𝟏𝟎𝟗.       𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞

not strong enough       ──── boygenius

☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖣𝖠𝖱𝖪 𝖨𝖲 𝖡𝖤𝖦𝖨𝖭𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖳𝖮 𝖫𝖨𝖦𝖧𝖳𝖤𝖭，𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖤𝖠𝖱𝖫𝖸 𝖧𝖮𝖴𝖱𝖲 𝖮𝖥 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖬𝖮𝖱𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖲𝖯𝖱𝖮𝖴𝖳𝖨𝖭𝖦．I, after spending some time with JJ, have moved to the dock, instead going to check in on my brother and sister-in-law who have been out here for some time, caught up in their own little bubble much like JJ and I were doing.

I think he's okay now. I mean, wound aside, he seems... better now that we've talked, now that I've hopefully convinced him to not blame himself any longer because this is not his fault. Nothing that happened today was his fault, and for him to even think it was his fault is completely insane.

Yes, I'm hurt, but he did not do this to me.

While my face stings with the constant reminder that I was hurt to the point of no return, he did not inflict this pain upon me. No, the fact is that, had JJ not been alive after my brutal beating, I would've crumbled far worse than I did.

I thought I had failed. I thought I was too late. I thought I'd lost the love of my life to a brutal, careless man who I'd love to kill with my bare hands. I didn't say that to JJ, of course, but Emory and I have a mutual, silent understanding on what needs to be done.

Chandler Groff needs to be done.

He harmed me, he forced me to shove Matilda away, and along with hurting JJ, he destroyed any hope JJ had of having something of a father. I never thought I'd say it, given that Luke was a terrible father, but if hell was a person, Chandler Groff would take the cake and knock Luke over.

I never thought there could be a worse father than Luke Maybank, but it seems I was mistaken, and I hate to be wrong. I hate that Groff actually made Luke out to be a good guy, like, how the fuck does that happen?

I hate that JJ is hurting── that he's actually blaming himself for what happened to me when he has to know that I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him.

JJ saved me, and he's been doing so since I was eight-years-old. He doesn't even realise it, and I hate that he doesn't, but I will tell him now until the end of our lives that he saves me, that he keeps me alive. Without him, I know I wouldn't be here, so I need him to not give up on himself, not when he has nothing to be sorry for. He didn't choose his family. He didn't choose to have two crappy fathers and a dead mother. He didn't choose this, so nothing that happened today was his fault.

I want him to believe that. I need him to believe that. I don't want to see him in any kind of pain, not when he's the last person who deserves such pain. He deserves the whole world, and like I told him, if it were possible, I'd give him the entire world myself.

Knowing he's feeling better, I choose to check in on John B and Sarah who I spot to be lying on the dock with their hands intertwined, staring up at the stars. I bite back a smile knowing that in nine months time, they are going to be parents, so it's only fitting that I greet them as such.

"Hey, parents," I greet, coming to lay on Sarah's other side, deciding to slot myself against her like a child clinging to their mother. Well, she is going to be a mother, so I'm just getting her used to the fact that an annoying human is going to cling themselves to her constantly.

She chuckles, immediately welcoming me into her arms. I snuggle myself against her, knowing comfort from Sarah will work wonders. I wrap one arm around her middle, the other cuddling around her arm as my head buries itself into the crook of her shoulder, perfectly comfortable to stay here forever.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" John B asks, not sounding too happy with my sudden presence.

"Back off, bro, I've had a bad day," I mumble, inhaling sharply when my bruised nose brushes against Sarah's arm. I've taken an unhealthy amount of painkillers but the pain is still very much there, constantly reminding me that I didn't fight hard enough, that I'm in this pain because I just let myself give up.

I fucking hate Groff.

"Yeah, leave her alone, John B," Sarah defends, bringing a much-needed smile out of me.

I love Sarah, have I ever mentioned that? Seriously, if "perfect" was used to describe somebody, a picture of Sarah would fit the definition.

"Yes, thank you, Mom." John B groans, shaking his head, obviously not impressed by my behaviour, but hello, he is the one who's related to me, so he knows how I act, knowing how for the past nineteen years. "Cheer up, John B, your little bean is listening to you being a bitch to their aunt. It's rude."

"Aw, little bean," Sarah gushes, tilting her cheek into my head. "That's cute."

I bring myself closer, realising my arm is right over her stomach where my niece or nephew is. How insane is that? "Isn't it?"

"Okay, yes, it's very cute, but why are you here?"

