𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝟹𝟼
EMERY LOOKED AT MARA WITH NARROW EYES.
she knew her friend was okay now that she was stable. the doctor had left the room, she and john b left in the room with mara.
"she just needs to rest for a couple minutes, she'll come around." the doctor assured. "come in, have a seat." he told john b, emery keeping her eyes glued to the blonde on the table as she walked into the office, shutting the door quietly behind her.
"you guys have to be somewhere?" the man asked, emery nodding.
"we were with terrance when this happened." she explained. the conversation didn't go far, however, when the doors opened, mara swaying unsteadily in the doorway.
"woah!" john b exclaimed, emery jumping out of her chair to support her friend while she stood.
"whoa, girlie! you need to go lie down." the doctor demanded.
"how long was i out?" mara asked, panicked.
"nowhere near long enough." emery replied shortly.
"can we still make it to the wharf?" mara asked.
"no. no. we- it's over. okay?" john b explained, mara looking at the clock and shaking her head.
"we still have an hour." she argued.
"mar, you got shot." emery stated bluntly. "not even an hour ago, actually."
"i'm fine." mara snapped. "and if i wasn't, we'd know. we're getting to that boat."
"there's no point in arguing with her, let's go." emery said bluntly, already helping her friend out the door, but mara shoved her off, walking herself out the door and down the stairs, john b, emery, and the doctor behind her.
"mara, you shouldn't be standing let alone running right now." emery pressed.
"again, ems, i'm fine." mara repeated, essentially jogging through the bar. the trio stopped at a corner, looking around to hear sirens wailing and a cop car stopped with two men talking to an officer, clearly explaining what he saw when emery and mara got out of the truck.
"shit." john b whispered. "are you kidding me?"
"you guys got a little heat on you, don't you?" the doctor asked.
"considering you're an illegal doctor who's house i almost died in i'm assuming you won't rat us out, so yes, yes we do." mara replied, leaning against the wall on her elbow.
"i've been there, and i've done that." the doctor replied. "but i've got an idea."
the group all turned to the man, following him behind the house where he pulled a set of keys from his pocket that went to the blue car parked in the back alley.
"friend of the devil's a friend of mine." he explained as the keys clinked in john b's hand.
"thanks, doc." he replied, emery taking the keys and opening the back door for mara, helping her into the car.
"so, just wondering, how much pain is she gonna be in when the drugs wear off?" emery asked, mara gasping a little as she climbed into the backseat.
"pretty much mind-bending." the old man replied nonchalantly, emery tossing the keys to john b who rounded the car as emery got in in front of mara.
"alright doc, how do we get this baby back to you?" john b asked.
"you're just going to the wharf, right?" the doctor confirmed.
"yeah. berth 39, right?" john b replied.
"perfect, leave the keys under the gas cap, we're good." the doctor replied.
"great, nice to meet you!" emery exclaimedz
"doc, you sure we can take this?" john b asked, mara smacking him over the seat.
"take the creepy man's car and go." she whispered.
"i'm never crying for you again." john b replied through gritted teeth.
"and they're back, ladies and gentlemen." emery replied in a sarcastic gameshow tone, the doctor learning over and looking through the window.
"well, you overpaid for the medical, so have a nice trip." the doctor told the group, emery smiling up at him.
"thank you." she said.
"thanks for not letting me die!" mara called.
"thanks, doc." john b added, starting the car and turning onto the street, the doctor waving at them as they drove down the alley, leaving cleo and terrance's truck stranded on the side of the road.
however, as the car cruised slower to the wharf, emery could hear the sirens in front of them.
"how much time do we have?" mara asked from the back.
"not much." john b deadpanned.
"this is great, i love it when mara almost dies and terrance and cleo send us to some random old guy and i end up doing his job for him." emery said sarcastically from the passenger seat.
"shit! cops. should i peel?" john b asked.
"you just heard the cops?" mara asked.
"don't peel, play dumb." emery demanded, leaning back in her chair.
