𝟎𝟐𝟔.                   𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬

let her go ──── passenger

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖨 𝖥𝖤𝖫𝖫 𝖠𝖲𝖫𝖤𝖤𝖯 𝖮𝖭 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖮𝖢𝖪，𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖭𝖮𝖶 𝖨 𝖧𝖠𝖵𝖤 𝖡𝖠𝖢𝖪 𝖯𝖠𝖨𝖭．The painkillers have also worn off, so now that throbbing feeling in my hip has returned. To top it all off, my brother is nowhere to be seen. He's not sleeping near me, he's not in his bedroom or the bathroom, and the Twinkie is gone. I don't know where he could be at this hour, but I'm sure he'll be back soon.

I've brushed my teeth and showered, and from what I know, John B still hasn't returned. I tried to call him but my phone is dead, and I can't find the stupid charger. I'm now standing in the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror. The cut on my hip is large and red. It looks... gnarly. It's going to leave a scar, I just know it.

I lean forward, reaching for the bandages. "Fuck." I jerk forward from the pain in my hip, knocking over a few things on the sink. I fall forward, hands gripping the sink. "God." The bandages have rolled off the sink and have landed on the floor at my feet, right next to the stinking painkillers.

John B isn't here. I need somebody here. I need somebody to grab these bandages because I cannot, without crying, bend down and grab them.

I press my head against the mirror, mentally cursing out the pain in my hip. I chew down on my bottom lip, fingers gripping at the rim of the sink as I try to remain standing. I've never, ever felt this much pain in my life.

I feel like I've been stabbed.

I hear the door shut outside the bathroom. A sliver of hope crawls up my spine. "John B?" I wince, sucking in a sharp breath.

He doesn't respond, I call out again.

I then hear somebody knocking on the bathroom door. "Sunny?" JJ.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I'm stood in my bikini, my shorts unbuttoned and hanging low. I couldn't find the strength to button them, and I couldn't lift my arms up and over my head due to the excruciating pain in my side.

Turns out, showering has only made the wound angrier.

"JJ." I exhale loudly, fingernails cracking from how hard I press my fingers into the sink. "JJ, can you..."

He fills in the blank, pushing open the door carefully to reveal me── a sad, pained slouched over sixteen-year-old with tears pricking her eyes from the pain. The second the door is open, JJ rushes towards me, wrapping an arm around my back to keep me up.

"Jesus, Sunny. Sit down." He manoeuvres me, forcing me to sit down on the toilet seat. My head falls back, resting against the wall behind me. "What did you do?" JJ crouches down in front of me, hands on my knees.

"W-What did I do?" I stare down at the cut engraved on my hip. "I did not do this, you bastard."

JJ huffs out a laugh, leaning forward to move my arm that covers the cut. "God." He saw the wound yesterday but it was covered by a giant bandage. Now, it's raging and bright red, and he can see it as clear as day. It's a gnarly contrast to my pale skin. "Shit, Brooke."

"C-Can you just get the bandages please." I would lift my hand and point to the bandages but I don't, I just stare down at him, desperately needing his help. "Please."

JJ moves away from me, moving to grab the bandages off the floor. I reach a hand out slowly, attempting to grab them. "Nope." He pulls the bandages away from my reach. "I'll do it. Sit up."

I don't argue with him because, I'll be honest, somebody bandaging me up sounds freaking nice. I force myself to sit up, inhaling sharply as I press my back against the wall. "It's gonna get infected, Sunshine. You need to get this checked out."

God, he sounds like John B.

I shake my head. "No. No, I'm fine."

JJ stands up, moving away from me to rummage through the cabinet. "Do you not have any..." He sighs, giving up quickly. Instead, he runs the tap, letting water dribble onto a cloth. "Okay. If you won't get it checked out then..." He leans down in front of me, and presses the wet cloth against the wound without a single warning.

I jerk away, hand grasping his arm. "Jesus."

He keeps the cloth pressed down, wiping at the wound before he has to wrap my entire middle in a bandage. My eyes close, and my breathing deepens as JJ drags the cloth across the skin of my hip. "You and John B okay── gashes asides?"

I nod, keeping my fingers around his arm. "Yeah. W-We're okay. We're gonna be fine."

"Yeah, you are." My eyes blink open to find him smiling up at me. "You're gonna be fine, Sunny."