"Well, I obviously came to check in on the parents," I scoff, letting my eyes close for a moment, seriously contemplating just falling asleep here and forgetting all about my worries, about all our worries.

I'd like to sleep, wake up, and magically be rich.

Sadly, that's not real life.

Then again, what part of our lives actually sound real? Like, come on. Regular people would laugh at the insanity of our lives, that much I know.

"We're not parents yet."

"Uh, you are to me," I counter, being completely and utterly serious. "You're the ones who are gonna have to explain to your future kid that I was your first kid."

"Oh, my God," John B mutters, hand slapped over his face. Yeah, I think it's safe to say that he's sick of me and I've only been here for two minutes. Just think of how insufferable I'm gonna be when my niece or nephew is born. I'm gonna be all up in their face, begging to spend time with their little bean, as I described them.

"That's sweet," Sarah speaks.

"No, it isn't. She's got issues."

"Hey, I literally just got beat up by my future father-in-law, thank you, so you don't get to say that to me." Especially when I absolutely do have issues, both mental and physical.

"Yeah, that was mean," Sarah utters, gently smacking her hand against John B's. "Apologise."

"For what? Personally, I think she didn't get hit hard enough," he mumbles, and I gasp, attempting to be offended, but I can hear the amusement laced in his voice. He's trying to get under my skin for fun, trying to make the experience of me getting beat up less of a negative thing which, honestly, I do appreciate as I feel like everybody has been walking on eggshells around me, John B and Sarah included.

I need a moment of normality, I beg.

"Says the guy who was crying when he saw her on the floor," Sarah fights, once again defending me because, hello, I'm amazing and she's always been my biggest supporter.

John B's face scrunches, a satisfied grin replacing my previous shock. "You cried?" I question.

"N-No, I-I didn't... I didn't cry."

"He wailed," Sarah corrects.

I don't doubt Sarah when she says he cried as I suspect he was worried, that he was scared I was dead on the floor. He's always worried about me, always seeing me as somebody who gets caught in the firing line accidentally, but to know that he literally cried as he wasn't sure if I would wake back up from this is... sad, if you think about it.

Groff made my own brother believe I was dead, yet he still gets to be alive? How is that fair?

I'd love nothing more than to kill Groff, I swear.

He had my brother worried, he had my friends worried, he had Matilda worried, and because of that, from what I can sense, John B does hold some resentment. I don't know if the resentment is towards JJ given how hostile he seemed with him earlier, but all his frustration needs to be poured out onto Groff as he was the one who did this. He's the one who hurt me, who hurt JJ, so if my brother needs to be pissed at anyone, it's that fucking man.

Sometimes, without realising it, John B displays his anger towards the wrong person. I just hope he doesn't verbally take any of his agitation out on JJ, especially when he's the last person who deserves such harshness after all he's been through.

Despite John B worrying about me, I'm only human, so I, of course, have to tease him over the fact.

"Aw. Were you worried about me?"

"No," he snaps. "I was not worried."

"He was very worried," Sarah inputs, stroking her fingers across his knuckles, soft innocence sketched across her face as she looks to him, and I let myself beam at the happy couple, so pleased for them, so inspired by them.

I want JJ and I to be this happy when all this shit is over── when we're rolling in the cash, married, and travelling with our surfboards.

"Aw, thank you. Your concern is very sweet."

"I hate you both," he grumbles, sounding like a petulant child, and I roll my eyes.

"I am carrying your child, you can't hate me."

"And I am your other half, your twin sister, your future baby's aunt, so you can't hate me either," I add, offering John B a smile that is not reciprocated.

Sarah lifts her hand, and I raise mine, clapping mine against hers. John B just sighs loudly, dropping his head back to the wood, leaving me and Sarah to grin like fools at his discomfort.

"Seriously, though..." Sarah's hand clasps mine, her tone no longer laced with glee, instead more stern. "...are you feeling better?"

"I think she needs her head checked," John B utters, bringing another scowl out of me and Sarah as, like I said before, she's my biggest defender even against her own husband.

Ah, I love Sarah.

"I'll have you know that I had my head bashed against a window and a door three times," I say, jabbing my finger in his direction. Sarah frowns, and I catch John B looking away, both of them appearing concerned, all the previous jokes being wiped away the moment I make such a comment about the severity of the situation I was stuck on earlier. "Hey, I'm just kidding. Well, I'm not. That actually did happen, but I mean, I'm just... I'm just, you know, trying to lighten the mood or whatever and──"

"B," John B interrupts.

"What?"

"Stop," he insists.

