EDEN sat slumped in her chair. 

The sterile smell of the therapist's office made her throat tickle. She bounced her knee in time with the soft ticking of the clock on the wall. The faint hum of the air conditioner was comforting compared to the deathly silence engulfing the rest of the small office.

The Bexley had been roughly awoken by her father with the news that in exchange for letting her go, Eden was to go to a new therapy session with Dr. Fraser that morning. And another after that. And that. 

Eden knows it was one of the things she promised she'd return to if she went to Wilmington, but she'd truly suggested it just to make her dad happy. She didn't really want to go to therapy again. She doesn't need it anymore—not like she did after John B. died.

In the time frame between when she stopped showing up to therapy and now, she'd been shot, found said best friend she was in therapy for alive, got stranded on an island for a month, drugged and kidnapped by her mother, and had a few panic attacks but....she'd handled it. Eden didn't need Dr. Fraser to listen to her problems. 

Tom seems to think otherwise because he didn't let her argue against it. He had her ass in the passenger seat of his car thirty minutes later for Dr. Fraser's ten o'clock appointment.

To which Eden now sat, silently staring at the woman. 

Dr. Fraser had been a kind soul in the sessions that Eden had spent with her. She didn't press to hard, never made Eden answer questions she didn't want to answer. She was a good woman. Eden's silence has nothing against her. She simply just doesn't have anything to say that the therapist needs to know. 

"Eden," Dr. Fraser hums softly, a knowing expression on her features. Eden glances up from the floor tiles with sealed lips, raising her brows. "I don't think your father called me to have you just for us to sit in silence." 

"I told him I'd come back here just so he'd let me go off with my friends last night." the Bexley admits truthfully. She stares at the clock ahead, mentally cringing as she takes in the time. Thirty more minutes till she could see her friends. Till she could see John B.

Apparently, in the night, both Routledge's had returned to the Chateau. Kiara had made a pit-stop at the Bexley residence to tell Eden earlier that morning, but since she was asleep, Tom had been informed to pass on the message, to which he had. Pope and JJ were now picking her up from Dr. Fraser's to ride her over so they could finally see the older man.  

"True as that might be, your father clearly thinks you're supposed to be here." The woman clicks her pen, staring at her patient. "Why do you think that is?" 

"Shit...." Eden begins to say, correcting herself as Dr. Fraser sends her raised brows, "....stuff has happened."

Dr. Fraser tries to push, "Care to evaluate?"

"Don't act like you don't know." the Bexley retorts, though it comes out a little rougher than she intends. She doesn't want to waste Dr. Fraser's time, but she doesn't really need to talk about what happens. Everyone already knows. 

"You're right. I do know." Dr. Fraser nods in truth. She changes her tone. "But do you know why you're here?" 

"Because I was missing for a month. And I got a graze wound on my shoulder. And my mother tried to take me away from my dad on a boat, and I haven't even seen her since. I keep having panic attacks, too." Before she can even try to stop herself, Eden spills everything that's led her to therapy. That bitch knew what she was doing. 

Dr. Fraser nods, "Ah. There you are." 

Eden looks away, bouncing her legs. Thirty more minutes. 

"That's a lot to carry, Eden," Dr. Fraser urges her to keep talking gently. 

"I mean, it just happened." Eden shrugs, looking back at the woman. "I handled it. I'm fine."

Dr. Fraser leans back slightly, her gaze steady but soft. "You handled it, yes. But handling something doesn't mean it didn't affect you."

Eden rolls her eyes, the bounce in her leg speeding up. "I am fine, though. People go through worse things all the time. My friends do."

Dr. Fraser doesn't push immediately, thinking through what her patient had said. She returns with a thoughtful, "What I'm hearing is that you're minimizing  what's happened to you for the sake of your friends? Because they have, per say, bigger things?" 

"I don't have the same life as my friends. I have privileges they don't." Eden reasons, truthfully. She did have privilege. John B. and JJ didn't. It's always been that way and Eden's always hated it.  "Sue me for not wanting to complain when a problem happens because genuinely I have nothing to complain about compared to them." 

The therapist points her pen at the Bexley with a knowing look, "And that is why you're here. What you're doing is unhealthy." 

