𝟎𝟒𝟑.                       𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥

come on ──── the 4th coming

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

"𝖨 𝖪𝖭𝖤𝖶 𝖨𝖳 𝖶𝖠𝖲 𝖧𝖨𝖬"

Yeah, JJ knows. Is he taking it well? No, of course he's not. I should've known that he wouldn't have, but I was hoping he wouldn't have to find out. Annoyingly, because he knows me so well, he can read my face better than anyone else, so when Sarah mentioned her brother, my face gave me away, and now JJ knows who hurt me last night.

Thankfully, instead of talking about it in front of everybody else, JJ insisted on wanting to talk to me alone and now we're in my bedroom. I'm sitting on my bed, watching him pace back and forth as his head shakes.

He is not happy, let's just say that.

"He's the one who grabbed you."

Of course he had to find out when he was the last person I wanted to tell. He tends to... overreact, I guess, when somebody he cares about is hurt. If I didn't have some kind of influence on him, I know he'd storm out of here and find Rafe himself but I've pleaded and begged that he leave it alone.

I plead and beg because I don't want JJ to find out that I actually had a conversation with him before he grabbed me. I confided in Rafe── a killer. I told him things about my dad and my life that I've never voiced out loud before.

I talked to a killer like he was a friend.

Nobody can ever know about that.

"Was this before or after he attacked Sarah?" I look up at him from where I sit on my bed as he comes to a stop, his body now facing me. I don't answer, I just stare up at him, wishing he'd drop this because I so don't want to discuss this right now when my brother is out of prison.

I sigh, pushing my fingers against my temple. "JJ, it doesn't matter. It's over. He's going to go to prison for murdering Peterkin, okay? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that he hurt you, Brooke."

"He barely touched me," I argue, keeping my voice at a lower tone as I don't want anybody to overhear. I know John B and Sarah are talking outside on the dock── people really need to stay away from that thing── and Pope and Kiara are sitting right outside this room on the sofa, so I'm keeping quiet.

"You have bruises on your wrists, Brooklyn. He had to have grabbed you pretty hard."

I've covered the bruises with the top I'm wearing as I don't want to hear any questions from John B or anybody else, but JJ's already seen them. I can't hide them from him. I can't hide any part of me from him, I find.

"JJ, it is not a big deal."

"When did you even see him?"

"JJ──"

"When did this happen, Brooke?"

If I don't answer him, I know he'll just keep asking. His voice will continue to raise until somebody comes bursting through the door to ask what's going on, and then I'll be forced to tell everybody what happened with Rafe, and I really don't need that happening.

So I explain it to him.

"I needed to be alone so I went to the Boneyard," I start, keeping my voice calm. "I sat by myself for ages. I was alone for hours until I wasn't, and Rafe showed up. I-I think this was after he tried to drown Sarah. His, uh, sleeves were wet."

"What? And he just walked up to you and grabbed you?"

Well, that doesn't sound believable, but I can't tell him that we sat side by side and talked even if the conversation was more one-sided than anything. He'd be furious to learn that I confided in a killer── in a guy who contributed to putting my brother behind bars. I can't tell him that.

So I just lie because I have to.

"H-He was mad," I continue, pulling my eyes off him because I can't look at him as I lie my way through this conversation. "I guess when he saw me, he just needed to, I don't know, do something. He didn't get to kill Sarah, so he needed to take it on somebody else, and I was the one he found."

"Why didn't you run away? Or call someone?"

"I didn't have my phone, and I wasn't going to run away from him. I'm not scared of him, JJ."

"He's a killer, Brooke."

"Oh, shit. You're kidding," I deadpan, wishing he'd just drop this conversation. I've explained to him what happened even if part of it is a lie, so I just need him to drop it.

"Brooke, this isn't funny. He could've killed you."

"Well, he didn't." I raise my arms. "I'm right here, aren't I?"

JJ shakes his head, looking away from me which pains me more than I want it to. I know I shouldn't be joking and laughing about it, but if I think too long about what happened with Rafe, a thousand unanswered questions will bounce around my head and consume me. I'll question my existence and why he didn't just kill me── drown me like he would've done his sister.

