𝟎𝟖𝟔.                        𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐭, 𝐡𝐮𝐡

little talks ──── of monsters and men

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖦𝖮𝖠𝖳 𝖨𝖲𝖫𝖠𝖭𝖣── 𝖳𝖧𝖠𝖳'𝖲 𝖶𝖧𝖤𝖱𝖤 𝖶𝖤'𝖱𝖤 𝖦𝖮𝖨𝖭𝖦．

The old guy who talked to us after the ceremony was a man named Wes Genrette. He had invited us to his private estate to discuss his proposition. So, here we are. Eighteen months after finding El Dorado, on our way to Goat Island, back in the G-game── the last game I wanna be playing, thank you very much.

I don't like this, not in any way, especially since none of us have ever ventured off to this island. We've heard the stories. Everybody has. Nobody dares to come over here, not unless they have to. And because I don't want to be apart of another gold adventure, I absolutely do not want to be here but instead at home where it's safe.

I'd like to just stay at home where I like it, not dealing with a new bucket of worries that'll make my anxiety skyrocketing to the fucking moon.

"Do you guys know anybody that's been here?" Kiara cuts through my worrying, asking me a question that we all have the same answer to. "Cause I don't."

"Nope." JJ drops down beside me as I shake my head in response, knowing I've never set foot on this island we're approaching.

"Hey, Sarah, you must know somebody who's been here, right?" Sarah looks to him strangely, unsure on why she would be the one to know out of each of us. "I mean, like, all Kooks, t-they know each other. They go to the same parties."

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah scoffs, looking around at each of us. "You've heard the rumours, right?"

"Oh yeah, about the daughter. I mean, that she drowned with her baby? That's what I heard," JJ speaks, recalling the rumour we've all heard.

"I heard that too, but I heard that she was possessed first or something," Kiara says, also recalling the exact rumour I heard a while ago. This island has racked up many rumours over the years, meaning nobody dares to set foot on it on account of not knowing which rumour really is the truest.

"And then I heard that was all bullshit because..." Cleo is looking at him, arms crossed. "What?"

"Okay, why are we doing this again?"

"We need money," Sarah and Pope say.

"Because somebody decided to lose it all," I mutter loud enough for everybody to hear, especially the boy sitting beside me who knows that, while I've forgiven him, it still ticks me off to know we need to find other ways to get money.

I'm close to resorting to stripping, I swear.

Okay, that's a lie, I've only thought about it once. Maybe twice.

JJ nudges me, looking downright offended. "You said you forgave me."

"Doesn't mean I approve of what you did, idiot." I bite back a laugh, catching the pout on his lips. He knows I've forgiven him, but I can call him out of being a fool because had he not bet all our money, we wouldn't have to do this, would we?

I swear, I'm not mad.

Okay, maybe a teeny tiny bit mad.

Can you blame me? He spent all the freaking money with the snap of his fingers.

"This place has been around for two hundred years, and they still don't have a road that doesn't go underwater twice a day," Pope tells, but that doesn't sound so surprising. Why mend a part of town that isn't visited nearly enough as the rest of the island? It just ain't worth it.

"You check in and you don't check out."

I laugh at Kiara's attempt to be ominous. "Ooh, spookay."

We're close to approaching the island, and I think spooky── spookay, if you will── is the only way to describe this place. No wonder nobody's set foot on this island in however many years, it's not exactly welcoming in the way it presents itself.

I glance at each of my friends, my eyes moving over Emory who I found hasn't spoken a word since we started our journey. She's just sitting at the bow of the boat, staring off into the vast water, and it's obvious something is bothering her. I know things have been tense on the family front, and that she's barely said a word since yesterday's ceremony, but she still hasn't seemed to mend her mind. Something's wrong.

I move across the boat, reaching her in seconds. I sit down beside her, giving her a gentle, friendly enough nudge to snap her out whatever trance she's fallen into. "You okay?" She's staring at the island, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed like she's trying to figure this place out.

I'm guessing she's never heard the rumours having only moved here just short of two years ago, but she's looking at this place like she's trying to recall it from memory. She can't possibly know about this place, not when she's from Florida and not, you know, here. I nudge her again, hoping to bring her out of her head. "Em?"

She shakes her head, her eyes still focused on the island before us. "What?"

"You okay?" I ask, repeating myself.