Please. Eden just wants to leave. She doesn't want to hear Dr. Fraser tell her the way she deals with her problems is a terrible habit. She looks away from the elder woman.  "I'm not going to sit around and feel sorry for myself every time I feel sad." 

Dr. Fraser's voice remains calm, nonjudgmental. "It's not about feeling sorry for yourself. It's about acknowledging that your pain is valid, regardless of what anyone else is going through." She pauses for a moment, letting that sink in. "Just because you have privilege doesn't mean you don't have the right to feel hurt, scared, or overwhelmed."

Eden shifts uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding the therapist's gaze. "It just feels selfish, you know? Like, how can I sit here and complain when JJ doesn't even know where he's going to sleep half the time? Or....or when John B. literally lost his father for a year."

Dr. Fraser leans back, observing the girl carefully. "You're comparing struggles, but it's not a competition. What they're going through doesn't make what you're experiencing any less real. Trauma isn't measured by who's had it worse."

Eden supposes she's right, but she doesn't shift. Her eyes stay locked on the clock.  "Whatever you say."

Dr. Fraser sighs. Thirty more minutes. 

Eden knows John B. 

She's known him since she was a kid. She knows he loves Baby Goldfish, and that he sleeps like a hibernating bear. She knows he has the shortest term memory about simple things and hates the flavor of red velvet. She knows he keeps trinkets from elementary school because of emotional value. She knows he likes to feel wanted. She knows he's kissed JJ once for the 'experience.' 

She knows everything about John Booker Routledge. 

So, when she arrives at the Chateau, Eden can immediately tell that something is off about her best friend. 

As planned, JJ and Pope had picked up Eden from therapy—with Cleo in the back— and they all drove to the Chateau. The Heyward practically sped his way through the cut, eager to see Big John Routledge in the flesh. JJ is practically vibrating in his seat.

Sarah and Kie were already there, the Carrera embracing with the older man. The Heyward parked the truck and immediately shoved past Eden, running excitedly towards the bigger man. JJ is hot on his tracks, stumbling over the overgrown grass to reach Big John first, just as giddy. 

"Look at you, big man!" Big John opens his arms with a hearty chuckle as he sees the Heyward scrambling over to him. He'd gotten taller and was much more filled out, even if it had been merely a year. It felt longer. "Look at you!"

Eden walks past the scene, saluting happily at the old man as he sends her a cheerful smile. She leaves her friends to reunite and instead heads inside, where she can see her best friend standing on the porch.

John B. stands with cans of beer in his hands, watching his friend and his father reunite. The creak of the door causes his to snap out of whatever thoughts he'd been lost too, the Routledge glancing at his best friend.

Eden comes over to him, "Have fun on your little getaway?" 

She hopes he did. They could have used him last night, even if the cross did end up being a waste of their time. 

John B. looks away from her. Guilty. "Oh, uh, yeah." 

Eden can sense something is wrong. He looked away like he was hiding something. He was staring out at his dad like he was frustrated. He's not acting like someone who'd just gotten to hang out with their father for the first time in a year—she was expecting a smile at least.

"Yeah, okay. I can tell when you're not happy." Eden walks closer to the boy. If he's going to tell anyone anything, it's her.  "What's up?" 

The Routledge closes his eyes. He wants to bash his head against the wall. Of course Eden could see through him. He wishes, for a few moments, she wasn't his best friend—that she didn't know his every expression and manner.  God knows he can't keep this from her. 

John B. manages a light shake of his head, trying his best to act casual. "Nothin'." 

"Nothin', my ass. I know when something's bothering you, dude." the Bexley states, raising her brows. Now that he's putting on this whole secretive act, she can't help but urge him to tell her. Eden can see the crease in his forehead, the guilt in his eyes. Something is eating at him. "You have that crease in your forehead and you aren't looking me in the eyes." 

John B. forces himself to look her in the eyes. He tries not to crack.

"Yeah, you're hiding something." Eden grabs one of the beer cans from his grasp. "Spill." 

"My dad, uh, he's about to tell everyone what happened." the Routledge deflects. He felt bad not telling Eden what was happening—they told each other everything—but he'd promised. 

Eden nods. She doesn't believe him. "Mm." 

