WHEN Eden woke up, it was to the sound of a boat horn. 

Mind fuzzy, the girl slowly opened her eyes. She's met with a naturally lit room, sunlight pouring in through the small window across from her. The smell of salt water fills her nose, and her ears are quick to catch the familiar sound of waves lapping against metal and hulls. 

And, of course, a boat horn. 

The fuck? 

Eden dazedly sat up, eyes squinting as she scanned the perimeter of the room. She was laying upon a narrow bunk, which sat connected to a pale white wall. In front of her was a small dresser with a plate of food and a cup of orange juice on top of it. Below was a duffel bag—a duffel bag she used to use for sleepovers when she'd been younger to pack belongings.

She wasn't in the Chateau; She wasn't in her bedroom; she wasn't in the Cameron estate. 

Where the fuck was she? 

Eden tries to recall the previous night, but everything blends together slightly—John B. got bit by a gator, they'd found the cross, Pope was allergic to wasps, they went to Ricky's, they lost Kiara to her parents, they went to the Cameron estate, she pretended to be JJ's girlfriend, she went into the mansion......she was drugged. 

"No." Eden breathes.

Everything seemed to click in the Bexley's mind, despite the drug that still lingered in her system. She remembers hugging her mother, she remembers the needle going inside her neck, she remembers what Isla had said. 

We'll be out of Kildare.

"No, no, no." Eden quickly throws her feet off of the narrow bunk, not even bothering to cringe at the soreness in her muscles as she stumbles over towards the porthole at the edge of whatever room she was in, hands clasping the metal perimeter of the window as her eyes widen.

Staring out, she saw nothing but the ocean.  

Her heart sinks in her chest as she sees nothing but the sea for miles, vast blue waters taking up every inch of her sight. Her body grows nauseous staring down at the open sea—Eden wasn't sea sick, she was simply sick at the thought of her situation—and she quickly steps backwards, mind still a rush of panics and confusion.

She was on a boat in the middle of the ocean.

She'd been put without a say on a boat to who knows where.

Her mother had kidnapped her.

"What the fuck." Eden spits, backing up towards the small dresser that sat across her bed. She kneels down to unzip the duffel bag below, hands shuffling through the items in the bag—it was certainly packed in a rush, but there was indeed different clothing items, toiletries, and items of hers within it, as if she were staying.

This wasn't happening—this couldn't be happening. How the hell could she be on a boat halfway to who knows where when her friends were depending on her help to get the Cross of Santo Domingo? 

Her heart sinks even further at the thought of John B, JJ, and Pope. She'd left them in the Cameron's yard, thinking she'd be out with Sarah. Had they watched her get dragged to the car? Had they tried to help her? Did they know where she was? 

Sarah. Where was she? There was a good chance that Sarah—who Eden recalls to have been knocked out—was currently in the same position, confused and panicked on why she was on a boat in the middle of nowhere, but what if she wasn't?

What if—

"Eden?" There's a small knock on her door, and the Bexley quickly straightens up. Her eyes narrow in on the door as she hears her mother's voice echo through. "Are you awake?" 

Eden doesn't answer. 

"Eden?" Her mother's voice hums again before there's a light click. The cabin door opens, and Isla Bexley peers her upper body in the door to see her daughter very much awake, standing wearily to the side. "Good. You're up."

"You know the time the sedative lasts better than me." Eden coldly states, sending her mother the firmest glare she could muster. She was scared, but she was fucking pissed. "You're the one who drugged me, after all." 

"I know you're upset—"

"Uh, yeah, I'm upset!" Eden exclaims, gesturing towards the ocean with her hand, "I was drugged and kidnapped into the middle of the fucking ocean! How am I supposed to be—happy? Content?" She points to herself, "I have a fucking life, you know? You can't just....just pick me up and take me wherever the fuck you want!"

Isla tries to keep her voice low and level, "I didn't want to drug you, okay? But I knew you wouldn't come with me willingly." 

"Damn right I wouldn't have." 

"Look, Eden, I don't expect you to forgive me right now." the Bexley woman seems to be losing her patience with her daughter, as she normally did. Eden seals her lips, glaring off towards the side as her mother proceeded, "But I need you to listen regardless."

Eden could put up her act for as long as she wanted, but she was curious. She wanted to know what everything was about, why she was on this boat. So, the Bexley purses her lips, "Okay." 

"For you to explain everything, there's something that I need to tell you." Isla states, voice firm. "Ward is alive."

Eden hears her mother's words, but they don't fully register in her head. Ward was dead—she'd watched him blow up on the My Druthers. 