"they definitely have no idea who we are." mara added sarcastically, but john b continued to drive forward, a cop stopping them.
"down! slow down!" the officer demanded. "road's closed."
"what happened?" john b asked.
"robbery. there was a shootout. now move along." the cop ordered, nodding his head for john b to back up.
"well, is everybody okay?" john b asked.
"move on." the cop replied, clearly disinterested in starting a conversation with the routledge boy, but he also didn't seem to know who they were, which left the two blondes relieved. john b pulled forward a little, emery's eyes falling on the cases of gold that were in the back of the truck being loaded into a van in front of them.
"john b." she whispered. "it's gone."
"shit- guys, i'm sorry." mara apologized, emery wrinkling her eyebrows and turning around to look at her.
"why are you sorry?" she asked.
"because- oh shit." mara stopped, her eyes glued in front of her where a cop was glancing from his phone up at them repeatedly before stepping towards them. "hit it."
"shit- john b, drive." emery demanded.
"i'm going!" john b replied, turning down the alley next to the wharf as the officers behind him yelled to stop the car, john b driving as fast as he could. emery and mara looked over their shoulders, their eyes wide.
"drive!" mara yelled.
"come on- go!" emery shouted.
"i'm going. i'm going. i'm going." john b replied, gritting his teeth as he revved the car as fast as he could, the cops still running behind them. suddenly, sirens were added to the mix as they crossed the bridge, john b turning sharply down another alley, the tires squealing as the girls grabbed the grab handles on the roof of the car as mara was tossed across the back seat, the girl screaming in pain.
"i have brand new stitches you asshole!" she screeched.
john b looked over his shoulder repeatedly, emery smacking him on the shoulder.
"you watch the road and i'll watch behind you- just drive b!" she yelled, john b turning back to the road as he swerved to dodge the cars parked along the side of the road, turning down another alley and nearly missing the car driving alongside him, the cops continuing straight down the alley.
"are they still behind us?" john b asked.
"no, they kept going down the alley." emery stated, leaning back in her seat and shoving her hair back. john b was trying to watch behind him, but the people alongside the road were yelling at him to slow down.
"i almost hit that person." john b breathed as he looked behind him.
suddenly, john b had hit a person. a woman yelled as her body hit the hood, rolling over the roof and hitting the pavement behind them as john b slammed the brakes, emery and mara gasping as their eyes widened, looking straight ahead before they both turned to john b.
"you just hit a person." emery breathed.
"you're actually a dumbass." mara deadpanned.
"get out and help her!" emery exclaimed.
"we're not adding vehicular manslaughter to our armed robbery charge!" mara yelled as john b climbed out of the car.
"where'd you get your license, man?" a familiar voice asked as she climbed in the back with mara.
"the great state of north carolina." john b mumbled back.
"you didn't see me in the street?" cleo asked further.
"no, i didn't." john b replied bluntly, cleo turning to see emery and mara sitting in the car with her.
"hey, bitch!" emery exclaimed, cleo beaming at the girls.
"hey! how's you make it through, girl?" she asked mara the girl looking at her, concerned.
"are you okay?" she asked.
"yeah, john b should not have gotten his license." emery added, turning back in her seat as john b climbed back in the car.
"gee, thanks." he mumbled.
"you literally hit her." she deadpanned in response.
"it's just a scrape, y'know? i went up and over, been through worse." cleo replied, leaning back in the seat. "we should get out of here now."
"okay." john b breathed, the sirens fast approaching once again as the routledge sped down the road.
"what the hell happened to you?" emery asked.
"yeah, what happened back there?" john b continued. "we went to the playboy and that place was hot! cops were everywhere!"
"we were waiting for you guys to show up, and the coppers came." cleo explained. "they came from every direction. i jumped overboard."
"where's terrance?" mara asked.
"yeah, where are he and stubby?" emery asked.
"i heard gunshots." cleo responded, all three of the teens' faces paling.
"what?" mara exclaimed.