John B. brushes right past her, walking outside without another word. Eden opens her beer with furrowed brows, but follows, nonetheless. 

At some point, John B. would have to tell her. 

When the two brunettes return to the group, JJ is on top of Big John's back, arm round his neck as he ruffles the older man's hair playfully. Big John is trying to shoo him off, spinning around in a circle, but a smile rests on his face. He missed this. "JJ, come on, come on—"

Big John manages to get the blonde off of him and ushers everyone over to the Routledge's headstone. Beers are handed out and everyone circles around, sitting on the random items splayed out—Sarah's on a cooler, Eden takes the one real chair, John B. has a tree stump, JJ's in a red metal seat, Cleo's on some sort of cage. Kiara and Pope stand in front. Big John lounges on the hammock.

They all listen in as the two Routledge's explain where they've been, what they've done. Big Johns stares daggers at his son.

The father and son had been on an adventure for none other than El Dorado—the same shit Singh had been caught up in. Apparently, within the diary, there was word of a survivor of San Jose; a priest. Said priest had been ill and was sent down to the cargo hold, to which Denmark had to attend to him. 

There, he found information on a stone object, the idol, which, if the two halves were put together and translated, mapped out directions to the lost city—an explanation to why Eden had been kidnapped. Singh needed the diary to the other half of the idol. Denmark had been told by the elder priest to pass the idol and a letter to the papacy.

Captain Limbrey refused to make this happen when the priest died of his illness and the priest was buried with the idol. In Charleston. 

So, John B. and Big John made the journey to visit the only Catholic church within the town that would have existed back in the day, only to find it engulfed by a Thai restaurant. Beside it, a sign read that Trinity Church had fallen in the Great Earthquake of 1866 and all relics had been donated to the Charleston museum. 

From there, the Routledge's went to the museum. After a failed robbery attempt—to which Eden raised her brows at, because John B robbing an old lady was not something she expected—the two men were left to sneak in during the night, instead.

"Yeah, yeah, so we, um....we went to the archives in—in Charleston, and, uh...." John B. quietly states, looking at his father as he spoke. "It was....it was a dead end. A dry-hole, so...." 

Sitting on either side of the boy, Eden and JJ both listen intently to their best friend. The Bexley searches his face, noticing the way he doesn't look at any of them. He fiddles with his beer can, staring only at his dad.

Eden can tell that he's lying. She sees through him. She knows him. 

JJ does too. They're brothers, after all. 

The Bexley and Maybank glance at one another for a split second, but it's all the confirmation needed for the two teens to know they're sharing a thought. Eden shifts her gaze over to Big John, watching as he deflects attention with a sip of his beer. 

If John B. was lying to JJ, to her, it wasn't because he wanted too. It was because someone told him too. 

JJ and Eden seem to be the only people who sense a white lie, because Pope is quick to scoff, "So that's the gold, the cross, and now El Dorado. We're three-for-three, guys." He chucks his beer can as far as he can with a grunt. "The streak continues. That's great." 

Pope walks off in a heat of frustration. Cleo follows after him with a nod at John B. 

Kiara doesn't plan on staying either—she'd promised her parents it would be a quick trip, but there's no reason to stay now. Her disappointment is evident she walks off. "See you, John B." 

The atmosphere from earlier is certainly gone. No one's happy anymore. It's been replaced with disappointment, suspicion, and silence.

With Kiara, Cleo, and Pope gone, John B. is left to sit with Eden, JJ, and Sarah. The three people who knew him best. They also so happened to be the three who buy his bullshit the least. 

"I'm going fishing," JJ stands up, voice tight. He's upset, slightly pissed. He doesn't know why his best friend is lying to him. "Thanks for the beer."

John B. sighs and walks off towards the water, avoiding the two girls. Eden glances at Sarah. The Cameron stares ahead at her boyfriend, not waiting too long before getting up herself to go and speak with him.

Eden is left alone with Big John, who still lays in the hammock. He doesn't seem too affected by what's happened. 

The Bexley wants to trust the older man—he was like a father to her. He'd always welcomed her to his home, laughed with her, bickered with her like she was his daughter—but it's been a year. Big John could have changed. The fact that John B. was suddenly lying to them wasn't helping. 

