I was completely shocked by what had happened so I sat down on the dock, my feet kicking gently in the cold water as I thought about it.

"Ava? What are you doing out here?" John B pulls up on the HMS Pogue, slinging a backpack over his shoulder.

"This is our dock," I raise an eyebrow, "I'm just enjoying the breeze. Where have you been?"

"None of your business," He mumbles, walking past me.

Narrowing my eyes, I jump up, running to his side, "I'm your twin sister, so, actually, it is my business."

He shakes his head down at me, "No. You have your own business that I don't know of and I have mine. Let's keep it that way."

I nod, "Fair point. I don't need you knowing everything about me."

His head snaps to me as we jog up the porch stairs, "Why? Are you hiding something from me? How dare you!" He jokes, making us both chuckle.

"Hey, guys," A woman's voice says.

I immediately know it as the social workers voice. I cuss under my breath as we both slowly turn around to see her slouched comfortably on our couch.

"You know, Cheryl, it's kind of a bad time for a check-in." John B purses his lips, moving over to the kitchen to take off his backpack.

"Yeah, like a really bad time," I agree, leaning on the table, and shoving a few rolled up blunts onto the floor out of her view.

She shrugs, "Not a check-in. We're here to take you."

I stick my neck out, "Today? Really?"

"No, no, no, no. Cheryl, look, we're not going into foster care, okay?" John B pinch's the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"We're not gonna go be a part of your little system," I snap angrily, wiggling my finger in her direction.

A man walks up behind us, making our heads turn to him in confusion. It's a police officer, gripping his belt intimidatingly while his the radio on his shoulder clicks.

"John B, Ava, this is Deputy Thomas." She introduces, "He works with juveniles for the sheriff's department."

John B and I both shoot up from our positions, moving away from the both of them in a hurry.

"Look, I know Uncle T is down in Mississippi working at a casino," She sighs, fed up with us, "He hasn't been here in months."

I scoff, "Pft. What?"

"Look, I— I want emancipation," John B states, brushing his hair back with his fingers.

"Emancipation from who? There's nobody here but you two," She tilts her head, chuckling slightly in disbelief, or maybe she's laughing at his stupidity.

"Uh, asylum, then," He rushes.

"On what grounds?"

I roll my eyes, "On solid ground. On holy grounds. What other fucking grounds are there?"

John B scratches his head, glancing back at me for a second, "Look, I— we feel real— real prosecuted right now by you and... especially, Mr Big Head over here."

I look at the Officer, "What are you looking at, huh? What're you gonna do? You gonna tase me?"

John B makes a run for it but I don't follow, just watching him with a dumbfounded look on my face. There's no way we could get out of the Chateau and not get caught.  The officer grabs John in a choke hold, lowering him to the ground, causing my back to straighten.

"What the fuck? Cheryl, get your dog off my brother!" I shout roughly, motioning towards the pair on the forum.

"That's enough!" She claps, "John, calm down and relax," She soothes, holding her hand out as if it's helping.

"Okay, okay, okay. I give up," John huffs, laying on the floor as the Officer backs away slowly.

"Get a bag and put some stuff in it. You're both coming with us," Cheryl instructs.

"Yeah, we know. You've said," I snap, shoving past her so our shoulders bump before going down the hall to my room.

"Keep near her. Make sure she doesn't run." She orders Deputy Thomas and he nods at her request, hurrying after me.

I poke my head out my door, "I don't need watching! I'm not like my dumb brother, I'm not gonna fucking run."

Either way, the officer still walks over, leaning on the door frame while I find a backpack from like 3 years ago under my bed.

"So how's life?" I ask the older man while shovelling random tops and pants into the bag, "Good? Not good? Hm?" He doesn't reply and just shuffles slightly, placing his hands together behind his back, causing me to sigh, "Mhm. Not very talkative, I see," I stand up straight, letting a strap from the bag rest on my shoulder.

We're both led outside and into the police car. Once the car starts, I shuffle into the middle seat and rest my head on John B's shoulder, glancing up at the photo of Dad in his hand. I miss him, but at the same time, I don't. All of a sudden, it blows out of John's hand and through the open car window, flying down onto the road behind us. He jerks up in a panic, making me do the same.