"Sorry." I press my lips together, willing myself to be quiet as my rambling will just make matters worse.

"So are you feeling better?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah," I reply, tightening my arm around Sarah's middle, needing to stay attached to her as I feel myself on the cusp of crumbling once again. "Yeah, I-I mean my head feels scrambled and my nose hurts and... and I don't know, I-I'm scared, I guess, but I'm... I'm fine, I guess. JJ is good, I hope, and w-we talked and he is── Sorry, I'm rambling again."

Sarah brings her arm away from my grasp, instead placing it over my shoulders and bringing me closer. "It's okay," she assures.

It's not okay. Nothing about this is okay.

I had no idea what I looked like after the fight with Groff, only knowing that I didn't look pretty in any sense of the word. My head pounded, my chest squeezed and my vision was blurred right up until the moment we found JJ in the water when, suddenly, I was up and screaming for him.

Still, I haven't explicitly seen what I look like. On the boat, Sarah and Kiara washed the dried blood from my face and hair, insisting that I didn't look bad in any kind of, but they're my best friends so they have to say that... I think. Hell, JJ even said I looked pretty but I knew I didn't. I know I don't, not when I can feel the extent of the hurt on my face. I don't feel pretty, not anymore.

For the first time in a long time, I don't feel so pretty anymore.

Groff has shattered something── what, I don't know exactly, but something in me feels... dead, I guess. While I can put on a smile and laugh, part of me is still trapped in the heartache, in the pain, in the warped emotions. I can still feel myself sobbing in JJ's arms, can still see the concerned looks on everybody's faces when they looked at me, and can still sense something bad looming in the distance.

I have a bad feeling── a feeling that leads to something awful, to something we can't ever come back from, to something dangerous. I have fears about what's heading towards us. Hell, let's be honest, we'll be the ones diving headfirst into the danger, but I don't know if that's what we should do this time around.

I just have a horrible feeling.

Maybe I'm being dramatic. I usually am.

I don't want to dwell on Groff or on what happened today, not anymore. I just want to move on, if that's even possible given that we now have no idea what the next steps are.

I clear my throat, looking towards Sarah and John B who are silent, likely waiting for me to continue discussing how I feel and if I'm any better than I was earlier. Instead, I just offer them my most convincing smile and say, "You two are gonna be great parents, you know?"

Sarah's eyes go wide for a moment, her lips tugging upwards. "Yeah?"

I nod. "Oh, yeah. That kid is so lucky, and they don't even know it yet."

"Thanks, B, but I know what you're doing."

My eyebrows furrow, pretending to act confused, though I should've known John B would see right through me. Hello, the two of us share a brain, I swear to God. "What am I doing?"

"You're avoiding talking about earlier."

You see what I mean? I would roll my eyes, but there'd be no point as I should've known better than to gloss over a serious topic like earlier when he is sitting here.

"What's there to talk about?" I ask, moving to sit myself up, pulling my arms away from Sarah. "What? You wanna talk about how I had a knife against my throat and I thought I was gonna die? Oh, maybe we wanna talk about how we don't have the scroll or the lens, meaning we have no way to get to Morocco. Is that what you wanna── Or we can talk about how I drove away a six-year-old kid and now I have no fucking clue where she is, and I'm petrified I've done the one thing I said I'd never, ever do. What is it that you wanna talk about?"

John B swallows harshly, sitting himself up on his elbows. I look away, emotion biting at my eyes once again as my face aches, only reminding me that I'm in pain because of my decisions, because I didn't fight hard enough.

"Yeah, one of those things," he speaks.

I breathe out a laugh, feeling a hand against my back that I suspect is Sarah's as she's sitting beside me, also leaning up on her elbows. "I-I don't wanna talk about today," I speak softly, staring out to the water rather than facing them. "I don't wanna relive it, not when JJ is in so much pain, not when he's sitting over there blaming himself for something he had no control over."

"I'm not asking about him, I'm asking about you."

"But you should ask about him," I fight, looking over my shoulder at my brother. "Ignore my pain, John B, okay?"

"I can't ignore your pain, Brooke. I thought you were dead earlier," he argues, pinning me with a hard look that has me feeling guilty once again. "Sarah's right. I did cry because I thought my little sister was dead, and now you're telling me to ignore your pain? No."

"I-I'm sorry, I..." I shake my head, looking back to the water. "Okay, maybe not ignore it, but you have to see that JJ is in an unreal amount of pain, more so than me, and he needs everybody's help. I can't fix it, not on my own. I can't help him, not on my own. I can sit there, sure, and tell him that I'm here and that he's got me, but I can't take away all that hurt he's feeling. I can't stop him from blaming himself even if I beg on my hands and knees. H-He's..."

