𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞
[𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒕]

❧

PULLING UP TO THE FOUR STAR RESORT, the door opens and the wind floods into the van. "All right, keep look out. We're behind enemy lines." JJ says as he holds up the gun and Marina just looks at him like he was an idiot just like everyone else.

"Yo, come on dude, just put it back." John B demands but JJ just looks back at him.

"You can never be too careful." He denies but Pope stops beside the window, resting his arm on the door.

"Hey, i predict that bringing a weapon to a four star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve." Pope says, staring at the boy who looked annoyed.

"Thank you, Pope." John B nods.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ. Put it back." Kiara snaps at him before getting out and John B takes it from JJ.

"There you go."

"You can't grab a gun like that." JJ denies as he gets out of the twinkie. "can't forget my badge. Professional bus boy." He says with a smirk on his face.

"If we need a weapon, I'm sure Mari has a multitude of knives on her." Kiara tells them and Marina looks toward her best friend.

"So, we are talking? Or do you just want my knives?" Marina responds as she stares at the woman, trying her best to not give a glare.

"I just can't believe you would just abandon me." Kiara mumbles with a shrug of her shoulders. Marina sighs as she bites her tongue.

"I was going to invite you along." She admits and Kiaras eyes light up.

"You were?"

"I don't know, only if you wanted to." She says as she looks down at her feet. "We can go save turtles, or some shit." Marina says as she kicks the ground.

"So, you're not gonna get rich and forget all about me?" Kiara asks, batting her eyelashes and Marina just rolls her eyes a bit.

"I could never forget you, kie. We're... Karina." She almost punched herself for saying it but it brought the biggest smile to kiaras face.

"You used our name!" Kiara exclaims as she wraps her arms tightly around the girl. Marina just stands there, looking disgusted with herself.

"Yeah, and i might just stab myself." Marina mutters and Kiara pinches her side, giving a stern look.

"I feel like I'm intruding." John B says from his place perched against the twinkie.

"Literally, fifth wheels." Pope adds with a nod of his head. Kiara turns her head to look at them.

"We're lovers, boys. Sorry that you can't get a girl to save your life." She says with a smirk playing on her lips, wrapping her arm around Marina's waist before dragging her toward the building.

"So, where are we going now?" Pope questions.

"We're going on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now. This way!" JJ says, pointing before leading them to the back entrance. "Andrew! What's up, bro?" He says to the main cook, throwing up a peace sign. "Mama L, hey good to see you." He tries to grab something off the plate in front of her but she slaps his hand.

"Hey, no!"

"See, they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat." JJ says as they make their way out of the kitchen. They rush inside the room with the computers, shutting the door quickly.

"Sweet lord, the internet. I've missed you." Pope says as he moves toward the desk.

"Let me get in there. Gotta check out my insta models." Jj says which only makes Marina scrunch her nose up the tiniest bit.

"Yeah and I have to check how my stocks are doing." She retorts bluntly making him narrow his gaze at her.

"We don't have time." Kiara says as she pushes JJ out of the way. John B takes the parchment from his bag.

"Hey, my dad's map." He says as he places it on the table.

"Coordinates, please?" Pope asks as he brings up the coordinate search.

"34 57 30 north, 75 55 42 west." John B lists and as Pope types it in and presses enter, the screen shows the exact location. "Boom. Continental shelf right there." He points to the screen.

"Well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope retorts and John B just reaches for the mouse in order to bring them closer.

"Shit, it's on the high side. Only nine hundred feet." John B says, looking at his friends.

"That's not too deep." Jj adds and Kiara furrows her eyebrows.

"Is that doable or something?"

"Yeah, totally doable." JJ says and Marina just shakes her head.

"Okay, will we be taking your personal submarine?" Pope asks as he looks toward JJ.

"How do you know this, Mr dive master?" John B questions.

"The salvage yard. They got a drone that can drop a thousand. It has a 360 camera and everything. It's for like deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need."

"And can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" John B asks, narrowing his gaze.

"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. But the drones there. It's in the impound yard out back." JJ explains to them and Kiara purses her lips a bit.

"How much did you say was on the royal merchant again?" Kiara raises an eyebrow at them.

"Four hundred mill." John B and JJ respond at the same time.

"Four hundred million dollars?" Kiara asks as she jumps up from her seat but Pope runs to the door before she can get there.

"No. Absolutely not."

"Pope! Move." Kiara complains but he only blocks her more.

"Absolutely not. No!" He denies but she pushes him out the way.

"Guys, that's too--"

"Come on!" Kiara says and Pope groans as he watches JJ and Kiara both move past him.

"Can't we do anything legal for money?" Pope asks them and John B just points down the hall.