"Yeah." I nod carefully, watching as he moves the cloth across the cut on my hip. "Yeah. I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Me?" He seems surprised that I asked. "I'm great, Sunshine. I was worried about you." I smile down at him, finding that to be sweet. "We were all worried about you and John B. I'm glad he came home."

I loosen my grip on his arm once the movement of the cloth gliding across the wound feels less painful. "Do you know where he is now?"

"No." He presses the cloth down harder, resulting in a wince. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

"I'm sorry about your dad," he says, voice low as he pulls the cloth off my skin. JJ loved my dad just as much as John B and I did. My dad was like a dad to JJ seeing as JJ's dad is a total waste of space. This loss that me and John B are dealing with is just a big a loss to JJ.

I don't want to talk about Dad though.

I spent all night talking about Dad. John B and I talked about old memories, laughing and crying about anything and everything. I cried myself to sleep, once again thinking about how Dad died all alone, without anyone there with him.

"I left my sketchbook on the boat," is what I decide to say, feeling annoyingly emotional about that too.

My sketchbook meant a lot to me, and while I can draw on paper or, well, anything, I preferred to draw in my sketchbook. The paper was of good quality, and the drawings in that book meant a lot to me. I had portraits in there. I had landscapes in there. I had tattoo ideas. I had JJ.

"You did?" A nod, a frown touching my lips. "I'm sorry, Sunshine. I'll buy you another one."

I huff out a laugh. "With what?"

"I have money." I stare at him, eyebrows raised. "Okay. I'll probably steal you one, that alright?" While I want my sketchbook back, I appreciate him wanting to buy me another or steal me another. Either way, I appreciate it.

"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you."

He moves to pick up the bandages along with the painkillers. He pushes the pot of tiny pills into my hands, insisting I take one which I do. Well, I take two just for good measure. Besides, these things are totally not strong enough.

JJ unravels the bandages, and he starts from the wound on my front. "This might hurt, alright?" I nod, placing the pill pot down after dry swallowing the pills. I lean forward slightly, watching as JJ moves the bandages around my stomach, one hand pressing down as he pulls the material around my back.

I press my hand against his shoulder, shuffling a little closer. JJ is on his knees in front of me, my legs pressed against his sides as he continues to wrap my torso in the bandage. When he passes the rip on my hip, I wince, knees pushing into his body.

JJ stops moving, and his hand comes down to rest on my thigh. He pushes slightly, moving my leg as he moves a little closer, pulling the bandage tighter. My heart thumps as I stare down at the hand on my thigh. I bite down on my tongue, wanting to push my leg back and see if he moves it again.

I want him to do it again.

"You okay?" JJ asks, bringing me back to the current world.

I hum, nodding vigorously. "Yes."

JJ's knuckles brush against my hip. "You're warm, Sunshine." I hear the smile in his voice as he finishes bandaging my middle, securing it around my skin to make sure it stays in place. "Any reason why?"

"I-It's a warm day." I'm not lying, it is a warm day, but I am not warm because of the sun. No, I'm warm for a reason I will not explain, thank you.

He hums, placing the bandages on the sink. Once he puts them away, his hands slap against my knees, keeping me grounded. "There you go." He stares up at me, a hint of a smile on his lips. Damn him.

I swallow. "Thanks, Doc."

"Your face is red," he says, tilting his head. "You coming down with something, Sunny?"

I look away, but JJ reaches his hand up, and his fingers take my chin, forcing me to look down at him. That single movement is almost enough to make me melt into a puddle on the floor. My body warms, my skin tingles, and my breathing quickens as I stare down at him, wondering how the hell we got here.

He was just bandaging me up, and now we're close to each other, hot and desperate to just end this tension.

JJ hums, thumb pressing against my chin just below my bottom lip. "What are you doing?"

His other hand that rests on my knee slides up, sliding across the skin of my thigh. His hand is dangerously close to a part of me that nobody but myself has touched. His forefinger is hooked under my chin, lightly pressing into my skin. "I'm not doing anything. What are you doing?"

Wishing you'd lean up and close the stupid gap. Hmm, I could lean down and close the gap. That wouldn't be so hard, would it? However, I've never been the type of person to be bold and make the first move, so I stay back.

"Wondering how we got here," I utter, voice hoarse. "I mean, you were just bandaging me up, and now we're..."

"Well, I've always liked the whole doctor, patient thing."

There's no way he just said that.