I mean, the water was right there. He could've done it, and after thrashing and squirming for some time, it would've been over for me. He'd have one less person to deal with but he didn't kill me. He let me live but he was going to kill his little sister. It doesn't make sense to me.

I stand up, taking a step toward JJ. My hands reach out, snatching his hands because I need him to just stop overthinking everything right now and look at me. I need him to look me in the eye and see that I am absolutely fine── for the most part. Rafe didn't kill me, and I am still standing here, as strong as ever.

JJ tries to step away from my touch but I hold on tightly, squeezing his fingers in mine. "JJ." His eyes meet mine── our favourite colours blending. "I am fine. He didn't hurt me. He didn't kill me. I am standing right here, JJ. I am very capable of handling things myself, alright?"

He inhales through his nose. "I know."

"I appreciate your concern, I do. I think it's really sweet that you care this much about me, but I am okay, JJ." I tilt my head, smiling kindly. "I-I don't need you, or anybody else, to swoop in and protect me. I'm stronger than you think, Maybank."

He huffs out a laugh, something of a smile on his lips. "I know you're strong, Sunny."

I lift one of my hands, resting it against his face. His face leans into my touch, making me feel warm from the inside out. "I am really okay, JJ. I'm standing right here. I'm alive. I'm fine."

"I don't want anything to happen to you."

My lips part, the warmth disappearing and being replaced by a tightness because he sounds genuinely afraid of something bad happening to me. I drag my thumb across his cheekbone, my smile turning sad at the thought of something happening to me and JJ not being able to deal with that.

He's right, something could've happened with Rafe and I could've ended up dead. I was careless, and I nearly lost everybody because of that. I don't want to lose JJ, and he doesn't want to lose me, that much I've always known.

"I'm sorry." I brush my knuckles against his face, frowning. "I should've run. I should've tried to get away. He could've hurt me, JJ, I know that, so I'm sorry I didn't try and get away."

"Brooke." He squeezes my hand. "I like protecting you, but to know that I wasn't there when he could've hurt you, that..." His eyes soften, thumb brushing over my knuckles. "Brooke, I'm never going to stop trying to keep you safe, okay? I can't lose you. I won't lose you."

I sigh, pulling my hand away from his face. "J──"

"No, Brooke." Our hands fall, no longer intertwined. "I need you to understand that I am not going to stop doing everything possible to keep you safe, okay? I like keeping you safe. I like making sure you're okay. I like being with you. Can you just please understand that?"

I don't want to argue with him, not over this, so I just nod my head. "Yeah, JJ. I understand that."

He nods. "Good."

"I like keeping you safe," I tell him, offering him the most genuine smile. "I won't stop trying to keep you safe either, JJ. Do you understand that?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, Sunny, I do."

The door is shoved open, surprising us both, bringing us out of our bubble. We look to find Pope standing at my bedroom door, his phone gripped tightly in his hand. "We gotta go."

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𝖧𝖤𝖸𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖣 𝖶𝖠𝖲 𝖧𝖴𝖱𝖳 𝖡𝖸 𝖳𝖧𝖮𝖲𝖤 𝖡𝖠𝖲𝖳𝖠𝖱𝖣𝖲 𝖶𝖤 𝖬𝖤𝖳 𝖨𝖭 𝖢𝖧𝖠𝖱𝖫𝖤𝖲𝖳𝖮𝖭，and now I'm wiping away the cut on his head, cursing out those fools for coming anywhere near Heyward. Who the hell do they think they are?

"Let me know if I'm hurting you," I say softly, placing a plaster over the wound.

"You're doing fine," Heyward groaned just as I lay out the plaster across the mark, earning a quiet apology from me. "Thank you, darlin'."

"Of course." I step back, joining my friends.

"Pop, what happened?" Pope asks, arms crossed over his chest.

"Oh, I should've known better. He came in just as I was about to lock up. Caught me by surprise." He sounds defeated, like he wished he had done more, but it's not his fault, I hope he realises that. "Once he had me down, he put his knee in my chest, and he asked me about that... that... that key from that..." He stammers, head shaking. "...that drawing you showed me."

