┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
❝ when you find my body ❞
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

My converse slap against the concrete as I sprint as fast as my legs will take me towards the sounds of screaming coming from my friends, my heart hammering against my chest in fear that I'll be too late.

"Kiara!" Pope and JJ shout, coming into my line of vision "Kie!"

"Pull! Pull it!" Kiara sobs out in fear as they heave at the metal manhole cover "Hurry! Hurry up!"

"Kiara!" I scream, causing the boys to look up at me in surprise as I drop to my knees and immediately begin pulling at the bars with them.

"Sylvie! Please, Vie! Please!" Kiara pleads desperately.

"We'll get you out of there. I promise" Pope assures her.

"Come on!" I shriek in frustration, yanking at the metal.

"JJ! Pope! Vie!" Kiara cries as the water reaches her chin.

"Shit!" Pope curses.

The water covers her head and I instinctively hold my breath, still pulling on the cover with all my strength. Tears filling my eyes as the boys curse and groan in strain, the strength in my arms fading along with my hope.

With a strained yell, the boys manage to dislodge the cover and we haul it up, tossing it aside. Kiara bursts out the water, gasping for air and coughing out all the water she must have breathed in.

"Kiara" Pope breathes out in concern "Are you okay?"

"I thought we lost you" He worries, wrapping his arms around her and she retches, choking up more water.

"Pope, get off me. Pope get off me!" Kiara snaps, pushing him away before coughing up more water.

"Kie, you good?" JJ asks worriedly.

"Never better" Kiara wheezes out, giving him a thumbs up and he chuckles in relief.

The dark haired girl sits up on her knees and reaches back, pulling out a gun.

"This wasn't what we were looking for, right?" She asks with a triumphant smile on her face, causing us all to laugh in disbelief.

"Oh, my God" JJ says, taking the gun from her and wrapping it up.

"Holy shit" Pope laughs.

"Oh, my God. We're gonna get this son of a bitch, man" JJ hollers happily.

I hold my hand out to my drenched best friend and she smiles up at me widely, taking it in hers.

"Let's go, pookie" I sigh out, helping her up.

"Good job" Pope praises her.

"Yeah" She breathes out with a nod.

"You did it, Kie! You did it" JJ cheers, pulling us all into a soggy group hug "Come on"

"Let's get this to Shoupe" He adds.

✯¸.•'*¨'*•༻❁༺•*'¨*'•.¸✯

JJ places the gun on Shoupe's desk and he looks at the four of us in surprise.

"So, y'all are telling me this is the firearm Rafe Cameron killed Peterkin with?" Shoupe asks.

"That's exactly what we're telling you" JJ nods.

"And the exact same firearm that Ward just used to kill Gavin" Pope adds.

"I- And where's that corpse again?" Shoupe asks us.

"Didn't you look?" Kiara asks.

"I checked the hospital. I went by his house. He was out" Shoupe answers.

"He was out?" Kiara scoffs.

"No shit, Shoupe! Because he's dead!" JJ barks.

"Listen to yourself. It makes perfect sense" Kiara spits.

"Just because he's not in his damn home does not mean he was a victim of a homicide" Shoupe retorts.

"Told you this was gonna happen!" JJ snaps at Pope.

"What are you talking about?" Kiara shrieks in disbelief.

"You gotta be kidding me" JJ mutters angrily, pulling his hat off his head.

"Are you at least gonna send it in for ballistics and shit, or are you just gonna sit on your ass?" Kiara yells at the man.

"He'll sit there and wax that damn mustache" JJ scoffs in anger "Is that even real?"

"I'll wax this-" Shoupe gets cut off by Pope who grabs the angry blonde.

"Shut up, JJ" He snaps.

"It's not fair!" Kiara shouts at the Sheriff.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt his feelings?" JJ asks sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Pope yells at the Maybank boy.

Shoupe opens his office door and points outside.

"Get out. I got work to do" He demands.

"Are you serious?" JJ snaps.

"Y'all are smelling up my office" Shoupe adds.

"Shit" Pope curses.

"Did Ward bribe you? This doesn't make any sense" Kiara asks with tears in her eyes before walking away.

"You ain't gonna do shit" JJ scoffs, storming past the man.

"Out!" Shoupe snaps.

My friends evacuate the room but I stay sat in my seat, staring at gun on the desk with a horrible feeling of guilt pilling up inside me.

"I said out" Shoupe warns me.

"I just want to tell you something before I walk out that door" I breathe out shakily.

"What is it?" He sighs.

"When you find my body the same way you found Peterkin's and the same way you'll find Gavin's, remember that my friends tried to warn you" I tell the man, standing and making my way towards the door.

My arm is grabbed gently and I turn my head to look at the Sheriff expectantly.

"Is something going on at home, Sylvie?" He questions me "Do you not feel safe?"

"I've never felt safe in that house" I declare firmly.

"Why not say something about it before now?" Shoupe frowns in confusion.

"Would you have believed me?" I answer his question with another of my own.

When he doesn't reply, I take that in itself as an answer and I shake my head with a short humourless laugh.

"No, you would've swept it under the rug without as much as a second thought about it" I state matter of factly "Because no one that my Dad is feeding with money will ever care about me"

"It's not too late to change your statement" Shoupe says, sounding empathetic.

"I'd rather not sign my own death warrant" I retort.