𝟎𝟕𝟔.           𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

three little birds ──── bob marley & the wailers

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖶𝖤'𝖱𝖤 𝖠𝖳 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖠𝖨𝖱𝖲𝖳𝖱𝖨𝖯，𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖯𝖫𝖠𝖭𝖤 𝖲𝖨𝖳𝖳𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖡𝖤𝖲𝖨𝖣𝖤 𝖴𝖲 𝖨𝖭 𝖠𝖫𝖫 𝖨𝖳𝖲 𝖦𝖫𝖮𝖱𝖸．The whole crew is here except one. Now, JJ and I were late by a couple minutes for... reasons that I won't be disclosing, but we still didn't end up being the last ones here.

Kiara is the one who isn't here. According to John B and Sarah, she left to visit her parents shortly after JJ and I left. Now she hasn't come back. It's been well over an hour now, she should be here yet she's nowhere to be seen.

Something is wrong. That much I know.

"Something's not right," I say to JJ, knowing Kiara is absolutely not coming. If she isn't here already, there is no way she's coming. I assume something happened with her parents, and I swear if they've done something to her, I'm going to go berserk. "She's not coming."

They've been looking into wilderness camps is what she said to me last night before the fire began. What if they've actually sent her to a wilderness camp? It seems a little crazy, but Mike and Anna Carrera are the type of people to do that to their daughter when it is absolutely the last thing that should ever happened. What if she's been taken by some freaky camp folks? Those bastards.

"We're gonna have to do this without her," Pope says, but he's gotta know that while I know we need to get to South America, I ain't doing shit without Kiara.

"No." I step away from JJ to reach my brother, knowing what I need to do. "Give me the keys."

"What? No."

I glare at him. "Give me the keys."

"You can't just leave, Brooke."

"Uh, yes, I can and I will. I'm not doing this without Kiara, it's not fair," I bite back, looking over my shoulder at JJ, an idea springing to mind. "JJ will come with me. Give us an hour, okay? We can get Kie back."

John B exhales, probably wishing he didn't have this misfortune of being related to me. "You gotta be..."

"Come on, man. It'll be surgical removal type shit." I scrunch my face up, confused by JJ's choice of words but whatever. He's right, we'll be removing Kiara... surgically. Okay, that sounds a little odd.

I smile widely at my brother, flashing my biggest puppy dog eyes. "Please."

John B digs into his pocket, holding the keys out to me. Just as I go to grab them, feeling very, very grateful for my brother, he snatches them back. "Fifty-nine minutes, B, alright?"

I nod frantically, snatching the keys from him. "Have I ever told you that you're my favourite brother?"

"I bet you say that to all your brothers."

"But I only mean it with you," I toy, taking a step back away from him. "I love you! We'll be back in fifty-nine minutes."

"Fifty-eight!" That was the fastest minute of my life, but I ain't gonna argue with him.

I turn, looking to the Twinkie as JJ throws himself through the window rather than opening the door to get inside. I stare at him, laughing at the guy I call mine. I just said I loved him and now he's climbing through the tiniest window I've ever seen.

He's an idiot but he's my idiot.

I step to the door, pulling on it. "The door opens, you know?"

"I'm being stealthy, angel." He slap one hand on the steering wheel, holding his other out in my direction. "Keys, please."

I throw the keys to him, silently wishing I could drive but whatever. I'll be passenger princess, that's fine. I pull myself into the Twinkie, closing the door behind me as JJ slots the keys into the ignition.

I look out the window, waving a final goodbye to John B, thanking him again as he declares that we only have fifty-seven minutes now until they're ditching us. Rude, can I just say?

We can totally save Kiara in fifty-seven minutes, right? She can't possibly be too far. I hope she's not too far, that is.

It doesn't take us long to reach Kiara's house from the airstrip. I spend the entire journey thinking of the worst case scenarios, even going as far to imagine her tied up in the basement just so she stays far away from us. That sounds a little insane, I realise, but my head takes me to very scary lands when I'm stressed. 

When we arrive, Mike and Anna Carrera are sitting outside on the porch steps, almost like they were expecting one of Kiara's Pogue friends to show up. I bet they ain't too happy to see that it's JJ and I but I don't care. I don't have time to argue with them. I just want to know where Kiara is. I can spend the rest of my life arguing with them over how they've treated their daughter but for now I just want to sort this out.

I need to find out where Kiara is.

JJ gets out of the Twinkie first. "Howdy, y'all."