Pope looks at each of us as Heyward continues. "And in case you're wondering, I ain't tell him nothing." We each smile, appreciating that he's kept our secrets. "Now did you track it down?"

Pope pulls out the key from his back pocket. Yesterday when I was at the Boneyard, and Kiara was being kicked out of her house, and JJ was trying to break John B out of prison, and Sarah was being killed by her brother, Pope was getting the key from his grandmother's old apartment. This key was what the Limbrey wanted for some reason we don't know, but we're determined to find out.

Sadly, Heyward had to be beaten up over this stupid thing.

Pope hands off the key to his father. "I found it in Mee-maw's old apartment above the pharmacy just like you said."

"Shit, boy, you should've gave this to me. I wouldn't have had to take a beating." Heyward looks to the key, obviously finding it not be worth anything, but it's got to mean something otherwise Limbrey wouldn't want it so bad. "What's the big deal? It ain't worth anything. Why do they want it so bad?"

"I don't know," Pope admits, shrugging. "First, I get this letter telling me that I need to go to Charleston. And then I meet a rich lady who wants me to give her a key that I didn't even know was in my family."

"None of it makes any sense." Preach.

"Well, don't y'all just sit here whining about it. Figure it out!" We look to him, surprised to hear him sounding so supportive, but out of each of our parents, Heyward would be the most supportive. Pope is like his father in a lot of ways, that much I've always been able to see.

"No. I'm just gonna give the key to that lady. It's not worth──"

"No, no, no." Heyward shakes his head. "Did I raise you to back down from a fight, boy?"

"No, sir."

"Well, alright." He pauses, looking to each of us. "Now, I... I didn't think about it before. I admit that. But now..." He points to the wound upon his head that's covered by a plaster. "Now? I'm interested."

He looks to his son. "Did they say why they wanted it?"

"Something about an old cross." He shrugs, still not understanding it. None of us understand it, and that's a first. If Pope doesn't understand something, you can at least count on one of us, right? Apparently not. "I think it might be some kind of lost treasure," Pope answers.

"You know who you should talk to?" Pope glances at his father. "Your great-grandmother, Mee-maw."

I slap my hand on Pope's shoulder gently. "Come on, Pope. You never back down from an adventure."

"Listen to Brooke, boy, don't give up."

Pope sighs as I shake his shoulders, laughing. "Come on, Pope. Dad orders. You gotta go!"

He listened to me, of course he did. Also, his father ordered us not to give up, so now we're on our way to visit his Mee-maw who I really, really want to meet. I don't know if he'll let everybody come in at once, but maybe, if I'm kind enough, he'll let one person── me── inside.

This key is obviously important, and until we figure out why, those bastards from Charleston are just going to keep on attacking until they have the damn key in their grasp.

I just don't understand how valuable this rusty key can be.

"Guys, the thing that Limbrey said, I don't think she meant to let it slip." He looks down at the key in his hand. "She said that the key leads to the Cross of Santo Domingo."

"Wait. Can I see that?" JJ asks, reaching his hand out to Pope.

"Are we supposed to know what that is?"

"I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artefact of great importance," Pope answers, probably on the right path.

"Well, according to the interwebs, it was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish King," Kiara reads from her phone.

"New Spain? Is there an Old Spain?"

I huff out a laugh, rolling my eyes as JJ passes the key back to Pope.

"Shit, talk about over-gifting. Look at this thing." She turns her phone around, showing us a picture of this cross. "Looks like a person is standing next to it." Compared to the person, this cross is huge, and must be worth something.

"So it's a giant-ass cross."

"It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces," Kiara continues, reading off her phone. "It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in eighteen-twenty-nine."

"Did you just say Bermuda?"

"Oh, no. Not the triangle."

"It always leads back to the triangle, dude," JJ exclaims, slapping a hand on John B's shoulder. "Like every single time something's weird, it's Bermuda."