"Hey," Sarah whispers, hand dragging up my back. "It's okay."

"It's not okay, Sarah. Nothing is okay."

"Brooke──"

"No, look, I-I didn't come over here to... to talk about everything. I just spent the past hour crying and coming to terms with everything and I so don't wanna cry again." I go to drag my hand across my face, though I quickly remember that it'll fucking hurt if I do so, so I refrain. "I came here to see you guys so just... just be here, please. I just need you two right now. Well, you three. I don't wanna think about what happened earlier, but right now, so just..."

"Well... okay." I look back to Sarah and John B, seeing them share a look.

John B's eyes widen. "Now? She just──"

"She just said she didn't wanna talk about earlier, and we're not going to make her so..."

"Yeah, but..."

"Uh, hello, I'm right here." I wave, inserting myself into their lives like I normally do. The couple look to me, seeming almost surprised like I haven't been sat her for some time. "What's going on?"

"Well..." Sarah peers at John B, the same content smile on her lips, and I have a small fear as to what she could possibly be asking right now. "You wanna ask?"

"Ask me what?" I ask, growing impatient.

"Do you know how impatient you are?"

"Is that what you're asking 'cause──"

"No," he interrupts, pulling himself up entirely, sitting in a way that has me worried a little, like, is he getting ready to tell me off? Is his dad side coming out?

"Okay, then what is it?"

"We want you to be godmother to the baby."

Well, I wasn't expecting that.

My mouth gapes, a whole new emotion warming me as I stare at them. "W-Wha──" A short laugh falls past my lips, shock evident on my face. "Me? Godmother? I-I never... I never, uh, imagined myself the, um, g-godmother type, I-I guess, I..." My hands slap over my mouth, another laugh pouring out of me. "Wow."

Sarah grins. "I'm guessing you will?"

"Yeah, of course, I... I just── Wow. Really?"

"Well, we both love you, and we've seen you with Matilda, and we just think our baby would be safe in your hands if anything ever happened to us." John B and Sarah look to one another, and a small pang of upset hits me as I realise that something bad would have to happen to them for me to take care of their child in a parental manner, and I certainly don't want that. Yes, I'm gonna love the hell out of that kid, but I love that kid's parents just as much. "Also godmother and aunt sounds cool, doesn't it?"

"Oh, so cool," I laugh, leaning forward to pull Sarah into a crushing embrace, needing her to realise how grateful I am for this as I was just sobbing earlier, and now I'm feeling teary for a much happier reason. "Thank you."

"We thought you could use some better news."

"This is such good news." I pull back, holding her shoulders, so unbelievably happy. "Woah. Godmother," I repeat, the word sounding unreal to me as I truly never considered myself a godmother type. Is there such a thing as a godmother type? "D-Do I need to take a class? Like, am I, like, holy enough to be a godmother?" I ask because, naturally, I'm overthinking it.

Then again, John B and I weren't ever religious. Like, look at who our father was. Do you think we were baptised? Do you think we went to church? Hell, no.

Sorry, excuse the hell, just the no.

Ah, overthinking might as well be my middle name.

"Definitely not," John B inputs, laughing. "But you don't need to take any class or that shit, okay? You just have to... be there."

"Oh, I'll be there," I assure, nodding frantically. "Like, I'm gonna be the coolest aunt and godmother this world has ever seen. I'll teach them to draw. I'll give them all that advice y'all are too embarrassed to give. I'll be the place they run to when they're teenagers and they're sick of you because I will be the cool aunt."

God, I'm so unbelievably excited for the future. With all that's happened, hearing that I am going to be a godmother to my niece or nephew is insane. It really does make me excited, and God knows I need that in my life right now. Not only will I be marrying my best friend, I'll be holding my niece or nephew in a few short months, and I'm just so grateful for that.

"I'll beat up anyone who messes with them," I add, gushing over the fact that I'm gonna be an aunt and godmother in nine months. I mean, that's just so, so crazy. "Oh, and they have to go to the treehouse and..." My words die on my tongue, a realisation hitting me in the form of a little girl who has already captured part of my heart before the birth of John B and Sarah's kid.

"If you need anything or you need another escape, you can use my treehouse..." is what I had said to Matilda the day I met her, and she seemed so relieved by my method of escape.

So relieved that it makes me wonder...

