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''How the fuck did you fall for that?''

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AFTER THE TUTORING session with Wheezie, I made my way back from the Camerons. My steps quickened on instinct, heart pounding a little faster. Suddenly, a rough hand clamped around my arm, yanking me backward so hard it nearly knocked the breath out of me. My mind jumped straight to one name: Rafe.

''Get off!'' I snarled, swinging my elbow back with all I had. I heard a grunt of pain, but before I could catch a good look at whoever had grabbed me, his other hand grabbed my arm tighter, pulling me toward a car. I twisted and struggled, desperately planting my feet on the ground, but it wasn't enough. I was shoved into the trunk, darkness swallowing me as the lid slammed shut. Panic surged through me, and I banged my fists against the interior, pressing my shoulder into the cold metal in a futile attempt to break free.

After what felt like ages, the trunk opened. A flood of light hit my face, and I squinted up at my captor, only to see Barry's smug grin staring back at me.

''You sick—'' I managed to spit before I lunged forward, biting his hand hard and throwing a kick square into his groin. Barry let out a pained yelp, stumbling back as I scrambled out, trying to make a break for it. But I didn't get far. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me backward, slamming me onto the ground, pain exploding through my skull.

He began tying my wrists. ''Is this your first kidnapping?'' I grunted, trying to ignore the tight, painful knots biting into my skin.

''Yup,'' he answered nonchalantly, not even bothering to deny it.

''Yeah, I can tell. Real professional, letting your hostage run off like that.'' My heart pounded as I tried to keep my voice steady, but my nerves were fraying. I was making small talk with my kidnaper. ''Not that I'm any better for letting that chance slip by.''

He glared down at me, his tone changing as he growled, ''Where the fuck is my money?''

I let out a dry laugh, pretending to be calm even as my pulse thudded in my throat. ''Checked your bank account?''

Barry's face twisted with anger, and in a flash, he pulled a knife, pressing it against my throat. I felt the cold blade bite into my skin, and despite every effort to stay composed, a single tear escaped down my cheek.

''Alright, alright,'' I stammered, forcing a bit of panic into my voice. ''My friend took your ID, okay? But he threw it away. We weren't trying to mess with you, I swear.''

Barry's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he dragged the knife across my cheek, cutting a shallow line that stung as the blood began to trickle down. ''Are you fucking sure that's the only thing that's missing?''

I nodded quickly, feeling the blood drain from my face, my breathing coming in shallow gasps. Barry stepped back, pacing while he muttered under his breath. As he walked, I scanned the room, eyes darting around for anything—anything at all—that might help me get out of this.

Then, his gaze settled on me, and he sneered. ''Wait... are you Rafe's girlfriend or what? He wouldn't let a Pouge inside his house unless you were.''

Thinking fast, I plastered on the best lie I could manage. ''Yeah,'' I said. ''Absolutely.''

His face paled, and he began to stammer. ''Oh shit. Really? No, no, no... are you really?''

''Yeah,'' I repeated, letting irritation slip into my tone. ''And just wait till he hears about this.''

Panic flashed across his face. ''Wait, no, you're not gonna tell him, are you?''

''Oh, I will. Unless...'' I feigned hesitation, watching his nervous fidgeting. ''You let me go.''

His eyes flickered with indecision as he glanced back and forth. ''I can't. You'll snitch, and I'll be dead meat.''

I raised my eyebrows, feigning calm. ''So, what? You're planning to keep me here? Do you honestly think Rafe won't come looking for me?''

He looked like he'd been hit by a freight train. ''Wait, no, I mean...''

''Untie me,'' I pressed. ''and I can tell him you didn't do anything. But if you keep me tied up, you're done.''

Barry's hand trembled slightly as he considered his options. After a long pause, he pulled out a pocket knife and cut the ropes around my wrists, still mumbling, ''This is stupid, this is so stupid...''

As soon as my hands were free, I swung at him, landing a solid punch right to his nose. He staggered back, clutching his face, his eyes wide with shock.

