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❝ i wouldn't be here without you ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

After Pope leaves to question his father about the key that Carla Limbrey wants in return for information that can help John B and Kiara heads home to try convince her parents to pay for John B's lawyer, I'm left alone with Sarah.

My twin spends hours texting our little sister in hopes of getting a reply and I sit with her, not wanting her to be alone right now.

I watch her type another text before turning off the phone and tears roll down her cheeks as she lets out a defeated cry.

"Hey" I sigh, gently taking the phone from my sister and pocketing it "Let's take a little break, yeah?"

"John B needs us. There's no time" She babbles between sobs and my heart breaks for her.

"John B wouldn't want you to be sleep deprived and slowly going crazy, would he?" I argue and she shakes her head.

"No" She whimpers as I guide her through to John B's bedroom.

"Lay down and rest for a bit, Sar" I advise my sister and she glumly walks over to the bed, sitting down on the ruffled duvet.

"Don't let me sleep too long" She pleads and I smile at her warmly.

"I'll wake you up if anything happens" I assure her.

"Thank you" She breathes out, laying down and curling up under the covers.

"Sweet dreams" I hum, turning off the light and closing the door to let her sleep.

I enter the living room and the door is swung open to reveal Kiara with an armful of clothes, tears running down her face.

"What happened?" I ask in worry and she drops her things on the pullout bed, wiping away her tears.

"Is Sarah still here?" She replies with another question and I frown.

"She was losing it so I sent her for a nap" I tell the girl who nods.

"Okay, I'm gonna go find Pope or JJ" She says, turning to the door and my frown deepens.

"Am I not good enough anymore?" I blurt out and she freezes up at my question.

"I never said that" I hear her mumble, not turning to look at me.

"You don't have to" I scoff "You don't have to say anything because the fact you can't even look at me anymore tells me enough"

"You have no idea what you're talking about" Kiara argues, finally turning to face me.

"Oh, really? Then why don't you explain it to me then?" I retort, getting angry.

"I don't know what you want me to say" She shrugs, looking at her feet.

"I want you to tell me why you've been avoiding me" I counter "Since I got back to OBX you've been distancing yourself and ignoring me as if I don't exist"

"Sometimes people just grow apart" Kiara shrugs.

"What did I do, Kie?" I cry, tears pooling in my eyes "You were my best friend and now you can't even stand to be in a room with me alone"

Kiara tries to walk away but I lunge forwards and grab her hand, pulling her back away from the door desperately.

"Please, Kiara. I need my best friend" I plead.

"I can't be your best friend right now!" Kiara protests, shoving me away from her.

"Why?!" I shout in frustration.

"Because I'm still in love with you!" Kiara admits and it causes the room to fall silent.

"What?" I breathe out in surprise.

"I thought that if I could distract myself with Pope and try not to be wrapped around your finger all the time then maybe I'd be able to get over you, but I can't. I love you, Vie" Kiara explains herself, tears streaming down her face as she heaves for breath.

"Kiara, I'm sorry" I frown guiltily.

"Don't apologise. It's not your fault and I shouldn't be punishing you for it. I'm sorry" Kiara apologises.

I gently take a hold of the girl's hands and tug her to sit down with me, the both of us sitting on the pull out sofa.

"Kie, you are my best friend and I love you so much that the word love itself doesn't seem like it's enough to express my adoration for you" I tell her through tears and she sniffles, squeezing my hands.

"Stop" She chokes out pleadingly "Don't tell me that you love me but just as a friend. Don't tell me that you love JJ more. Don't tell me that my love isn't enough for you. Please"

"Okay, I won't" I assure her and she breathes out shakily, shedding more tears "But I do love you. I wouldn't be here without you, Kie"

"Do you think you'll ever be able to love me the way that I love you?" She asks hesitantly and I smile through my tears.