"i ran, i wanted to shoot it out with them, but it was too many." cleo explained, emery and mara glancing at each other as john b turned his focus back to the road, rounding a corner as the cops joined him, right behind the car.
"oh boy! we got company. okay." john b exclaimed, the three girls all turning to look behind them, eyes wide.
"where the hell is pope's driving when we need it?" emery yelled, slamming her hands into the dash and grabbing the grab handle again.
"oh no!" cleo shouted. "drive!"
"can you not go faster- i'm pretty sure i've done faster in the twinkie, this thing has to be faster than the twinkie!" mara said from the back.
"i don't know if i can go faster because the speedometer doesn't work!" the routledge boy replied, his voice strained in fear. the tires squealed again as the car skidded across the asphalt, john b driving the car over another bridge, the cops still right behind them.
THEY RAN UNTIL DARK.
finally, making a turn that the cops somehow didn't catch, the pogues and cleo managed to shake the last cop car that was following them. they parked at the harbor, john b killing the ignition when cleo told them to stop. mara was breathing heavily and clutching her stomach where she had been stitched up, emery glancing back to see where it was clear the anesthesia and pain killers she had been given were wearing off.
"you sure this is good, cleo?" john b asked skeptically.
"yep, just stay here and wait until it cools down." she said tiredly, mara groaning behind emery.
"mar, you good?" emery asked, looking up at her friend in the rear view mirror, her eyes squeezed shut in pain as she nodded slowly.
"just peachy." she replied sarcastically, holding her entire body rigid in her seat. eventually, they decided it was time to get out of the car. the sirens had faded, all of the cops probably had made their way back to the gold.
"streets is quiet. i can get you to a boat. you have somewhere you can hole up?" cleo questioned, the girls both looking at john b, waiting for a response. emery had never really thought of how they were going to get back to the outer banks when they got to nassau, she was mainly focused on not getting pinched. but now that they had lost the gold, they had no reason to stay in nassau.
"yeah, we're gonna ride the gulf steam north as far as it can go." john b explained, glancing between mara and emery almost as if he was silently asking for their approval.
"i just want to go home." mara mumbled, emery sitting next to her on the railing that the stevens girl was perched on, putting her arm around her back and letting the stevens girls head fall onto her shoulder.
"we're gonna get you home, don't worry." emery whispered.
"we'll look for some deserted island to shell up on." john b added.
"then what?" emery fired. "more running from the cops- do i have to remind you that mara almost died?"
"emery-"
"look, i understand that you aren't the biggest fan of the cops right now, but you're innocent, and i was there. so was sarah. and if sarah does what's right, she will have already testified against rafe and ward, and i'm going to as soon as we get back." emery said bluntly. "we have to go home, john b."
"to obx?" john b asked.
"no, i'm asking to go back to australia- obviously back to obx." emery replied.
"what about ward?" john b asked.
"what about him?" emery fired back. "he's the one who should be running, and when we get back, and i tell the cops what i saw, he will be. and jackson was there too, he said he would tell the truth if i came back."
"emery, since when has jackson proven himself trustworthy?" john b shot as he stood up and walked to over to where she and mara were sitting, the melville girl rubbing her friend's back gently.
"john b, i'm your alibi." emery reminded. "you don't have to trust jackson but you should trust me."
cleo whistled from beside them, john b and emery turning to look at her while mara stayed where she was.
"hello? lovebirds? we're running from the coppers right now?" cleo reminded them. "mara, can you walk?"
"i think so." she mumbled, slowly standing up from the railing but still leaning against it.
"come on, you got it." emery encouraged as mara took a deep breath and pushed herself off the railing, taking a few steps forward.
"come on guys. we gotta go. stay low." cleo whispered, motioning for the trio to follow here, the three of them crouching down as they trailed behind her and followed her down one of the docks where they assumed she had a boat waiting for them.
"we're following you." john b reminded.
"get low." cleo mumbled. emery ended up tossing an arm over mara's shoulders, the girl doing the same as she was struggling to hold herself up, let alone walk.