A laugh crawls out of my throat── my first real laugh since yesterday. JJ laughs with me, obviously finding himself to be hilarious. I shake my head, finally free of his intoxicating touch, and my laughter comes to a sudden stop when I find that I'm not entirely free of his touch.

No, his hand is on my thigh, pressing down hard. His other hand that drops from my chin falls to my other leg, choosing to lay on my knee. I hold my breath, my eyes flitting down to his hands before they lift to find his eyes.

JJ has stopped laughing too, leaving this tense, nerving tension between us as we stare at one another, silently pushing the other to move── either towards each other or away from each other.

He swallows, eyes flicking down from my eyes to my lips for the briefest of seconds. "JJ──"

The door to the Chateau swings open, revealing John B. JJ and I separate from each other, ultimately moving away from one another instead of moving to one another. Dammit.

I need to just stop being afraid.

I move towards my brother, stepping out of the bathroom and leaving JJ. John B appears to be out of breath. "John B, what happened?"

"Ward got the gold."

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𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖣 𝖳𝖮𝖮𝖪 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖦𝖮𝖫𝖣．𝖧𝖤 𝖳𝖮𝖮𝖪 𝖠𝖫𝖫 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖦𝖮𝖫𝖣．He's now left us with nothing. Not only did he basically stab me, he just had to go and take the gold. I mean, this man is one of the richest people on the freaking island, and he still had to go and rob a bunch of gold from us. Yes, I know it wasn't technically ours, but we had dibs. We had implied dibs── that means something.

That gold was ours. That was our father's.

I hate Ward. I really, really hate Ward.

"We could go to the cops," Kiara suggests. "Tell them what he did to Brooke. I mean, there's evidence right there." She points to me, regarding the nasty gash on my hip that is thankfully covered. I don't think I can stand to look at it any longer.

"The cops won't do anything, Kie."

"Ward's already made it look like I've stabbed him." I don't know how he did it, but Ward punctured himself and went to the cops, claiming that my brother had attacked and stabbed him. Also── and this can't be self-inflicted── there were also claw marks from my fingernails on the skin of skin which, yes, I guess I did do, but he nearly killed me. The police will be looking for me and my brother on account of nearly killing Ward Cameron, but I don't care, he nearly killed us.

I could go to the cops, plead with them that he nearly killed me with a freaking hook, but I know better than to involve the police. They'd choose Ward Cameron over a bunch of Pogues any day.

"Basically, we're screwed. It's fine, it wasn't like I was expecting a happy ending or..." I look to John B, watching as he tries to cut his cast, wishing to free his arm. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What, B? It's a hairline fracture. Who cares?"

"You should care. Your arm's gonna be messed up for life." I sigh loudly, realising I don't have any strength to argue with him over his choice to mess up his arm for life. "Okay. Whatever. Let's just──"

"Guys!" I look forward, finding Pope to be bolting towards us, running faster than he ever has before. "Guys!" He comes to a stop in front of us, heaving and panting as he tries to force out his next words, "Oh! Oh, God. I ran all the way here."

"How was the interview, Pope?"

Pope, our boy genius, had his scholarship interview today so he looks dressed to impress right now. Although, from the looks of it, he didn't make it very far in the interview. It seems he ran from it which is, well, not good.

"Don't ask." He turns to me and John B, huffing and puffing. "JB, Brooke... I'm sorry, guys. About everything."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," I say.

"It's fine."

"But- but I don't have a lot of time, and- and I have information that is tactically relevant." We all stare at Pope as he catches his breath and continues, "So, before I had my interview, my dad said he was going down to the private airstrip to cut palms for Cameron's big plane. Because it was too heavy, and it needed a longer landing strip to take off. So, I'm there sitting in my interview, thinking to myself, 'Hm. Why would Cameron need a longer airstrip to take off? What could be so heavy to weigh it down'?"

JJ clicks his fingers. "Gold."

"Exactly." Pope waves his hands around excitedly, snapping his fingers at us to get the hell up and stop wasting time. "Guys, this is our chance, but it leaves tonight, and we have to go."

"Guys, we cant give up now."

"What's the plan, guys?" JJ looks to us, but I look over at my brother. He looks back at me, and we silently talk to one another.

Dad would want us to go and get what's ours.

"We're gonna steal that shit back."

Easier said than done, let's just say that.