"I loved you like that once, so I don't see why not" I admit and she laughs a little, nodding "I don't want that to be a reason for you to wait on me though. You have to live your life and if that means I'm not a part of it anymore then I understand"

"No, I can't lose you" She hiccups, gripping me tighter as if I'll slip right through her fingers "I've accepted that you're in love with JJ now and although it hurts, I'd rather be your best friend than not be in your life. You mean the world to me, Vie"

"If you're sure that you're okay with that, I will always be here for you and I will always be your best friend" I tell her.

She wraps me in a tight hug and I let out a relieved breath, hugging her back.

"It's good to have you back, pookie" I murmur.

"You never lost me, lovie" She replies.

The phone in my jean short back pocket buzzes and I pull away from Kiara to take out the phone, checking the notification.

Wheezie
Deachs Point. 10:00

I look at Kiara with a wide grin and she smiles happily, wiping her tears away.

"Do you want me to go wake Sarah up?" She asks me.

"No, I'll go myself. She really needs to sleep" I tell the Carrera girl "Can you watch over her?"

"Of course. Be careful" She warns me.

"I will" I assure her.

I press a kiss to her head and head straight out the door, grabbing my bike and cycling to the location Wheezie gave me.

"Wheezie?" I call out, walking through the marina but I get no reply "Come on, Wheeze"

I hear shuffling behind the boat I'm next to and I smile, glad my little actually showed up.

"Is that you?" I grin, rounding the boat "Wheeze?"

I freeze in my spot when instead of my little sister, I'm met with my older brother who tilts his head curiously.

"Nah, not Wheezie" He tells me.

"No shit. Where the hell is Wheezie?" I ask him in worry.

"Don't worry about it. Where's Sarah?" He asks me in return.

"Don't worry about it" I use his own response against him.

He starts walking towards me and I stumble backwards in surprise, causing him to hold up his hands in surrender.

"Listen- Whoa. It's all good. I- I just... I just... I needed to talk to you, like, a little bit. Is that okay?" Rafe questions and I stop backing away.

"Just stay right there" I snap.

"'Cause... 'cause what you do, Sylvie, affects me, okay?" He rants manically and anxiety swirls in my stomach "You don't- you don't think of that, do you?"

"You shot our sister, Rafe" I argue.

"That's it, right? It's- it's always my fault, right? Like, uh... you know, I... I wanna keep what's mine, that I got by my work, and I'm the bad guy for trying to- to hold on to it?" He scoffs in disbelief.

"But it's not yours" I protest, but he ignores me.

"Like I'm wrong to protect what's mine, huh?!" He raises his voice and quickly realises that I'm scared so he holds up his hands again, quietening down "Listen to me, okay? The cops are going to talk to you again, and... And I need to make sure      the story's straight because-"

"You killed someone, Rafe. You need help and if no one else is going to help you then I have to tell the truth" I declare bravely and he rolls his eyes at me in irritation "Listen to me, please, this would go so much better for you if you would just-"

"Who are trying to protect here? Huh?" My brother gets in my face.

"I'm trying to do the right thing" I tell him "You need help"

"You're trying to do the right thing?" He scoffs and my eyes fill with tears.

"Please just listen to me" I plead.

"You doing the right thing   is the reason that Sarah got shot. Because you were both following John B" Rafe spits out in anger.

"John B might get the death penalty            because of you!" I lash out on him in frustration.

"That! That right there. That's- that's exactly     what I'm talking about, Sylvie. You know? You've always been against me" Rafe states, backing away from me and sitting down on a crate.

"No. That's not true" I counter, shaking my head.

"Don't shake your head" He retorts, not believing me "And you still are"

"Rafe, you're my brother. I'm not against you" I cry, desperate for him to hear me out.

"No, no, no, no. You're not just against me.        You're... you're against us. We're your family, and you're against us" He declares, getting up and I step back in fear "But you listen to me. I'm a proactive type of person, Sylvie. And we have a problem, and I gotta solve that problem tonight. Do you understand?"

"Do you understand?!" He screams at me.

I don't hesitate before breaking out into a sprint away from my brother who chases me.

"Whoa, whoa, Sylvie! Where you going, runt?" He calls out.