𝟏𝟎𝟔.             𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐝

one way or another ──── blondie

( i shed a couple tears . . . )

warning: strong descriptions of violence

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖨 𝖣𝖮𝖭'𝖳 𝖪𝖭𝖮𝖶 𝖶𝖧𝖠𝖳 𝖳𝖮 𝖣𝖮．

I'm packing, getting us ready to skedaddle right out of here the minute JJ and Emory return from Larissa's grave, but I keep sparing glances at Matilda who is scribbling in one of the pages of my sketchbook, finding her to be wrapped up in her own world.

I've been contemplating what to do with Matilda ever since our talk last night before John B came to speak with me. My brother's words are still very loud in my ears, ringing like alarm bells with this constant reminder that Matilda is not mine, therefore she isn't my responsibility. Though, despite knowing all that and how bad it is to have a six-year-old caught up in something as dangerous as our lives, I still feel painfully responsible for her.

As sad as it may sound, she's my best friend. I've confided in her like one would confide in their best friend, so it's safe to say I'd consider her one. I'd like to think she views me in a similar light too, or else she wouldn't spend most, if not all, her days with me, with us.

Except, soon my friends and I are going to be jetting off to Morocco and I cannot, in good conscience, drag a six-year-old to another country as that is quite literally kidnapping. Also, knowing that we'll likely be facing those mercenaries that kidnapped us when in Morocco, I definitely don't want to put Matilda in harm's way. If she's here, at least she's safe, but I know she can't stay here either because we barely have any food and the police will probably begin to lurk around here.

Basically, I don't know what to do.

Giving her to DCS may look like the easiest option but it seems cruel. Even though I know she'd be safer with DCS than anywhere near us, I just look at her and know I can't give up on her. She basically begged me not to give up on her, so how can I look at her face and just push her away.

I need to figure out some kind of plan as we're supposed to be going to Morocco very soon, and Matilda is absolutely not coming with us. While she'd stand there and say she'd love to come, I can't put her in danger, especially in another country that we aren't familiar with.

I'm just worried that I won't see her again if she goes away, if I give her to DCS.

I almost hate myself for getting so attached to her, for looking at her and just seeing a girl who resembles a younger version of me. I hate that, in another life, I could probably take her in and figure out a way to resolve the DCS issue. Sadly, I'm in this life, and with all the shit we've gone through, I know this life is barely safe for us, much less a little girl who has an entire future ahead of her.

She's going to be a doctor, that's what she told me when I first met her. She told me that she wanted to help people like her mom. I believed her then, and I believe her now that she can absolutely be a doctor when she's older. She's crazy smart, perhaps on the same level as Pope which he'd be offended by as she's literally a child, but she's smart as hell.

I want her to accomplish every opportunity possible. I want her to go to school, learn all kinds of shit and go on to conquer the world. I want her to make friends her own age, make lifelong friendships like I have. I want her to have it all, but I'm afraid she won't get that if she sticks with us, so while it physically pains me to do so, I feel like I have to give her the best chance.

I feel like I have to let her go.

And pray to God that I meet her again.

"Look." I blink the burning sensation behind my eyes away, refocusing on Matilda who is now holding up my sketchbook, showing off her latest design that, just like I taught her, has her initials scribbled into the bottom corner. "It's a turtle."

I smile fondly, recalling all the silly little things I drew as a kid, giraffes being my favourite thing to draw because their necks are cool. "I love it."

"It's for Kiara," she tells, placing the book back on her lap. "You know, to remember the one that d..." She pauses, swallowing that sentence. "...that went to the sun."

"She'll love it," I reply, catching her eyes soften as she looks to me, so unbelievably sweet in the way she smiles at me like I'm her biggest hope.

"I hope so," she mumbles. "He's up in the sun with my mom and your dad, hanging with all the other animals."

There's something about her describing death as "going to the sun" that makes death not sound so scary. In fact, it sounds peaceful, like, no matter how you die, you're always lingering in the sky, watching over your loved ones during the daytime by acting as the sun. That sun is then replaced by the moon so you can also sleep with those you've left back on Earth before revisiting them in the early hours of the morning when the sun lifts.

I like that Matilda doesn't see death as a totally negative thing, instead trying to focus on the sunshine aspect of it── of death being where one goes to the sun rather than six feet under or burned. To imagine just being worm food or burnt after death sounds morbid, unbelievably so, so picturing yourself in the sun after you pass really doesn't make death seem so scary even if it is one of my biggest fears.

