༄ 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗒 ༄

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑹𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑾𝑨𝑺 coming down, hard, and Thalia's red hair was sopping wet, captured in the bun she had had in all day. She leaned on her crutches, standing beside Pope, who held a very old camera in his grip. They hid behind a fence on Grand Street, watching carefully for any sign of Ward and Gavin. "Nice camera. Where'd you dig up that relic?" JJ commented as Pope centered the camera.

"Why don't you just use your phone?" Thalia asked, pushed flush against Pope, a bitter Kiara on her other side.

"Well, first of all, I like my antique electronics. Second of all, this is a telephoto. It allows me to get a close image from far away." Pope explained, Thalia stifled a smile at his words.

"Lord of the dorks." Kiara said with an eye roll.

Thalia focused on looking for Ward, her fingers shaking as she held her crutches. She so desperately wanted a drink, or a joint, or even hard drugs, but she was trying to fight her urges. "For definitive proof of witness payoff, we're gonna need quality glass." Pope said, too distracted with the camera to notice Thalia's silent distress.

Thalia heard footsteps. "There he is." she said quickly, alerting the group to Ward's arrival, her uncle running with a duffle bag under his arm.

"Yo, get down." JJ said, the Pogues ducking so they wouldn't be seen.

"And there's Gavin," Pope followed Gavin's path with his camera, both he and Ward disappearing into one of the construction buildings. "Where are you going, you son of a bitch?" Pope muttered, Thalia's breath slowing. "No, no, no, no. I'm losing him. Shit! Where's he going?" Pope said in alarm, lowering the camera.

"Hold on," JJ said, looking around. He left the fence and then whistled to get the Pogues' attention. "Yo! Hey. I found something. Come here," JJ beckoned them over, Thalia crutching towards her brother, her brace heavy from the rain. "Gotta go up top." JJ lead the Pogues to a ladder.

Pope gave JJ the camera and Thalia gave Kie her crutches, the two scaling the ladder. "Hurry. Don't wanna miss anything." Kiara said to Pope and Thalia.

Using one leg, Thalia started climbing up the ladder, Pope close behind her to make sure she didn't fall. When she made it to the top, her sneaker slipped on the soaked concrete of the building's roof, and Pope caught her before she could begin to fall. "I got you. You okay?" Pope whispered, holding Thalia by the waist.

She nodded, back to his chest. "Yeah. Thanks." Thalia whispered back, and Pope regretfully released her.

They joined Kie and JJ at the ledge of the building, the rain coming down even harder. JJ gave Pope the camera and let Thalia use his shoulders to pull herself to her knee, her other leg extended beside her. "You rolling, Pope?" JJ asked, eyes settling on the scene.

"Are you getting it?" Kie questioned, thunder rolling through the dark sky.

"Yeah. Yeah, I see them." Pope affirmed, his camera recording everything.

Thalia looked up at the sky. "What if we get struck by lightning?" she wondered, her lingering high the only thing keeping her together.

Kie scoffed. "I don't think that's a question I can answer for you right this second." Pope said, and Thalia nodded, taking the hint to shut up.

She decided to watch the interaction between Gavin and her uncle carefully. "Ward just handed Gavin something. I think it's a duffel bag." Pope said, the camera zoomed in on Gavin and Ward's interaction.

"Guys, I think this is a payoff." JJ spoke.

"No shit, sherlock." Thalia commented scornfully, brows furrowed as she looked at her brother.

They continued to watch Gavin and Ward. "Gavin doesn't look happy about something. It looks like he's yelling at Ward." Pope said, keeping the camera still.

"Why?" Kiara asked, stressed.

"I don't know, but he sure looks mad." Pope explained, and Thalia was fearful of what Ward would do. She had seen him mad before, quite a few times.

Then, Ward and Gavin started shoving each other. "Oh, Jesus." Thalia exclaimed with a regretful sigh.

The others caught wind of the altercation. "What's going on?" Kie questioned quickly.

"I don't know. They're fighting over something." Pope said.

"They're really going at it." JJ said, Thalia's heart rate quickening, the sounds all around her blurring into an echo. She could hear her heart thundering in her chest, mixed in with the sounds of her rapid breathing. The scene before her was eerily similar to the fight her parents had had before her mother left for good, it was eerily similar to the physical fights she had had with her father. It was all too much.

"Ward's kicking the shit out of Gavin." Pope continued, unaware of the struggle Thalia was going through, the violent shaking of her fingers, the battle in her mind.

"What are they fighting over?" JJ questioned.

Pope wasn't sure. "I don't know. I'm trying to see," he said, Thalia's eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't watch what was going on, couldn't see the true and evil nature of the man who raised her. The fight continued until Gavin keeled over, holding his head. "Holy shit. Ward's got a gun." Pope said suddenly, and Thalia opened her eyes.