We get in the van, and John B drives at the speed of light to get us to the Cameron's private airstrip so we can steal back what's rightfully ours. I know it in my heart that Dad would want us to get our gold back, so that's what we're going to do. We're going to make Dad proud. We're going to get our gold back.

I sit alongside him, smiling to myself at the idea of having the gold. I've pulled my hair up because I work best with my hair up, thank you. JJ sits behind me, loading his gun and rambling on in my ear, "We go in there, guns a-blazin', make Ward Cameron beg for mercy, abscond with as much gold as possible and vámonos, get the hell out of there."

I find JJ's plan to be flawless.

"Down the Intracoastal."

"Wait for the weather."

"Exit to Cuba."

"Cuba? No, man, Xcalak, Jewel is the Yucatan. Lobsters so thick, mangoes, and no word for money."

I peer over my shoulder, flashing JJ a smile because that sounds like a beautiful plan. We're going to live a life of damn luxury. I hold my hand up, clapping it against John B's. "Let's do this shit," we both say, full of hope.

Oh, how our hope is about to get crushed.

I turn in my seat, staring at JJ. "Hey," I whisper, nudging him. Pope and Kiara are talking, coming up with a stronger game strategy not that JJ's plan is not already perfect. It is, we just need a plan B in case something goes horrendously wrong.

"What's up, Sunshine?"

"Don't get yourself killed, alright? Be careful with that thing." I point down at the gun.

"No dying, Sunny. I remember our vow."

I smile, squeezing his shoulder. "Good."

"Same goes for you." He looks to me, holding the gun up. "No dying, Sunny, alright? Keep our vow." I nod firmly, reaching my hand out and clapping mine against his in a Pogue handshake.

"Let's do this."

Minutes later, we arrive at the private airstrip, and we get out of the van to find the plane── all big and full of our gold. I've never been inside a plane never mind this close to a plane. It's kind of weird, being this close, I don't know. From what I can see from behind this gate we're standing by, Ward Cameron hasn't arrived yet.

"What's the plan? Broad strokes?"

"I don't think we got that far."

Pope pulls out the binoculars, lifting them up to his eyes. He peers through to observe the sight before us. "They're loading up the gold."

They're loading up our gold. Damn them.

John B grabs the binoculars from Pope, wanting to take a look for himself. From afar, I can just see a black SUV pulling up to the plane. We all know who that is, don't we? "That's Ward." He continues to observe, and then he drops the binoculars upon seeing something. "It's Sarah."

My eyes widen as I reach out for the binoculars. "What? She's with him?" I snatch them from my brother, peering through to look at the scene before me.

I spot Ward── that son of a bitch── and Sarah. Ward is pulling Sarah away from the plane as she tries to talk with those who are loading the cargo── aka, the gold── onto the plane. John B nudges me, wanting the binoculars back. I reluctantly hand them off, letting him peer through just as the events unravel.

"He's hurting her," John B utters out, snatching my attention. "They're fighting." I snatch the binoculars, needing to look, as John B starts to back away from the gate. He's right, Ward has a hold on Sarah, and he's pushing her towards the plane.

"Oh, my God," I breathe out, lowering the binoculars and passing them into the hands of whoever is next to me.

"Wait, so she── What? I had no──"

I turn, looking over my shoulder to find my brother inside the Twinkie. "Hey!" I start to walk over just as John B starts up the van. "What are you doing?"I move a little quicker, needing to catch up with him before he does something unbelievably stupid. "John B, where are you going?"

The plane is starting, I can hear it behind me, and just as I reach the van, John B starts to drive off, not even sparing me a glance. "Hey!" He ignores us, and just as John B goes crashing through the gate, I'm yanked back. "John B!"

He's going after Sarah. He's going to save her from her father.

"John B!" I can call all I want, John B isn't going to come back. I just stand and stare, watching as my brother chases off after a piece of transport that is far bigger than he is.

I want to run after him. I want to help. I can't, in good conscience, leave him. He's my brother, and if I was playing hero, he'd be chasing after me. I should go after him, but I also can't go after him. JJ is holding me back, knowing full well that, without supervision, I'd be giving it my absolutely all to run after him.

So I stand and I stare. Pope watches through the binoculars as the Twinkie inches dangerously close to the plane, driving up alongside it. I can't even begin to describe the fear I'm experiencing. Ward would, if he could, kill my brother just like he killed my father.

I may never see my brother again.