When I was six, I never had to picture death as, well, anything. Matilda lost her mother which is why she has this belief that her mother is above in the sun. I, on the other hand, didn't lose anyone as a kid, but now I've witnessed death and been on the receiving end of near-death experiences more than enough times for any lifetime.

I thought my brother had died, thought my sister-in-law died, thought my father had died. They all came back though, but then my father died for real right before my eyes, his hand in mine while his pulse slowly faded away. Though, according to Matilda, he's not entirely gone as he's up in the sun with her mother and the turtle that we lost on the beach thanks to those Kooks bitches.

If he's up there, doing fuck knows what, I hope he's okay, genuinely. I hope he's looking at me and John B, shaking his head and laughing at how we've managed to get caught in another treasure hunt, this time for a fucking crown. Hell, if I don't laugh, I think I'll cry because all I want to do is find another way to get money that doesn't involve going all the way to another country for something that could be dangerous.

Honestly, I'd rather stay in bed and forget all these adult problems exist.

Sadly, that isn't real life. I can't go back to being sixteen-years-old laughing and fighting with my brother and JJ who, then, was just my best friend. I can't go back to before we found that boat, before we were thrown into years of losses, near death-experiences and gold.

Would I go back? Would I find a way to make sure we never found that sunken boat that held my father's compass? Would I just live not knowing about my father or where he was? Would I just... go back?

Fuck. I don't know.

Sometimes I do miss being sixteen. Sometimes I miss being that free-spirited, full-of-life bundle of joy that spent day after day with her best friends, perfectly content.

We've come a long way, I realise that, but I do miss how it used to be sometimes, I don't know.

I especially miss those old times now the more I stare at Matilda, realising that she has such a long stretch of life ahead of her. She's got dreams and goals, and I'll feel guilty if she doesn't achieve them as she deserves the entire world.

Yes, I know, I'm only nineteen and I technically have a lot of life ahead of me, but there's this sinking feeling deep within my stomach that something is brewing. That, if we're not careful, our happy, blissful futures will be crushed. I fear we won't get this crown when in Morocco and we'll come home with empty hands which is so not what we need, not when we need to save our home so JJ and I can get married and travel without the guilt of leaving behind our friends.

Also, I'm about to have a niece or nephew and you bet your ass that I want to spoil the shit out of them. I want to give them just about everything and more, so we need to get that crown for the sake of my future niece or nephew.

I'm betting I have a nephew, but maybe I'm wrong. I just have a strong feeling the baby is going to be a boy. Twin boys would be even funnier.

I'm just, I don't know, more afraid which is weird because I've never been this nervous about going anywhere. I wasn't this anxious when we were in South America or Barbados, but now there's this overlapping fear that things will go wrong this time, more wrong than being kidnapped or losing my father.

Maybe I'm just being extremely paranoid, fearful for literally no reason.

I shake my head, choosing to pay attention to Matilda again, needing to distract my raging mind from concocting the worst kinds of scenarios. Matilda, unaware of my panic, is scribbling in my sketchbook, still happy in her own world.

I swear, in another lifetime, I'd figure it out. I'd protect her from DCS, keep her here with us and save her. Sadly, I'm stuck in this life where nothing is fair and I have to go to fucking Morocco and find some stupid ass crown.

I wish I had some kind of hope to offer this kid, but I literally have none for myself so I can't possibly give anything to anybody else.

I hate myself right now, I really do, because I'm about to crush this girl's heart.

I swallow thickly, emotion clogging at my throat. "Hey, kid, I──" I hear the revving of an engine outside the house, alerting me. Biting down my words, I move towards the window, looking through to see a black car pulling up. I don't recognise the vehicle which slaps another wave of panic over me.

It's not a cop car unless, I don't know, they're undercover but that would just be pointless. Besides, they can't afford cars like this one, so it can't be the cops.

Could it be those mercenaries? No. They're probably just on that stupid fucking boat, and I don't think they care all that much about JJ and I escaping. Unless I'm wrong and this is them stopping outside my house. Shit.

Do I call somebody?

Matilda comes to stand beside me, also looking out the window. A small gasp falls from her. "What?" I look to her, seeing her begin to back away from the window just as the car door opens. "Who is it?"

"DCS," she utters, face white with fear.