I pull myself out of the car, anxiety gnawing at my skin as I shut the door behind me, waving in their direction. "Good afternoon," I say, trying my best to be as polite as possible despite the raging anger I feel within.

"JJ. Brooke." Well, I tell you, Mike Carrera sure ain't neighbourhood friendly. He sounds just about ready to kill us. Perhaps he's killed Kiara... Okay, that is crazy. "Do not come on my property. Not even a little bit."

Like I want to stand on his property.

"Yeah. Right."

"I don't want to," I clarify, crossing my arms over my chest. "I just wanna know where Kiara is as, well, we were supposed to hear from her, and, uh, we haven't yet, so that's why──"

"Brooke, she's not here," Anna tells me, cutting my sentence off. She leans against the wooden railing of the porch steps, glaring at me.

"No shit," I utter, clearing my throat.

"Where is she?" JJ asks, speaking for me.

"Let's just say you're not gonna see her for a while, alright?" It doesn't take long for those dots to connect in my head as Mike's words register in my head.

I scoff, head shaking as I realise what they've done. They've done the one thing that I had hoped they wouldn't do. Anna continues to speak, following on from her husband. "We sent her someplace where she can try and rebuild what you and your friends destroyed."

Oh, that's funny.

I nod along, hearing them loud and clear. "You sent her to that wilderness camp, didn't you?"

Mike glances at me. "Yep."

"God," JJ exhales, moving to get back in the Twinkie. With his hand on the handle, he looks back to Mike and Anna. "You know, y'all really are some Kooks."

Mike stands, looking just about ready to attack us. He's got to be joking, right? We're teenagers and he's going to come down here and make himself be heard up close? He can fucking try all he wants, I'm not letting him talk down to me.

"You gooned her." I could laugh at how ridiculous this entire situation is. "You gooned your own daughter?"

"Hey!" Instead of moving, I stand still by the passenger door, staring up at Mike as he moves towards me. "You two gave us no choice! You gave us no choice!" He jabs his fingers in my direction, continuing to glare at me.

"Hey!" JJ opens the door, ready to defend my honour. "Back the hell away from her!"

Mike shakes his head, taking a single step back, but leaving me with a final parting note. "I don't wanna see either of you around my family ever again."

"Oh, Mike, don't worry." I smile innocently, gripping the door handle. "You won't see us again."

I pull myself into the Twinkie, slamming the door behind me. JJ continues to shoot death glares in Mike's direction as he reverses out of the drive, pulling us away from the house that I never, ever want to see again.

I settle back in my seat, pissed. How could they do this? How could they do this to their daughter? She, like the rest of us, went through something huge, and they're just kicking her out without even considering her feelings. It's cruel. Hell, it's inhumane. Bastards.

"They sent her away," I scoff, leg jittering anxiously. "They actually sent her away."

"Fucking Kooks," JJ utters, turning the van right.

"We need to..." I glance at him. "We need to call John B, tell him that we need to get Kie."

"Okay. How?"

"Shit." My head falls into my hands, and I have this sudden need to rip my hair off my skull in order to feel just an ounce better. "We don't have a phone," I say, lifting my head off my hands. "We don't have a phone. We can't──"

"You guys don't have a phone?"

"What the──" I'm flung forward slightly from the impact at which JJ presses his foot down on the brake after we hear a voice that isn't ours. We then cast a glance over our shoulders at a face I recognise but a face JJ doesn't recognise. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, JJ."

His eyebrows furrow. "How does she──" He looks at me like I can answer his confusion, but I'm just as confused as he is, not that I'm showing it. "How does she know my name?"

She casts a glance in my direction. "Hey, Brooke."

Fucking Emory.

That's the last thing I need, that's the last thing Kiara needs.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, while you two were arguing with Mike and Anna── real entertaining, by the way── I broke into your cute little van." Last thing I need is judgement from her about the state at which my van is in. I certainly don't need her in my van, not in a crisis. She has no right being here. "Now we're here." She smiles in JJ's direction, holding her hand out. "I'm Emory."

JJ looks at her hand, the pieces fitting together as he knows who this is even if he hasn't explicitly met her... until now. "The one that replaced Kie," he states, meeting her eyes.

She huffs out a laugh, pulling her hand back. "Well, right back at ya."

This bitch.

"Why are you here?" I ask, repeating myself, not needing her involved in my personal business that revolves around JJ and Kiara.

She simply shrugs in response, leaning back against the seat in the back. "Wanna be."

"I'm gonna need a better explanation than that."

"Or what? You'll kick to me to the kerb."