"Why is he lying?" Eden bluntly states, staring hard at Big John. 

Big John raises a brow, surprised that she asked such a question. Then again, it's Eden. He should have expected it. "Who said anything about lying, kid?" 

"You don't have to bullshit me. John B is lying. To me, JJ, all of the Pogues." the Bexley sets her beer can down as she spoke. 

"That would be childish. We're talking about El Dorado. There's no reason for a lie." Big John gruffly stated.

Eden challenges, "So why is he doing it?" 

"He told the story how it went—"

"Okay, but the story doesn't make sense. You two just ran off to Charleston without telling anyone? I ask him how it went and he barely replies? That's not John B." Eden reasons, trying to get Big John to tell her. She jabs a finger to her own chest. "He would tell me."

Big John studies Eden for a moment, amusedly commenting. "You're just like your mother, you know that?"

That could be the worst thing Eden has ever heard. She opens her mouth to reply but her voice is gone. She's just like her mother. 

"You're making this about you, when it's not. Just like your mother always did." Big John must know he got to her. He takes her silent reserve as a chance to state, "But here's the thing, kid. Sometimes, you don't have all the pieces. Sometimes, you're not the one at the center of everything."

The Bexley clenches her hands. "I'm not making this about myself. I'm just saying John B wouldn't lie to me."

Big John huffs, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I know you've been his friend for a long while, Eden. I respect you for that. But, maybe, with me back, he doesn't feel the need to share everything with you anymore."

"The fuck?" Eden guffaws. 

Big John shrugs. "I was his person before you. With everything happening in his head right now, maybe he's got bigger things on his mind than filling you in on every detail."

Big John wasn't there when John B. broke down over his death. Big John wasn't there to comfort him after his break-up with Sarah. Big John didn't go and get involved with Carla Limbrey to save John B. from jail. He was lost at sea—actually, he was living his best life. He was alive and just stayed away from his son. 

Eden was there. 

She's about to start arguing full on with the older man when Sarah comes storming past her, lips trembling. 

Eden's facade falters and she backs away from Big John, leaving the conversation there. She follows after the blonde, grabbing a hold to her wrist to halt her. "Hey—what happened?" She glances between Sarah and her boyfriend, who still stood at the water. "What did he say to you?"

"I don't know why I'm crying. It was nothing." Sarah tries to pull away, running for her bike. 

"No, Sarah, what did he say to you? I will beat his ass." Eden states, looking in the girls dark eyes for an answer. She hates seeing Sarah cry. The Kook almost has an effect with her soft doe eyes. 

"I—I told him that he could tell me anything. That he didn't have to hide whatever he was hiding from me because he's definitely hiding something." Sarah sniffles, lips twisting around. "And he got really defensive over it. He said...he said that his dad came back and was trying to help us. But—but my dad tried to kill me, and that I can't deal with it." 

Asshole. Big John had to be deep into John B.'s head because that wasn't him.

"I'm gonna talk to him. That was an asshole move." Eden replies, glancing back at her best friend. He was speaking with Big John now, the two men glancing out at the two Kooks. "You can go to my house, okay?"

"No, Eden—"

"I know you don't have a place to stay, Sare." the Bexley says knowingly. She doubted the girl had anywhere to go now that John B. was acting cold to her and she can't leave Sarah homeless. "JJ's already staying with me. My dad won't care if you do, too—he's not even home right now." She moves to hold on to Sarah's hands, squeezing them. "I'm serious, Sarah." 

"Okay...." Sarah concedes. Quietly she adds, "Thank you."

Eden nods with a weak smile and lets go of the Cameron. Sarah grabs her bike and hops on, pedaling away from the run down shack. The Bexley loses her smile and comes over to John B., who'd been watching the scene.

"Want to explain to me why your girlfriend is crying?" She comes up to him. He's staring at his headstone, eyes locked on the engraved P4L. 

John B. has to stop himself at frowning at the mention of what he'd said to Sarah—he didn't mean to be so crude, but he had to deflect. He has to do the same with Eden, as much as it bothered him,

Without glancing at her, the Routledge murmurs, "Go away, Eden."