Fuck. What are DCS doing here? I mean, they're obviously here to try and find Matilda, but for them to come to this house is odd. How can anyone possibly know that Matilda is here? Sure, I've been seen with her around town, but nobody actually gives a fuck, do they?

Shit. They're at my house, and if I'm not mistaken, the person getting out of the car is a face I recognise from my past. "Okay." I step back from the window, turning to the little girl who is clutching my sketchbook to her chest. "It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna make her go away, alright?"

She nods, though I don't think she's listening. I place a hand against her face. "Hey, kid. I need you to listen to me." Her eyes finally greet mine, and I force myself to smile. "I'm going to answer the front door and you are going to sneak out the back door. While I'm talking to her, you're going to rush to the shop, alright? She won't see you, kid, I promise. You just gotta hide in the shop. Can you do that for me?"

We hear gentle pounding on the front door, and I realise that I'm just about five seconds away from being arrested for kidnapping a child. Although, not only that, but I'd also be arrested for property destruction, so I'm in a win-win situation, let me tell you.

"Okay." I push her ahead of me, her walking in one direction to the back door while I walk to the front, knowing I need to just distract the DCS worker while Matilda sneakily gets away. "Don't come out till I get you, okay?"

I reach the front door, hearing the back door shut just before I pry it open to reveal a familiar face. I smile innocently, leaning against the frame. "Cheryl!" She looks the exact same, I realise. "Not that it's not great to see you, but I'm pretty sure I'm a little too old to be put in foster care."

John B is so going to laugh when I tell him this.

Cheryl── mine and John B's old social worker── forces herself to laugh, face scrunched, not appearing all that happy to see me. Then again, I never thought I'd see her again, not after getting rid of her over two years ago when John B and I were taken in by the Ward Cameron who, turns out, just wanted to kill us.

"Brooklyn," she greets, my full name sounding like a curse word coming from her. "Long time, no see."

"Ah, yes. Very long time. How've you been?"

Matilda should be at the shop by now or at least I hope she's at the shop now. "Great," she replies. "I hear you've been doing good too." Her tone suggests otherwise, and I'm sure she's going to explain. "Wanted for property destruction downtown, right?"

I exhale a laugh, lips pursed. "Ah, you know, rumours really get around this town."

"Hm." She doesn't sound convinced, not that I can blame her. John B and I were notorious liars whenever she had the displeasure of seeing us. "And I'm guessing a six-year-old girl being on this property is just a rumour too?"

I grip the doorframe tighter, wondering if I'm supposed to invite her in or just stand here. Personally, I don't want her to come in as there is some evidence of a child being in this house── children's clothes, children's drawings, that sort of thing. If she came in, it would be awfully awkward, so I figure we're safe to just keep talking by the door despite how rude I may appear.

I shake my head, pretending to act like a six-year-old girl being here is just a rumour. "Now that is something. A child? You think there's a child here? W-Why would..."

"We received an anonymous tip about there being a six-year-old girl called Matilda on this property," she explains, but all I can think of is who was the anonymous tip. Seriously, why would anyone care enough to call DCS on a girl that's not in any kind of danger whatsoever? "Is it true?"

"Nope," I reply, keeping my smile kind enough, trying not to dwell on the anonymous asshole. "Haven't seen any kids around here."

"You know, Brooklyn, if you are lying about this, it's a serious offence." If she's trying to intimidate me, it ain't going to work. "Believe me, I was shocked when I heard that this girl, who also ran away just like you and your brother did, was here, but we have to respond to every tip."

"Well, that's sweet, but I promise you there is no kid here nor has there ever been," I speak, remaining nonchalant despite the rapid beating of my heart.

"Well, would it be okay if I looked around?"

"I'm hurt, Cheryl, do you not believe me?"

"Oh, sure, but it's just precaution." Shit. I can't have her look around, not when she might check out the shop on the deck, not when there's evidence in the house that a kid has been here at some point.

"Precaution, huh?" She can't come in this house. I need to make sure she doesn't get in the house. "Don't you need a warrant or something?"

"Well, if you want, I'll call the police and have them search the house, but..." Her eyes narrow, laser-focused on me. "...you will be arrested as, you know, you're wanted for property destruction."

Ah, Cheryl has gotten way better at her job. That, or she just doesn't like me. I'm gonna go with the latter.

I open my mouth, prepared to spew further shit that will prolong her going into the house, when the Twinkie pulls up out front, revealing Groff, but I don't spot Emory nor JJ. Both Cheryl and I watch as Groff gets out of the van, and I'm hit like a ton of bricks when a thought crosses my mind.