"Go." John b orders before his head turns back into the room. He notices marina still by the computer and when he walks over to her, he sees the words 'how to get away with murder' on the screen. "No." He denies as he turns it off and she simply turns her gaze to him.

"I could make it look like an accident." She admits and John B looked like he was about to give her a scolding of a life time.

"I'll tell Kie." He warns and she rolls her eyes, huffing as she grabbed her bag and made her way out the room in order to follow the others.

❧

AS THEY DRIVE TO THE IMPOUND YARD, Marina just sits in the corner of the twinkie as she draws on the page in her hand. In the corner of her eye she could see JJ rolling a blunt but when he leans over a bit to take a peak at what she was drawing, she just moves a bit, glaring at the man who holds his hands up in defense. "Pope, we're not stealing the drone. We're borrowing it." John B tells him and Pope just shakes his head as he looks out the window.

"Humans are the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality." Pope responds and John B glances back from the drivers seat.

"Wait, did you come up with that?" John B asks him curiously.

"No, Albert Bernstein--" Pope went to answer but Marina did at the same time.

"Albert Bernstein did. Have you ever read a book?" She questions, not even looking up from her page. Pope smiles to himself before letting out a sigh.

"He came up with it, but it applies to this whole treasure hunting thing." He adds and John B just looks back at the road.

"Oh." John B says, not knowing what else to say. Marina brings her eyes to JJ, narrowing her gaze as she watches him.

"You're doing it wrong." She tells him and he just licks it, his eyes focused on what he was doing.

"I think i know how to roll a joint."

"You're gonna waste a third of it doing it that way." Marina says with a sigh, not caring if he believed her or not but it was his loss.

"Oh am I, princess?" JJ asks with a smirk, raising an eyebrow as he looks over at her.

"My dad's a drug dealer, I think i know what I'm talking about." Marina retorts before holding out her hand. JJ chuckles but places it in her hand.

"So which is it? Fantasy or reality?" Pope asks them and JJ just scoffs.

"Why are you so weird, Pope?" Jj questions back.

"Weird is subjective." Marina states coldly as she just holds the blunt back out the JJ.

"Would you look at that." He says, his smirk broadening as he looks at the perfectly rolled blunt.

"Told you."

"First light?" JJ asks and Marina shrugs, placing it between her lips while he digs around his pockets for his lighter.

"It's fantasy but possible reality." Kiara says, pursing her lips a bit.

"Reality." John b corrects her.

"Virtual reality." JJ mutters as he finally finds the lighter, clicking it with his finger and moving it toward the blunt. Marina went stoic because of how he moved closer to her but before he could light it, Pope took it, throwing it out the window.

"Keep the signal clear." Pope tells them and Marina clicks her jaw.

"Puta." The word drawls from her tongue and Pope didnt need a translator to figure that one out.

"What she said." JJ nods, though he knew nothing of what it meant and only agreed because of the tone she said it in. The car stops and Kiara gets out first. "You know what your problem is?" JJ asks the boy who rolls his eyes.

"You?" Pope retorts as they jump out of the twinkie.

"No! It's that you need to relax, man. You're always so tense!" JJ says, putting his hands on his shoulders but Pope pushes them off.

"I'm not too tense." He denies and Marina just puts her things back in her bag before following after the group.

They hide behind a barrel while Kiara tries to distract the guard so they can get in. Marina had her headphones in but she could still hear what they were saying, even though they believed she couldn't hear a thing. "How's it going with Kiara?" JJ asks as his eyes move over to John B who sings.

"It's not awkward, weird or anything." He mumbles and JJ laughs a bit.

"Yeah. Honestly I did not think you were actually gonna listen to me." He admits and John B furrows his eyebrows.

"What?"

"I was one hundred percent sure she was into you. Pope would agree."

"Ehh." Pope shrugs and John b just lets out a scoff.

"Cause you always know when someone's crushing, right?" He asks and he could see the light blush that formed on JJ's cheeks. His eyes glance to Marina for a split second, the girl just staring off in front of them.

"I was sure about Kie." JJ admits with a small shrug.

"Well, maybe you need to separate fantasy from reality." John B suggests and Marina just sighs gently, wondering how she ended up here.

"So, like, kie, she definitely gave you the heisman?" JJ asks him curiously and John B immediately nods his head.

"Oh, no question, yeah."

"Gotcha."

"Maybe she's just into somebody else." Pope suggests and both boys turn to give him a questionable, yet annoyed look.

"Boys are such idiots." Her voice makes all of them jump as they hadnt realized she could hear them. "Just because a girls your friend, doesn't mean she's into you. If she's into you, you'd know it."  Marina states blankly as she takes off her headphones and presses pause on her cassette player.

