CHAPTER FOUR,
fear the reaper.

SOCIETY HARSHLY TWISTS the human mind into believing that you have to fall victim to the brutal world that is illicit narcotics and alcohol in order to have a decent time with those that you surround yourself with. When she began to approach her early teenage years, Jaylene vividly remembered the frown that would attach itself to her lips whenever she was in the presence of someone who appeared to be heavily intoxicated, her strong disapproval being a result of the lie she believed in the past; that her mother had taken her own life with the help of the small, atrocious pills. She made a promise to herself to never consume anything like it, the fear of it having even an ounce of control over her peace of mind petrifying her.

     Unfortunately, that promise unraveled the second she bid farewell to the hell that was middle school and stepped foot into a whole new disastrous world. It wasn't until sophomore year that her downfall began,  the big, red curtains pulled to the sides to reveal a version of Jaylene that she hardly recognized. She was a marionette, tight strings wrapped around her body and Rafe Cameron hovering above her, central rod gripped tightly in his hand with thick strings twined around his fingers.

     He was a master manipulator, his twisted brain obtaining a sense of high off of converting Jaylene into half of the disaster that he was, a high that not even the highest quality of cocaine could ever grant him; not that he even knew what high quality cocaine felt like considering the most lowlife pogue of them all was his dealer. It was no secret that in his father's eyes, he was a disgrace, the rebel child of the family who was incapable of doing anything right in his life. He spent a majority of his time seeking Ward Cameron's approval, desperate to receive even a quarter of the love that his father showed his younger sister, but no matter what, he always failed.

Sarah wasn't wrong when she told John B that her brother liked Jaylene Rosewood . . . except it wasn't a crush like she assumed. His heart didn't flutter at the sight of her like a typical teenage boy. Instead, he felt as though his body was on fire, the strong desire to wrap his hands around her throat to suffocate her itching at him whenever he was in her presence. He did like her, just not in a healthy way. He found some sort of derailed satisfaction in watching her throw her life down the drain when he got her hooked on cocaine at a kook party once. He liked the influence he had on her. He liked being the mastermind in charge of her subconscious during the months that led to her overdose. So, yeah, he liked having some sort of power over her because it meant driving her so deep into the ground to the point where Ward would finally realize that there was someone out there far more fucked than he was.

Except unlike him, Henderson Rosewood made an effort to get his daughter the help she needed to overcome that insatiable hunger that controlled her; to intoxicate her bloodstream with some sort of narcotic that would a help her stray far away from reality. Sure it hardly helped, but the thought was there . . . sort of. Actually, not really. Her father hadn't even realized that she had become an addict until it was almost too late. And that was the difference between the two. For Rafe, it was too late to be saved, his final straw breaking into pieces when he showed up at the airstrip with a loaded gun in hand in hopes of helping out his father.

Meanwhile, Jaylene was stuck in a foreign country suffering her end of the collateral damage that was a result of being a witness that day that Rafe murdered sheriff Peterkin in cold blood. She too wanted nothing more than to wrap her hands around his neck as she watched him thrash around, struggling to breathe until the life finally left his eyes. If it weren't for the guilt she'd feel taking another human life, she would gladly put him out of his misery all on her own, but she wasn't him. She had the capacity to sympathize with others, her conscious somewhat intact and not entirely deranged like his.

However, they still had one thing in common that bound them like two puzzle pieces and that was the desire to feel as if they were on cloud nine to attempt to avoid the problems that seemed to constantly pile on top of one another. The euphoria was all they craved, feeling as though it was the answer to everything.

Even after a six month program, Jaylene was desperate, her mouth drier than the damn Sahara desert, her willpower beginning to fade with the seconds that ticked by excruciatingly slow. She could feel a relapse coming on, her sweaty palms and anxious body language being an indicator of that. It made her wanna scream, self reproach pulsating through her veins at how much power drugs had over her.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" John B questioned from the passenger seat, looking over at Jaylene who had parked the car beside the sidewalk that peered over the dark ocean, his mind momentarily shifting back to the night of the storm where their lives nearly came to an abrupt end. He swallowed thickly, shaking aside the thought of his lungs overflowing with the salty water, arms unable to uphold himself in the never ending blanket of water as he slowly began to accept his faith.

Relocating her mind to the present, Jaylene took in a deep breath, unsure of the answer herself. Truth be told, she just wanted to be home again. She hated the actual house, but she missed when she wasn't running around a foreign country without the capacity to think straight—not that she even remembered how to do that anymore after how badly she'd fucked her brain up. "Ward will come down here to move the gold, that's a given. I mean, we might as well make an attempt to get it back, right?"

"I thought you were against this." John B thought back to their short-lived argument from earlier that night, her comment still sitting in the back of his mind despite the great effort he'd made to shake it off.

"I am . . . " Jaylene trailed off, feeling as though her blood was on fire at the thought of having to confront Terrance again after the hell he, Stubbs, and Cleo had put them through back there. "But I'd like to think that by taking the gold back, it means that your dad didn't die for nothing. During my childhood, he was around more than my dad ever was, so think of this as honoring his memory."