He was the anonymous tip.

I mean, I'm not one-hundred percent certain, but he is the only one who has seemed bothered by Matilda's presence upon meeting her. Also, until he showed up, nobody, not a cop nor a DCS worker, came sniffing around here, so all signs point to him being the anonymous tip.

Although, now he's here, moving towards Cheryl and I. Either he's here to save the day or he's here to insist they take Matilda away.

I need him to back off though.

I really don't trust this guy, and the fact Emory and JJ aren't with him only worries me. Since the moment he arrived in our lives, he's irked me. He just gives me this impression that he's not here for his son and daughter, that he's here for some ulterior motive, though I haven't voiced my concerns to JJ as I can see that he wants to give Groff some kind of a chance. Emory, though, she doesn't seem so quick to jump into the arms of her father, not that I can blame her.

The moment he moves up the steps, coming to join us, I feel my heart kick into overdrive. "Brooke," he greets, sounding almost sinister in the way he breathes my name, and it rubs me the wrong way. "Everything okay here?"

"DCS," I reply, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Oh." Groff turns to Cheryl, smiling as politely as one can when basically incapable. "It's nice to meet you, but, uh, DCS... Why?"

"Received an anonymous tip about there being a six-year-old girl on the property," Cheryl repeats, eyeing Groff like she's trying to figure out who he is in relation to me. I know she spotted the ring on my left hand when I first opened the door, but I severely hope she doesn't think this man is my husband. Hello, I have standards.

Groff chuckles, glancing at me. "A child? Y-You think a child is here?" He shakes his head, and I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out if he really did call DCS. I'm guessing he did though maybe I'm mistaken as he seems genuinely surprised. Then again, he might be a good actor. "There's definitely no children here."

If he did call DCS, wouldn't he just let Cheryl know about Matilda and that I'm lying?

Maybe he really didn't call, I don't know.

I just don't trust him.

"Hm." Cheryl's eyes flick from me to Groff. "And you are..."

I open my mouth to reply, but Groff beats me to it. "Chandler Groff," he answers smoothly, reaching his hand out to shake Cheryl's like a gentlemen, though based on first impressions, he's anything but a gentlemen. "I'm Brooke's father-in-law."

Cheryl's eyebrow raises, my eyes widen. "Father-in-law?"

"Well, not formally." He brings his hand back from Cheryl's, instead reaching up to clap my shoulder, squeezing the muscle with an iron-clad fist. "She's engaged to marry my boy, so she's as good as family, aren't you?"

His boy? Is he insane? He's known him five seconds.

I force myself to smile, his grip on my shoulder strong enough to dislocate the bone. "Yep."

"Well," Cheryl sighs. "If you both tell me there's no child here, I suppose I should believe you, right?" I nod, as does Groff, his grip on my shoulder loosening ever so slightly, but I still feel tense to know he's touching me. "But if you hear anything, either of you..."

"We'll call you," Groff finishes, finally releasing me, his lips curled into something of a smile.

Cheryl hums. "Very well." I'm not sure if she's entirely convinced, but at least she's going away and not inside the house. "It was great seeing you again, Brooklyn. And remember..."

"Serious offence if I'm lying," I input. "Yep. I heard you, Cheryl."

She steps back. "Have a good day."

Groff tilts his head towards her. "You too."

Neither of us move or speak, not until Cheryl has driven off. Matilda hasn't been found. She's okay, safely hidden in the shop. I just hope she doesn't come out, not when Groff is here without Emory and JJ. Besides, I told her that I'd come get her when finished here so she just needs to stay put until I figure out what Groff is doing here alone.

The moment Cheryl is out of sight, out of mind, I turn towards Groff. "It was you, wasn't it?"

He looks to me, a quizzical expression sketched on his face that is almost comical. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" I nod along, knowing for a fact that he's lying. "Must just be a coincidence that when you show up, so do DCS."

"Must be," he mutters, scratching his moustache which, I think, is one of his tells as I spent an entire day locked up with him and JJ, so I can sense when he's lying and I barely know him. Every bit of me wants to rip the damn thing off.

"You must think I'm stupid." He doesn't respond, just blinks at me. "I know it was you. I know you called them── for what reason, I don't know, especially when it's none of your business. You don't even know Matilda or why she's here."