"Why are you being like this? If you're not going to let Sarah in on the truth, let me in. You can talk now. It's me." Eden reasons, brows furrowed in confusion. He stays quiet, and she adds, "I just don't understand why you're lying to all—"

John B. interrupts her with a scoff, "Look, I know your mom lied to you about everything, but that doesn't mean everyone is always lying to you, Eden." 

Eden lets out a scoff, looking at the boy as she can't believe he's bringing her mother into this. She wasn't accusing him of lying because she couldn't see the truth anymore, she was because she knows him. He was an asshole for trying to turn her concern into an unresolved problem. 

"You know, it wasn't your Dad who helped you through these little adventures. It was us." Eden states, voice colder than before. She doesn't feel like she's talking to her best friend. "The gold. The cross. Hell, even El Dorado—Singh kidnapped me and I found out about it. That was all us.  The Pogues."

She's right. John B. knows it. He hasn't solved anything without their help. 

"You haven't solved a single thing without us. But now you're just pushing us away." Eden states. He lost Sarah. The rest of the group is pissed at him. "Fuck us, am I right? Fuck the people who spent their entire summer trying to help you find the man you're lying to us for. Fuck the people who have lost everything for the sake of you getting to avenge his death."

"Come on, Bird!" Big John's voice echoes from where he stands near the Twinkie, book bag thrown over his shoulders. John B. looks over his shoulder at his dad. "We got work to do!"

The Routledge turns back to Eden and grounds, "I have shit to do."

"Without us, yeah." Eden pokes the inside of her cheek. As the Routledge turns around to walk to Big John, the Bexley yells, "Have fun figuring out whatever you're lying about by yourself !"

Eden doesn't think she's ever been so disappointed at her best friend. 

Eden never expected to hear the words 'I quit school' from Pope Heyward's lips. 

From the day she met Pope, he'd always been involved in school. Nose in a textbook. Calculator in his back pocket. He was a history know-it-all, a math genius, passed every high level class he'd ever taken with flying colors. He skipped out on parties to study, especially when he was a possible runner up for the Merritt Scholarship.  

Out of anyone in the Cut, Pope could escape. He could fly away on a scholarship and get some good college diploma. Do something in the world with his brain, even if he wanted to use it on being a coroner. He had a chance and he knew it. He knew was brilliant. 

So, Eden is quiet shocked to listen to the boy rant about how his school day went, only to hear he'd never be going back.

Cleo is more shocked, if it's possible. She hadn't known Pope for long but she knew him. He never gave up. "You did what?" 

Pope stands, vigorously sweeping the floors with a broom. "Quit school."

"If you told yourself that a year ago, he'd tell you to stop smoking JJ's weed and get back to studying." Eden sits atop the table, legs swinging back and forth. Still pissed with both Routledge's, she'd come to Heyward's to see if Pope or Cleo had anything for her. Hearing that Pope of all people quit school certainly didn't help lighten her upset mood. 

Cleo steps forward. "What about your scholarship?"

"I lost it." Pope firmly reminds.

Eden thinks back to the day Pope came rushing to the Chateau, suit and tie. The day he lost his entire future for the gold, for his friends. She can't help but frown at the reminder that they're somewhat guilty of the loss of the scholarship. If it wasn't for the gold, she's sure Pope would have it. 

"I lost all my old classes. I'll be lucky if I even passed the grade." Pope continues through a scoff. He gives up on sweeping, too upset. "My transcript is ass. Everything I had going for me, gone. And do you know why I'm screwed? Because I tried to do the right thing. I tried to help John B. with his treasure, I tried to get my family's inheritance back, and do you know what I got for it? Kicked in the dirt." He seems like he could cry out of anger. "It's over. I'm done." 

"That's not a bad trait, Pope. You're a good person. If they saw that, they'd let you try again." Eden can't let her friend give up on his future. All he'd ever wanted was to go to a university to become a coroner. She can't let them be the reason he doesn't. 

"Pope!"

Cleo nods her head in agreement, "Pope, it's not like you can just give up like that!"

"Yo!" JJ Maybank barges into the shop, words lost in a pant for air. "Bombshell." 

Eden stops swinging her feet and looks at the Maybank, furrowing her brows at his damp appearance. She doubts he's been back to her place to shower, yet his hair is damp and his clothes are dark with water. "Why are your clothes wet?" 