Kie was breathing heavily. "I bet that's the murder weapon." she stated, and Thalia wasn't in the right frame of mind to make a snide remark.

Thalia watched the scene closely, begging Ward to be the good person she knew he was, and leave Gavin unscathed. She needed him to be better than her father, and her mother, and Rafe. She needed him to be better. But as Ward turned to leave Gavin behind, Gavin said something, and Ward sunk two bullets into his chest. Pope and Kiara started gasping, in shock. Instantly, they and JJ ducked behind the ledge to not be seen, but Thalia was too stunned to move. "Oh my God. Oh my God." Pope said in disbelief.

JJ shoved Thalia down, the redhead wearing a look of total betrayal on her face. "What the hell?" JJ muttered, not truly believing what he had just seen.

"Oh, God." Thalia managed to say, sick to her stomach. Ward had just shot someone. He really was like everyone else in her life.

"No, no, no, no. That did not just happen. What is going on?" Kie cried, her face pushed into the wall.

Thalia felt light-headed, like she needed to pass out. "Tell me you just got that." JJ urged Pope, looking at Thalia with concern. She was breathing so quickly, undergoing the effects of an intense panic attack.

"Enough to put this asshole away for life." Pope said, still filming. A tear escaped Thalia's eyes.

"Oh, God." Thalia repeated, agony coursing through her. This was all way too much.

There was another gunshot, and Thalia flinched, more tears falling down her face, masking themselves as raindrops. "This is freaking crazy," Pope said, he, Kiara and JJ brave enough to watch the scene again. Thalia stayed put with her back against the ledge, entire body shaking. "Oh no. Get down. Get down." Pope said quickly.

JJ's head was beside Thalia's. "Holy shit. I think we should go right now. Pope, you have enough, right?" the blonde asked, stressing out.

"Yeah," Pope nodded. "Hold on. He's coming out," Pope narrated, Ward leaving the building and entering the flooded streets. "There he goes. I think he's looking for the gun," Thalia still couldn't watch what was going on. "I think the gun just went down the drain. He's looking for it. Hey. He's looking for the gun."

"Hold this." Kiara said suddenly, rising up.

Thalia snapped back to life at Kie's movement. "What the hell are you doing, Kie?" the redhead asked quickly, using her voice for the first time in a while.

"Kie–" JJ tried, but his efforts were in vain.

"What is wrong with you? Murderer!" Kiara yelled, Thalia's eyes widening exponentially at Kie's showcase.

JJ clamped his hand over Kie's mouth. "Get down." he said quickly, tugging Kie off the ledge.

Thalia almost slapped Kie across the face. "Kiara. Are you crazy?" Pope asked quickly, Ward starting to search for the source of the sound.

"What are you doing?" JJ asked angrily.

"I don't care if he hears me. He's a murderer!" Kiara reasoned, and Thalia's panic and shock turned to anger.

"Kiara, I live with him, you fucking idiot! Maybe we don't let him find out we know what he did?" Thalia said angrily, pissed off at the entire world.

"Guys, he sees us." Pope said suddenly, and Thalia exhaled, body clenched.

"Are you serious?" JJ asked.

Thalia was already on her feet, crutches in hand, making her way to the ladder. She got down first and waited at the bottom for the others. Pope was the first to descend on the ladder, then JJ, followed by Kiara. In an expected twist of bad luck, Kiara stepped on JJ's hand, JJ kicked Pope in the face, and as both Pope and JJ fell, the camera was knocked out of Pope's hand. Thalia tried, but she couldn't reach for the camera, and it shattered on the ground. "Son of a bitch!" Thalia cursed angrily.

"Sorry. So sorry." Kie apologized, Pope and JJ groaning on the ground.

"No, no, no, no, no." Pope muttered in distress, on his knees. He lifted the destroyed camera.

"You're kidding me. You fumbled it?" JJ asked angrily.

"JJ, chill out!" Thalia said quickly, feeling awfully protective over Pope. it was weird, and she didn't know how she felt about it.

Pope rose to his feet. "You kicked me in the face." he said to JJ.

"She stepped on my hand." JJ pointed to Kiara.

"I was trying to hurry." Kiara rationalized.

"Well, you fucked us." Thalia spoke, her crutches under her arms.

They knew Ward was coming, so they rushed to Kie's car, Pope lifting Thalia to help her over the fence along the way. They made it to Kie's car, Pope and Thalia diving into the backseat. JJ spoke first, breathing heavily. "Could someone fill me in on what the frick just happened?" JJ shouted, Thalia's head pressed to the headrest, hearing her heartbeat and her breathing once more, the sounds echoing and threatening to block everything else out. Pope groaned angrily, upset. "Holy crap. I can't believe it. Wait, wait. What were they fighting over?" JJ questioned.

