john b sighed heavily as he looked at the screen alongside pope and kiara. all of their faces had been bright smiles just moments ago; but, their upturned lips had all fallen by now.

"its not there," john b mumbled. "just- just pull the drone up."

the pogues has been out on heyward's boat looking for the gold that john b whole heartedly believed was there.

pope and kiara gave each other a sad look as they watched their friend's dreams basically crash and burn before him. jj was still steering the boat but looking back every once in a while in hopes of good news.

"shit," john b breathed out, walking away this time.

"if we charge the battery we can go back down," pope suggested.

"guys we've been through it three times, there's nothing there-" jj began.

"shut up!" kiara yelled at the blonde.

"what? it's true!"

"the gold could be buried! we don't know!" kiara tried to reason.

"if it was there it would've been on the medal detector. okay?" john b yelled. "somebody beat us to it."

"or it was never there," jj mumbled to himself. all four teens groaned as they stood and looked at each other, the boat rocking back and fourth and the dark clouds nearly above them at this point.

"wait..." kiara muttered, coming to a realization. "shit shit shit. jj how fast do you think you can get this thing home?"

"uh i dunno, waves are pretty bad and we're out pretty damn far so-"

"drive," kiara practically demanded. "start the boat. go. i need to get home."

"what? where's this coming from all of a sudden?" jj said as he began to turn the wheel and maneuver his way through the choppy waters.

"th-the storm," kiara breathed out, pulling at her hair. "my sister. i need to be home."

"is this her stupid storm thing?" jj asked.

"it's not stupid!" kiara yelled.

"woah," pope said, snapping his head up. he looked over to john b who looked just as concerned, thinking their two friends were about to begin to bicker again.

"okay okay," jj said, backing off of the obviously flustered girl. "i thought you like hated her?"

"well there are times when i have to look past my hatred," kiara muttered.

"then-"

"just shut up jj and go faster!" kie raised her voice yet again.

"yes m'am," the blonde said quietly.

"can you uh.. can you please come in with me?" kiara said as her and jj pulled into the neighborhood the carrera's lived in. the girl had forced jj to drive her once she practically leaped off the boat after they docked it.

"but your parents-"

"aren't home," kiara finished. "they're away for the weekend. jj please."

"why do you-"

"i just..." kie's voice faltered, "i may need your help."

before jj could even say anything else, the van had pulled into the driveway and kiara practically flew out of the car and to the front door. the boy followed as quickly as he could behind her, still confused about the situation ahead.

just getting from the car to the front door, the two got completely drenched by the rain that was pouring down. the thunder was quite loud and they had seen one or two lightening strikes on their way over.

"riley!" kiara began to shout once they were in the house. she chewing at her lip intently with her brows furrowed and she took hesitant steps into the home.

riley stumbled out of the kitchen, her eyes blood shot and her cheeks stained red. she was holding the neck of a large bottle of vodka as she came into view.

"riley," kie breathed out, finally letting go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "riley i'm so so sorry, i lost track of time-"

"oh hey there you are," riley slurred sarcastically.

"shit," kiara said as her eyes landed on the nearly half gone bottle of vodka. "riley," she choked out in a soft voice.

"you fucking bitch!" riley shouted. "you made a promise!"

"i know, i know-" kiara shook her head, looking down at the ground with guilt.

"do you know how i felt!" riley screamed. "here! all by myself! knowing you were out!"

"i'm so sorry," kiara said, "i should have been home."

"yeah you should have," riley slurred, "but you weren't. you couldn't give one less fuck about me kiara!"

"riley please," kiara begged for the girl to calm down. instead riley placed the bottle that was in her hand down onto the table next to her. she then took quick strides towards her sister, getting up in her face.

"i hate you! i hate you! i hate you!" riley yelled as she shoved her sister backwards.