"I know that she's a child," he speaks, beginning to confirm that he absolutely called DCS. "I know that this isn't exactly a safe environment for a... child."

"I don't think you're in any kind of place to give me advice on what's safe for a child," I bite out, realising I've inched just a step closer, hoping to intimidate him. "Not when you gave your son to an abusive asshole. Was that safe for him?"

His face scrunches, lips pressed firmly together. "It was at the time, Brooke. You wouldn't understand. You're not a parent."

I swallow thickly, his words bothering me. "Maybe not, but I know enough to know that JJ should've been raised by his mother rather than Luke," I counter, seeing him suck in a sharp breath, and it's clear I've agitated him, my mouth once again speaking without considering the consequences. "It really is a shame he never got to know his mother, don't you think?"

I think back on what Emory said, about how it's a freaky coincidence that both her mother── his mistress── and JJ's mother── his wife── are both dead. Not only that, but Wes Genrette── Groff's father-in-law── is dead, making this entire situation more eerie.

I really don't trust him, and if he considers me family when the rest of his family, barring his children, are dead, I should probably be afraid, but I refuse to cower down to such a man.

Glaring at me, he makes a noise of agreement. "That it is."

"Speaking of him, where is he? Where's Em?"

"They stayed behind at the family plot," he tells, and while I do believe that, I don't think they'd just let Groff come back here without them. It doesn't make any sense. Do they know he's here?

"Okay. So why are you here?"

"I came to grab the scroll to make sure it's not just the artefact from the mausoleum." I gnaw at the inside of my cheek, finding it odd that he's here for the scroll when he doesn't even know where it is. Does he know where it is? Hell, I don't even know where the damn thing is. John B was in charge of hiding it, so Groff can't possibly know where it is exactly, only knowing we possess it. "They sent me to retrieve it. I thought I'd give JJ some time alone, you know?"

"Well, how kind of you," I deadpan. "But I know JJ and Em, and I don't think either of them would do that." I don't think, I know neither of them would send Groff to collect something so valuable, not on his own.

No, there's something wrong here.

"Oh, but they did. That's the thing."

"So then you won't mind if I call Em and check in with them?" I step back, hand going to grab the frame of the door.

"Yeah, yeah, you should..." Maintaining eye contact, I continue to step back, needing to go back in the house to retrieve said phone that's currently charging. "You should call them. They'll confirm."

"Perfect. I'll just..." I tilt my head to the house, moving backwards with my hand around the doorframe. "I'll just call them," I say, shoving the door shut because I know he's going to try and stop me. He doesn't want me to call Emory as he knows that I know he's lying about why he's really here. He's here to steal the scroll and I'm going to fight tooth and nail to make sure he doesn't get to it, so with the door pressed shut, I lock it.

I move away quickly, hearing him hit his hand against the door. I rush towards the sofa where I know my phone is, hearing him call out my name whilst trying to jiggle the door open. "Come on. Come on." I reach for my phone, holding down the power button as, stupidly, I chose to switch my phone off entirely as I've been told my phone charges faster. What bullshit, right?

I'm so not the person you want in a crisis.

"Brooke!"

I know, deep down, if Groff gets to me, there's no way I can fight him on my own. Whilst I'll put up a fight until my last dying breath, it won't matter as JJ and Emory will be in danger nonetheless. They have no idea about Groff being here, that much is clear, so they have no idea what he's going to do once he gets to me.

I know JJ must not know that he's here as he wouldn't let him come here alone when I'm here. While I know he wants to give Groff a chance at being something of a father, I know JJ wouldn't leave me alone with his father. Hell, he never even wanted me anywhere near Luke never mind alone with him, so I'd like to think he's protective over me when it comes to shitty fathers.

I fear now that I'm facing a man that is far worse than Luke Maybank, and that is a horrifying thought because I truly believed there'd never be somebody as horrid as him.

What is it with fathers? I mean, it's shit dad after shit dad in the group. Ward Cameron, Big John, Mike Carrera, Luke Maybank. Now I can add fucking Chandler Groff to the list. Of course, the only father not being included in the "shit dad" list is Heyward as he is quite literally a saint.

"Come on!" I shout, yelling at my stupid fucking phone that's taking the piss to turn on. The apple logo is just taunting me at this point, laughing in my face about how I'm so going to die.

I can't die. I need to warn JJ and Emory.