John B gave her a questioning look, his brow cocked upwards at her definition of honoring someone's memory. She'd briefly gone over the plan she'd constructed during the car ride and it sounded risky enough to work in their favor if everything went according to plan. "A heist?"

     "A heist in his honor." Jaylene corrected, trying to convince herself that that made it any better. Whatever. It's not like she cared about the Camerons—excluding Sarah and Wheezie, of course. They could go bankrupt for all she cared so long as Ward got a taste of his own medicine. Plus, she needed to keep the adrenaline going for as long as she possibly could in order to avoid her mind from wandering to an extremely dark place that wouldn't be pleasant for anyone, especially herself.

     He chuckled at her response, absolute adoration filling his eyes as he longingly stared at the girl seated beside him. "Your way of thinking fascinates me every day, Jaylene Rosewood."

Jaylene briefly smiled, her nose scrunching up in the process. She then let out a sigh, her fingers drumming against the steering wheel as she carefully pressed the back of her head against the uncomfortable seat. "I need to get a hold of Sarah and my brother for this to work, though."

     "Are you sure you're ready for that?" He seemed concerned at the mention of her younger brother and she was quickly able to tell that it had nothing to do with her having miraculously survived the storm that took out the Phantom.

     "For?" Jaylene inquired, confusion coating her words.

     "Well, assuming you do manage to get a hold of your brother, aren't you gonna tell him about your mom? That she's . . . alive." John B struggled to make this conversation somewhat normal, but it was impossible to do so when a woman that he and the entirety of Kildare county thought was dead actually turned out to be alive this entire time.

     "He knows she's alive." She scrambled through her thoughts, recalling the exact moment in time when she revealed that their mother was very much alive and hadn't died that November night like everyone on the island had assumed. Even if she wanted to forget all about that day, she couldn't. It was the day that Ward took John B out on that boat and accidentally revealed what had happened to his father which ultimately caused everything to go spiraling downwards. At the simple thought of it, she could feel her throat getting dry, the grown hatred towards Ward Cameron causing her to roll her eyes. "What he doesn't know is that I'm alive, so I should probably let him know that the fish didn't pick the meat off of my bones." She pursed her lips, looking outside at her surroundings in hopes of locating a nearby telephone.

     At her response, John B opened his mouth to say something, having to shut it immediately afterward until he could locate his voice. He knew the Rosewoods could be a bit peculiar at times, but this was a whole other level of crazy and that's coming from a teenage boy who was tangled in this current mess after having involved himself in a treasure hunt. "So does everyone know that Marleen Harrington has been alive this entire time aside from me?" He finally asked after moments of silence.

     During the few seconds that John B took to form his sarcastic question, Jaylene thought long and hard about that afternoon on the airstrip. She slowly began to remember everything about that day, her mind going haywire. Moments before Rafe set a match and created this whole shit show she was trapped in, sheriff Peterkin showed up to arrest Ward Cameron and in the process uttered words that hadn't stopped playing in her mind since.

"You're under arrest for the murder of "Big John" Routledge. And for aiding and abetting in the attempted murder of Marleen Harrington."

What part had Ward Cameron played that day? Jaylene had thought of all the possibilities, her thought process feeling as though it was on the verge of combusting from how drained she was from all this thinking.

"Oh, my god." She felt as though her eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, the sudden realization overwhelming her as she ignored John B's previous question. "My mom's alive, John B! She's fucking alive!" She nearly shouted, unable to remain sitting inside of the vehicle due to the sudden hope that wrapped its arms around her, igniting a sense of joy inside of her. It felt like her body was overheating, forcing her to make her way out of the vehicle with John B following close behind her, more confused than anything.

     He slammed the door shut behind him, grabbing his belongings as he trailed behind her as she stepped onto the sidewalk.  "Alright, I'm confused, Jay. Hadn't we already established that your mom's alive?" He questioned, managing to catch up to her just as she stopped in her tracks, turning to face him.

Jaylene shook her head at him as a way of telling him to stop talking. She'd watched way too many crime-related shows in her spare time when she was thirteen and was convinced she was qualified to defend someone on trial (she wasn't, by the way). "Ward aided and abetted in her attempted murder and assuming she can prove that to a judge, she can destroy any credibility he has left so long as she knows whatever it is that sheriff Peterkin had on him." She explained, feeling like an absolute genius for having remembered what Susan Peterkin had said before a bullet pierced through her skin. "If she can do that, Ward's previous testimony about what happened on that airstrip can get thrown right out the window which means that Sarah and I can testify in your favor."

     "Alright, no offense, Jay, but wasn't your mom's credibility destroyed the second she faked her own death? You really think a judge would trust her if she were to announce that she's been alive this entire time?" John B argued with what he felt was an absurd plan that his girlfriend had come up with.