"Well, i thought I knew it..." John B mumbles quietly.

"Girls can be friends with guys, guys always have an alterior motive." Marina says as she simply puts her headphones away before standing up, not even once glancing at the boys.

"I feel like that was a blow at me." JJ whispers toward his friends who both nod in agreement.

"Oh it definitely was." John B replies before they all run toward the now closing gate. Getting through it, JJ leads them through the yard but Marina couldn't help but put her hand on her side.

"I have asthma guys, can we slow down?" Luckily jj stopped in front of the small building in front of them.

"You have asthma?" Pope questions and she stares back at him.

"Well I have sensitive lungs from smoking all the time, same difference." Marina states before they watch JJ try and enter the combination. After a few tries, it seemed they weren't getting in.

"Do you have the right numbers?" Pope asks in a hushed voice. JJ tries once more before turning back to them.

"All right, so I might have the wrong numbers." JJ admits and Marina tilts her head back a bit.

"Idioto."

"Okay, I got that one." He mumbles with a frustrated sigh before a dog comes running up to them, barking it's head off.

"That's a cougar. Never mind." John b quickly runs in the opposite direction, leaving them with no second thought.

"Hi, no, stay there. Good boy." Jj says as he tries to slip past the dog. Marina simply walks by it since it was mainly going for Pope. "Pope, run!" He demands.

"Back off!" Pope tries to swing a log at it but it doesn't move.

"I got a toy, boy!" JJ whistles and the dog comes in their direction. "Wait, no. I was just kidding. Shit!" He starts to run, Marina going along with him since he decided to stupidely get its attention. "Okay, sit!" JJ tries to shout while running. "Up here!" He says as he quickly jumps up the ladder to the nearest boat.

Marina was glad her shoulder straps were tight on her bag as she all but throws herself on the ladder. Getting on the boat, she lays down quickly. Her eyes move to JJ who was right beside her. "Maybe if we just stay here, it'll go away." He suggests and Marina sometimes couldn't fathom how stupid he was.

"And maybe if we wish for a genie, a magical blue man will appear and make all of our dreams come true." Marina retorts back and JJ just purses his lips.

"There's no need for that tone." He accused her and she only rolls her eyes.

"Whoevers up there better come on down. Don't make me go up there and get your ass!" Bobby's voice echoes and JJ squeezes his eyes shut. He goes to move but Marina stops him.

"I got this." JJ tells her but she didn't look convinced.

"No, you don't. Clearly." She denies as she reaches into her bag. Pulling out a black lipstick, she moves over to him.

"What are you doing?" He asks in a hushed tone but she just gives him a look to shut up. JJ watches as she moves ever so closer and he could practically feel her breath on his skin as she uncaps the lipstick. Rubbing it on her hand, she puts her hand on his neck, gripping his skin.

It was a bit harsh so he winced a bit. "Baby." Marina says as she moves her hand to his jaw, doing the same thing so lipstick was smudged everywhere and then putting the lipstick back in her bag. Her hands move to his hair, tugging at it and JJ bit his tongue, suppressing the moan that tried to force it's way out.

He thought she was done once she pulled away until she took out a knife. His eyes widen as he looks at it. "Uh, seriously, what are you doing?" JJ didn't know what to expect as she began cutting small holes into his shirt. She was focused, not looking at him while his eyes were solely on her.

"Why am I the only one--"

"Do you want me to cut you?" Marina asks as the coldness of the blade touched his skin. He honestly couldn't help but feel a rush of heat run through his body as she said that. She finally pulls away before standing up before JJ could protest.

"We're not murderers, bobby." Marina denies and Bobby covers his eyes from the sun, seeing the girl.

"Mari? What are you doing here?"

"We were um..." She trails off as JJ was still frozen on the base of the boat. Rolling her eyes, she grabs him by the shirt, yanking him up.

"Jesus christ." Bobby mutters as he sees the disheveled appearance of JJ.

"All men are perverts. I was drawing him for my art project at school and wanted a cool backdrop." Marina answers him and Bobby seemed a bit relieved.

"Really?"

"What can I say? I like drawing boys being submissive, it's easier to bend them to my will." Marina says, tilting her head and Bobby just rubs his forehead as JJ fights off the blush forming up his neck.

"Just come down here." Bobby states and Marina climbs down the ladder followed by JJ. "You kids find a better place to do this shit, all right?" He tells them and JJ clears his throat, nodding.

"Yes, sir."

"You said you'd call the cops two times ago, Bobby. Maybe come up with a better lie." Marina says, simply turning and heading toward the gate. Once far enough away, JJ glances toward the girl.

"Not bad." He admits and Marina meets his gaze, her eyes lingering on the marks she had left with her lipstick.