''How the fuck did you fall for that?'' I muttered, grabbing his car keys off the table and making a break for it. I didn't look back as I tore out of there, jumping into his car and flooring it out of the driveway, putting as much distance as I could between us.

Eventually, I reached the lake, stopping long enough to ditch his car into the murky water. I watched it sink, then turned and started the long walk home, grateful just to breathe free air again.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

I PRESSED THE Peppa Pig band-aid onto my cheek. Pope had handed it to me with barely a second glance, believing my lie that the scratch came from my dog's "bath-time revenge." And thank God for that, because the last thing I wanted was to explain how I'd been kidnapped by Barry and narrowly escaped by ditching his car in a lake. Considering we were already on his blacklist, my little escape was nothing compared to JJ stealing his life savings. At least I hope so.

As I looked around at my friends, I pushed down the memory of the past night, needing to focus on the task at hand.

"So, we gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning," Pope mentioned, glancing between us as we waited by the road. I nodded absently, and at that moment, John B appeared in the distance, walking toward us.

Kiara slipped out of the car. "Okay, well, we have to focus."

"Speak of the devil. Hey! Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything," JJ announced, grinning as John B approached.

"No, he did not. I did that," Pope corrected with a pointed look.

But John B kept walking past us, not even sparing a glance in our direction, his eyes set dead ahead. His silence was off. And we all knew it.

JJ's grin faded, replaced by confusion. "Okay, that's it?"

We exchanged uncertain glances as John B disappeared inside the Chateau. Pope frowned, puzzled. "Uh... what's that all about?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," JJ responded, narrowing his eyes. Something was definitely off.

We followed John B inside. He was tearing through the house, rummaging through his things, throwing them aside with frantic movements.

"You all right, man? What's up?" Pope asked, following him with a worried expression.

"What are you looking for?" Kiara tried to catch his eye, stepping forward.

John B finally stopped, his hand sliding under the couch, and I felt my stomach drop as he pulled out JJ's gun. 

"John B, what do you need the gun for?" JJ's face turned white as he moved forward, reaching out in alarm. "Just...No!"

"Talk to us!" JJ demanded as John B shoved him aside, hard enough to make him stumble. I rushed to JJ's side, placing a steadying hand on his arm as I watched John B in shock. This wasn't the John B we knew. Something must've triggered him.

"John B, chill!" Kiara exclaimed, stepping forward, only to be met with the same rough shove as JJ and Pope. I moved to her side, patting her shoulder, checking if she was okay, but her eyes were locked on John B in disbelief.

"Hey, man! What the hell are you doing?" JJ followed him, not giving up, as I exchanged a look with Kie, feeling the same pit of worry sinking inside me. We all watched as he stormed past us, barely even acknowledging our presence.

John B swung himself onto his motorbike, ignoring our shouts as he revved the engine.

"John B, what the hell?" Kiara called out. He wasn't even listening.

At last, he stopped, eyes flashing as he looked back at us. "Ward knows about the gold. He killed my dad." His words cut through the air, a cold shock that left us silent.

I felt my breath catch, trying to process what he'd just said. Ward Cameron. Sure, the guy gave me bad vibes, but I never thought he was capable of killing anyone, let alone John B's dad. It explained everything—John B's anger, his recklessness. But it also meant he was about to do something stupid, something that would either land him in jail or get him killed.

Without another word, he sped off, leaving us standing there, rooted in place.

"Shit!" JJ cursed under his breath.

Kiara turned to the rest of us, her eyes wide. "What do we do?"

I straightened up I glanced at JJ, Pope, and Kie. "Stop him from committing murder—what else?!"

With a shared, grim nod, we took off after him.

The grand silhouette of the Cameron estate loomed against the dark sky, looking more like some eerie, unwelcoming fortress than a home. I could feel the familiar knot of dread tightening in my stomach—coming here wasn't exactly smart, but we had to find John B before he did something he couldn't take back.