"Yeah. I-I'm..." She clears her throat, finally letting her gaze drop to her hands in her lap. "I'm fine."

I don't say anything more, noticing that she doesn't want to talk. Something is obviously bothering her, but I don't imagine she'll confide in me. Don't get me wrong, we've become something of friends these past eighteen months, but it's not like we're best friends who tell one another everything. She'll confide in Kiara, I'm certain of it, and if she doesn't, perhaps she'll bury herself in her head like I do sometimes.

She'll be okay. She's tough, that much I've learnt over the time I've known her.

Just as we bring the boat towards the only dock on this island, an older black man begins to walk down the ramp to meet us. "Afternoon, sir." You can always count on JJ to be the most polite, that's for sure.

Pope throws the rope off to the man so he can tie off the boat. The man looks at each of us, the rope caught in his hands. "Welcome to Blackstone," he greets, sounding nice enough, but that could be deceiving.

JJ is the first to step off the boat which, obviously, isn't a shock. He'd dive head first into a fucking fire, as you already know, so an island we're unfamiliar with won't scare him like the rest of us who haven't made any attempt to move. We're just looking at one another, daring each other to move off this boat first.

"Oh, come on." Emory barges past us, going to get off the boat next. "Great Seekers, my ass. Y'all won't even get off a fucking boat, you wusses."

I rear my head back, nose scrunched. "Great Seekers? Who calls us that?"

"Nobody should," she bites out.

Well, that's previous faraway look she had is definitely gone, let me tell you.

Emory joins JJ's side, and I watch as he gives her a nod of approval. I roll my eyes, deciding not to be a wuss, as Emory so kindly put it, and I force myself to get off the boat next, snatching JJ's hand as he pulls me onto the dock.

Once everybody's off the boat after Emory's encouraging words, we follow after the man who is making no attempt of slowing down. We're doing our best to keep up, truly amazed at how quickly he navigates the land. He must've worked here for a long time because I'm afraid of getting lost in the sea of grass and trees and bushes.

I watch as the man picks up a shovel which stops a few of us in our tracks as we consider running back to the boat, a little confused on why he needs a shovel right now. Emory and JJ, on the other hand, decide to entertain the man who just grabbed a shovel that may be burying us later on if we aren't careful.

"So, uh, what ya been digging?" JJ asks, not very good at keeping silent, especially when the silence is awkward. 

"Ditches," he replies bluntly as if that is a good enough response. No clarification on that, just a morbid word that could mean a myriad of things.

"Ditches," JJ and Emory repeat. "Cool."

"At least it's not graves," Kiara speaks up.

"All the same to me," the man responds, quite literally sending a shiver right down my spine.

"Sick," Emory laughs, no longer that girl I just saw on the boat who looked almost afraid of approaching this island. "Hey, if I need a couple things... or people buried, could you handle that for me? I'm not a fan of digging."

Kiara's mouth gapes. "Emory!"

"What, Kie? I'm obviously kidding."

"Uh," John B clears his throat, about ready to stop Emory from asking any further questions on burials and digging. "How long have you been working for Mr. Genrette?"

"As long as I can remember." Once again, he says nothing more. It seems he's a man of very few words, but some might like that. Whatever. It's fine. My chest might be feeling tight, but at least he can bury me if I have a heart attack from panic or something similar, right?

The man stops, pointing forward. "There." We follow his finger, noticing a path that leads to the entrance of the house. Overgrown weeds and grass cover the expanse of the ground and entrance.

Somebody oughta take care of this place every once in a while. It ain't looking nice.

JJ nods, offering a kind enough smile to the man. "Thank you." As I said, we can always count on JJ to be the polite one even in a life-or-death kind of situation.

Following JJ, we move towards the front door, just about ready to conquer our fears of being on this strange island and find out what this damn Wes Genrette wants before we get slaughtered. I swear to God, if somebody jumps out of these bushes, I'm gonna stab a bitch.

With what? I don't know, but I'll figure it out.

Either that, or I'll throw my brother into the fire. Sorry, bro.

The wood of the porch creaks as we step up to the front door. JJ, of course, doesn't waste any time once we're in front of the door. He takes the giant knocker and hits it against the door. "Hello? Anybody home?"

Anybody want him to say "Housekeeping" again or is that just me?