"I need to help him," I choke out, emotion burning my throat as I watch the Twinkie swerve a few feet in front of the plane, forcing the plane to a slow, crashing stop. JJ still has a hold on my shoulders, forcing me to stay right here. "I need── I need to help him."

"You need to stay right here." His fingers dig into my shoulder blades, keeping me grounded and stopping me from making a foolish mistake of running out there and getting myself killed. While I know I should help my brother, he'd kill me himself if he let me follow him.

I guess that's why he took off without so much a single word.

I chew down on my bottom lip, anxiety clawing at my throat. "It'll be okay, Sunny." No, no it won't be, but I don't say that. I need him to be okay.

That point is made stronger when I hear police sirens in the distance. I feel my heart plummet to the ground as I think about John B getting arrested for "hurting" Ward. Or maybe, just maybe, Ward is being arrested for killing our father. That would be something, wouldn't it?

I need to go and help him.

"Guys, I can't get arrested."

"I'm on probation," JJ says, pulling me back by my shoulders.

"Look, we're no good if we're all in jail." Kiara snatches the gun from JJ, and she begins to back away, moving away from the now-crime scene first.

I stand and stare, refusing to back away as JJ's hands tighten on my shoulders. "Sunny, we──"

"No... I-I should stay." I want to stay. I need to stay. John B could get arrested. He's all I've got. I need him. He's my family. I can't let anything happen to him.

JJ steps in front of me, hands digging into my shoulders. "Sunshine." I keep looking past his shoulder, staring as the single police car pulls up to the scene. JJ peers over his shoulder. "Look, he's going to be fine, Brooke. I promise he'll be fine."

My head is shaking, thinking about all the potential pitfalls my brother could fall into. "I-I can't. H-He could──" I suck in a sharp breath, chest feeling very tight at this current moment.

JJ's hand comes to rest on my cheek, and he forces me to look in his direction. Our eyes clash, and my chest suddenly unravels. "He's going to be fine, Brooke, alright? He's going to be absolutely fine, but we are no good in jail. Kie's right, we gotta go, okay?"

His other hand slides down, taking my hand. "Come on, Sunshine. We gotta go."

This time I don't fight, I just hold his hand and let him drag me away.

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𝖪𝖨𝖠𝖱𝖠 𝖨𝖲 𝖲𝖨𝖳𝖳𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖠𝖫𝖮𝖭𝖦𝖲𝖨𝖣𝖤 𝖬𝖤，𝖪𝖤𝖤𝖯𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖧𝖤𝖱 𝖧𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖮𝖭 𝖬𝖸 𝖪𝖭𝖤𝖤 𝖠𝖲 𝖬𝖸 𝖫𝖤𝖦𝖲 𝖩𝖨𝖳𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖲 𝖠𝖭𝖷𝖨𝖮𝖴𝖲𝖫𝖸．We're sitting in an abandoned warehouse, hoping that John B will catch up with us soon. It's been half an hour, and we've still not heard anything from him. A thousand scenarios are running through my head, scaring me on a whole other level. Kiara is trying to calm me down, but it's useless. I cannot remain calm, not when my brother is out there, potentially being arrested or killed.

JJ and Pope are keeping an eye out, looking to see if the plane will fly overhead. I fear that it will. Call me psychic, call me whatever── that stupid plane will be flying over our heads soon.

We won't be getting the gold, not today anyway.

It would've been too easy if we had, wouldn't it?

My foot hits the floor repeatedly despite Kiara's hand doing everything to keep my leg pushed to the floor. My fingers dig at the assortment of bracelets on my wrist, toying more so with the bracelet JJ gifted me when we were ten.

I'd do anything to go back to a day like that── to go back to a day that was full of simpleness, joy and happiness. I'd do anything to go back to a day when Dad was alive. I'd do absolutely anything to just go back to a day when it was just me and my friends, enjoying ourselves instead of being caught in a game of life-or-death.

One day our luck is gonna run out.

Today may that day, I don't know.

But then JJ says, "There goes the gold", and that's when I realise all that we've done has been for absolutely nothing. All that fighting and slaving away and begging for something good── it brought us here... to nothing. We, I realise, have absolutely nothing.

We've lost it. We've lost all that we've worked for.

"Shit!" JJ kicks a nearby chair.