"i got you, i got you, you're good." emery mumbled in her friend's ear, the two girls walking between john b and cleo, who was practically dragging them across the boatyard.
"is this cool?" john b asked cleo.
"i got an uncle who works at this marina. we're safe here. recognize the boat?" she asked, pointing at the blue boat that emery recognized as the one that cleo, terrance, and stubby had taken the night they broke into the cameron house.
"the cameron's boat." mara mumbled.
"i thought you would've pawned it by now." john b exclaimed.
"seems like a good time to get it into the proper hands." cleo explained. john b and emery jumped into the boat, emery quickly helping mara, the girl groaning as her feet hit the deck. cleo pulled the black tarp that was covering part of the boat off entirely, tossing it onto the dock as john b started to prep the boat.
"wish i could join you guys." cleo said nonchalantly. "it's a nice dinghy."
"you're not coming with us?" emery asked, her brows knitted together in confusion.
"are you kidding?" cleo asked. "you three are so hot. i'm better off on my own."
"i mean, looks wise, two of us are." mara replied, nodding between herself and emery, the melville high-fiving her and winking at john b, who was looking at the two offendedly.
"thank you." john b told the girl sincerely. "seriously."
"no problem." the cleo replied with a smile. "maybe one day, i get the same thing you and emery got. somebody helps me too."
"it's overrated." emery replied, smiling at john b. "but i guess i love him."
"oh, gag me." mara groaned, sitting down on the floor of the boat and leaning against the side.
"hang tight. i'm gonna get the keys." cleo added, laughing a little at the two blondes who were sitting side by side on the floor of the boat now. "too soon for goodbyes, y'all. i'll be right back!" cleo called as she turned, running down the dock.
"thanks, cleo." john b called from the boat. he and emery stood up, the two starting to get the boat set up as best as they could without it being running, mara watching them from the ground.
"we've got gas, don't we?" emery asked.
"we should be good if the wind's behind us." john b replied.
"living on a prayer." mara mumbled. suddenly, a flash light clicked on from the dock, emery and mara snapping their eyes up to see an officer on the dock, who pointed his gun at the three of them.
"hey! you there!" he called. "put your hands up! all the way up!"
"hey, don't shoot." john b breathed.
"i said put them up!" the cop ordered again.
"hey- he didn't do anything!" emery exclaimed. suddenly, there was a yell from behind the cop, the man falling to the ground and groaning in pain. when he fell, cleo came into view, an oar clutched in her her hand. she attempted to pun past him, but he tripped her, the girl falling onto the dock.
"no, no. hey, cleo! keys!" john b yelled as the girl kicked the officer up and managed to stand up again, tossing them to the routledge. he started the boat, emery pulling the bowline off as cleo jumped into the water, gunshots echoing behind them as the girl swam away from the dock, the officer's full attention on her. it was too dark, however, and he couldn't see her.
"hey! stop!" he shouted, turning suddenly and firing at the boat, emery ducking down as john b revved the engine, steering them away from the dock as the bullets ricocheted off the metal poles next to where the control panel was, emery's eyes widening. john b turned, getting them out of the path of the officer and his gun, emery turning back to check on mara, the stevens girl breathing heavily on the ground.
"mar, you good?" she asked.
"fine." mara mumbled, taking another breath. they boated for hours until emery knew that nassau was far behind them, and the girl took a deep breath, helping mara up as the two girls moved to the front of the boat and sat in the bench in front of the steering wheel where john b was still captaining.
"alright, this is the gulf stream." john b announced. "it's gonna take us north right home."
"congrats, skipper." mara mumbled tiredly, resting her head on emery's shoulder. "i just wanna see jj."
"i know, you and your boyfriend of what, five business minutes had so much bonding time before you supposedly died." emery replied sarcastically, mara laughing a little and smacking her arm. john b had killed the engine and come around the front of the boat, sitting across from the two girls.
"hey." emery muttered.
"how you doin'?" john b asked.
"i've been better." emery shrugged, but still smiled as she replied to the routledge, the boy laughing at her clear sarcasm. "y'know, i've been thinking."