JJ barely gives anybody a chance to answer before he starts to call out again. "Hello?" He tries the knocker again before turning to us as we stand behind him, waiting for this Genrette guy to appear. "Oh, just a quick FYI, they drug you before they chop you up. So don't eat or drink anything."

Emory laughs, finding all this a bit too hilarious. "He's not wrong."

"That's not funny." I hit my hand against JJ's arm lightly, his jokes not being something I need right now in a crisis.

"Yeah, guys, I think I've changed my mind about this one," Sarah says, her tone tense.

Kiara nods, agreeing with Sarah. "Yeah, I really don't wanna be here."

"Can we just go?"

"I admit the risk-reward is very off."

"Oh, come on. Who actually weighs up the risk with the reward?" Us, that's who. Hello, Pope is our friend, of course we weigh up the risk to the reward even if it doesn't always play out the way we want it to.

"Hey, somebody's coming."

JJ steps away from the door just as the door unlocks, revealing a man who is not Wes Genrette, but a younger man who looks to be around the age of our parents── not mine, obviously, he's deader than dead, but you get what I mean.

Looking at this man, he looks like your average Kook with his slicked back hair, his moustache, and his Kooky fucking outfit, but where he lives is a whole new story because this looks like the beginning of a horror movie, and he doesn't fit the part of belonging in this kind of home.

Emory leans towards me. "You said the dude was old." Right. She wasn't there when we talked to Wes, only having heard what we told her after, so she must think this is Wes Genrette.

"This isn't him," I hiss back, attempting to keep my voice low as the stranger watches us.

"Hi," he greets, his eyes spanning over each of us. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It's quite a big house, and I-I'm afraid the... I'm afraid the servants have all gone. All except, uh, good old Demp." The man with the shovel, that's who he's referring to. Does Demp bury the bodies while this man kills? Woah. "Just can't seem to get rid of him," he chuckles, his smile almost sinister, I swear. "Uh, you must be the... the Pogues. The Great Seekers."

All our eyes cast on Emory who just called us that. "What? Freaky coincidence, you freaks. Also..." She looks to the man, smiling innocently, giving off that Emory charm we're so fond off. "I wouldn't call them that, they were scared to get off a boat."

"Oh, my God," I mutter under my breath, suddenly wishing we'd left her in the boat to keep guard.

"Yeah, I-I don't know about that," John B adds, obviously wishing the same as me── for Emory to stop talking.

"Oh, now, d-don't... don't you be modest." I can't tell if this man is drunk or just really bad at talking to new people. "I've read of your adventures. It's quite thrilling."

"Pretty boring read, I won't lie," Emory pipes up, that smile of hers never faltering as the rest of us share a worried look. Well, everybody except JJ, of course. He's entirely clueless to this obvious suspicious situation, more focused on the thought of us getting some cash again.

The man chuckles, nodding in Emory's direction like he approves of her constant need to say something. "Uh, how about you come in? C-Come in. I'm the... I'm the son-in-law. Chandler Groff," he addresses, that name unfamiliar to us. "Wes was really, really hoping you'd show. He's been waiting."

JJ looks back at us, his eyes meeting mine instantaneously. While I don't trust this situation, feeling a little nervous about setting foot in a house I absolutely don't want to be in, I don't imagine we'll be drugged and chopped up. Well, I hope that doesn't happen, so I just nod, allowing him to lead the way as he's the least afraid out of each of us.

He steps forward, nodding to Groff. "Pleasure. JJ," he introduces, stepping by him. I watch as Chandler pats him on the back several times as JJ ventures into the home.

Unsurprisingly, Emory is next to step up as she holds the same title as JJ── least afraid. "Hi," she beams, looking like a whole new woman to the one I saw earlier. She sticks her hand out to the man we don't know, unafraid of stranger danger. "I'm Emory."

"Emory?" He says her name like he's heard it before but he can't quite place it. Hm. Groff nods to her, shaking her hand firmly. "Y-You, uh, don't look familiar," he says, his tone low, but loud enough for us to hear.

"Yeah, I'm not in any of those boring articles or whatever. If I was, they'd be more entertaining, believe me." I swear, this woman has no filter and no fear in the world. Social anxiety should be afraid of her.

Groff offers her a tight-lipped smile, squeezing her hand a final time before dropping it. As she steps by him, his eyes follow her as she moves to follow after JJ. He's either some sort of creep or... well, some sort of creep. Great.

Groff then looks to us── the wusses who haven't stepped forward yet.