Ward Cameron was a powerful and wealthy man, and he had his fair share of alibi's and people who he could convince to help him with a show of cash, but there was no way he could simply fake his own death? Right? 

Eden looks at her mother, uttering a confused, "What?" 

"He used the scuba gear on the My Druthers. Jumped in right as the boat exploded so no one would see him." the Bexley woman explained the situation as if it wasn't one of the craziest things Eden had ever heard—as if Ward Cameron faking his death was something everyone expected. "He's on this very boat."

"So, he just.....faked his own death?" Eden reiterates, trying to process the information. Ward hadn't actually committed suicide to escape his charges—he'd flat out faked his death to escape them. 

Isla gives a curt nod—it went deeper than simply faking his death, but in the end, that was the truth.

"He made everyone think he was dead just to escape charges he deserved?" the Bexley's voice starts to rise. Once again, she doesn't get it—why did her mother and Ward have to be like this? "He made Rose think he was dead—made Rafe, Sarah.....Wheezie, think he was dead to get out of all this bullshit?"

"Rose knew." Isla corrects. The two Cameron's and Isla had planned out the whole ordeal to the point, and even while Isla didn't go through with it, they followed the plan. Rose acted like her husband truly had died while secretly keeping contact with him. "Rafe found out a few days ago."

Her heart  sinks at the thought of Sarah and Wheezie—the two who'd been left out of the fake-death plan. She thinks back to their reactions watching his final words; the comments Sarah had to her in a fit of grief, the way she shrieked for her father on the dock after the boat exploded; the way Wheezie was never let in on anything.

She doesn't care that Ward more than likely did it with his family in mind. He had hurt his two daughters—made them grieve and cry thinking he was dead when he was writing letters to Isla and Rose to remind them of his plan.

She doesn't know which outcome made him more of a coward. Actually killing himself so he could avoid his consequences, or faking the act.

"That's so fucked up." Eden utters, before narrowing her eyes at her mother, "What is up with you money-obsessed people and thinking all of this is okay? That hurting and deceiving your own family is okay?"

"You know he's doing it all to protect Rafe and Sarah." Isla states. Eden knows it's true, but it doesn't make any of it better. "It was the one way to ensure that all accusations towards him went away, and that none of them went on to Rafe or me." She pauses before adding, "The one way he could try and re-establish his family again." 

"So, they're all on here? Rose, Rafe, Wheezie, Sarah......" Eden pauses before stating the Kook's name, "......Ward?"

Isla nods her head firmly, "And us." 

Eden pokes her cheek with her tongue, crossing her arms around her chest. "And why am I here, exactly? Why did you have to drug me the same way Rose drugged Sarah—why did I wake up in the middle of the goddamn ocean?"

"Ward wanted his family back. I did too." Isla admits, lowly. She looks at her daughter, truthfully. "I don't know if you remember anything before you blacked out, but I meant it. We're going out of Kildare. We're going to have a new start together." 

Eden's eyes narrowed as she processed her mother's words. A new start? Away from Kildare? Sure, getting away from the murders and gold sounded decent, but Isla couldn't just take her away from the life she had—from her friends.

"I don't get a say on this? Because, I think I should after all the shit you have put me through this past month." Eden reasons, growing frustrated that she was shipped onto a boat without even the slightest say. Living with her mother away from Kildare seemed like her worst nightmare. If she was escaping the island, it was going to be with her true family—the Pogues. 

"We both know you wouldn't have gone with me if I gave you the choice." Isla voices. Eden knows that's true, too—if her mother had asked her, she would have said no in a heartbeat. 
"I'm sorry that I drugged you like that, but I had too." 

"Where are we even going?" Eden's lips thin, arms wrapping around her figure. Her mother was taking her away somewhere away from her friends.

"Somewhere off a place called Guadeloupe. Ward calls it paradise." the Bexley woman recalls. Her, Ward, and Rose had planned their destination of choice before everything went down, and she liked the sound of it. "We're going to be living near them."

"For how long?" Eden already knew the answer, and it made her feel sick.

Isla manages a slight laugh, "Well, Ward can't exactly go back to the OBX, can he?" 

"So you're saying I'm just supposed to live with you in some beach house? That I'm supposed to be okay with casually living next to Ward and Rafe like they haven't ruined my life? Live in freaking Guadeloupe like we're all okay?" Eden scoffs—how did Isla think she'd be okay? The woman opens her mouth to talk but Eden continues. "You expect me to just live with you after everything that you've done? You are the last fucking person I want to be around right now, Mom."