"Okay, so what does a key found above your mee-maw's pharmacy have to do with any of this?" I ask, looking to Pope who seems to be lost in his own head, I know he wants to figure this out, and I just hope his mee-maw will offer him some answers.

"I don't know," he replies. "That's a good question."

A few minutes later, we pull up to Shady Acres── the care home that Pope's grandmother resides in. Each of us are getting out of the van, but as I suspected, Pope doesn't want the whole peanut gallery to bombarde his grandmother with questions, so he turns to us and says, "Hey, actually, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself."

Kiara stops, peering at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I can handle it. I don't really need you, so..." Kiara rears her head back at the harshness of his tone, and when she said things were tense between them, I didn't realise how tense.

Now I feel even more awful about everything because Pope is acting fine with me but he's mad at Kiara when Kiara and I kissed each other. He should be equally as mad at me. It isn't fair to Kiara that he's only pissed at her.

"Oh, we're just all one big happy family today, aren't we?" I nudge JJ, urging him to be quiet because we definitely don't need his comments, not right now when things are... tense, and because I'm me, I really can't allow them to be that way even if he wants to do this next part alone.

He begins to cross the street, and I begin to follow after him. "Brooke, what are you doing?"

"Just go. Pick us up later!"

I rush inside, following after Pope who doesn't realise I've snuck in behind him. I push the door open, moving at a quick pace to meet him. "Hey!" I sneak up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He turns to me, confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry," I breathe out. "I will stay out of your way, I promise, but I wish you'd be mad at me, Pope."

"Mad at you? Why?"

"I kissed Kiara. I knew how much you liked her, and I kissed her anyway, and I'm sorry, okay? I am really, really sorry. You don't deserve that, not in the slightest. So if you're going to be mad at her, please be mad at me."

He sighs, taking my arm and moving us away from some of the staff who are trying to pass by us. "I'm not mad at you, Brooke."

"I really wish that you would be."

"Yeah, well, I'm not, okay? I don't know why I'm not mad at you, but I'm not."

"Okay, but──"

"Can we talk about this later? We're, you know, in a care home, and I need to, so..."

"Right." I really have good timing with these types of conversations, don't I? "Uh, yeah. You go, um, do your thing. I-I will be right..." I clap my hands together, nodding helplessly as I look to some chairs nearby. "Right here."

Pope sighs, but he doesn't sound agitated by me as most people do. "Just come with me."

My mouth gapes, a gasp falling from my lips. "To meet your mee-maw? Really? Wow." I breathe out a laugh, feeling a little anxious right now. "That's such an honour. I-I don't even know what to──"

"Brooke!"

"Right. Yes. Yes, I will. Let's go."

We move into the care home, and the moment we step into the room, my heartstrings pull. The elderly sit together, playing card games at the tables, or sitting in their chairs and reading, or talking amongst themselves. I offer smiles to those who look up at us as we enter the room, and they smile right back at me.

There's something about the elderly that makes me feel bittersweet, I can't explain it. My heart feels both sad and warmed by seeing these great people all under one roof. They all have different stories and lives, but they're all joined together here in this place, and it's... nice.

I wonder what I'll be like when I'm old.

Actually, I wonder what each of us will be like when we're old. I wonder if we'll live together under one roof, driving each other mad like we do now. That makes me laugh as I imagine us sitting together playing a silly card game at an old age.

I wonder who I'll be growing old with.

I know who I want to grow old with, but will he be that one? I hope so.

Pope guides me further into the room, and I spot his grandmother before he even steps up to her. She's sleeping soundly, and Pope gently grazes her knee, not wanting to startle her as he begins to speak softly. "Mee-maw."

The woman stirs awake slowly to find us standing over her. I hide behind Pope, not wanting to be too involved in his family business. Her eyes squint as she stares up at Pope. "Bobby?"

"No, Mee-maw, it's... it's Pope, Heyward's son."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to know that with you standing so far away like that." I smile, pressing a hand to Pope's back to urge him to sit down alongside his grandmother. "Come on, show me your face."

"He's got a great face," I comment, moving to sit down next to Pope as he sits next to his grandmother.