While the rest of us could make a run for it right now, I'm not about to leave my boyfriend and my friend to get drugged and chopped in that house, not alone anyway. We do that kind of shit together, thank you.

This is the part in the horror movie where the viewers are yelling, "Don't go in there". So what do we do? Well, we each go in. One by one.

I catch up to JJ once I'm inside the house, everybody else following behind me. Naturally, I'm nervous. I'm in a house I don't know with a person I don't know, and a guy outside who could very well bury us if things go south. While I'm concerned about why we're really here, JJ and Emory don't seem to care── JJ especially, who just shrugs at me when I offer him a troubled look. Come on, boyfriend, read my eyes.

"Just, uh..." Groff points forward. "Just right in the next room."

Following his orders, we step into said room that appears to be the main living area of the house. Two sofas sit on either side of a coffee table, both looking dusty as hell. A giant fireplace rests against one wall, a large oil portrait above that. Several more pictures and portraits adorn the walls, collecting dust and cobwebs. Also, this place reeks of something dead, and I so don't wanna know what.

"This place smells like dead bodies," John B mutters, and he ain't wrong about that. Perhaps dead bodies are under the floorboards which would, in turn, explain the smell.

I look over my shoulder, grinning at the colour choice he decided to wear today. "Bad day to wear white, bro."

"Yeah, thanks, B." Can always count on me to say the most irrelevant things.

"I'll, uh... I'll let Wes know you're here," Groff says, stepping by us and heading for another room that Wes must be in. He pushes open the double doors, peering in. "Wes, they're here."

"Oh, good. Good." Wes Genrette appears through the doors, offering us something of a smile. "Please, please, warm yourself by the fire," Wes instructs, pointing to the sofas that I so don't wanna sit on, but I'm polite. "Good to see you."

"So that's the old guy," Emory confirms, speaking lowly as she walks behind me.

"Yes, Em, that's the old guy."

"I-I apologise for dragging you all out here, but I... I don't think I could speak about this in public," Wes begins as we get settled── if one can get settled in a house this eerie.

JJ, being JJ, however, chooses to stand, not that I blame him. If I feel anything crawling around my ass, I'm gonna fucking shoot off this sofa, I swear to God.

"I know I mentioned Blackbeard, but I assure you all, my interest is not for treasure," Wes tells, looking towards a large painting on the wall. We follow his gaze, observing the oil portrait. "My ancestor, Francis Genrette, was the British officer who caught and killed the notorious pirate."

"Wait. Y-Your direct ancestor?"

Wes nods in conformation. "Yes, unfortunately. After he beheaded Blackbeard, he killed the pirate's wife, Elizabeth." Following his eyes, we look to a different oil portrait of a woman with darker hair. "And since then, for three hundred years, generations of Genrettes have been haunted by Elizabeth's ghost and have died violent deaths... including my daughter."

He looks to the portrait of a beautiful young woman, her hair blonde and her eyes a delicate shade of blue── a shade of blue that looks eerily similar to the blues I've perfected in my sketchbook.

I stare at the portrait, feeling this strange feeling deep within like this woman is familiar to me in some way, but that would be insane. I don't know her, not personally, only having heard of her, so she can't possibly look or feel familiar to me. Still, I can't help but wonder.

It's the eyes, I think. Even in a painting, I feel as though I know those eyes. I'm an artist, I'm trained to feel life through each painting that not only I create, but also what others create.

I pull my eyes off the portrait, searching for solace in the only eyes that calm me. JJ looks down at me, his eyebrows stitched together like he's trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I search his eyes, calmness beginning to wash over me as I lose myself in his sea of blue. Despite JJ's presence bringing me a great sense of peace, my head, however, continues to try and place that woman from the portrait, still feeling as though she's familiar in some form or another.

Okay, maybe I truly have lost my mind.

"Larissa, Chandler's wife..." I cast a glance at Groff, an emotionless expression on his face. "My daughter saw Elizabeth... a week before she died." I bite my tongue, knowing this sounds crazy, but not wanting to be rude. "Now... I've had a visitation. So I know I don't have much time."

We're not seriously talking about ghosts, are we? No offence to this man, but he's gotta know that ghosts aren't real.

John B is the first to speak up, the rest of us stunned to silence. "Right, uh... so we're really sorry that happened to you, but what do you want from us?"