"I'll do more than kick you," I bite back, buzzing to have some kind of fight right now. It doesn't necessarily have to be with her but she's here, and I don't exactly like her so she'll do. I can take all my frustration and anger and knock it into her.

She grins, finding my threats funny. "Ooh. I like them a little rowdy."

"Okay, I don't like her," JJ comments beside me.

"Yeah, I'm not exactly a fan either."

She pouts, leaning forward again. "No?" She sighs, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I'm guessing Kiara's gone and ran her mouth about me, huh?" I don't answer her as she already knows the answer. "Yeah, she ain't too fond of me, but that doesn't stop her from telling me all about you."

Her eyes meet mine, brown on brown. She's trying to intimidate me, get me to back off and back down but that ain't happening, not in this lifetime. I glare at her, knowing that if looks could kill she would be ash.

"I don't care what you know about me," I speak, not breaking eye contact. "I don't care what your opinion is of me or my friends, alright? You either tell me why you're here or get the hell out of this van and walk back to the life that you stole."

"You sure are feisty, aren't you, Routledge?"

"Why are you here?" I ask again, hoping to have gotten through to her. I'm serious, I'll drag her out by her hair if I have to.

"Because I have a phone," she starts, not really selling herself. "You can call your brother, tell him where you are and what you plan on doing."

"I──"

"I know where her parents sent her."

I clamp my mouth shut, teeth digging into my tongue. I don't know how to respond to that. "You know where they took her?" JJ asks, speaking for me.

"That's what I said, blondie."

I think JJ is understanding the supposed hatred that Kiara has for her. "How can we trust you?"

"You can't," she replies simply, eyes flickering from JJ to me. "But I ain't about to let Kiara become victim to rock painting and hopscotch, so trust that."

"Where is she?" I ask, finding my voice again.

"Don't worry, I'll be your navigator. All you gotta do is listen to me, think you can do that?"

I sigh loudly, choosing to look away from her before I lunge into the back just to attack her. I settle back into my seat. I don't trust her, not in the slightest, but she knows where Kiara was taken to. I have to trust that she wants to get her back too. I need to believe that.

I don't have time to argue with her further. I want to save Kiara from whatever hell her parents trapped her in, and if I've gotta use her to get to my best friend, so be it.

I clear my throat, staring out the front window. "Drive, JJ."

"She is not coming with us. We'll find Kie. We'll go back to the tarmac. We'll──"

I meet JJ's gaze. "Drive."

He listens, following my harsh order that I'll apologise for later. He starts the van back up, heading back down the road. "Wow." Emory whistles, laughing. "She's got a tight little leash on you, huh?"

"Shut up."

──────────────────────────

𝖶𝖤'𝖵𝖤 𝖡𝖤𝖤𝖭 𝖣𝖱𝖨𝖵𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖨𝖭 𝖳𝖤𝖭𝖲𝖤，𝖠𝖶𝖪𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖣 𝖲𝖨𝖫𝖤𝖭𝖢𝖤．We don't know what to say. I'm sure Emory has a lot that she wants to say but she ain't opening her mouth, not if I have anything to do with it. I don't wanna hear what her opinion is on any of this. I don't want to know what she thinks.

JJ and I were the only ones that were supposed to be doing this, not the three of us. Emory should absolutely not be involved in our business, not when we're Kiara's friends.

We're being navigated to whatever camp Kiara is at, but Emory isn't speaking to guide us. No, the GPS on her phone is telling JJ the way which is... surprising because she's been awfully vocal ever since I met her a couple days ago. She doesn't seem like the type to just sit put and be quiet, that's for certain, and I don't even know her.

I don't trust her, that's all I know.

I can't stew in silence, not for another moment longer. I open my mouth to speak. "Look──"

The back tire suddenly pops, knocking the Twinkie to one side and causing JJ to swerve harshly. "Shit!" He pulls the keys out of the ignition, looking out the window to see that there's definitely a hole the tire, meaning we can't drive on. Great.

The GPS speaks, "Turn right."

"Oh, shut up," JJ mutters, pushing open his door and climbing out to investigate.

I follow after him, opening the passenger door. I don't bother helping Emory out, she can slide the door open if she wishes, but all we're going to be doing is changing the tire that popped for some reason.

God really ain't on our side, is he? Or she? I have a suspicion that God is a woman.

I come to stand on JJ's side, looking at the rip in the tire. "What..."

We then hear the screeching of tires squealing around the corner, a car heading straight in our direction. We stare at the unfamiliar vehicle, knowing we can't exactly go anywhere, not with a flat tire. Are they here to help us?

