≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

''Ladies and gentlemen, Ward Cameron, king of the kooks, is going to jail!''

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

THE PORCH WAS quiet except for the faint rustle of the wind in the trees. Inside, the boys were celebrating loudly, their excitement palpable as JJ paced around.

''Ladies and gentlemen, Ward Cameron, king of the kooks, is going to jail!'' JJ proclaimed, throwing his arms in the air dramatically.

''Goodbye! Goodbye!'' Pope echoed, leaning back against the wall with a satisfied grin. ''Adios! He out of there! Adios!''

I couldn't help but smile at their antics, but as I glanced over at Sarah, her expression told a different story. Her shoulders were slumped, and she stared at her phone as if willing it to give her answers.

''Do you regret it?'' Kie's voice broke the moment of silence.

Sarah shook her head. ''No. He deserves all of it, and I know that,'' she responded quietly.

Kie leaned closer. ''He's your dad. I get it. I'm sure it sucks to be in the middle.''

Before Sarah could reply, her phone buzzed in her hand. She glanced at the screen, muttering, ''Sorry,'' before quickly stepping off the porch.

I turned to Kie, concern tugging at my thoughts. ''You good?'' I asked cautiously.

She frowned, avoiding my eyes. ''Yeah, why?''

''Oh, I just thought, since you and Pope—''

''Jesus, I don't wanna talk about it,'' Kie snapped, her words sharp enough to make me clamp my mouth shut. I held up my hands in mock surrender, looking away.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

LATER, AS JOHN B drove toward the Cameron's house, the Twinkie jostled over uneven roads. I sat in the back with JJ and Pope, watching the stretch of road ahead. Sarah sat up front, her focus on the flashing red and blue lights in the distance.

''Shit,'' Kie whispered under her breath as the police cars sped by.

Sarah leaned forward, gripping the edge of her seat. ''Oh my God, can you please hurry? I need to be there for Wheezie.''

John B glanced at her, his knuckles tight on the wheel. ''You think I wanna miss this?''

JJ let out a low whistle, shaking his head. ''Terrible timing.''

When we finally reached the house, we all jumped out, our eyes darting toward the docks where a swarm of cops and SBI agents moved in a frenzy. ''Screw it. I'm going over,'' John B muttered before climbing the wall with surprising ease.

JJ crouched by the wall, cupping his hands to give Kie a boost. ''Three, two, one, go,'' he urged, watching as she climbed over. Pope followed, helping Sarah next.

''Your turn,'' JJ said, crouching again and motioning to me. I hesitated for half a second before stepping into his hands, gripping the top of the wall and swinging myself over.

''Thanks,'' I mumbled once my feet hit the ground. JJ gave me a quick nod before vaulting over himself.

At the dock, chaos unfolded. Sarah rushed to Wheezie, pulling her into a tight embrace. ''What's going on? Why are the police here again?'' Wheezie asked, her voice trembling.

''Go inside. Don't come out,'' Sarah instructed firmly, ushering her sister toward the house. Wheezie obeyed, disappearing inside with Rose.

''Dad!'' Sarah shouted as she ran to the edge of the dock, her voice breaking. Ward was on the Druthers. The cops tried to hold us back, but JJ stood his ground.

''We're here for her,'' he declared pointing at Sarah.

John B stepped forward. ''You gotta let us through! Officer Shoupe, Shoupe!'' he called out.

Shoupe glanced over, recognizing Sarah. ''Hey, that's Sarah Cameron. Let them through!'' he ordered. The officers parted reluctantly, and we walked cautiously toward the boat, our hands raised in the air.

''Dad, what are you doing?'' Sarah asked.

Ward's gaze flicked toward her, panic written all over his face. ''Vic, you gotta get her out of here! She can't be here right now!'' he shouted, ignoring her pleas.

''Just come on in, and you—you can talk to her!'' Shoupe urged, stepping closer.

Ward was already moving ignoring the shouts after him. ''Sarah, I'm so sorry, baby. I can't!'' he yelled, his voice cracking as he hit the button to raise the anchor.

''Dad, no, no, no!'' Sarah screamed, rushing forward as if she could stop him. The chaos reached its peak when the boat suddenly erupted into flames. The explosion sent a massive plume of black smoke into the sky, the sound reverberating through the air and shaking the dock beneath us.

''No. No,'' Sarah gasped, her voice barely above a whisper as she crumpled to her knees. ''Dad. Dad!''

I hesitated, unsure what to do, but then moved closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her trembling fingers reached up, gripping mine tightly. Taking it as a cue, I knelt beside her, pulling her into a hug as she broke down.

''Dad...'' she sobbed, her grief raw and uncontainable. I held her tighter, ignoring John B's glare on me. I hate Ward. Everybody does. Including Sarah, but that doesn't make her grief any less valid. She just lost her father. It doesn't matter how bad of a person he was, it was still her family member.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

THE SALTY AIR clung to my skin as I sat cross-legged on the dock. JJ stood next to me, a fishing rod in hand, the line bobbing gently with the current. Kiara was seated on my other side, her knees pulled to her chest, and her gaze fixed somewhere far away. Pope lingered on the ramp, his arms crossed as he studied the water, while John B lay sprawled on his stomach in the boat, his head resting on his folded arms.