"Better than your dumb ass idea."

"Hey, my idea wasn't dumb." JJ denies and she just stares at him. "I was gonna cry my way out." He admits and this earned the smallest laugh from Marina which shocked him.

"Cry? You're such a loser." Marina says, shaking her head as her demeanor goes back to normal. JJ honestly thought he was dreaming, seeing the smallest crack in her walls.

"He didn't even seem surprised to see you. You bring a lot of willing boys here?" JJ decides to tease her, mainly wanting to break the thick tension.

"Who says they're willing?" Marina says, something about her eyes made him believe that she was telling the truth.

"Sometimes you scare me." He states and she smirks at him but as he blinks, it was gone.

"Good." They made their way back to the twinkie and John B was waiting beside the door.

"You got it?" JJ asks him and John B nods.

"Yeah we--" He finally looks toward them and stops himself. Marina simply walks past him, getting into the van while John B stares at JJ. "should I ask?" John B didn't even know if he wanted to find out what happened.

"Nah."

"All right." John B just gets in the drivers seat as JJ gets in the back, closing the door behind him.

❧

THE GROUP WALK INTO KIARA'S FAMILY'S RESTAURANT,  Kiara immediately going over to her dad while the others waited nearer the seating area. "Hey, dad." She says with a smile on her face which Mike returns.

"Hey, sweetheart." He responds before his eyes move over to Mari who was simply holding her sketchbook close in her arms as she made her way to the patio. "Mari, staying out of trouble?" Mike calls out to her and she glances back at him momentarily.

"Depends what you classify as trouble." She responds and Mike shakes his head but chuckles lightly, going back to speaking with his daughter.

"I'm so hungry." Pope mumbles as the others agree. Although Marina was simply unlocking the back door.

"Uh, are you allowed out there?" John B questions, furrowing his eyebrows. But he receives no answer, the door simply shutting behind her. He presses his lips together tightly. "Cool, thanks for the answer." He says to himself, giving a thumbs up.

"Dude, what exactly did you say to her?" JJ asks as John b never went into detail about his conversation with Marina. The boy sighs as he tilts his head back.

"Apparently I'm back to square one." John B didn't think he was making too much progress with Marina but at least enough to not be completely ignored.

"Great, so Pope's the only one she likes now." JJ mutters with a scoff and Pope raises an eyebrow at him.

"We're surprised by that?" Pope retorts, not expecting an answer from either of them because they knew he was right.

Marina just sat on the ledge, her knees folded as she opened her sketchbook. She puts a cigarette between her lips, lighting it, before beginning to draw. She could hear chatter within the restaurant but she wasnt feeling in much of a social mood. Treasure hunting was definitely lowering her social meter by a lot.

It didn't help that she felt like her life was closing in on itself. Sure, they may potentially find the gold even though it was still pretty far fetched, it didn't stop the fact that her mom was petitioning for full custody. It didnt change the fact that her and her brother would be separated and knowing her mother, she'd probably not allow them to even see each other.

She hated it. Marina wished her life was at least black and white and she could see the outcome. She would never want to be a kook, but to not have family issues would be amazing. Her eyes glance toward the door, seeing through it that Kiara was dancing with John B with a smile on her face.

Marina just simply looks back at her sketchpad. She felt out of place. No matter how many times she hung around them, or they included her, it just felt forced in her eyes. Because no one had ever wanted to hang around her before. The kooks bullied her, the pogues made fun of her when they thought she wasn't listening. What made Kiaras boys any different? What made Kiara any different?

She never understood why Kiara became friends with her. Even if Marina had assaulted the boy who was being rude to her. She couldve said thanks and went on her way. But no, she stuck around, invited her out, was nice to her, and even called her her bestfriend.

Marina had never been anyone's best friend before. And to be the best friend of a half kook? That seemed so unrealistic. She knew Kiara was more a pogue than anything but Marina always had this nagging feeling that Kiara would eventually see what everyone else saw; a crazy freak, and then abandon her. Or even worse, do what everyone else did and make her feel isolated and like an actual circus freak.

She didn't want to believe Kiara could ever do that, deep down she knew the girl would never turn her back on her, but Marina had a hard time trusting people. Even people she's known for years now.

"Hey." A voice brings her out of her thoughts and when she glances to her side, she saw Kiara standing near the door. "Better come quick or the vultures will eat all the food." Kiara teases with a small laugh, even though it was true, if she left for even a second, the boys would eat it all.

"I'm not hungry." Marina replies as she just blows the smoke out of her mouth.

"Well, you wanna come dance with me?" Kiara asks as she holds out her hand, shimmering her shoulders with a smile as she moves toward her. Marina simply looks back at her sketchpad.