The pounding on the door has subsided which confuses me, especially because he seemed so insistent on getting to me just a minute ago. The silence scares me more than the noise as I look to the front door, puzzled on where he's gone. Maybe he's rushed off, realising that I'm going to get in contact with Emory and JJ so he's screwed.

My phone turns on, making an obnoxious noise as it does, and I look away from the door to punch the numbers of my passcode── JJ's birthday. Just as my phone unlocks, I hear something crash just in front of me. My head snaps up, and I realise just where Groff went.

The back door.

He stands at the back door that Matilda escaped out of, breathing heavily from his attempts to open the front door, and for the first time in a long time, I feel my heart plummet to the floor as I stare forward at a man who actually had the audacity to name himself my father-in-law when it's so obvious that he's planning on hurting me.

"You really shouldn't have done that."

He advances, moving straight towards me, and I drop my phone back to the sofa, immediately moving away as quick as I can.

Deciding quickly, I go to the front door, knowing I'll be able to run somewhere if I can get out of this house. Maybe I could even steal the Twinkie back and drive to the cemetery to warn them. I would try the back door but he's too close to it for me to make that mistake, but I'm able to reach the front door.

I throw myself against the door, unlocking it. My heart continues to hammer in my chest, my breathing picking up a notch as I realise I'm in a situation that could end in death, as dramatic as that seems.

He seems like a man that would kill if he believed the situation warranted it. He seems like a man that would kill to get exactly what he wants, and if it's the scroll he's wanting to steal from us, he knows he has to get around me first, so death may be on the cards for me.

Just as I go to pry the front door open, my head is tugged back, his iron-clad fist wrapped tight around my hair, pulling me back as hard as he can. I yelp, eyes widening just as he shoves my head forward, knocking me into the front door.

I cry out, feeling an intense burn against my head and nose. I think I feel blood, but I don't have time to worry about that, not when I need to get as far away as I can from this man who is still prying my head back, prepared to push it against the door once again in an attempt to knock me out.

This time, though, he speaks in my ear, his voice trickling down me like the point of a needle. "I don't know what my boy sees in you." I struggle, squirming in his hold as I feel sick to my stomach knowing he's this close to me. "I won't let you corrupt him, not like his mother did to me, not like Emory's mother did to me."

Corrupt? Is he insane? He thinks I'm corrupting his son?

I breathe heavily, his words registering in my ears as I continue to fight against his hold. One thing then becomes glaringly obvious the harder I thrash and fight. "Think about it, B, his entire family is dead." Emory's words repeat in my head for the second time today, reminding me of the kind of man I'm facing── a killer. "It can't be a fucking coincidence that his entire family is dead and his mistress."

Staring forward at the door, I catch my reflection in the window, blood beginning to trickle from my nose. Carefully, I shift my eyes to the reflection of the man holding me hostage, spotting something in his eyes that I've rarely seen before, but I know it well.

Evil.

I need to warn JJ and Emory, especially since I think I've realised something.

I'm certain Emory was right all this time.

He killed them. He killed his wife. He killed Emory's mother. He killed Wes Genrette. He's killing his family off, and those related by extension, one by one. If I'm considered family as JJ's fiancée, is he really going to kill me right now? Will Emory and JJ be the ones he harms next?

The thought of JJ and Emory dealing with this── with a man who is evil and relentless, who seems to only care about getting this crown── terrifies me. I need to warn them somehow but my phone is on the sofa, my head is about to be rammed into a door again, and I have no way of escaping the grip Groff has on me.

"My boy deserves better than you."

"Oh, like you can judge," I spit, the tension in my head worsening the harsher he pulls on my hair.

"I tried, Brooke. I tried to welcome you to the family because you're marrying my boy, but you are nothing but a waste to this family, especially to JJ so..." He inhales sharply, his breath at my ear. "...I don't think I can do that anymore."

My head is hit into the door again, another shot of pain ricocheting through my skull that has me crying out. I feel my eyes droop, threatening to pull me into the darkness but I will them to remain open, knowing I need to stay awake as I cannot let myself be Chandler Groff's next victim.

He pries my head back, and if he's going to hit my face into the door again, I know he'll probably break my nose and knock me unconscious. Staring at my reflection, blood is pouring from both nostrils now while an obvious red mark begins to form on my head. I don't look pretty, not in any kind of way, but I don't care, not when I'm in a life-or-death situation.

"I-It was you," I breathe out, head feeling heavy in Groff's hand. "Y-You killed them." Maybe I'm making it worse for myself, but if I'm going out, I'm going out with the right words targeted at the man who will cause the hurt.