"What the heck is taking so long?" Emory asks, walking towards us as the unfamiliar car rolls to a stop right before us. "Who's that?"

"Well, we won't know until they get out of the car," I bite back, continuing to stare at the vehicle.

We might not recognise the car but we absolutely recognise the man who gets out of said car, and out of everybody that it could be, this is absolutely the last person we need to see.

I mentally curse. "Barracuda Mike."

Another guy gets out of the passenger side, a loaded shotgun in his hands that points in our direction. "Whoa," Emory whispers, sounding a little too... buzzed about the idea of having a gun pointed at her.

We could literally die and she's smiling.

I'm never going to understand her, am I?

"Really?" JJ exhales, seeming agitated. "After everything you put me through and you shoot out my..." He looks at the tire that's deflating as we speak. "That's not even my van!"

I glance at the man with a gun, shrugging. "It's mine, but whatever."

"You lost the load, JJ."

Emory snorts beside me, really not helping the situation. "The load?"

"Now instead of me getting paid, I owe them," Mike continues, taking a step towards us. "Which I guess means you owe me, right?"

"I know, I──"

"Get in the car!" he demands, but he's insane if he thinks JJ is getting in that car, not when we have places to be, like, now.

He clears his throat. "As much as I would like to, I kinda got a thing, so..."

"You heard him. Get in the car."

Emory laughs, looking to the man with the gun who is now aiming it in her direction. She's so going to get us killed. "Oh, nice one, putz."

Oh, I'd love to shut her up.

Instead of prolonging this any further, I decide to prolong the inevitable. We're all going to die one day, but if I can stop that day from being today, that would be fantastic, so instead of angering them to the point where we may be shot, I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"Hey." Attention is turned to me, including the attention of the gun but I do my best to ignore it as I continue. "I know you've heard all these stories about us and our friends..." I cast a glance at JJ who does not seem to be liking where this is going. Whatever, I can't let him get shot, so I'm doing my best here. He'll thank me later. "A little something called the Royal Merchant. A pile of gold. Ringing any bells?"

"I heard some bullshit," Mike spits out.

"That bullshit's real," I say, offering my most sincere smile. I think I hear Emory's eyes literally roll behind me but I can't be too sure. "And we found it."

"Yep," JJ contributes, speaking to Emory who is probably glaring at me. I assume she's heard stories from around town, from Kiara's parents, and from... Kiara apparently, but I'll question that later. I assume Emory knows more about us than I wish for her to know, even personal shit that she absolutely shouldn't know.

"Yeah, I saw." He narrows his eyes on JJ. "That's why you got a bunch of dudes throwing your furniture in a dumpster out back your house? You're living high off the hog, bro."

"Cute," Emory comments, and God if I could shut her up, I fucking would.

JJ steps to my side, and I suspect he's going to follow on from me. Ah, couple goals, huh── doing everything in our power to prevent being shot and killed.

"Yeah, you're talking about the house that's being foreclosed? The cover?" He laughs softly, nudging me. "They fell for it," he says, offering me a smile before he turns back to Mike and his guy. "Rule number one, don't do flashy shit, like pay off a mortgage when you're cashing in."

I grin. "Exactly."

"Let me guess." Mike shakes his head, not believing a word we're saying. "You, uh... got that gold buried somewhere in a barn, right?" We stare at him, watching as he begins to step over to us, obviously trying to intimidate us. It won't work but nice attempt. "And if I just let you go right now, you'll run right there, you'll get it, we'll split it, right?"

I press my lips together, knowing it can't be that simple. "Not exactly," I say, hoping we don't get shot right this instant. "The Merchant gold is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Yeah, we're going after the main course right now," JJ adds, nodding. "We're going after the motherlode, and that's why we need to get down to South America."

He still doesn't look convinced, not that I can blame him. We did lose his load, but that was JJ's genius idea, not mine, alright? Sorry, boyfriend.

"Look, trust me," I say, hoping I can sway him in the right direction. "I'm trying to help you."

"You're a Routledge. You can't be trusted."

"I know, but I'm not my father, alright?" And I wish people would stop assuming I am. "You can trust me, okay? I am giving you the opportunity to make ten times more than what you would've made from that load."

He still stares at me, unmoving and emotionless.

"You can get the pleasure of beating JJ's ass right here, right now──"

"Hey!"

"And you know, sometimes, I get the temptation to do so, I really do."

"Brooke!"