JJ stepped out of the car. "What now? We just go up to the front door and ask, 'Hey, have you seen John B?'" He scoffed.

Pope turned to me. "Wait, don't you work there?"

"Yeah, but only during John B's shifts," I explained, keeping my voice low. "I tutor their youngest daughter sometimes, help around the house when they need an extra hand. Not like anyone's expecting me right now."

Kiara sighed, glancing toward the mansion. "Look, he lives at Tannyhill now. It's plausible. We could just play dumb."

JJ tilted his head, dubious. "Play dumb?"

Pope glanced at his watch, noting the hour with a heavy exhale. "It's pretty late, guys."

"I've never seen John B like that. We should honestly be going to the cops." Kiara said.

"Yeah, and say what, Kie?" JJ responded. "We're worried about our friend because he's on a rampage 'cause Ward Cameron killed Big John? They're not gonna believe us!"

"Hey, I see Ward," Pope interrupted, pressing a pair of binoculars to his eyes as he scanned the property.

I gave him a raised brow. "I won't even ask where you got those from."

"Good," Pope muttered, barely sparing me a glance as he passed the binoculars to Kiara.

She squinted through them, her gaze fixed on Ward. "Doesn't look dead to me. Let's go home," Pope stated, sounding more than ready to retreat.

"What?" Kiara turned to him, anger flashing in her eyes.

Pope sighed, his face twisting with both frustration and exhaustion. "Obviously, Mr. Cameron's fine, and even if John B was here, he isn't now, okay? Plus, I have the biggest, most important moment of my life in six hours."

Kiara crossed her arms, her voice rising. "Yeah, well, our friend is in trouble."

"I'm in trouble!" Pope shot back. "I haven't been home in three days! My dad's probably put all my stuff out on the street by now."

Kiara's jaw tightened as she took a step toward him. "So that's it? In a time of need, you're just gonna bail? Just walk away?"

JJ glanced between them. "Yo, guys, can we not do this right now?"

"Pope being here won't stop John B from committing murder," I reasoned, hoping to cool things down. "Unless he's suddenly the world's best negotiator with a psychology degree that will talk him out of it. Besides, did John B actually say he was gonna kill him?"

JJ shrugged. "Heavily implied but never confirmed."

Pope ran a hand over his face, exasperated. "I have a scholarship interview in the morning."

Kiara's gaze hardened. "Okay, well, what about John B?"

Pope's eyes flashed with offense, his voice snapping back at her. "Why is it always about John B?"

"It's not always about John B!" Kiara fired back. "If it were any of you in this situation, I'd be doing the exact same thing!"

"Oh, bullshit!" Pope groaned, looking away in disbelief.

"Guys, this is about friendship," Kiara insisted, her voice softening. "This is about Pogues for life."

Pope scoffed, the bitter edge in his voice deepening. "What about forensic pathology, huh?"

"Forensic pathology?" Kiara repeated.

"It's my life! Everything I've worked for!" Pope's voice was raised now.

"That's your priority?" Kiara's face flushed with disbelief as she took a step toward him, challenging him.

"Stop the moral high ground bullshit," Pope sneered, anger and hurt layered in his voice.

"Dude, stop." JJ glanced between them, his jaw clenched, looking more stressed than I'd seen him in a while.

Pope seemed to ignore him. "Where were you when Big John went missing, Kie? You weren't there. You weren't there for John B, or any of us. Remember your Kook year?"

"Dude." JJ put a hand on Pope's shoulder, trying to steady him, but Pope just shrugged it off.

Kiara rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Give me a break."

JJ finally stepped between them, raising his hands. "Hey! Yo, yo, yo, cut it out, all right? If I'm the one mediating, we've hit rock bottom," he muttered, throwing each of them a disbelieving look. He then turned to Pope. "Bow out if you have to, man. Go. I'll drop you off."

Pope didn't look happy about it, but he gave a small nod, accepting defeat for now. With that, JJ started the engine and we all piled into the car.

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