"Of course, you're right. Let's get down to business." He looks to his son-in-law, nodding firmly. "Chandler."

"We believe we've found a way to break the curse on this family," Groff begins, sounding just as insane as his father-in-law. "Right before she was murdered, Elizabeth begged Francis to retrieve from her husband's ship a keepsake that he'd given her. Her most prized possession. An amulet." Looking to Elizabeth's portrait, we notice that there's a large amulet around her neck. "He denied the request and then murdered her."

Well, that's real sweet.

"But if we find the amulet, fulfilling Elizabeth's last request, I believe it will break the curse that has haunted my family for over three hundred years," Wes finishes, following on from Groff, still sounding completely insane.

There's no such thing as a curse. While I consider us to be pretty unlucky, I know we haven't been struck by some kind of curse, much like this family hasn't been cursed. Perhaps there's just some psycho killing his family, I don't know, but I can't possibly believe in there being a curse or a ghost. That's crazy, even for us.

"Okay." Kiara clears her throat, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "Um... I'm sorry, where did you say that the necklace thingy is?"

"Oh," Groff chuckles, the sound rubbing me in the wrong way. I don't trust this guy, not in the slightest. I barely know him, but I know he isn't trustworthy. "Blackbeard's last ship, the Adventure," he confirms.

"Perfect," Kiara utters, looking away.

"According to all records, the amulet was still on it when it was scuttled right off Goat Island," Groff adds, looking at each of us.

"Right, yeah, but the Coast Guard excavated that site years ago."

"The excavation team don't know what we know. They didn't have this." Wes pulls out an old journal, handing it off to Pope so our boy genius can flip through it. "There's a secret lockbox hidden behind the headboard in the captain's chamber."

"Kinky," Emory mutters, but I hear her perfectly. Like I said, she has no filter.

"Do you dive?" Wes asks.

I open my mouth, about to deny him, but JJ beats me to it, lying through his teeth. "We dive," he confirms. "A-All of us do." I glare at my boyfriend, knowing that if looks could kill, this boy would be a pile of ash at my feet, and he knows it too. In fact, everybody in this room knows it. "It's just, we only do it if the price is right," he adds quickly.

Of course, we'd all do just about anything if the price is right. Like I said, I'd become a stripper if the price was right, but at least that's less dangerous than diving.

Hello, none of us can dive. John B might've tried it once over two years ago, but that could've been disastrous. Hell, he nearly died because Shoupe decided to make a special appearance at the worst possible time. Since then, none of us have felt the desire to dive nor have we ever actually needed to. We shouldn't need to right now, but JJ would do just about anything for money.

Well, any of us would do anything for money, even if diving isn't deemed the safest thing.

"Excellent." I don't see how this is excellent but whatever. "We are prepared to offer you a premium for your services. Fifty thousand, plus expenses. Five thousand up front," Wes says, surprising each of us because that's a lot of money. This amulet must be really fucking important. "And we would very much like your immediate answer."

"Well, you know, I think we kind of──" John B lifts himself up off the sofa, moving to his best friend who he knows will agree to this without even considering the consequences.

"Come on, just──"

"Uh, we'll just need to think it through," I say, watching the boys squabble in the corner as we each stand from the sofa.

"We'll be right back." JJ breaks free from John B's grasp only to be shoved towards another room away from Wes and Groff who obviously need us to agree to this.

I'm sorry, we gotta weigh up the risk against the reward, thanks.

Once we're in the adjoining room, the double doors closed, we consider what we're being asked to do. We all know what JJ wants to do, but the rest of us need to consider this properly.

"What the hell was that?"

"There's something fishy about this," I mutter, looking around this room, finding that this house is just old and dirty. Really old and dirty.

"We have to think about this."

"This is weird. We could just slip out through the back," Kiara suggests, and that's honestly not a bad idea.

"We might get hit around the back of the head with a shovel," I say, literally feeling sick at the thought of being buried on this island where ghosts apparently roam the land.

"Are we really going to listen to a guy who should be in a white padded room?" Okay, that might be a stretch. Sure, he's a little mad, but maybe he has a good reason to be. "Visitations? Curses?"

"He's a madman," Cleo chirps, agreeing.

"Obviously, he's batshit, but he's in there crying about his daughter. Like, he needs help."