Groff laughs, the sound like nothing I've ever heard before. Sinister. Evil. Twisted. "Oh, you have no idea what you're talking about."

Pulling my head back further, he prepares to shove me against the door once again. I close my eyes, ready for the pain to come, though it never does. His grip suddenly loosens and he stumbles back just a tiny amount. Falling forward, hands planted on the door to keep myself steady, I look over my shoulder to find the light.

Matilda.

I don't see a weapon in her hand── thank God── making me believe that she simply shoved Groff with all her might just to get him off me, and it thankfully worked. I suck in a heavy breath, my lungs constricting as I push myself off the door, so fucking relieved that she's here, but knowing she's here under unwanted circumstances where Groff is scowling at her.

"You stupid girl," he grits out, straightening back up, looking just about ready to hurt her.

Seeing what he's about to do, I push myself off the door, falling forward and using all the strength I have to shove him as hard as I can, knocking him down onto the coffee table. "Matilda!" I quicken my steps, moving to Matilda so I can place my hand in hers, pulling her ahead of me and pushing her forward down the hall.

We rush down the hall, moving to mine and JJ's bedroom where I shut the door, propping a chair under the knob to act as another layer of protection. I keep Matilda behind me as we move back from the door, both breathing frantically, more so when we hear the pounding of footsteps and the bellowing hits of Groff's fist against the door.

Matilda tugs on my the hem of my shirt, worry etched in her expression as I peer down at her, feeling nothing but guilt for bringing such fear to her. "Brooke," she cries, pulling harder on my shirt. I press my lips together, emotion forming behind my eyes as I know what needs to be done.

I lower myself so that I'm crouching before her. I take her face into my hands, needing to calm both of us down, but especially her. "Kid, hey. I-I'm okay. You're okay. Y-You're okay." She's shaking, tears threatening to pool over, and it pains me to see her like this, knowing I'm reason for this. "I need you to listen to me, okay? I-I need you to run. I need you to run, Matilda."

"Hey!" Groff shouts from outside the door, pushing himself against it which causes Matilda to flinch.

I hold her face tighter, emotion beginning to clog in my throat as I bring her focus to me rather than to the man that's attempting to break in. "I need you to run, kid, as far away as you can. I'm sorry, I really am, but this is not safe for you. I-I need you safe. I need you away from all of this, do you hear me?"

"But..." Her hands lift, holding my arms.

"No buts, kid. I need you to run and I need you to never, ever look back again, okay?" I press my forehead against hers, swiping my thumb across her cheekbone as a tear spills over. "I'm so, so sorry. I'm so sorry."

I wish I could've protected her. I wish I could've stopped this.

I'm no mother. I'm no protector. I can't help this kid no matter how much I long to. I can't be that person that saves her, not when I can barely save myself and the others in my life, like Emory and JJ who are going to be in danger the moment Groff is done with me.

"I-I don't wanna leave," she cries, clinging on to me.

"You need to," I choke out, staring into those giant eyes that always had so much faith in me and I could never understand why. "You need to run. I need you safe, Matilda, okay? I really need you safe so you need to run for me. I need you to run as fast as you can."

"But──"

"Hey, I said no buts, alright?" I feel a tear slide down my cheek, but before I have the chance to wipe it myself, Matilda lifts her small hand to my face, swiping the tear from under my eye. I close my eyes, leaning into a touch that has helped me ever since I met her.

Since meeting her, she's changed my life for the better. She's made me different. I'm going to be forever indebted to the little girl who came into my life at a time when I was so low. She, without even realising, saved me from falling into the dark pit deep within me.

"You're the greatest kid alive," I whisper, offering her a sad smile that she reciprocates. "I mean it, I-I was so lucky when I met you, you have no idea, so I can promise you now that the minute... the fucking minute──"

"Language," she breathes out.

Another hit on the door has her letting out a small cry, but I hold her closer, knowing Groff is just seconds from breaking in here, but she'll be long gone before she gets in here. "I owe you a dollar," I whisper, talking over his yelling. "The minute I get back from Morocco..." If I get to Morocco in the first place. "...I'll give you that dollar and I'll bring you right back home with us, okay?"

Her bottom lip trembles, her eyes no longer lit with that usual spark I've admired since meeting her. "You promise?"