"Seems like you were having fun already." Marina responds and Kiara just settles beside her, placing her hand on her knee.

"Yeah, but I'd rather dance with my lover." Kiara says with a wink but her smile officially falls when she gets no reaction from Marina. "Do you wanna talk about it?" She asks, concern in her voice as she simply places her chin on top of the girls knees. "Just the two of us." She assures her. That was the signal, that it would just stay between them. Kiara would never tell anyone what she said unless Marina gave her permission, that included the other pogues.

Marina moves her legs down, closing the space between them a little and Kiara was quick to grab the girls hands, rubbing them with her thumb. "She's trying to split us up." Marina says and Kiara furrows her eyebrows a bit.

"What?"

"My mom's only suing for full custody of me." Marina didn't know how her brother was feeling. They never talked about things like that. They never hugged, never even showed much affection toward each other. It didnt mean they didn't love each other, that went without saying. It was just often shown through other things. Marina would leave drawings underneath his door and threaten any girl who seemed to want to mess with him and Ryder always stood up for her and made sure nobody said shit around her and if they did, he'd beat them up.

"That's messed up." Kiara admits, frowning as she couldnt believe Amelia would even think about splitting them up. "Isn't there anything you can do?" She asks curiously and Marina shrugs her shoulders as she just takes another blow of her cigarette.

"Dad's trying to get money for a lawyer but that'll only do so much."

"I can ask my parents if you can stay with us? Just until this mess is sorted. I know you hate going back to your house right now." Kiara suggests. Her parents never had a problem with her staying over. She was the one pogue her dad actually liked. Maybe because she kept to herself and was quiet most of the time.

"Thanks Kie, but if I'm gonna lose my brother, I want to spend time with him even if he is a loser." Marina admits and Kiara couldn't help but smile before squeezing her hand.

"Well, you're always welcome here."  Kiara made sure she knew from pretty early on in their friendship that her home was Marina's as well. Marina did the same, although having a drug dealer as a father was a deal breaker for most. Kiara didn't care though, walking in practically every day when she wanted to hang out.

"I know."

"Now put it out before my dad sees and scolds the both of us." Kiara says, referring to the cigarette and Marina smirks lightly but does what she says. "You wanna come in?" She asks, nodding her head to the door.

"I like it out here." Marina states and Kiara nods her head.

"I'll bring some food to you, okay? You don't have to eat it but at least you'll have some if you want to." Kiara doesn't say another word, heading back inside and going to the kitchen. "Dad, do you have one more plate for Mari?" She asks curiously and Mike smiles gently.

"Yeah, right here. Knew she'd come to her senses." Mike often made a plate for Marina whenever she was around. Even though she never had dinner with them or ordered anything, he always made sure there was enough for her. And she would almost always end up eating it by herself on the patio.

"She's a stubborn one." Kiara says with a small laugh as she grabs the plate from her dad.

"She's okay though?" Mike questions, knowing she's been going through some family problems recently and Kiara nods.

"Yeah." Kiara heads back toward the patio, the pogues watching her.

"Everything okay?" John B asks.

"Don't worry about us, guys. Just continue eating, I'm sure you'll survive two seconds without us." She says with a snort before closing the door behind her. John B watches her for a moment before turning to JJ.

"So, I'm gonna ask. What the hell was that earlier?"

"What?" JJ retorts, just shoveling fries into his mouth.

"Don't play dumb." John B responds with a roll of his eyes. "Your shirt was cut up, your hair was a mess, you had lipstick everywhere.... what happened in the two minutes we were gone?" He asks, genuinely curious as to how his appearance had gotten like that.

"Nothing, just trying to get past bobby without him calling the cops." JJ answers him with a small shrug of his shoulders but neither of them looked like they believed him.

"And that required your shirt being cut... why?" Pope asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, man. She just started doing it and then made up some excuse that she was drawing me for her class."

"What kind of kinky shit does she draw?" John B asks, a bit shocked but JJ just runs a hand through his hair.

"Bro, Bobby didn't even look surprised to see her."

"I'm sure you loved it though." Pope says with a smirk forming on his face and John B immediately joins in.

"Oh yeah, having her hands all over you. Probably turned you on having that knife pressed against your skin." He says with a wink purposely messing up JJ's shirt and the man blushes hard.

"Shut up." He mutters as he just continues to eat in order to cover up the fact that he was as bright as a tomato. John B and Pope laugh as they watch him before John B sees someone walking in.

"Shit, is that Mari's mom?" He asks them and they both turn their heads to see Amelia Emery walking up to kiaras dad.

"Hey, Mike."

"Amelia." Mike responds, seeming like he wasnt too happy to see her. "Did you need something?" He asks, crossing his arms against his chest.