"Oh yeah." She chuckles. "Yeah."

Pope smiles warmly. "Hey, Mee-maw." He takes her hand immediately, laughing softly. "It's good to see you."

"Hey, Bobby." My heart cracks a little bit, knowing her memory isn't the greatest, but Pope keeps a high smile as he holds onto her hand tightly.

"It's Pope, your, uh, your great grandson," he replies, patting her hand softly. "Do you mind if I talk to you about something in private?"

We move his grandmother into her room, helping her get settled before we ask her questions. She asks who I am a few times on the way to her room and I tell her my name, but she doesn't remember it. That's okay. I'd prefer if she didn't. I don't like my name all that much anyway.

She then claims that I'm "very beautiful" which makes me feel overjoyed on a whole other level. I tell her that she's beautiful too as we sit her down, pulling a blanket over her. It doesn't matter how old a person is, beauty is something that never dies. It stays within that person, that much I can see when I look at this woman.

Pope sits down next to her and I sit down next to Pope, not wanting to barge into this conversation by being too close. "Can I show you something?"

"Sure."

He lifts the key out from his back pocket, showing it to her. "Do you recognise this?"

"Now, I'm supposed to see that little thing?" She laughs softly, staring down at the key. "Hold it closer," she insists. Pope places it into her hand, letting her get a feel for the key. "Now, what's this do?"

"It used to belong to you," he explains. "There's an inscription on it." He points to the small engraving on the key. "It says, 'The path to the tomb begins in the island room'," he reads.

"The path to the tomb?"

"Begins in the island room." She lowers the key, looking away like she's trying to remember something── perhaps a key that could point us in the right direction. "Do you know what the island room is, or why our family has this key?"

She begins to shake her head, holding the key back to Pope. "Take it away."

She knows something.

Pope looks to me, and I take the key from him, urging him to keep speaking to her calmly. If she wants to tell, I'm sure she will. Pope looks back to his grandmother, leaning forward slightly. "Mee-maw, please, you have to remember. Do you know whose key this is? Is this Denmark Tanny's key? How did we get it?"

She remains silent, but that silence seems to answer the questions that Pope is asking, and I find a question coming out of my mouth without even thinking. "Are you... related to Denmark Tanny?"

Pope looks over at me for a second and then right back to his Mee-maw when she answers with, "And his wife."

My eyes widen. "Cecilia," Pope utters, falling back against the chair, equally surprised. His grandmother moves her head, now meeting Pope's eyes, so I suspect she's going to now tell us the truth.

"Denmark and Cecilia are your great-grandfolks going way back."

Well, I tell you now, I was not expecting that.

"Why did you keep this a secret from us? Denmark Tanny is in our family. That's a good thing."

"Do you know what happened? They hung him!" Tears glisten her eyes, and I instantly feel guilty for making this woman cry when all she's doing is helping us. "I didn't want nobody going out there avenging in his name. I didn't want what happened to Denmark to happen to you or your daddy."

"But we should've known." I look to Pope, finding that he's crying too. I place a delicate hand against his shoulder, offering him as much comfort as I can in this moment.

"I was protecting you, baby. It was better you didn't know." Her hand reaches out, grasping Pope's chin softly. "And I don't want you to do nothing crazy now."

Pope shakes his head. "No crazier than anything I normally do."

She laughs, patting her hand against his cheek. "Oh, I love you, Pope." She opens her arms, and Pope shifts forward to hug her. My hand slides down, resting against his back as he and his great-grandmother share an embrace. "Oh. Family's all we got."

She's right about that. Family really is all we got, but Pope knows he's also got us── his chosen family.

We say our goodbyes to his Mee-maw shortly after that, and once we step outside, we find the Twinkie pulling up. We both get into the back of the van, sitting in our original seats. It's difficult to process the news that we just heard, but we're going to figure it all out together.

John B asks how it went, and Pope responds with, "Shit just got way more personal."

He ain't wrong about that.

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❀ soph speaks

first chapter of the new year!!

not the best, i was very lazy with writing this one lol

thankyou for reading :)