"Oh, my God," I whisper, beginning to pick myself up and off the floor.

"What?" John B snaps his head to me, utterly confused. "Brooke, what are you──"

"I know where she is," I say more to myself than to them as I'm already beginning to move away from Sarah and John B, heading down the dock. "I know where Matilda is."

"Brooke!" Sarah calls out.

If I can get to the treehouse, I'll find her. She has to be there. If there was ever somewhere to escape to, I know she'd go there. God, how did I not figure this out sooner? I'm such an idiot. I could've saved her before. I mean, even when I get to her, I'll then have to figure something out, but I know I'll find something. For now, though, I can get to the treehouse and find her.

I know I said I'd probably find her after Morocco, but I can't wait. Also, Morocco seems less of a hope now that we don't have any kind of way to actually get there as our boat would never make it nor do we have any clue what to do once we're there, so why can't I go to her now?

Also, a hug from Matilda might solve just about every problem.

"Brooke, what are you doing?" JJ asks, bringing himself up slowly as he sees me moving quickly, looking like I'm heading off for some kind of mission which, in this case, I am.

"I'll be back in a minute, I just need to..."

"Brooke, it's not safe. The cops are──"

"Oh, shit. Guys!"

I come to a stop, crashing into JJ who has stood up to grasp my shoulders, stopping me from charging forward into a dangerous situation. Though, this time, it seems the dangerous situation is heading right towards us in the form of a boat we don't recognise.

"Who's coming out this early?" Pope asks, but I think we know the answer deep down.

"It's the cops," JJ realises.

"How did they find us?" Kiara questions, moving with Emory who is pulling her along in the hopes of finding somewhere to hide despite the cops coming in our direction from the looks of it.

"We need to hide!"

Following Emory and Kiara, we immediately go to crouch behind some shrubbery and bushes, peering around to see the boat still gliding across the water smoothly, seeming to move towards us like it can just sense that we're right here. Seriously, how did they find us?

"What's the plan?"

"Follow me," John B speaks, tilting his head to one side. "Let's go."

I shake my head. "No, I need to..."

"You'll get caught, Brooke, it's too risky," Sarah tells, but I don't care how risky it is. I need to get to that treehouse because I know she's in there, probably terrified and waiting for me to find her. That kid has hope in me for some reason, so I need to show up for her. I have to see if my hunch is correct because, if it is, that means she didn't get caught by DCS, and she's in my treehouse.

JJ moves away from us as the rest of us follow John B, going to pour a can of beer onto the flaming fire, subsequently putting it out. He also pulls the knife from the wood, tossing it to Emory carefully before joining us in letting John B guide us away from the scene.

We follow John B down underneath the dock where we pull ourselves into the water. I groan, wishing I didn't have to be doing this, but this is the kind of life we have to suffer with. Seriously, I think I pissed somebody off in a former life.

I look over my shoulder at JJ, catching him wincing as it's probably not smart for him to be in the water with such a wound on his stomach, but we have no other option, I'm afraid. I just hope I've bandaged it well enough that it won't become infected or something because that would be bad.

We spot the cops pulling up to the dock, tying their boat up before they make their way across the dock that we sit underneath. "JJ Maybank!" I flinch, not expecting such a booming voice, but I should've known this would happen eventually.

This is about what happened downtown, I expect, but before I can question that, Shoupe calls out a different name that isn't mine.

"Emory Thorne!"

"What the fuck did I do?" Emory questions.

I thought this was about what happened downtown with the destruction and── Well, now I'm fucking puzzled.

"We don't wanna hurt you guys! Come on out!"

"Yeah, eat shit, Shoupe," Emory snaps, and it's a good fucking thing he can't hear her.

Without speaking, John B points forward, instructing us to swim underneath the dock. Where we'll go from here, I don't know, but we follow him regardless. The cops are just above our heads, so we try to be quiet as we push ourselves through the water, my hand reaching back to feel for JJ's as I need him to be okay.

We'll be fine. We just need to──

"I have an arrest warrant for JJ and Emory in connection to the murder of Hollis Robinson!"

I watch Emory still, the shock on her face evident as she turns around to look at JJ who is also just as surprised. "Murder?" Kiara mouths, looking from her girlfriend to JJ, just as confused as the rest of us.

Emory gasps, head rearing back. "Oh, my God. That fucker," she hisses, attempting to keep her voice low as the cops are just above us.

"What?"