"Just wondering if Mari is here? I know she often hangs out with Kie." Amelia responds, glancing around the restaurant and the pogues were quick to look away.

"You actually just missed her, she was pretty tired. Went home." Mike says bluntly and Amelia narrows her gaze.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, said something about wanting to finish her drawing before bed."

"I just want to talk to her, Mike." She responds with a sigh. Mike only shrugs his shoulder's.

"Okay, well i can't help with that cause she's not here." Mike denies and that's when laughter is heard from the patio. Amelia turns her head and out the window she noticed her daughter right next to Kiara.

"Not here? Really?" She scoffs as she begins walking toward the door.

"Amelia, she doesn't want to see you." Mike tries to stop her but Amelia didn't care to listen to him.

"She's my daughter, Mike. And she's sixteen, she doesn't get a say." Amelia denies and John B shares a look with the others as they watch the woman open the door. "Mari, sweetheart, come on." She says and the laughter dies down immediately.

Marina had a glint of confusion in her eyes but she went back to her stoic posture. "Mom, what are you doing here?" She asks with a small scoff while Kiara moves a bit closer to her.

"We're gonna go on a drive."

"I'd rather jump."

"It wasn't a question."

"She doesn't want to go with you." Kiara cuts in, stepping in front of Marina as Amelia comes closer.

"I don't think this is any of your business, Kiara." Amelia sneers a bit, looking at the girl.

"It is my business because she's my best friend and you're trying to take her away from her family." Kiara snaps back with a glare on her face.

"I am her mother, I'm not holding her against her will."

"Could've fooled me." Kiara mumbles as she crosses her arms against her chest. Amelia simply looks past her.

"Mari. Sweetheart, I just want to talk." Amelia admits but Marina stays where she was. "Now, can we go somewhere where your friends aren't gawking at us?" She asks quietly, feeling the boys eyes on the back of her head.

"Why should I? You threw away our family when you decided to cheat on dad. Just go back to your new rich family." Marina simply stares at her mother who seemed offended by her comment.

"Marina, could you just not pass judgement for two seconds?" Amelia asks with a sigh before grabbing onto her daughters arm.

"I'll scream." Marina warns, dead serious. Amelia glances around but let's her go.

"You'll have to talk to me eventually." She admits.

"No, i don't think i will."

Amelia just starts heading back into the restaurant but stops herself. "You father won't win, Marina. I'd start packing your things now because beginning next month, you'll be living with me." She states, sharing one last glance with her daughter before leaving the restaurant.

"She's such a cunt." Kiara states with a scoff, shaking her head.

"Kiara." Mike scolds a bit.

"Am I wrong?"

"No, but watch your mouth, okay?" He says. He had to agree with her on that but he didn't exactly want his daughter to be the one saying it.

"Sorry, dad." Kiara apologizes before her eyes move to Marina who was just staring at the door. "Hey, she's wrong. Your dad's gonna win and you're never gonna have to live with those rich kooks." She assures her with a smile on her face.

And Marina desperately wanted to believe her. But with how her life usually turned out, that didn't seem to even be the slightest possibility.

❧

POPE GRABS THE GROCERIES FROM HIS DAD, placing them into the boat. "Need you guys to get these groceries over to figure eight. Get straight back when you're done. No fishin. I promised delivery by this afternoon. Rich folks don't wanna wait for you lazy sons of..." He stops himself when he turns and sees JJ lazily holding out his arms. "Oh, JJ, thank you." His tone was sarcastic as JJ slowly moves them onto the boat. "Sons of bitches." He finishes and Pope just presses his lips together tightly.

"Right." Pope says with a nod before starting the boat. JJ let's his eyes wander over to the side, Marina lounging against the railing, her sketch pad in her hand with a cigarette between her lips and her headphones on.

"Dude, why is she here?" JJ asks, nudging the boy who glances in her direction before shrugging his shoulders.

"How am I supposed to know, she hasn't said a word." He retorts. Marina had walked onto the boat and had planted herself there. His dad was even a bit confused but didn't say anything. "Doesn't even look like the storm hit there." Pope says with a scoff as he looks over at the houses.

"That's because they got generators, bro. Get used to it." JJ responds as he clenches his jaw. "And then they say the juice will be out all summer at the cut." He states, shaking his head.

"Nice to be a kook." Pope mumbles.

"Lucky bastards." JJ adds before moving over to Marina. She simply glances at him, her eyes a bit annoyed but he only signals for her to lift her headphones off. She does that, raising an eyebrow. "Kie busy or something?" He asks curiously.

"No." Marina seemed irritated that he had interrupted her as he just rubs the back of his neck.

"Just thought you'd hang with her."