Isla stays quiet, allowing Eden to continue rambling.

"I have a life in Kildare—I have friends. I can't just leave them! They have no fucking clue where I am right now and you want me to just live with you like they aren't the most important people to me?"

"I know, honey." The way Isla says honey makes Eden want to punch her. "I have your phone in my room. You can call them when we get to the house."

As if that makes Eden feel better. 

"That doesn't make anything better! You can't just pull me away from my life for forever! They need me!" Eden knows her friends need her, but truthfully, she needs them. They were the people who'd stayed with her, who helped her through every panic attack, who liked her because she was Eden, not because she was Eden Bexley.

"I understand, Eden. But, sometimes, tough choices have to be made." Isla reasons. Eden has to stop herself from rolling her eyes—tough choices, her ass. She didn't have a choice in this decision. She'd been taken on this boat without the smallest ounce of consent. "This one might be for the better."

"For the better—" Eden scoffs before cutting herself off. There was no point in arguing—where was she trying to get? She was already in the middle of the ocean, there was no way to even try and get anywhere else until she was in 'paradise'. "Where's Dad? I want to talk to him about all of this. Now." 

There was no way her Dad let this happen—let Isla take not only her life, but his away for the sake of keeping her and Ward safe. Eden knew that Tom wanted his family back, too, but he wouldn't let Isla drug her on to a ship to do so; he knew the Pogues meant too much to her. 

"Your father isn't here." 

Eden's voice falters as she asks, "Where is he?"

"He's still in Kildare, at home." Isla explains, her voice rather stiff at the mention of her husband—she knew this would send Eden over even more than being told she was stuck on a boat. 

  Eden knows her mother well enough to know what that means. Tom and Isla were on thin ice when it came to trust; he would have never been on board with spending time with the Cameron's in Guadeloupe—he had no clue that they'd even gone.

"Dad doesn't know, does he?" Eden states, voice thin—her father was the one person who would even try to understand her. Isla, Ward, Rose, and Rafe would tell her it was for the better; Sarah couldn't try anything; Wheezie didn't get it. 

Isla shakes her head.

"What the fuck?" Eden shakes her head in disbelief, feeling tears begin to prickle in the corners of her eyes. God, she doesn't know why she wants to cry, but she does. She was stuck on a boat with her mother and two murderers, and no one knew she was. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Eden—"

"Does anyone know I'm on this goddamn boat?!" Eden exclaims, feeling herself grow emotional. No one knew she was here—no one was coming to save her, or help her for that matter. "Does Dad know that you took me? Or does he just think I'm at John B's—does he know I'm not coming home?"

Her dad had wanted to see her again. Now, that wasn't happening if her mother had anything to do with it.

"He doesn't know. He doesn't need to know." Isla purses her lips, before managing a scoff, "Our marriage was going to fall apart anyways."

"I want off of this boat, Isla." Eden firmly grits, pushing past the tears in the corners of her eyes. No one knew she was here, but she was going to get off, one way or another. She couldn't leave her father without a clue on where she was, and she couldn't ditch her friends so abruptly. 

"We can finish this conversation when we get to the house." Isla snaps, turning to walk back towards the cabin door she'd entered. "Until then, you can sit here and wait—enjoy some time away from those Pogues." 

Under her breath, Eden mutters, "Fuck you." 

"Change that language to French." Isla snipes, glancing over her daughter's sour expression, "They speak it in Guadeloupe."

Eden doesn't reply, keeping a glare set on her mother. 

"I'll come and get you when we've arrived," Isla finalizes, before turning the door handle and exiting the room. 

The Bexley keeps her firm stance until she hears the click of a lock. 

"No—" Eden quickly moves towards the door, hand fumbling towards the handle. She jiggles it, heart sinking as she realizes it was locked. Not only was she stuck on a ship—she was locked into her own room. "No! Mom! Unlock the door!"

There's no answer from Isla, only the sound of heels clicking against the floor as the woman disappeared down the hall.

She recalls being in the same position the night before; Rafe locking her in the Cameron's wine cabinet. 

"Mom! Isla—" Eden roughly jiggles the door handle, knowing it was no use. She brings her other hand to the door, wrapping his palm against the firm metal to try and signal someone rather angrily. 

She couldn't just sit in her room and let her mother win. 

"Open the door! Open the fucking door!" No answer. "Sarah?! Sarah—Wheezie? Wheeze! Wheezie, can you hear me!" She tries to call for the two girls who would help her, specifically the younger Cameron." No answer. "Goddammit ! Isla, you can't keep me in here!"  

