𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣'𝙨 𝙋𝙊𝙑

"Look, it was right here, and this is where that maniac claimed his next victim. Right there" Kiara rants.

"Uh huh. His next victim?" Sheriff Shoupe nods.

"Yeah" Kiara confirms in determination.

"Right. How long ago did you say it happened?" Shoupe asks skeptically.

"Forty five minutes ago, Shoupe" JJ answers, standing up from his crouched position where he was inspecting the floor.

"Okay" Shoupe sighs "And so, Ward Cameron, just popped one off and shot him"

"Yes" Kiara answers.

"Execution style?" Shoupe queries "And then cleaned it all up in 45 minutes?"

"Yeah" Kiara nods.

"Obviously" Pope adds.

"We literally filmed the entire thing" Makoa informs the man.

"You filmed it?" Shoupe asks in surprise.

"Yes, but we can't show it to you because I stepped on JJ's hand, and then he kicked Makoa in the face, and then Makoa kicked Allison, and then she fell on Pope, and then Pope dropped the camera, and because it's a piece of shit, it broke" Kiara explains to the Sheriff.

"This is a telephoto, and we needed to get a long distance image, and- and I fell, and it broke, so the video is basically unusable. But- but we were there, and we're wit-" Pope's rant is cut short.

"So the dog ate your homework?" Shoupe scoffs.

"No, Shoupe. I know it sounds-" Kiara is then cut off too.

"Look, I don't know what you kids expect me to do with this. You drag me out here in the middle of the night for a whole lot of nothing" Shoupe rants in annoyance.

"No, it's not nothing" Kiara argues.

"Except for some crazy stories about how Ward Cameron's out on a random killing spree" Shoupe continues.

"We're not making this up!" JJ protests.

"It's not a random killing spree! Gavin was his pilot!" Pope objects "Okay, he was paying him hush money because he was there on the tarmac that day"

"Gavin was blackmailing Ward because he had the gun that Rafe used to kill Peterkin" Makoa declares.

"He called him here and tried to pay him off. But it wasn't enough, and then so he shot him" JJ continues.

"Exactly" Pope nods.

"With the murder weapon" I add, finally finding the courage to speak up.

"How do you know that?" Shoupe asks.

"Well, Pope did this thing with his phone. He, like, put it in his car and-" Kiara gets cut off for the second time.

"I heard their whole conversation" Pope states.

"You wiretapped him?" Shoupe asks in disbelief.

"Are we in trouble?" I ask worriedly.

"Stop. Just stop" Shoupe snaps "I've had enough"

"What are you talking about? Are you just gonna look the other way again?!" JJ yells as Shoupe walks away.

"You ever heard about the boy who cried wolf?" Shoupe retorts.

"Why would we make this up?" Kiara shrieks, following the man.

"Why can't you believe us for once?!" JJ barks.

"Waste of my goddamn time" Shoupe scoffs.

"Why would we lie?!" Kiara huffs "Shoupe, I know it sounds crazy. I know that!"

"All right, there's nothing up there. False alarm. Let's all go home" Shoupe tells his officers.

"No, no, please don't go home. No. Why would we make this up? Can you just do your job for like 20 minutes?" Kiara shouts.

"Hey!" Shoupe snaps "I- I know, I know you're upset. And I know you think your friend was innocent"

"He is!" Kiara cries.

"John B did nothing wrong" I argue with a deep frown.

"But you weren't there" Shoupe declares, ignoring us "The only actual witnesses who are above ground say the exact opposite. All right? And both of them have a hell of a lot more credibility than any of you right now"

"I saw your little art project on Ward's wall" He adds "Do not do that again. All right?

"Oh, come on" Kiara groans.

"It's gonna make things a lot harder for the both of us" He says and opens his car door.

"Please, Shoupe!" I beg desperately.

"Go home" He tells us before getting into his car.

"At least look for him!" Kiara shouts at the man "Someone died tonight!"

"Get on home to your parents now" Shoupe warns us with a dismissive wave that lets us know that the conversation is done.

The police cars all start heading off and we all start walking towards Kiara's car in defeat, the tension so thick in the air that you could cut it with a knife.

"I told you this would happen" JJ scoffs "Like, you're the one that had to drop the camera"

"It was your fault!" Kiara snaps at JJ.

"Hey" Makoa frowns at Kiara but she ignores him.

"Oh, that was my fault?!" JJ retorts.

"Yeah, it was your fault!" She shouts.

"Guys, stop it" I plead, my head starting to thump with pain.

"Why do you always take his side? Why do you never take mine?!" JJ yells at her.

"Shut up!" Kiara scoffs.

"Hey! Hey! We're not out of this yet" Pope declares, shutting them up "We can still go get the gun"

»»-------------¤-------------««

Kiara leads me by my hand into the Carrera household and we're met with an empty house, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the walls as we wake our way up the stairs.

I let Kiara tug me into the upstairs bathroom and a gasp slips past my lips when she grabs me by the waist, hoisting me up onto the counter.

"Let's get you cleaned up, huh?" She smiles at me warmly.

"Sounds good" I breathe out with a nod.

The dark haired girl pats my thigh and ducks down into the cabinet to retrieve the first aid kit, placing it down on the counter beside me. I watch contently as she opens it up and pulls out the things she needs, looking to me.

"You're gonna have to take that shirt off, sunshine" She informs me.

"Oh, yeah" I mumble.

I tug at the tie around my neck, pulling it off and untucking the bottom of the shirt from my skirt. My fingers shakily move to the buttons and I fumble with the first one so much that it frustrates me. My hands are freezing cold and I'm still shaking from the sound of gunshots, my arm stinging incessantly.

Kiara notices my struggle and doesn't hesitate to reach out, wrapping my cold hands in her warm pair. A relieved breath escapes my mouth and she gently places my hands on my lap, giving them a soft squeeze.

"I've got this" She assures me and I nod in understanding.

Her fingers move to my shirt and she easily starts undoing the buttons, pulling the white material open to reveal my white lace bra underneath. My chest rises and falls steadily until she places her palm on my chest and I'm sure my heart skips a beat.

"Fuck, sunshine. You're frozen cold" She frowns before pushing the shirt off my shoulders.

My ruined shirt pools onto the counter, leaving me half naked and on display under the bright bathroom light. Kiara doesn't seem to think twice about the situation, picking up a pair of tweezers and inspecting my arm.

I whimper in pain as the girl picks the glass from my skin, making sure no shards are left behind before she wipes the blood from my arm with a cloth she runs under warm water. After cleaning the cut with some antiseptic solution she covers it with a dressing, securing it with medical tape.

"It's not too deep so I don't think it needs stitches, but keep an eye on it and keep it clean. Okay?" She explains to me.

"Okay" I confirm.

Kiara steps between my knees and places her hands on my thighs, her dark eyes gazing into my own pair.

It feels a little odd being so level with the taller girl and not having to look up at her gorgeous face, but I'm not complaining.

My gaze falls to her plump glossy lips and they curve into an amused smirk that makes me blush as my eyes meet hers once more.

I can't even begin to explain the way Kiara makes me feel. My stomach feels like a butterfly farm on a summer day and my heart skips a beat every time she smiles at me.

I've never met anyone who makes me feel the way she does and I can't help but hope she feels the same way about me.

All the time that I wasted with Rafe, too scared to be who I really was and be with who I really wanted often creeps up on me. My body and my mind were with him all those years but my heart was always with Kiara, it leapt into her hands and refused to come back to me.

"I love you, Kiara Carrera" I breathe out, a sense of relief washing over me.

"And I love you, Allison Blake" She grins happily, pressing her lips to mine.