"It's quiet out here." She admits and JJ nods his head, feeling the awkwardness.

"How are you listening to music?" Pope asks and Marina simply takes something out of her bag, showing a cassette player before putting her headphones back on and continuing to draw. Pope and JJ share a look but don't say anything else.

Marina had stayed on the boat as the boys delivered the groceries. Simply enjoying the cool air on the water and the birds chirping. That's until she heard a bit of a commotion. Her eyebrows furrow slightly as she takes off her headphones. Glancing around, she doesn't see anything but still hears some yelling in the distance. Placing her things down, she jumps onto the boat before making her way onto the land.

Pope groans as Rafe slams the golf club into the dirt beside him."Stay down, bitch!" Rafe shouts at Pope who didn't move from the ground. He only bends down, grabbing Pope's shirt.

"Rafe, let him go man!" Topper says, glancing around as he didn't need Rafe to make things any worse.

"Hey, hey. We don't want you over here, you got that?"

"Dude, dude."  Rafe felt Topper hitting his shoulder so he glances up, noticing Marina walking over to them. He lets Pope go, simply standing up straight.

"Oh, hi, princess. On a little stroll?" Rafe asks with a smirk on his lips. Marina doesn't say anything, just putting a knife to Rafe's throat when she got close enough.

"Woah, woah. Calm down." Topper says, his eyes going wide.

"I am very calm, Topper." Marina states, her eyes never leaving rafe who chuckles, a bit nervously.

"Easy, it was just a joke. Just playing rough, huh?" Rafe tells her as he held his hands up.

"Maybe i like to play rough too." Marina answers as she presses the knife harder against his skin.

"Chill." Rafe says, his eyes searching hers. He was honestly just trying to see if she was really going to do it or not.

"You think you're superior? Beating up pogues cause your some kook king?"

"Not my fault his pogue trash friend put a gun to my boys head." Rafe retorts and Marina loathed the fact that it was apparently all the pogues fault. Like the kooks didn't start half this shit.

"The same boy who was drowning John b?" Marina questions, tilting her head a bit.

"Listen, just walk away." Rafe sneers and Marina nods her head slowly before backing up, but not before letting the knife slice his skin a little. "Shit!" He shouts as he covers his neck, groaning at the pain. "You fucking crazy bitch!" He snaps at her, a deadly glare set on his face.

"Haven't heard that one before." Marina scoffs, hearing the unoriginal comment. "You're gonna stay away from Pope, or next time I cut you, you won't be able to stop the bleeding." She threatens and Topper couldn't believe she was outwardly saying this shit.

"Jesus, you belong in a fucking psych ward."

"Do you kooks ever think of anything new?" Marina asks, just bending to pick up a beer can. "Don't forget this, seems you guys were so eager for one hm? Like you don't have the money to buy one." She says as she chucks it toward them. "Oh wait, it's your daddy's money, sorry." She says with a scoff before turning to Pope. She simply stands over him, analyzing his injuries with her eyes.

"You okay?" Pope heard the usually blunt tone but he could see in her eyes that she was worried he was in pain. He just nods his head as he stands up, brushing himself off. "Get back to the boat."  Marina tells him. Pope was hesitant to walk away but he ultimately did, leaving Marina with the two kooks.

She turns back to them, rafe just wiping the blood from his neck. Marina walks over to them and she could see how Topper tensed, stepping back a bit. Rafe on the other hand, didnt budge, just staring down at her. "Now hand it over." Marina demands as she holds her hand out.

"Excuse me?" Topper asks with a scoff.

"Those groceries cost money. And I know it's hard for you both to fathom, but some people need to work to live." Marina retorts, glaring toward the man. "Cough it up." She says, wiggling her fingers but Topper doesnt make any sort of move. "Or i can do it for you." She warns, holding up her other hand with the knife.

Topper rolls his eyes but reaches into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He pulls out a few bills, dropping them into her hand. Marinas eyes move to Rafe. "You too, bitch." She says, imitating the tone he used against Pope. Rafe scoffs as he presses his tongue to the inside of his cheek.

"I don't owe you shit, pogue." Rafe denies and Marina almost laughed at how idiotic this man sounded.

"Had a fun time at that party last night?" She had eyes everywhere, even if he didn't realize it. "How would both your daddy's like to find out about your extracurricular activities?"Marina asks them and she could see the rush of fear that went through their eyes. Topper nudged rafe who begrudgingly took out his wallet.

He pulls out a few hundreds, slapping them into her hand. "When i told you to play golf, you should've had a different target." Marina says, narrowing her gaze and it caused a huff to leave Rafe.

"You're so fucking needy, God." He mumbles as he pulls out his phone, opening it and showing her the video he took of him beating the shit out of Liam.