JJ closes his mouth. He looks at each teen individually, staring hardest at Pope. "What's going on? What happened?" Pope closes his eyes, not wanting to explain himself again. "Detecting a real heavy vibe. What's going on?"

Cleo clicks her tongue. "Pope's quittin' school."

JJ seems unfazed. "Being a coroners kinda weird anyway, bro—"

Eyes closed, Pope huffs, "Shut up, wrench dick."

"We're just a happy family today." Eden muses lowly, looking at the Maybank. She practically tells him that whatever he's going to say, probably isn't worth it at the moment; not with Pope in such a closed off and upset mood.

"Right, great. So it's definitely not the time for this." JJ scratches the back of his neck. "Okay—shit." 

Cleo snaps, "What?" 

"So, I was down at Guffy's, alright. I was trying to get my job back. And I see the catty across the way, and on it...." He takes in a heavy breath, ".....is Rafe and Barry."

Eden purses her lips. Pope raises his head in interest.

"I sneak over to hear what they're talking about...." JJ winces, staring at the Heyward boy with a pained expression. "Pope, he has the cross. And he melted it down."

Melted it down. 

A scoff of shock leaves the Bexley's lips, and she stares at JJ as if this is some sick joke. She's waiting for him to start laughing at their faces but it never comes. The Maybank just stands solemnly.

The cross. A ancient antique. Their mission. Pope's heritage. Gone. 

The one singular item they had left to prove that maybe everything they've been through wasn't for nothing at all was actually gone. Melted down like it was nothing. 

"God..." Eden shakes her head in disbelief. 

Pope stands up, breathing heavily as he paces towards the edge of the shop. Anger boiled over in his mind. He failed himself again. He couldn't fulfill his dreams of college and now, the one thing that made him think it was all worth it, was lost too. He was a failure to himself. 

"I'm sorry, bro." JJ states, "Alright?"

Cleo's breath was baited as she looked at the Heyward, the boy taking an awfully silent reserve against the railing. JJ moves to sit atop a beer cooler, murmuring, "I know, I know—" 

"Fuck!"Pope boils over, screaming out to the marsh below. He whirls around and starts pacing. "Of course it was Rafe."

JJ looks down at his shoes as he remarks, "Yeah, I mean, we probably could've guessed that."

"He was selling off the cross to Singh. He's back on the island to move it." Eden reasons the things they've known about Rafe and his connection with the artifact. "He probably put that fake cross in the train. Had Barry do the dirty work." 

"The Cross of Santo Domingo, desecrated!" Pope cries out. "And for money? God!"

"I know, so..." JJ speaks up, unusually quiet calm. For once, he isn't making a rash plan. The Heyward picks up the broom and holds it over his shoulders, pacing again. "I think we need to stay calm to make a plan, but we got to stay—"

His words are cut off as Pope slams the broom down against the floor, breaking the item with his force. Eden cringes at the sound of cracking wood. She's reminded of when they thought Ward Cameron got away with the gold, when they saw the plane fly over them and the Heyward just flipped. 

JJ purses his lips, "Gettin' better at that."

Pope throws the broom pieces down. He barely paces two steps before facing JJ again, jabbing a finger at the blonde as if he'd done something.  "This is messed up, man! Even for them!" 

Eden hates seeing Pope like this. He's not usually the one to break shit, to yell. She doesn't like how in the past few months, she's had to see him do it more. 

"I know," JJ nods. "Couldn't agree more, man."

The Heyward spews, "And they're just gonna keep getting away with it! They're gonna keep doing that shit—they're gonna keep winning." 

"I mean, Pope, is that news to you?"

"No. But I'm sick of being the good guy."

The Heyward boy swallows thickly before jogging back into the shop. Cleo immediately clips, "Pope—Pope, where are you going?!"

Eden watches with an unsure expression. Pope was a good guy, but he was in a mess of rage. She wasn't sure if they could trust him.

With Pope gone, Eden, JJ, and Cleo all decided to help out around the shop. 

Heyward was on his ass about chores since he returned from Poguelandia, and with him missing, the trio was sure the older man would be pissed that some work wasn't done. So, they easily stepped in, wanting to make things the smallest bit easier for Pope.

