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❝ we have to do this for him ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"Okay, maybe we can walk from here" Pope suggests as we all stand knee deep in swamp water.

"What? And leave the Twinkie?" John B asks in disbelief "The- the tide's coming in"

"We leave no man behind" I agree with the brunette who points at me in agreement.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Sarah questions.

"Not stay here" JJ answers.

"I can take my dad's truck" Kiara blurts out and we all look at her in surprise.

"Kie, are you sure?" John B asks in concern.

"How much worse can it get, you know?" The Carrera girl shrugs.

"Kie" I sigh and she shakes her head at me, telling me not to argue.

"We need something to pull her out with" JJ adds "There's the winch at the Chateau. That's, like, two miles"

"Yeah, that's a good idea" Sarah agrees.

"If you're gonna do it, let's go, okay?" John B declares.

"All right" Kiara nods.

"Tide's coming in. Twinkie's going underwater" John B adds.

"Double time, Kie. We gotta move" JJ tells Kiara, grabbing his bag from the Twinkie.

"I'll come with" I offer the duo and they both nod without hesitation, JJ grabbing my hand.

It takes the three of us a good twenty minutes to trek all the way to figure eight and then to Kiara's place.

The Carrera girl and I crouch down behind the white picket fence while JJ checks inside the truck before ducking down next to us.

"He's not in there. We're good" JJ informs us.

"I would assume he wasn't just sat outside in his truck" I retort sarcastically and the blonde nips my side, making me gasp as I slap his hand away in annoyance.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, a little Dad Theft Auto?" JJ asks Kiara who looks from her house to us.

"No" She answers, looking at him as if he's stupid and I snort in amusement.

"All right, here we go. Go, go, go, go, go" JJ rushes the girl as he opens the gate for her.

Kiara rolls her eyes and slips through the gate, leaving us waiting on her to go grab the keys from her unsuspecting parents. JJ tugs me closer to him and I turn to him curiously only for him to press a kiss to my lips, trailing more kisses over my cheeks. The blonde boy's actions cause me to beam at him happily and he grins, gently rubbing his nose against mine.

"What's this for?" I hum, wrapping my arms around him.

"Can't a guy give his girl affection without needing a reason?" He counters.

"Of course you can. I just thought maybe you wanted something" I reply jokingly and he rolls his eyes with a smile.

"All I want is a kiss" He assures me.

"Well, I'm sure I can manage that" I tease, leaning in slowly and my lips brush against his own.

JJ impatiently threads his fingers through my hair at the back of my head and pulls me closer to him, pressing our lips together firmly. I smile in amusement, kissing him back and he hums in content.

I hear footsteps coming towards us and I gently pull away from the blonde boy, peeking up over the fence to see Kiara.

"Hey" JJ greets her, opening the gate.

Kiara responds by throwing the truck keys at him and he catches them, heading straight to the truck. I wait by the gate for the Carrera girl to reach me and I don't miss the sad expression on her face that she covers with a smile for me.

"You okay?" I question as we walk to the car, her getting into the back and me in the passenger seat.

"Yeah, everything's fine" She waves me off and although I can tell something is up, I let her lie to me until she's ready to talk.

"Good job, Kie" JJ grins back at the girl as the engine roars to life and we speed down the street.

"Yeah" She chirps and I look up at her through the rearview mirror.

JJ places his free hand on my thigh, gripping it tightly as he drives towards the cut and I notice Kiara's eyes fall onto his hand with a look that I can only simply describe as sad. The girl seems to feel my eyes on her and she glances at me shortly before turning her head to look out the side window.

Within about five minutes of being in the vehicle JJ pulls up around the back of the chateau and puts it into park as he unbuckles his seatbelt.

"This'll only take a sec. I think it's in the surf shack" JJ tells us "Yeah. It's in the surf shack. I'll be right back. Got it"

"Okay" I nod with a small smile.

"Be right out!" He hollers as he exits the car.

The blonde boy jumps to avoid fallen branches but doesn't quite stick the landing, falling flat on his face in the dirt and scrambling back up to his feet before running again.

"I'm okay!" He yells at us, Kiara and I sharing a glance before letting out howls of laughter.

I turn in my seat to look back at my best friend and she lets her laughter die down, smiling at me brightly.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her.

"I'm really okay, Vie" She assures me.

"You know that I've got your back, right? If your parents get mad then I'll take the blame" I offer to the dark haired girl and she shakes her head.

"I can't let you do that" She argues.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Kie" I declare sincerely "I'll tell them that I stole the keys and took the truck"

"Sylvie" Kiara huffs out, trying to protest.

"I can say that I had a manic breakdown because of my dad and I'm sure they'll forgive me, plus they won't be mad at you. It's a win win" I explain to her and she rolls her eyes with a grin.

"You're insane" She comments.

"I think you mean smart" I correct her sassily and we both laugh.

"Where is that idiot?" Kiara questions, looking out the window for JJ.

I turn around, leaning over onto the driver side and honk the horn loudly but there is no answer, causing me to huff impatiently as I roll down the window

"JJ, hurry up!" I holler out the car, honking the horn again.

JJ abruptly appears, pushing his father along with him and my heart drops to my stomach in anxiety as I scramble out of the car with Kiara.

"What the fuck? No, immediately no" Kiara snaps at JJ "What is this?"

"Just get in the truck" JJ orders his dad as I scan his body with fear before grabbing his arms gently so he'll look at me.

"Are you okay?" I ask him worriedly.

"I'm okay, angel" He assure me, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

His father climbs into the back seat and JJ throws his stuff into the bed of the truck.

"I'm sorry. The Twinkie is drowning right now, JJ" Kiara declares in disbelief "What is the plan? What is this?"

"Listen to me. Listen to me, okay?" JJ pleads, grabbing Kiara by the arms and shaking her until she goes quiet "I need to get into the marina at the Island Club. There's a boat there he can take. You got the sticker on your truck"

"Twenty minutes, that's all I need" He adds, walking around the truck.

"The Twinkie's gonna be a submarine in twenty minutes!" Kiara protests.

"Kiara" I beg the girl not to argue, grabbing her hand and although she squeezes my hand, she still glares at JJ.

"I know, Kie" JJ huffs, leaning on the hood.

"Leave him, and we can come back" Kiara argues.

"The cops are after him!" JJ yells at her "If I do this now, maybe I will never have to do it again"

JJ climbs into the back seat next to his father and Kiara turns to me in disbelief, but I squeeze her hand.

"Leaving him isn't as easy as it sounds" I tell the Carrera girl "We have to do this for him, Kie"

Kiara takes a deep breath and exhales defeatedly, nodding at me in agreement.

"Let's go" She sighs.

We climb into the truck and I glance back at my boyfriend in worry but I catch the gaze of Luke instead who stares at me expressionlessly.

"Don't fucking look at her" JJ orders angrily and his father rolls his eyes, looking out the window.