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❝ city of gold beats CPS and a foster home ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"So this is what we're doing, huh? We're just sailing out" JJ is the first person to speak up after a long and uncomfortable silence "We're just gonna forget about John B?"

No one chooses to answer his questions, none of us really having a great answer to what we're doing or what we do next.

"We should never have left him. We're turning back" JJ decides and Cleo jumps up to stop him from getting to the wheel.

"No! We're all gonna get caught. What type of plan is that?" Cleo snaps at him.

"It's a plan to stick together, Cleo" JJ declares confidently.

"Then we are dead together" Cleo retorts sternly.

"She's right. We had to leave, or we'd all be zip-tied in the back of a pickup" Kiara speaks from experience and I nod in agreement "We did the right thing"

"We did what we had to do" I breathe out.

We fall back into a tension filled silence and it's quickly broken by the sound of a phone ringing. I thank whoever is on the other end for a distraction and we all turn to Kiara who has the phone in her hand.

"Who's that?" JJ questions curiously.

"It's Portis" Kiara frowns in confusion.

"Portis? That's John B. That's definitely John B. Hold on" JJ perks up immediately and Kiara hands him the phone so he can answer "Yo! Dude! Is this you?"

I hear the muffled sound of John B answering but I can't hear what he says due to the phone being at JJ's ear.

"Speaker" Kiara tells JJ but he's too concentrated on the call.

"What... Do you need us to turn around?" JJ asks the Routledge boy.

"Speaker" Sarah presses and JJ listens, putting the phone onto speaker.

"Yo, say it again. Say it again" JJ speaks into the phone.

"I said don't worry about me, okay?" John B repeats himself and static crackles through the line so we only hear parts of his sentences "Way too hot here... You gotta- Go back-"

"We do not copy. Can you-" JJ starts to tell him but Sarah jumps in to grab the phone.

"Let me talk to him" She suggests and JJ lets her take it "John B?"

"Sarah..." John B starts to talk but his voice is distorted.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asks him in worry.

"Yes. I'm fine. Everything's good" John B's fractured voice speaks.

"He's fine. Thank God. What happened?" Sarah questions him.

"I found my dad-" He starts to speak but the rest of his answer is incomprehensible.

"Wait. What'd you say? John B?" Sarah stresses and I share a look of shock with the others.

"Sarah?" We finally hear his voice through the static.

"I- I can't hear you" Sarah informs him and his voice disappears again "John B?"

"Get out of there. I'll meet you on Kildare, okay?" He instructs us.

"Kildare, when?" Sarah asks in confusion and there's a crackle down the line of John B's incoherent reply before the line cuts off.

"John B! No, no, no. John B!" Sarah gasps, looking down at the phone in disbelief and then to us "Kildare. What the hell?"

"You guys think he found his father?" Cleo wonders aloud.

"He's been missing for almost a year" Pope replies as though he doesn't quite believe it.

"Sarah, what do you think? Should we go back?" Kiara asks for her opinion before glancing at me and I nod, giving her my answer.

"Sarah... We're sitting ducks. We need to make a decision. Are we turning back around, or are we gonna keep going?" JJ questions my sister and she stares back at land with a distant look on her face "Sarah, come on! We need to make a decision!"

"Sarah" I speak in a quieter tone and place my hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her daze.

"He said go" She snaps at JJ, giving him his answer.

"Hold on, listen" JJ sighs, clearly not liking the answer he pushed for.

"Go" She demands simply, walking away.

"Sarah" His plea falls on deaf ears.

"She said go, JJ" I tell him and he nods in defeat, revving the boat's engine as it starts to move further out to sea.

✯¸.•'*¨'*•༻❁༺•*'¨*'•.¸✯

"So you didn't tell him where the diary is?" I converse with Kiara as she takes her shift at the wheel, the others lounging downstairs.

"I told him I'd seen it, but I didn't tell him where" Kiara assures me.

"Why do you think Singh wants this thing so much?" I ask her as I flop down on the sofa beside where she's standing.

"Singh said that he thinks the diary has a clue to the location of some city of gold. Like the gold on the Merchant was just a small part of it" She explains to me and my eyes widen in surprise.

"That's fucking wild" I murmur in awe "So you're saying that the diary we have leads to a five hundred year old treasure that's never been found?"

"Pretty much" She nods, looking back at me.

"That could be a fun adventure" I point out with a mischievous grin.

"I mean, you're not exactly wrong there" She chuckles in agreement.

"I'm down. Honestly I've not got any better options at the moment" I shrug, looking out at the water "I'm pretty much homeless and I doubt my dad paid for this year's tuition from the grave he's supposed to be in"

"I think city of gold beats CPS and a foster home" I joke and Kiara frowns but she doesn't disagree.

"Yeah, beats boarding school" She replies weakly.

"You know, I never thought about what's gonna happen when we get back to the OBX" I admit thoughtfully "Probably nothing good"

"Shit is going to suck for like a year" She groans.

"At least your parents will be happy to see you" I smile reassuringly at her "You'll have a warm bed and a roof over your head. You'll be okay"

I pull myself to my feet to wallow elsewhere about my own miserable fate, but my arm is grabbed before I can get far and I turn to face Kiara.

"You'll be okay too, Vie. I won't let anything happen to you" She tries to assure me "You can come stay with me"

"I don't think your parents will appreciate you bringing home strays" I tease and she smiles, inching closer to me.

"My parents love you and you know that. Everyone loves you" She says matter of factly.

"Definitely not everyone" I laugh at the wild statement and Kiara moves her hand from my arm to my face, gently caressing my cheek with her thumb.

"Well, I do" She murmurs, her face far too close to my own.

"Kie" I warn her.

"Hey" JJ's voice cuts through the tension like a knife and we both turn in surprise.

JJ stands at the top of the stairs, holding onto the railing and looking between us with a nauseous look of realisation.

"JJ" I try to speak but I don't know what to say.

"Just wanted to let you guys know that we should probably stop for gas" He shrugs and turns to head back down the stairs.

"JJ, wait" I call out but he ignores me, walking away "Shit"

"I'm sorry, Vie" Kiara frowns guiltily.

"I'll talk to him" I sigh in response.