JJ was wiping down the table and Cleo was bringing out supplies. Eden had helped Mrs. Heyward with some cooking, but had also made sure to bring out forks, knives, plates, and napkins. 

"Well, I appreciate the help, you guys." Mrs. Heyward announces, looking up from her barbecue at the trio.

After their work, she offered to cook for them. It would be wrong to say no —Eden feels like she hasn't had a real meal in forever. She'd called her father using the shops phone and he'd given no complaints. 

JJ smirks, "You know I ain't missing Mrs. Heyward's cooking."

"He means 'thank you'." Eden rings, smiling at Pope's mother. 

"I'm just happy you're here. Unlike my derelict son." Mrs. Heyward remarks, a look of unamusement on her face. "He's usually here by now."

JJ tries to grab a piece of chicken from the grill, the elder woman slapping his hand away with a stern expression. Cleo thinks of the best, "I'm sure he'll be back any second, Mrs. Heyward."

Pope had been gone for a good two hours. Eden isn't sure if she believes Cleo.

"Any one of ya'll moved the pistol from in there?" Heyward storms out, voice booming amongst the collected atmosphere. Cleo glances at Eden, whose lips draw into a thin line. JJ's eyes slightly widen. "The one I keep under the register?" He notices the looks between the trio and accuses, "JJ?" 

The Maybank almost thinks the older man is messing with him, but he sees his dead set stare and raises his hands in defense. Heyward's eyes pierce him as he breathes,  "Whoa, okay. I didn't touch it, okay?" 

Heyward knew JJ. He was a good kid at heart, but he was a kleptomaniac. He was known to steal, and out of the three in the room—Eden had always been respectful, and he'd gotten to trust Cleo over the past few days—he found the Maybank the most likely to be stealing a gun. 

So, with little belief, Heyward pressed. "Yeah, well, somebody did. 'Cause it's gone!" 

"It wasn't me." 

"Boy—"

"Heyward, I swear, he doesn't have it." Eden cautiously speaks up. She's tired of JJ being blamed for every problem, even if he had stolen Mike Carrera's wallet a day ago. He doesn't do everything bad. "He's been with us—" she gestures between herself and Cleo. "—the whole time we've been at your shop."

Heyward inhales sharply—he hopes he can trust Eden. He turns to his wife. "You see? I....Dang it! I gotta find it!" 

He rushes back into the shop, Mrs. Heyward fleeting after him with reassurance, "Alright, Heyward—alright, alright, I'm sure it's somewhere. Heyward, I'm sure it's somewhere—"

The moment the Heyward's are out of listening range, the three Pogues group together with knowing faces. Pope had the gun. It's why he wasn't here and the gun was missing—he was going after Rafe in the one way he knew he could actually win. 

"He has it." Eden nods curtly.

Cleo doesn't want to believe it. "Are we sure?"

"It's really easy to want to kill Rafe, believe me." Eden wants to punch Rafe every time she sees his face, and she doubts Pope is going to stop there. "And Pope actually has reason." 

JJ nods. "I'll check Tannyhill."

"I'll take the Cut." Eden states.

Cleo finalizes. "I got the marina."

The trio split up. They hope they find Pope before the worst can be done. 

mara's misc!

what is up

5 MORE DAYS TILL OBX4 HOW ARE WE FEELING

i have so much more left to write for ss3 so expect a mad rush of updates as i try to push everything out (or as much as i can) before obx4. i'm very ready to get to write eden into the season, but as i'm someone who writes without much thought until the moment, i have ZERO clue as to where her character is gonna go. so...yeah!! 

why was john b ACTUALLY just an asshole this whole season. s3 actually did no justice to any of the characters and i'm actually tweaking having to write it but thank GOD i'm almost done and s4 will save me. i can't hate anything more than i hate obx3 (also expect a full review of the season like i did with s3)

if i get a spoiler i might actually tweak out tho so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE for the love of my sanity if you're gonna post about the new season the day of, put a mf spoiler warning above the post.

anywho :D

this weekend i watched inside out 2 for my churches little drive in movie and i literally love inside out so much. like GENUINELY one of the smartest kids movies disney could have made and also one of the saddest. i can relate to riley so much. i will not take slander to inside out or the sequel. 

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 73