However, JJ kicking a chair is nothing compared to what Pope, our golden boy, does upon realising that we've lost the gold. Pope Heyward, a boy I've loved and admired as a friend since the day I met him, does the unthinkable.

He grabs a baseball bat because, of course, there's just one laying about. All that anger he's been hiding for God knows how long unleashes, and using the bat, he lets that anger escape. "God damn it!" My leg stops jittering, and I peer over my shoulder to find Pope slamming the baseball bat into an abandoned TV. "Shit! Fuck!"

He swings the bat around, hitting several things. Glass falls, smashing against the ground. Pope curses everything and anything out as he continues to whack and hit everything in his way, taking out all his anger on this warehouse. We watch with wide eyes, utterly surprised to see our golden boy acting in such a way.

"Pope!" Kiara yells, now standing up and abandoning my side. "Pope, stop!" Pope drops the bat, picks up a trash can and throws it, ending his outburst just before he collapses alongside me on this very uncomfortable sofa.

I stare at him, bewildered as he starts to huff and puff, attempting to catch his breath. I haven't got a clue what to say. I just stare at him, surprised that he'd act in such a way. I mean, I understand, I guess, but it's so unlike Pope to react like this.

"I was wondering when this was gonna happen." JJ steps forward after speaking first, and he sits on the other side of Pope. He pulls out a vape from his pocket, holding it out in front of Pope. My mouth gapes, and I lift my eyes over to JJ who doesn't look in my direction. "Here you go, chief. A little weed never hurt anyone."

"JJ," Kiara utters, voice strict.

"Relax, Kie." Pope looks to Kiara and then he looks to me. I don't say anything, I just watch him as he contemplates his choices. Out of all of us, he's the only one who hasn't tried weed and that's because, well, he's never wanted to. We never judged him, we let him do whatever he wanted."

"You know he doesn't smoke," Kiara says.

That's when Pope snatches the vape from JJ's hand, holding the weight in his hands. I watch, trying to figure out if he's trying to prove a point that he can be different── that he can be something he obviously isn't.

"Well, maybe not until today."

Pope stares at the vape in his hand for the longest moment, likely unsure on what to do.

"Yeah, what is that gonna help?"

"I lost my scholarship," he says, still staring at the vape. "Walked out in the middle of the interview. Every── It's gone." He shakes his head. "It's not gonna happen." A frown touches my lips at the idea of Pope not having all that he's dreamed of having── of losing great opportunities because of us. He deserves the world and more.

"You did that for us?"

"No, not for us." He lifts himself up and off the sofa, moving towards Kiara. "For nothing."

"I'm here for you, Pope." JJ stands, grasping his shoulders to tug him back down to the sofa. He slaps a hand on his chest. "Welcome to my world, okay?"

I sigh loudly. "JJ──"

"What, Brooke?" JJ finally meets my eyes. "He's right. It doesn't matter anymore."

It does matter, but whatever. Pope is already playing the vape between his lips, inhaling stuff he's never tried before in his life. First time for everything, right?

Kiara shakes her head, annoyed. "You don't have to do that."

He blows out a puff. "What do you care?"

Kiara stares at him, shocked by the boy before her. She doesn't know why he's acting like this, and I can't figure out either. Before we can utter a word, my eyes catch onto a very familiar face that I was so worried I'd never see again.

I shoot off the sofa, ignoring the pain in my hip as I rush forward towards my brother. "Hey!" I move faster, but just before I reach him, I know there's something seriously wrong. His stance is a little standoffish, and he looks fucking upset.

My eyes fall, eyes zoning in on blood.

"Is this yours?" I reach for his hand, holding it up, trying to wipe it away. "Whose blood is that?" My eyes scan him quickly, finding there to be no blood on his body, just on his hands. It can't be from him, right? Please don't let it be from him.

Our friends step up behind me, finding a distressed and quiet John B. "Hey, man, you okay?"

"John B, are you okay?"

Sirens sound nearby, and we move to crouch behind some boxes that Pope hadn't destroyed in his rampage. We stay crouched until the sirens zone out, and we're just hidden. I turn to John B, hoping for some sort of answer, but he doesn't say a damn thing. His head just falls, hitting my shoulder.

Something horrible's happened, that's all I know.

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❀ soph speaks

the republished version of act one is nearly over
yay! i can finally move on to act two and then three (and maybe four, idk yet)

i might not write season four, but i haven't decided just yet

if i do, i already have a plan :)