"He needs therapy, Sarah, not a necklace thing," Kiara bites out, bringing a laugh out of Emory who, of course, isn't saying anything as I know she wants to do in the same way I know what JJ wants to do. Hell, she's currently on her phone.

"Obviously, this guy is nutty. We don't even know if anything he's saying is true."

"Look, we can't ignore the fact that there is a ghost and a curse," Kiara speaks, looking around at each of us. "Y'all aren't getting a weird-ass vibe?"

"There's no fucking service in this place," Emory says, tapping at her phone.

"Are you messaging someone right now?"

"Well, if I'm about to die, I wanna look at my insta models one last time." Oh, my God.

"Okay, guys." Cleo leans forward, snatching Emory's phone right from her. Thank God she did that, I was about to break it.

She gasps. "Hey!"

"Let's say we take this job. Is it even possible?"

"Yes," both JJ and Emory say, and I can't say I'm surprised. They're the risk-takers of our group, acting in a similar way when faced with a crisis. While we── the sane ones of the group── weigh up the consequences, they're just about ready to dive head first into danger.

"I know what you two would say." Cleo pins both Emory and JJ with a hard stare, silencing them. "Everybody else?"

"The shipwreck is probably eighty to one-hundred feet down," Pope calculates, his boy genius-ness pulling through. "The currents are probably ripping."

"Are we really gonna worry about the details right now?" JJ asks, jumping on Emory's bandwagon of not weighing the risks against the rewards.

"Yes!" I snap, frustration dripping off me. "You're the one who said we could dive when we can't! That's a long freaking way down, JJ."

"I know, but are we really gonna turn down free money? No. That's not like us." I open my mouth, prepared to argue when he grasps my shoulder tightly. "Brooke, baby, the worst that can happen is we walk out of here with five Gs in our pocket."

"The worst that can happen, smartass, is we could die."

JJ scoffs, head tilting. "You're very dramatic."

My mouth gapes. "Oh, I'll show you dramatic. I will──"

"End of discussion," JJ interrupts, stepping back and pushing open the double doors.

Emory pouts. "Aw. I was hoping for a fight."

I glare at Emory, wishing for her to be quiet as JJ moves toward, ignoring us. He's lost his mind if he thinks this discussion is over. We're so far from the end of the discussion, but he won't listen, not that I should be surprised.

When does he ever listen?

"You can't kill him," John B tells me, tone quiet as we watch JJ move into the previous room. "Not here."

"You could," Emory chirps from behind us. "I'm sure good, old Demp will bury him for you."

Seriously, this woman needs tape over her mouth. I'm not equipped to deal with her and JJ right now, not when we're about to fling ourselves into a mission that could very well end in death seeing as none of us can dive.

He finds Groff and Wes in the other room. "Excuse me, sir, we've come to our conclusion, and we'll do it. We'll take the job." My head drops into my hands, a laboured breath falling from my lips. That damn bastard. "Now, that initial five-K, is that right there?" JJ points to an envelope that Groff holds in his hands. "Yeah, you can go ahead, fork that over to me."

Groff grins, looking downright sinister, I swear. There's something off about him, I just know it. "Welcome aboard."

"Hey, you know what?" Pope slides in beside JJ, plucking the envelope from Groff's hands. "I think I'll take this for safekeeping." Can't say I blame him after JJ spent the last of our savings before.

JJ nods, deciding to let Pope handle the money as he's the only one who can be trusted with it now. Instead, he shakes Groff's hand. "You won't regret this, sir. I promise you. We'll get the job done."

Groff shakes his hand vigorously, his hand grasping his arm tightly. I stare at the interaction, face scrunched as this is a picture I don't like, especially when Groff speaks to JJ like he knows him. "Hey, JJ. I believe in you."

I cast a glance at Emory who stands beside me, her face just as confused by the interaction.

How can a man who has never met us believe in JJ? I know he's trustworthy, but he doesn't know JJ, not in the way we do. He doesn't know him at all. Why does he believe JJ? I like this man even less now, and all I want to do is pull JJ away.

JJ steps back, nodding politely. "Thank you."

I don't like this, not in the slightest, but I'm not about to crush JJ's hopes of getting money and saving our home.

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❀ soph speaks

was in the writing mood so look at me posting a new chapter less than twenty four hours after the last BOOM

i'm very excited to continue writing now that we've met groff *vomit*

i'm ready for my couple to get the bends now lol

thankyou for reading!!