I shoot him an apologetic look, but I've gotta say what I've gotta say to save our asses even if part of what I'm saying is a little true. I can love him and want to kick his ass at the same time, right? He's done some stupid shit, it's only fair.

"Or you can get a pile of gold," I say, perking his interest. "All you need to have is just a little bit of patience and trust in me, okay?"

He opens his mouth, about to either agree or let this guy shoot me when JJ speaks. "And a flight to South America," he adds.

I click my fingers. "Oh, yeah. That too."

Mike sighs, eyes flicking between JJ and I, and just when I think of how my brother will react when he finds out that I'm dead, Mike holds out his hand, surprising me because that actually fucking worked.

My mouth gapes, a laugh rippling out of me as I take his hand, shaking it frantically. "Really?"

He squeezes my hand in a warning. "You're dead if you screw us again."

I smile widely, loving that. "That's totally fair."

──────────────────────────

"𝖸𝖮𝖴 𝖪𝖭𝖮𝖶，𝖳𝖧𝖠𝖳 𝖶𝖠𝖲 𝖯𝖱𝖤𝖳𝖳𝖸 𝖨𝖬𝖯𝖱𝖤𝖲𝖲𝖨𝖵𝖤" is what Emory says after blissful silence for the past twenty minutes. She let me call my brother on her phone after JJ and I changed the tire on the Twinkie, and I told him that he and the gang should head off to South America if they haven't already because we've got a plan, he doesn't need to worry. We're saving Kiara.

They should be on their way to South America now, and by the time we get there, I hope all the heavy work is done as I'm sick of hunting down treasure, I won't lie.

"I've heard a lot of stories about you two," Emory continues, speaking over the GPS that tells us to turn left at the next turn. "Getting arrested, breaking a cop's nose, trying to break a fugitive out of prison, shooting guns... I tell you, you two really are something── power couple, if you will. Y'all are really sweet together."

I hear the dripping sarcasm in her voice as it's something I'm very, very familiar with given that I'm sarcastic on a daily basis.

She doesn't like me, that much is obvious, and I have a small suspicion as to why but I won't say anything, not until I ask the source of my suspicion.

"I guess I can understand why Kiara was so..." She exhales loudly, cracking her knuckles which is a noise that drags down my spine, irritating me. "...infatuated by you."

"Would you shut up?" I snap, knowing she's only speaking to rile me up, and it's working.

"Well, since you asked so nicely... No."

"What are you trying to accomplish? You're already here, helping us find Kiara, that's fine, but you will not sit in here and run your mouth about her or me when you know nothing about either of us," I argue, my skin prickling with anger as I wish there was a way we could find Kiara without her damn help. Screw her.

"Oh, I'm not trying to accomplish anything. I couldn't care less about whatever Kiara and you have."

"Had," JJ corrects, hands tightening on the steering wheel. Is she saying this to get under his skin, really? What a bitch. "And you sound like you care. Why?"

"Oh, he speaks." Emory laughs. "For a minute, I thought you only let your girl here speak for you."

JJ glances at me, probably wishing for the same thing as me right now. Can she disappear? Oh, baby, I fucking wish she could. If I had any magic or power in the world, I'd make her disappear or turn into some sort of beetle that I can stand on. Yes, she's that infuriating, getting all mixed up in my business.

"Wow." She leans forward, settling in between our seats. "You two even communicate with your eyes. That's cute."

I turn my head, peering at her. "How long till we get there?"

"Next right, Routledge."

With a sharp right turn that has Emory falling back from in between our seats, we arrive at our location. I huff out a laugh, knowing JJ only turned sharply to get Emory away from us even if it was only for a second.

Kitty Hawk── otherwise known as Hell. Based off the sign alone, this place is absolutely not where I'd like to see Kiara.

We're driving up to the entrance, finding there to be two guards waiting. "Oh, great."

"Shut up and stay down," JJ demands, approaching the front gate very, very slowly as we can't just speed through the gate. We need to get in without causing suspicion even if our van is a little... dodgy looking with its cracked front window.

"Can I help you?" the guard asks.

JJ clears his throat, smiling politely. "Camp counsellor..."

"Laura," Emory whispers from behind him, and I don't think either guard hears or sees her.

JJ chuckles, remaining polite. "Camp counsellor Laura, I'm her... I'm her brother. I was just gonna drop off a package for her if that's... if that's okay. Just in and out, I promise."

My boyfriend, the best liar in all of OBX.

Is that a title that should be celebrated?

"Go ahead." I breathe out, relieved because that actually worked.