     "There's no death certificate out there, not even a fake one, so she didn't technically fake her death." Jaylene thought back to the conversation she'd had with her grandparents when they revealed what had actually happened that night. "The only problem is that I don't think she'll ever step foot into Kildare county."

"Well, JJ, Kie, and Pope are already working on clearing my name, so let's just stick with that plan for now, alright?" John B suggested, earning a sigh in response from Jaylene.

"Fine." She agreed, not having the slightest faith that the three friends would successfully manage to clear John B's name without getting into some kind of trouble first. "But as for the gold heist, we seriously need to get in contact with Sarah and my brother."

     "Explain to me why we need to do that again?"

     Jaylene clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, continuing to head towards the dock where Terrance, Cleo, and Stubbs were at. Arguably, this was a terrible plan waiting to blow up in their faces, but she didn't care anymore. She needed to keep her adrenaline levels at their highest to avoid what she most dreaded. "Well, assuming Sarah is still on our side, which I have no doubt about, she can find out the exact time that Ward is gonna come down here to move the gold. She's the key to all of this." She briefly explained, tossing the car keys towards John B who was quick enough to catch them before they could touch the ground. "And as for Nathaniel, I just can't keep letting him think that I'm dead. Plus, he's like really good at sneaking around, so maybe he can team up with Sarah."

     John B processed what she was telling him, nodding his head. However, he was still confused about one thing. "Wait, if that's the plan, then why are we here? They screwed us over." He reminded her of the incident at the Cameron estate that had occurred less than an hour ago. His heart still felt like it was on the verge of leaping out of his chest from almost having been caught by Ward Cameron.

     "It's clear that Terrance knows people around here. It's the only way this plan can work." Jaylene shrugged her shoulders as they approached the three familiar faces who were hanging around the dock on a boat. She immediately felt them turn in her direction, her body sliding onto the boat itself to get closer to the three traitors who had left them behind as bait.

Before Terrance could greet them with one of his witty comments, a familiar voice captured Jaylene's attention, her head snapping towards the blonde-haired woman who she had somehow missed when she stepped onto the boat.

"Oh, thank god you're okay." Marleen heaved a sigh of relief, her arms wrapping themselves around Jaylene who stumbled back in surprise, her own arms remaining by her side as she stiffly welcomed this unexpected motherly gesture that felt so foreign.

     Maybe under different circumstances, Jaylene would've hugged her back, but she was still so angry at her for everything, so she just let it go on until Marleen pulled away, her hands reaching for her upper arms as she examined her face to assure that no damage had been done.

     "Yeah, we managed to get away after your friend over there used us as bait in order to save himself." Jaylene was snarky with her response, shrugging Marleen's hands off of her after a few more seconds.

     "Every man for himself, right?" Terrance raised his hands up in defense, laughing a bit afterward which caused Jaylene to roll her eyes at him. "If you're here for that nugget, you're outta luck. You ain't getting it back."

     "Keep it." Jaylene shrugged, not really caring about that piece of gold. Considering that they couldn't pawn it off without someone growing suspicious, it was useless to her and John B. "You saw how much more of that there was in that safe, didn't you?"

     "We all did." Terrance sounded just as annoyed as Jaylene, hoping she'd be quick to get to the point so this conversation could be over with.

     "Half a billion worth of gold is lying inside of the safe." Jaylene continued, crossing her arms over her chest with her eyes wandering upwards where Cleo was sitting as she responded this time.

     "Cops showed up. That things ought to be tighter than a clamshell now." She didn't trust Jaylene and that was evident, but it didn't bother the Rosewood girl much.

     "Yeah, I remember the cops. Thanks for the reminder, sweetheart." Jaylene flashed the girl the fakest of smiles, still bitter at the situation. "Anyway, the golds not staying there for long. The owner of the house is gonna have to come down here to move it, there's no way he won't after what happened tonight."

     "A Brink's job?" Terrance seemed a bit more intrigued than he did seconds ago, his posture straightening as he looked toward the teenage girl. He was listening, but still not convinced.

     All Marleen could do was listen to this insanity, her head shaking in disbelief. She knew what Ward Cameron was capable of and there was no way in hell she was about to allow Jaylene to continue putting herself in fear's way, so she spoke up. "Are you kidding me? Do you know how powerful Ward is, Jaylene? Have you lost your goddamn mind?"

     Jaylene briefly glanced over at her mother, considering responding, but she quickly turned her focus back to Terrance, her eyes narrowed. "Think about it, you have a boat to get us away, you know people and the island, and if you have a phone lying around, I will find out the exact time that the gold will be moving." She was confident with her words, knowing that this had the possibility of being successful if everything went according to plan. However, that didn't seem to convince Terrance and his crew much, so she threw in the following offer, watching Stubbs turn to look at her since her and John B's arrival. "We'll give you two million in exchange for your help."

Terrance chuckled in disbelief at the offer, shaking his head. "Let me get this straight. You want us to risk going to jail and possibly getting shot for a fraction of what's in that safe." His