"The "thing" Groff had to pick up from the marina," she states, looking straight at JJ who I watch as the pieces slot together in his head, the realisation hitting him that Groff always planned to betray them. "He left to kill this Hollis chick." She scoffs, shaking her head. "That bastard is framing us for a murder he committed. Fuck."

I look to JJ, feeling an immense amount of guilt in my stomach, knowing he's already suffered enough to then be slapped with a sudden murder charge for a crime he obviously didn't commit. This is not good. This is fucking terrible.

He meets my gaze for a moment, and all that precious hurt is replaced by something I know well.

Anger.

I hold his hand in mine. "JJ──"

He yanks his hand back more harshly than I would've liked, instead going to swim by me, prompting me and the others to follow lead, though I still feel a sting in my chest at how quickly he brushed me off.

He's hurting, Brooke. He'll be okay.

"We'll take the pontoon," John B says just as we swim towards the police boat rather than the beloved Snapper. "It's ready to go."

We bring ourselves up and out of the water one by one as quietly as possible, my hand wrapping around Pope's as he pulls me to safety. The moment we're each upon the boat, John B starts up the engine, preparing to sail us forward into the literal unknown.

This is not good, not in any sense of the word.

JJ and Emory are being framed for murder── fucking murder. I can't even begin to believe that. I mean, John B's been framed for murder too, so I don't know, maybe it just runs in the fucking group at this point. Shit.

"Go, go, go!"

Obviously, the police notice that we've stolen their boat, and they begin to call out to us. "Hey! Hey, stop!" The engine is loud, unsurprisingly capturing their attention, but we don't care. "Stop! John B, turn it around! Stop! Hey!"

Now, because we don't listen to orders, John B doesn't stop the boat. That would be the absolute wrong thing to do, so he instead brings us up to a higher speed, bringing us away entirely from our previous hideout spot. Thankfully, with the speed we're going, the cops won't be able to catch up with us for some time.

And hopefully before they catch to us, we will have a plan that we can carry out in order to fucking escape.

We don't stop the boat until we're completely away and the sun is beginning to rise, knowing nobody will be able to get to us for some time, giving us plenty of time to figure a game plan.

I'm sitting alongside JJ, trying to remain in his orbit as I'm afraid he's going to try and push me away if I get any closer. Knowing this new information about Groff killing somebody else, about his plan being to betray him and Emory all along── it must be eating at him, erasing that previous discussion I had with him about him needing to have hope and belief that everything will work out.

I don't think anything will work out, not anymore. I'm slowly starting to lose all that faith I wish to have in myself, more so now that the painkillers are beginning to wear off.

"I guess we're the new murderers in town, then," JJ speaks, looking to Emory who looks downright murderous as she flicks and closes her knife several times.

"Ah, well, it runs in the family," she utters, digging the tip of the blade into her jeans.

"Hey," Kiara whispers, moving to take the knife from her, sitting alongside her.

"Check that off the bucket list," JJ chuckles.

"Yeah, it doesn't help that they have you on video saying, 'I will kill them all'," Pope speaks, not being exactly helpful at this given moment.

"Yeah, at least when I punched that bitch, it wasn't on video," Emory talks, clenching and unclenching her fists nervously.

"Yeah, thanks, guys," JJ snaps, tone sharp.

"Look, forget all that. We gotta get off this island."

"I can't go back. I mean, might as well go after that scroll, right?" Pope absolutely can't go back, not when he somehow destroyed the tag around his ankle. He's wanted by the police too, just not as much as Emory and JJ.

"I mean, I could be down for a little Moroccan vacay," JJ comments, but nobody says anything, just stares at him. "What do you say we get out of Dodge for a few weeks. And maybe... I could catch up with my dad."

"Oh, I could absolutely be down for catching up with him." I can practically feel Emory plotting out her revenge for Groff.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

As much as I'd love to get revenge on Groff for hurting JJ, I'm fucking terrified of leaving the country even though I know we need to as we can't let ourselves be arrested. 

We might be away for weeks, that's the issue. I know Morocco is far, but the thought of abandoning Matilda is just... wrong. I know I shoved her out that window earlier, but I did it for her safety. Now, I'm scared of what I'll find when we get back from Morocco.

If we get back from Morocco.

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❀ soph speaks

would it be a terrible example to somehow bring matilda with them? yes

well i just answered my own question

i loved writing a lil cute moment between john b, sarah and brooke. i just think it was necessary after everything :')

i'd say there's about 6/7 chapters left until the end of this act (and maybe the end of the story idk yet???)

the thought of watching never mind writing season five has me scared and ill so we'll see

anyway, thankyou for reading!!