JJ broke the silence first. ''He deserved it, right?''

Kiara scoffed, her brows knitting together as she looked over at him. ''Are you joking? Of course he deserved it.'' She leaned back on her hands.

''Never seen anyone blow themselves up like that,'' Pope muttered, shaking his head. There was no humour in his voice, just disbelief.

''Cross that one off the bucket list,'' JJ quipped, a sly grin tugging at his lips.

I shot him a warning look, my voice low as I sighed, ''JJ...''

He raised his hands in mock surrender, though his smirk didn't fade. ''Yeah, right, sucks for Sarah.'' His gaze slid to me then, and for a moment, his bravado faltered. ''You okay, Vivi?''

The question caught me off guard. I used to hate that nickname, but when JJ said it, it didn't seem that bad. I hesitated, my fingers trailing the fraying edge of the dock. ''I don't know,'' I admitted quietly. ''I just keep thinking about her face... how lost she looked.'' My throat tightened as I remembered Sarah collapsing on the dock sobbing. I'd held her then, but there was only so much comfort you could offer when someone's world was crumbling.

''She's strong,'' Kiara chimed in softly. ''She'll get through it.''

''You good?'' She asked John B, sitting next to him. ''It's not me I'm worried about,'' he murmured, his face half-hidden in the crook of his arm.

We all fell silent at that. It wasn't hard to figure out what he meant—Sarah. None of us could forget how detached he'd been after it all went down. When Topper showed up and whisked her away, John B hadn't even moved. Not a word, not a step. Just... nothing.

Kiara reached out and nudged my shoulder. ''Mave, you were with her last night. How's she doing?''

''Not great,'' I admitted. ''She barely said a word when Topper came. Just... let him take her like she didn't have the energy to fight anymore.'' I shook my head, biting the inside of my cheek. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

THE NIGHT HAD been a blur of laughter, smoke curling in the humid air. It was the kind of night where the laughter was so loud, it drowned out all the bad memories. I don't usually get drunk or loud, but something about the way JJ spun me around under the glow of string lights made me forget. Forget the Kooks, Rafe's lies, and everything else. 

The others laughed while JJ and I stumbled around in the background, pretending we were dancing champions.

By morning, the sun sliced through the curtains of the Chateau, and my head throbbed like a dull drum. JJ, John B, and I all skipped school without a second thought. It felt good, though—just the three of us, like it used to be.

After school let out, everyone gathered on the porch.  Pope sat cross-legged with Denmark's diary in hand, his voice steady as he read aloud.

''Guys, this is Denmark's diary,'' Pope announced, holding the delicate pages with care. Apparently our teacher gave it to him after doing some research about it and also told Pope to scold us for skipping school.

''August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame. And we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold.''

I leaned forward, elbows on my knees as I listened to Pope. ''Once the cargo was on board, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board. He robbed them and left them to die,'' 

JJ scoffed. ''So, it didn't go down off Bermuda.''

''And it was a Limbrey... stealing shit again,'' Kiara muttered, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Pope's gaze shifted to John B as he explained, ''This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant.''

JJ frowned, sitting up straighter. ''Why didn't we find it in the well, then? I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?''

''Because it was too big,'' I pointed out.

Pope nodded, his face lighting up. ''You're right. He had to hide it someplace else.''

''But where?'' Kiara wondered aloud, her fingers tapping against her knee.

''Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel,'' Pope answered, his tone tinged with urgency.

JJ squinted at him. ''Wait, I thought this was about the key.''

''The path to the tomb begins in the island room,'' Pope clarified, but the confusion on everyone's faces mirrored my own.

''But what is the island room?'' Kiara asked, glancing around as though one of us might suddenly produce an answer.

JJ stood, his grin wide as an idea struck him. ''You know what helps me figure shit out?''

''I don't think weed helps you think better, JJ,'' I muttered, shaking my head at him, trying to hide the smirk.

''Not true,'' JJ shot back, feigning offence. ''The ideas just pour out of me.'' He gestured wildly with his hands. ''If we just sit here and try to figure this out, we're gonna get nowhere. But if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere.'' He grabbed the stick of empty beer cans he'd been messing with earlier, holding it like some kind of sceptre.

Kiara chuckled as she leaned back. ''Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I'm an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose club.''

''Pope?'' JJ prompted.

Pope hesitated for a moment before exhaling loudly. ''We're so close,'' he muttered, almost to himself.

''Look, think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest,'' JJ teased, smirking at him.

Pope finally caved, throwing his hands up. ''Okay, fine.''

The cheers that followed were small but genuine.

JJ raised his beer triumphantly. ''Wait, we gotta shotgun before we go,'' he declared. 

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me. Somehow, JJ always managed to bring us together, even when everything felt like it was falling apart.

words: 1990

A/N

season 4 is gonna be the death of me istg.