"No, stop, stop, stop," He rushes, smacking the seat in front of him urgently.

"Stop!" I shout.

"My picture! It's the last picture of our Dad. Please," John begs.

"Not gonna happen," The Officer mumbles, shaking his head.

"Just stop the fucking car," I growl lowly, "It won't hurt anybody."

"Please," John begs, his eyes wide, "That's all we've got left!"

"Pull over," Cheryl says calmly, combing her hair with her fingers.

"Thank you," We praise her, watching as the police officer climbs out, wandering down the road to search for the photo.

"Cheryl, can we help him look? Please?" John B asks as we watch the man struggle to find it.

"He's got it," She mumbles.

"No, he really doesn't," I snap as Deputy Thomas throws his arms up in confusion, not seeing the photo.

"That idiot. He's not even looking in the right place," John B shakes his head in disbelief, "It's gonna get trashed. Cheryl, please."

"Three eyes are better than one," I point out, tilting my head at her.

"It's our final keepsake of our Dad. Are you really gonna let that happen?" John B says sadly, trying his hardest to get her to allow us to leave the vehicle.

"Make it quick," She says, unlocking the doors for us to get out.

"Thank you, Cheryl." I smile, patting her back but she shrugs me off, "Ugh. Fuck you."

John B pulls me out the car in a hurry and I clutch tightly onto my backpack as we sprint off, "Later, bitches." I wave as we plummet over a fence and into a graveyard. I stay close behind my brother as we reach another road, running along it, both of our heads whipping round for any dangers or more short cuts. At the side are two boys, each with bikes leaning on the fence beside them.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" I smirk as we come to a stop near them.

"Hey, look, there's a snow leopard." John B points at a tree, making both of them turn their heads.

While they're looking away, we each grab a bike, picking it up over the fence as quickly as possible. The boy's begin to yell in protest, waving their arms frantically but they aren't able to catch the teenagers on the bikes.

"It's been fucking years since I've ridden a bike," I say, struggling for a second to get everything in the right place before zooming off beside John B.

We veer around another corner, shouting random things to get people out of our way before we hit them.

"Move!" I yell, frantically digging the bell, making, everyone jump back, "Thanks."

"You ready for this, A?" John B asks loudly.

"Wha—" My eyes widen in horror, "Oh fuck, no!" It's a large ramp at the end of the path, reaching up the fence. I start to near it and I shake my head, regretting ever doing this. I watch carefully as he goes flying over, landing on the other side perfectly. Fuck it. My bike rolls up it and flies through the air for a few seconds before plummeting back down, the front wheels hitting the stones on the other side first.

"You did it!" He smiles, his head turned as he watches me.

"I know." I laugh, but my eyes narrow once I notice a chain right in front of him, "Shit! John B look—"

His bike comes to a stop when he rams into the silver chain, sending him flying over it and sliding on the road roughly.

"—out," I whisper as I park my bike, climbing carefully over to make sure he's okay.

"You okay there?" I ask, holding back a laugh at his crumpled face.

He opens one eye while groaning in pain, "I can tell you're about to laugh. Please don't."

I sit back on my knees, chuckling, "Sorry. Shit. You've got a pretty bad scratch."

"Dude! Did you just yeet over that chain?" Sarah Cameron runs over, carrying a bag of groceries in her hands.

I roll my eyes, standing up and stepping over him, "You can fuck off."

John B reaches his arm up, to smack the back of my leg, "Ava, be nice."

I glance back at him, "How about. . . no."

"Ava, move. He doesn't look okay." She shakes her head, stepping past me to tend to John B's scratch on his abdomen.

"Ava, go home. I'll be fine." John B gives me a thumbs up before waving me off.

"I'm not leaving you here with her." I protest, "No way."

"I don't mind her, so we'll be okay," He motions for me to go, "Go before Thomas shows up."

I huff, "I hate you sometimes. Come home straight away otherwise I'll start thinking you've been murdered."

He chuckles, "Okay, okay. Now, fuck off."

I flick him off before climbing back onto the bike and cycling to Heyward's shop to find Pope. I make sure to go through the back roads so the social worker doesn't see me and arrest me. Well, today has been... eventful.