"what's up?" john b asked.
"let's do the wedding." emery replied, mara rolling her eyes.
"not this shit again." she whined.
"you can be the minister!" emery replied exasperatedly.
"does it require having to stand, because i don't think i have the motivation to do that." mara groaned, john b rolling his eyes.
"you can officiate sitting down." he replied. "and what're we doing for rings?"
"what about them?" emery replied casually. "we can buy them when we get back, plenty of people do it."
"oh really?" john b asked.
"yeah, you've just never been to a rich person wedding so you wouldn't know." emery retorted, john b rolling his eyes again, standing up and grabbing the melville by her hands, pulling her up to her feet.
"water molecules, stars, and stolen boat, we're here to celebrate the wedding of emery melville, my favorite person on this planet who is essentially my sister and saved my life, and john routledge, who i'm honestly surprised didn't let me bleed out in that truck." mara deadpanned, john b and emery both laughing.
"real romantic." john b said sarcastically.
"she should be marrying me, but that's irrelevant." mara added. "anywho, say some stuff, but if it's corny i'm drowning myself."
"i think we can skip the vows." john b said bluntly, his eyes never leaving emery's, the girl smiling up at him. "i give you, emery melville, this-" he started, tugging his shirt off and tearing the bottom hem off before ripping it into two, putting one piece of it around emery's left wrist and starting to tie it into a knot, emery taking the other piece in her right hand, "disgusting piece of my shirt, as a symbol of my unending love to you, and as a promise that i will love you forever and always, until death do us part."
"and i place this piece of your shirt on your wrist as a symbol of my undying loyalty to you and only you, and as a promise that i will love you for the rest of my days, until death do us part." emery replied, tying the mustard yellow fabric around john b's left wrist, the two smiling the whole time.
"by the power invested in me by literally no one, i- begrudgingly, by the way- pronounce you husband and wife." mara announced. "your rat ass may kiss your bride." she added, looking at john b, who cupped the side of emery's face and pulled her close, kissing her passionately, the two pulled apart, beaming as they walked away, john b going to captain the boat again while emery sat next to mara, the presence of the new material on her wrist giving her a feeling of uncontrollable happiness.
"can we get a cat?" emery asked suddenly, turning to john b.
"we need to get home before we worry about a cat." john b replied, laughing quietly.
"john, we can name it after mara!" emery exclaimed.
"then we're definitely not getting a cat." john b replied sarcastically, smirking at mara the whole time, the girl flipping him off. "just go to sleep, guys, we'll be home before you know it."
"you're still the other woman." mara told him as she and emery laid out across the bench together.
"i'm forever sentenced to being the other woman." john b replied, again, with an intense amount of sarcasm in his tone. "but in the end she decided to marry me and not you."
"that was a pretty great ceremony, honestly." emery voiced, john b nodding.
"yeah, i liked the part where you were surprised i didn't let you die." he said, now offended to mara.
"if i wasn't emery's best friend would you have tried to save me?" mara asked, john b raising his eyebrows at her.
"obviously i'd try to save you!" he exclaimed, mara laughing and shaking her head.
"no you wouldn't." she replied through laughter.
"he stood in the corner while i gave you cpr." emery added, mara's jaw falling in shock as she looked at john b with wide eyes.
"you little bitch!" she yelled, john b holding his arms up in surrender.
"emery had it pretty under control, plus she was throwing things and screaming and it was pretty scary." john b defended himself.
"fair." mara responded, shrugging and laying back down with emery, john b patting the melville on the shoulder.
"now actually go to sleep, we'll be home by tomorrow." john b stated, the two girls laying across the bench.
"night, johnathan." mara mumbled.
"night, shithead." he replied bluntly.
kens speaks 🪐
mara's speech is actually inspired by harringtonssss comment she made a few chapters ago (the actual comment is funnier and had my family concerned for me because i was laughing so hard)
anywho i've written two 4k chapters back to back? what is this?
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top