Pope thought quickly, his brain a mess. "Uh... it was... it was a gun, the one Rafe used. He must have kept it." he said, words jumbling.

"Of course! Of course! The murder weapon!" JJ realized.

Pope looked over at Thalia, alarmed. "Thalls, what's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked quickly, shifting closer to her, gently turning her face towards him.

Another tear masked as a raindrop dripped past Thalia's pattern of freckles. "I thought he was good." Thalia said, choked up. She figured that she never really accepted that Ward killed Big John. Even though she knew it was true, it never took root in her mind. She watched Ward kill this time, there was no denying it. He was a murderer, and he had fooled her for her entire life.

Not knowing what to do, Pope just pulled Thalia into him, forcing her face into his neck, holding her close. "Pick up! Pick up!" Kiara said suddenly, frantic.

"Who are you calling?" JJ asked, looking over at her.

"Who do you think?" Kie spoke tearfully.

Pope's eyes widened and his spine straightened. "The cops?" he gaped, Thalia's eyes widened.

"Who else am I supposed to call?" Kiara asked, crying.

"Why would you call the police? That's Ward!" JJ shouted in disbelief.

The police finally picked up and Kiara silenced the boys. "Hello? Hi, somebody's been shot at the... at the Grand Street construction site! You guys need to hurry because he's dying. I don't know if he's already dead or not! You need to hurry!" Kiara said into the phone, her words barely coherent.

Pope fiddled with the camera, still holding Thalia, the redhead clearly in shock over what had happened. "We gotta get out of here. We're sitting ducks." JJ said as Kie hung up the phone.

"We can't stay here." Pope agreed, worried for Thalia. He had never seen her like this.

"What do you want me to do?" Kie asked, wailing.

Thalia sat up, breaking away from Pope. "Just drive, Kie! Take me home." she instructed, pushing all of her feelings down, as deep as they could go.

JJ's eyes widened. "What? You're not going home!" he said quickly, wanting his sister to be safe.

"There's no way you're going back there!" Pope added, decisively. Thalia was honestly surprised at his passion over her safety.

"I have to! He doesn't know that we know, and we have to keep it that way," Thalia said, Kie starting to drive. "It'll be fine. He wouldn't hurt me."

When Thalia crutched her way into the house, Rose was the only one still up. Ward wasn't home yet, and Thalia could breathe easier knowing it was only Rose she had to face. "Where the hell have you been, young lady?" Rose asked, holding a glass of wine. "Why are you so wet?"

Thalia refrained from making a comment. She dropped her backpack on the ground and sat down on a chair in the kitchen, exhaling. "Sorry I didn't text, or anything. I was at Kie's house, studying, and I guess my phone died. I walked home." Thalia lied smoothly.

Rose frowned. "There's a lot to unpack here. First of all, you, studying? I don't buy that. You've never studied a day in your life, I don't know how you've passed any of your classes." Rose placed her glass of wine on the kitchen counter, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm friends with Kie, and she studies. My new history teacher's a dick, and we have a test already in a few days." Thalia spoke, placing her leg on one of the other chairs.

"Okay, but again, you're the queen of cheating and never caring about any of your grades." Rose said again.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "I don't really know myself, Rose. I guess with Sarah, you know, dying, I realized that I could die, too. Any second, really. And I'm not doing myself any favors by drinking and doing drugs, and coasting through life without caring. I don't want to end up like my parents, I want to be successful. I have a fresh start at this school, and I know Sarah wouldn't want me to waste it." Thalia said, lying through her teeth, pulling mopey crap out of her ass to appease Rose. Thalia had no intentions of quitting drinking and drugs anytime soon, and she didn't even care if she lived or died.

A sad frown graced Rose's lips. "Well, I'm proud of you. That's a big step," she said, deciding to believe her step-niece. "The Carrera's let you walk home in the rain, on crutches?" the woman asked.

"They offered, but I wanted to clear my head. I didn't realize how much it was raining." Thalia said, and Rose smiled lightly.

"Well, go shower and get warm." Rose finished her wine.

Thalia stood up, planting her crutches under her arms. "Hey, where's Ward? I didn't see his car." Thalia asked casually, needing to form her innocence.

Rose turned her back to Thalia. "He had to take care of some business. He'll be back soon." she lied, and Thalia nodded. She and Rose always lied to each other, and while Rose wasn't good at detecting Thalia's lies, Thalia always knew when Rose was lying.

By the time Thalia showered, changed and blow dried her brace, she was utterly exhausted. So she crashed in her bed after downing half a bottle of vodka, too hammered to pick up her phone and answer Pope's call. He didn't need to worry about her, she was fine. She was always fine, especially when she wasn't.

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