No answer. 

Eden let out a frustrated huff, slamming her fist against the door a final time before sinking down against it. Back pressed against the cool metal, she leans her head back and closes her eyes. What was she going to do?

She was trapped in the middle of the ocean with the three people she hated most. Her phone was with Isla. Her friends didn't know she was here, and neither did her dad. No one was coming to save her. 

Eden could do things herself, don't get her wrong, but how was she supposed to get herself out of this situation? Without her phone to call anyone until she was already situated on the island, and the door locked.....

Eden slowly opens her eyes, glancing towards the duffel bag beside her. 

Her mother had packed her a bag full of clothes and essentials. That had to include hair, right? If her assumptions were right, somewhere hidden away in the bag, there had to be at least one bobby pin.

The Bexley is quick to crawl towards the bag, throwing out different pairs of shorts and shirts as she scanned for a tiny baggie full of hair ties, clips, and pins. After a moment of searching, Eden is quick to find the bag she was looking for, smiling as she picks it up.

She doesn't hesitate before opening it, pulling out a singular bobby pin and discarding the rest of the baggie on the floor. 

Holding the item in her hands, Eden stands back up and brings the item down towards the door knob. She inserts the pin into the lock of the handle, and begins to jiggle the handle yet again, jamming the pin further into the handle as she tries to pick the lock.

After a few moments of trying her best to pick the lock—fumbling with the handle as she jammed the pin further into the lock—a satisfying click meets Eden's ears. The girl can't help but smile proudly as the door opens without hesitation.

She can hear muffled voices, but no one seems to be close to her room. So, taking a final look back into her cabin, Eden steps out into the hallway and begins to pace down the empty corridor in search of.....well, she's not exactly sure, herself.

Part of her wants to find Sarah. Part of her wants to go and score her phone. Part of her wants to try and find someone who'll help her.

Eden's brain doesn't seem to make any decision as she treads down the empty corridor. Her eyes look within every open door in precaution, but she never manages to spot her mother or any Cameron, for that matter, as she walks. 

She paces in silence for a few moments before turning a corner into a dimmer room—more of an extra storage unit, for the ship. Eden passes through the area with ease, heading up a flight of stairs next to reach a door.

Pushing open the door, Eden's eyes quickly squint as she's met with the bright light of the sun. The smell of salt water and boat fumes are even stronger now that she's outside, the sunlight beaming down upon her tan skin.

The Bexley pauses a moment, eyes scanning around the perimeter to see where she could go next. Ultimately, the girl lets her Converse lead, pushing up the stairs towards the superstructure of the ship to see what she could do—maybe there was a phone, or a walkie. Someone who looked willing to help rather than steering the ship for a chunk of gold. 

Rising on her tippy toes, Eden peeks in the small window to see Rafe Cameron standing, arms flailing around as he talked to another man, who stood in front of the wheel—clearly the captain, or someone who worked on the ship.

"All I'm saying is that there was an explosion in the shipyards—where'd that come from, huh?" Rafe's voice echoes through the superstructure. Eden leans her ear against the wood to listen. "I wouldn't put it past these assholes, man. You don't know them. They could've gotten on the ship." 

Eden feels her heart rise in her chest. While Rafe could be speaking about anyone, she could only think of one these assholes who would have the confidence and the motivation to sneak on to this ship.

The Pogues.

It was crazy to think that her friends were on this boat, but....was it that outrageous to believe? 

The Pogues weren't the most logical at times, let alone people who decently thought about their actions—they trusted their first thought and went headfirst, letting consequences follow afterwards. If they saw two of their friends unconsciously dragged on to a boat, they wouldn't think of a plan before hopping on to try and get them off.

Eden hopes she's right. 

The girl doesn't listen to anymore of the conversation. Instead, she turns to head back towards the stairs, descending down towards the main level of the boat. Thousands of thoughts run through her mind, all of which causing her chest to grow tight with both anxiety and hope.

Her friends might be on this boat with her; with them, everything would be better. 

She just needed to find them. 

Eden isn't exactly sure where her friends would hide—they could be anywhere on such a giant boat. She doesn't get much time to try and decide where to look for them before a voice calls for her.

"Hey, lady!"

Eden whips around to see three men looking at her, all with firm and unwavering gazes. 

The Bexley probably looks like a stowaway herself, with her dirty clothes and unfamiliar appearance to the men. Knowing this, she tries to offer her most confident expression as she greets, "Yes?"

"Who are you?" One of the men asks—he's wearing a green shirt, and seems to be more of a leader based on the affirmative way he sounded. "I don't recognize you as new crew."