"Why didn't you send this?" Marina asks, watching the video closely. Rafe could see the hint of a smile form on the corner of her lips as she watched Liam screaming in pain.

"Because you don't have shit over on the cut." Rafe's tone was annoyed as he just crosses his arms against his chest.

"And yet your text went through fine." Marina points out, still feeling repulsed from the text that lingered on her phone. "Consider this your tip." She says, putting the phone into her bag and Rafe just groans.

"Seriously?"

"You'll get it back, you can last one day without it." Marina says with a roll of her eyes before beginning to walk off. "Good doing business with you fellas." She tells them, using the knife to salute them.

"You're seriously just gonna let that crazy bitch walk away?" Topper asks with a scoff, wondering how Rafe wasn't completely losing his mind right now.

"Just leave it, man." He only mutters, kicking the dirt on the ground before bending over to pick up his golf club. Topper narrows his gaze but doesn't say anything more, both of them just heading back into the country club.

Meanwhile back at the boat, JJ laughs as he rushes toward it. "Dude, you are not going to believe what just happened to me, man!" JJ calls out as he sees Pope sitting in the seat. "Whoo that was the best hundred bucks I've ever made. When i say count me in on all these grocery deliveries, Pope, I mean it." He says with a smile on his face but it falters when Pope doesn't respond, just staring out the window. "What's up with you? Bro, you good?" JJ leans forward, tilting up his hat to which Pope just forces it down but not before JJ saw the blood. "Yo, what happened to your face, dude?" His tone was drastically different now as his jaw clenches.

"Rafe and Topper  jumped me. They said no pogues on their side of the island." Pope mutters and JJ felt anger flooding his bones as he glances around.

"What are you gonna do?" JJ asks him curiously. "And where's Mari?" He wondered where the girl had went since last he saw she was drawing near the back.

"She--" Pope goes to answer before a flood of cash was dropped in his lap. JJ practically jumps as the girl appeared in front of him. "What's this?" Pope asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Money for the groceries." She responds in a monotone voice and JJ let's out a low whistle.

"That's a chunk of change, man." Jj says as he takes it from Pope to count it. Pope didnt care, instead his eyes were trained on Marina.

"Where did you get it?" Pope questions, narrowing his gaze.

"Rafe and Topper." She replies as she pulls out a cigarette from her bag. JJ eyes snap up before going back down to the money in his hand.

"They gave you this? Willingly?" JJ was skeptical because Topper and Rafe were definitely not the type to get swindled for their money.

"What have I said about willingly, JJ?" Marina retorts.

"Dude, she cut rafe." Pope says. Seeing her like that was a bit scary but honestly, it made him feel safe and he smiled at the thought that she was protecting him. JJ's eyebrows shoot straight up.

"You are a crazy bitch, you know that?" JJ says with a soft chuckle, his eyes moving down Marina for a moment.

"A compliment coming from you, JJ." Marina's voice was still blunt but she meant it. For some reason, when those words came out JJ's mouth, it was different than when a kook said it. Because they meant it as an insult while with JJ, he meant it weirdly as a compliment.

"What are you watching?" Pope asks as he trails his eyes to the phone in her hand.

"A video." JJ walks over to her, hovering over her shoulder to see someone getting beat to a pulp with some golf clubs.

"Seems like you're not the only one that got beat up." JJ says as he raises his eyebrows. He recognized the man from the other night. Her coworker who seemed to not know how to take no for an answer.

"Did you steal his phone?" Pope asks, his eyes widening a bit.

"No, he gave it to me."

"Walk us through it, baby." JJ says, using a motion with his hands as he tried to figure it out. Marina ignored the way her stomach fluttered at the nickname which JJ didn't even seem to realize he used.

"Just something I had him do in return for keeping his little secret." Marina states with a shrug and JJ shares a glance with Pope.

"His-- he has a secret? What is it?" JJ asks, clearly wanting to know so he could hold it over Rafes head.

"If i told you, it wouldn't be much of a secret now would it?" Marina responds, cocking an eyebrow up at him.

"Dude, we can use it." JJ points out the obvious but she just simply glances away from him.

"And i have." She informed him before looking at Pope. "Rafe won't do shit, Pope. Not unless he wants his daddy kicking him to the curb." Marina tells him and she could see the small smile forming on his face.

"You're killing me here." JJ groans as he tilts his head back.

"With secrets comes blackmail, meaning Rafe is my personal bitch as long as he wants his secret kept." Marina states, hoping that would give JJ enough incentive to leave it alone. And he does, only smirking as he shakes his head, leaning back against the boat.

"Marina fucking Emery everybody."

❧

Authors note;

I am officially obsessed with writing this book now.