I hold my pinkie between us. "I pinkie promise." I never, ever break a pinkie promise, JJ can attest to that fact. "The minute I get back, I am coming to find you. Wherever you are, I promise you that I will find you, Matilda, but I need you to run and go somewhere safe, do you understand?"

Hesitantly, she raises her pinkie, wrapping it around mine tightly. Her head bobs, nodding in agreement, no more buts falling past her lips. I lean my forehead against hers, wishing I didn't have to let go, not of her.

It's safe to say that I love this kid. I don't care that I've known her for a short time, that I basically barely know her, I love this kid a ridiculous amount. Leaning forward, I press a kiss to her forehead, more tears trickling down my cheeks as I realise that I don't know for certain if I'll ever find her again.

I bring my head back from hers, still holding her face as our eyes meet. "Look to the sun, Matilda, I'll be there. I'll be watching over you, I promise. For as long as we're separated, I'm watching over you, okay?"

Keep looking to the sun, don't ever stop── that's what I told her when I met her.

"Like mommy does?"

I smile, squeezing our intertwined fingers. "Just like she does."

"Except you'll come back?"

"I promise."

With a final kiss to her forehead, I move her to the window, pushing it up and open so she can crawl out easily. The chair is shaking with every hit and punch Groff delivers to the door, but I ignore it, knowing I won't make it out in time but she absolutely can.

Just before she crawls through, she throws herself into me, wrapping her arms around me, and that's when I let myself cry. Despite the pounding of my door that's threatening to fall from the hinges, I cling onto her, perhaps for the last time, and I cry. I place a hand upon her hair, a sob ripping out of me as I spot the braids in her hair that I did this morning after she asked me to repeatedly. "I'm so glad I met you," I tell her.

"Me too," she exhales, bringing herself back, flinching once again when the door is hit again.

"You need to go," I whisper, bending down to lift her up so I can sit her on the window ledge.

Bringing her arms away from me, she kicks her legs over, still looking to me with sad eyes. "I never told you what your name stands for," she speaks, voice timid.

My eyebrows furrow. "What?"

"When we met, I said I'd tell you what your name means when I next saw you. I-I forgot to."

A surprising laugh ripples out of me. "Don't tell me now." I shake my head, scared I'll never see her again if she tells me. At least, if I find her once I hopefully get back from Morocco if Groff doesn't kill me right now, she'll have something to tell me. "Tell me when I get back."

The chair rattles against the door, altering to me that Groff is just seconds from breaking in. "I'll look to the sun, Sunshine," she promises, offering me her most genuine smile.

I nod, wiping a hand against my cheek. "I'll be there, Tills."

I watch her push herself off the window ledge, dropping to the grass below, and then, just like I instructed, she begins to run. Another sob wrenches from within me just as my bedroom door is shoved open.

I turn around slowly, coming face to face with a man that just took something so, so irreplaceable from me. I think I no fight in me, not when I just lost somebody I love. Though, Matilda would want me to fight── for her, for JJ and Emory.

I stare at him, eyes flitting down to see that he's holding a small knife── the same knife he had when we were kidnapped by those mercenaries.

He's going to kill me.

He moves towards me, not saying a single word as he shoves me against the window, bringing the knife up to rest under my chin. I stare into his eyes, tears still continuing to fall as I just promised that kid I'd find her, that I would come back and not join the sun in the same way her mother did. I promised her I'd come back.

I might break my pinkie promise when I have never, ever broken one.

I suck in a sharp breath, feeling the tip of his knife nick my jaw. I hiss, digging my fingers into the window ledge behind me. "D-Don't kill me," is what I find myself saying, and while I feel completely pathetic, I cannot die. "Please don't kill me. J-Just take the scroll. Take it. Just knock me out and take the damn thing. I-I don't care, just don't... just don't kill me," I beg, hoping I can make such a coldhearted man feel just an ounce of warmth towards me.

Bringing the knife back, I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the stab in the heart.

Though, instead of feeling the plunge of a knife in my heart, he brings my head back again, and my eyes don't reopen.

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❀ soph speaks

fuck i love matilda and brooke

and FUCK i hate groff so so so so so much

you can probably expect to see a downfall in brooke..... and in jj bcos things r so not going their way anymore

groff fucking sucks

i didn't expect to write this much for this chapter, originally planning to go back to jj's pov with emory but i just couldn't stop writing lol

anyway, i might briefly write emory's pov next chapter idk yet

thankyou so much for reading!!