"Thank you so much. Hope you guys have a good day." While being the greatest liar, he's also the sweetest guy I know.

The gate opens, allowing us to drive through. Emory sits herself up, placing herself right back in between our seats. "You're welcome," she comments, eyes rolling like we aren't obviously appreciative that she did her research to help JJ's lie sell. I still don't trust her, alright.

We come to park beside a few cars, watching as string of girls in Kitty Hawk uniform walk beside our van. "This is..."

"Hell," Emory finishes for me.

"That might be the first thing you and I agree on."

"And hopefully the last thing we agree on."

I push open the passenger door as JJ gets out on his side. "I hope so," I mutter, going to slide open the back door so Emory can climb out because, unlike before, I'm not entirely cruel.

A man passes by us, and JJ gets his attention. "Hi, sir, I'm looking for..." He looks around, not exactly knowing where we need to go.

Emory comes to stand beside him. "We're looking for the office," she says, speaking with a kindness that neither JJ nor I heard on the way here and we gave her a damn lift. "Is there a main lodge or something?"

Without saying anything, he points to the left, silently telling us that we should head in that direction. Emory smiles widely, her teeth even showing in gratitude. "Thank you."

The minute we begin to walk off in the direction the man pointed us in, that smile is replaced by the familiar scowl she showed us the entire journey here.

JJ and I follow behind her, heading towards a sign that indicates we're at the head office where camp counsellor Laura resides. We climb the steps, we reach the door to the office, but before Emory can turn the handle, I snatch her wrist, stopping her from making another move.

"I think you should wait out here," I say, squeezing her wrist in a not-so-friendly warning that I don't want her in there with me because she'll absolutely do something to screw this up. I don't trust her, so I need to figure out a way to get Kiara back, not her.

Her eyes flit from me to JJ. "Kay. Whatever you want, Routledge."

"I'll be a minute," I tell JJ, freeing Emory's wrist.

I then push open the door to the office instead of knocking, entering the room without being asked to, and I'm greeted by a woman I can only assume is the counsellor. I swallow, realising I now need to have some kind of reason to be here.

"Hi," I say quickly, not wanting to be awkward. "It's nice to meet you."

"Can I help you, darling?" She seems nice. That's good. I can work with nice.

"I have a message for one of your campers here," I begin, moving towards the chair opposite her desk. "Um... Uh, her name is Kiara Carrera. She's here, right?" I need to clarify that fact just in case Emory sent us to the wrong fucking camp. Why she'd do that, I don't know, but it's still a possibility.

"Unfortunately, we're not allowed to do that," Laura tells me, crushing some of the hope I have of finding Kiara. "You're not even supposed to be here on campus."

"Okay. It's... it's just that it's very important." I sit myself down without being asked to, knowing I cannot leave this office until I find a way to contact Kiara.

"Oh, I'm sure it is, sweetheart, but we have a policy." A freaking policy, of c── I catch sight of a picture on her desk. A black cat. Hmm. "No contact from the outside world for the first six weeks," Laura tells, surprising me because that's completely insane.

"It's actually a family matter, and, uh... I'm... I'm related to her. I'm her cousin." Thank God we're not actually related or we might as well move to Alabama. "I know you got a policy, but there's just been something that happened recently that..."

I force myself to turn on the waterworks which I've executed flawlessly in the past. I laugh, shaking my head. "I'm getting a little emotional. So I think I should go." I stand up, hoping this fucking works. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't even be here."

I reach the door, really putting on the act before I turn back to Laura to deliver a final message that will tug on her heartstrings. "But before I leave, could you just let her know, um... just that, uh... Marley didn't make it."

"Who's Marley?"

Bob Marley, but she doesn't need to know that.

"Marley's her best friend," I continue, feeling a literal tear roll down my cheek. "A Siamese mix, and, um, yeah, it was really sudden." I hear Laura gasp, meaning my acting is on point. "The mailman was coming at forty miles per hour so..." I exhale a shaky breath. "He's in a better place now. But, um, could you just let her know for me? I'd really appreciate that."

If she truly is a cat person, she'll run right over to Kiara and break the news to her.

I step outside the office, swiping my finger under my eye to wipe the fake tears away. I smile at Emory and JJ who stand outside in complete silence. "Let's go."

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❀ soph speaks

this was lowkey fun . . . i like writing emory's character and you'll be seeing a lot more of her so please get used to her

only four chapters left until i begin act four ah

also this obx drama has me stressed . . . rudy unfollowing madison??? i miss the old obx days

thankyou so much for reading!!