"riley!" kiara yelped.

riley shoved her twin once more which sent the girl flying backwards, hitting her head against the wall. kiara brought her hand up to her cheek in pain and glanced over at jj with pleading eyes. he was still standing in the foyer, barely in view.

just as riley brought her arm back to swing at the girl jj rushed over and stood between them, "hey, hey, hey."

riley stumbled back at the sudden figure standing before her, her blurred vision having to adjust before she realized who it was.

"w-what are you doing here?" riley asked angrily before turning to her sister. "what is he doing here?"

"he was dropping me off," kie said.

"dropping you..." riley's voice trailed off. "oh my god!" the girl began to laugh hysterically, holding her stomach and throwing her head back. "are you two fucking each other?! oh my god!"

jj's eyes went wide at the accusation but kiara ignored him, only focused on her drunken sister.

"no no no, riley listen-" kiara grabbed both sides of her twin's face, attempting to get her to stop laughing.

"oh my god! he's slept with both of us!" riley snorted, still giggling.

"should i-" jj began.

"no." kiara cut him off before he could even finish. she didn't want him to leave just yet, in fear that she would need his help getting riley to calm down.

kiara's eyes didn't leave riley's though as she tried to reclaim her attention. "go get water," she told jj. he followed her orders and hurried over to kitchen to get a bottle.

"we had a deal," riley finally said sternly, snapping out of her drunken laughing fit.

"i know. i'm sorry," kiara bit her lip.

"y-you're supposed to stay home during storms," riley said. she slid her back down against the nearest wall and brought her knees up to her chest as she came in contact with the ground.

in that moment jj returned with the water, handing it to the drunken girl who tried to push it away. he wouldn't let her though, and forced it until she finally accepted.

"i-i didn't mean to drink," riley mumbled after a few moments. "i just... i just got scared." a tear trickled down the girls cheek.

jj watched the two girls with clear confusion but didn't say a word. he knew there was more to the story than just riley fearing storms; however, he didn't find it right to ask in that moment.

he looked down because he couldn't bare to stare at riley, who seemed like she was falling to pieces; or kiara who looked equally as torn apart about the whole thing.

"i think i just want to go to bed," riley mumbled.

"o-okay," kiara weakly replied as she helped riley get up and then looked towards the blonde for help. he looped riley's other arm around his neck and they began to walk up to her room.

"thanks g-guys," riley said softly and smiled. she let out a small chuckle from her chest before sighing. the girl could barely keep her eyes open as they dragged her along and onto her bed.

"can you just give me a minute?" kie asked jj. "i'll be right out."

the blonde stepped outside of the bedroom and kiara crouched down next to her sister's bed.

"i'm so sorry," she whispered. "i promise nothing happened to me. i'm safe. okay?"

"okay," riley mumbled, the corners of her lips turned upward.

kiara walked out of the room and down to the kitchen where she assumed jj was waiting for her. he was sitting on a stool with his head down, playing with the rings on his fingers.

"fuck," kiara said a little too loudly as she walked in, catching his attention immediately. "fuck!" the girl hit the water bottle that was on the counter, making it go flying.

"woah, hey," the blonde said, standing up. he put both of his hands onto her shoulders in attempt to calm her down.

"fuck," kiara repeated herself. "you shouldn't have seen that. fuck."

"kie what was-"

"jj i can't tell you what that was all about," the girl sighed. "truly, i would. i just, i can't."

"what do you mean?" he asked. dropping his hands from her shoulders now. the two sat down at the counter as kiara took a large breath in.

"something..." the brunette swallowed. "something really bad happened a while ago, uh... it was during a storm. and ever since, riley has made me promise to always be home during storms."

"is she okay?" jj asked. he knew it wouldn't be a good decision to try and pry any further.

"yeah," kie sighed. "yeah she's okay." jj nodded and the two sat in silence. he figured it would be the best for the girl to have some time to collect herself.

authors note:

long chapter, lowkey all over the place and kinda confusing. BUT i promise you will find out more in depth about what happened to riley later on in the book.