"Eden Bexley." Eden wasn't sure if she was trying to use her true reasoning behind being on the boat, or her usual Bexley perk to get her out of the situation. "My mother is on this boat; Isla Bexley. We're with Ward Cameron and his family?"

"Isla, huh....." The man makes eye contact with the other two beside him, who conceded with her story. "What are you doing down here? You should be in the cabins." 

Eden glanced towards the storage containers behind the three men for a moment. They were big enough to fit a few people, and certainly provided coverage—unless you specifically looked inside, there was no way anyone would see within.

If her friends were on the boat, there had to be a chance they were in there, right ?

"Uh, I came down here to....explore....and I heard the captain say something about stowaways?" Eden tries to sound as believable as she could—improv had never been her thing, but it was all she had right now.

"....and?" 

"And, I....I wanted to help look for them....?" Eden slowly works out, the tone of her voice disagreeing with the confidence she was trying to show. Her words sounded like bullshit—why would anyone, let alone a sixteen year old girl of all people, want to search for stowaways? 

The man sends her a questioning glance, the other two staring at the one in the middle, waiting to see what he said. 

"Me and my mom are trying to make it to Guadeloupe. I'd hate for something to happen because the stowaways weren't found...." Eden looks down to the floor of the boat before glancing innocently at the three men. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

The main man seems to contemplate her words for a few seconds, Eden wrapping a hand around her back to cross her fingers—it was stupid, but she needed her luck—tightly. She can't help but sigh in relief as man concedes.

"What the hell.....sure." The man replies, sticking a hand into his back pocket. He pulls out a screwdriver, outstretching it towards Eden. The Bexley takes the item, unable to hide the small smile that appears. "Take this."

"And do what?" Eden tries to act dumb, eyes glancing between the man and the ship containers behind him.

"See those two container carts behind us?" When Eden nods, the man proceeds to explain, "I don't have the keys to them on me, but there's a small grate up top that you can unscrew. Look through there for any stowaways." He narrows his gaze for a moment, "I take it you'll find me or the captain if you find anyone?" 

Eden manages a curt nod. Lying through her teeth was un-fazing, especially to these three men. "Of course."

"Go on then." The man nods towards the screwdriver in his hand.

 With a smile, Eden takes the tool from his grasp. She tries to keep a normal pace as she walks towards the containers, but can't help but gain speed. This could be it; her friends could be in one of those very containers.

The Bexley glances at the three men, watching as they begin to walk away from her. Carefully, she climbs atop the many barrels sat below the container and levels herself to face the grate, screwdriver holding hand raising towards one of the screws.

As Eden begins to unscrew one of the screws, she hears a familiar voice echo through the container. 

"Okay, we raid the armory, get weapons, roll back here, and plot the next move." 

Eden has to hide her smile. JJ. 

"The armory is on the third deck, aft, near the laundry room." 

Eden twists the screwdriver, only to realize that the screw was already loose; practically ready to fall out. This, as well as JJ's prior words caused the Bexley to grow rather sure that her friends were planning their grand escape—or a part of it—as she tried to get to them. 

Putting the butt end of the screwdriver in her mouth, Eden pushes against the grate to discover that all of the screws were taken out, except the one she was currently working through. 

"JJ, hold up—" Pope's voice cuts through, "The grate just moved."

"What?" 

"That grate just moved in—"

John B. grimly states, "—like someone's trying to get in from the outside." 

Eden takes the screwdriver and puts it into the remaining screw, which is already loose. She twists, ignoring her friends concerned voices—they wouldn't be concerned anymore when they saw her on the other side,

"Shit—"

"JJ, get down—"

Eden drops the screwdriver against the barrels and grabs the grate, pulling it towards her chest.

She looks into the container to see JJ Maybank staring right back at her. 

mara's misc!

kensie guess what happens next chapter 

for writing just filler this chapter was actually pretty fun to write. i'm a sucker for writing my isla and eden bs so yeah!!!

today marks a year since my eras tour show (detroit n1). it's actually batshit crazy to me that it's been a year bc like WHAT???????????????? anywho, still thanking taylor every morning for playing haunted at my show bc that was the moment of my life.

guys summer is really setting in bro. like i've been tanning in my pool and it's top tier. i'm sorry for anyone who is ginger or very pale bc tanning is so fun (i tanned with a ginger friend and we ofc filmed a "you're haunting this house with your whiteness, brian" tiktok. 

also guys kensie found my school on google maps the other night (it was on accident)

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 60!!!