CHAPTER SEVEN,
a couple of kids

IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDDAY by the time that Heyward's truck had been loaded onto the ferry to depart from the Outer Banks to its designated location at the port in Charleston, South Carolina. Jaylene still wasn't entirely sure how an envelope was the key to clearing John B's name, but she trusted Pope so she didn't ask questions and just briefly listened to the trio's ongoing conversation until a topic caught her interest.

     "Maybe we'll get sent to the same boarding school."

Kiara flashed Jaylene a deadpan look at her attempt to make a joke out of the punishment her parents planned to invoke on her should she continue to disobey the strict rules they set out for her. She had begun to regret ever having mentioned it to the Rosewood girl in the first place.

Jaylene raised her brows along with her hands in defense, proceeding to sink down into the corner of the truck's trunk. She thought the joke was quite funny, but it was evident that their humor differed drastically from one another. "Uh, so you really haven't heard from him since that text he sent?" She turned towards Pope, changing the subject as her concern for John B increased by the second.

"No, and the fact that you haven't either is concerning." Pope sighed, leaning his body against the side of the truck where he stood.

"He probably played it smart and laid low in Nassau for a few days . . . right?" Jaylene chewed the inside of her cheek, her doubtful tone implying that she was having difficulty believing the words that left her mouth.

Pope nodded, less convinced than she was. "Well, until we hear from him again, we gotta try and clear his name." He proceeded to hold up the envelope he'd received earlier that day. "Right now, this letter's our best shot."

     "Right, stay on task." JJ cut into their brief conversation, bopping his head with a humorous tone coating his words that made it seem like he wasn't entirely taking the situation all that seriously. "That's why I love ya, Pope."

     Jaylene sighed, turning her attention toward the swaying water nearby. She'd always felt uneasy whenever she was trapped on a water vehicle of any kind, but the memory of her submerged in the unexplored made it ten times worse. If the journey weren't for a good cause, she probably wouldn't have stepped foot onto the ferry.

     "What Pope are you gonna be today?" Kiara asked, holding the lit joint out towards Pope.

Pope refused the offer, shaking his head. "I'm good. I'm gonna try to focus."

Kiara pulled the joint away from him, pursing her lips. "Good Pope." She noted, turning around to go sit in the vacant spot beside JJ. "Boring Pope."

Jaylene diverted her attention back towards the three teenagers at the unnecessary comment that had been uttered, her eyes formed into slits. "Seriously?" She shot her a disapproving look at how rude she'd been. "Don't be that person, Kiara. You can't go around acting all self-righteous because you think you're superior to kooks and then shame someone for not wanting to smoke weed. It's typical kook behavior and not to mention that it's fucking hypocritical."

     "I wasn't—"

     "You weren't being a total bitch?" Jaylene's hostility increased by the second. While it may not have been entirely aimed at Kiara, the brunette didn't know that—none of them did. "Look, we're all worried about John B and just because you get high to cope with it doesn't mean that he has to!" She spat.

     "Jaylene, it's fine." Pope tried to ease the tension that had risen between the two girls.

Jaylene glanced over at him and then back at Kiara, shaking her head at her and scoffing. "Whatever."

________________

BEING IN THE SAME ROOM as her parents as they reunited after years of no contact was less awkward than the short car ride that Jaylene had to endure after Heyward's truck was loaded off of the ferry and onto the land that was South Carolina. To make matters worse, a major mishap cut the tense-filled drive short and they found themselves at a family-owned car shop where the truck was in the process of being fixed.

"You okay?"

Jaylene looked up from where she was uncomfortably sitting on a bench, regret surfacing across her veins from how much discomfort she felt with the wound that had a disgusting bandage over it which had to be changed at least a few hours ago. She tried to ignore the fact that it'd likely become infected if left like that and instead turned her focus to the speck of blond hair.

She gave the boy a puzzled look. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, aside from coming this close to death . . . " He paused, bringing his fingers into view to pull them close to one another but not to the point in which they were touching. " . . . you did get shot—which is pretty sick by the way. I definitely wanna see that wound at some point."

She deadpanned at that, shaking her head at him.

"Okay, uh, right, right, totally not the point." JJ clearer his throat. "But the swing at Kie—"

"She was being a bitch." Jaylene defended herself, though she didn't understand why she had to when it was obvious who was in the wrong. Small clue . . . not her.

He didn't necessarily disagree, pursing his lips. "You got somethin' else bothering you. What is it? Is it John B? Cause I get it."

She sighed to herself, shaking her head. "I'm just dealing with my own share of family drama." She pressed her back against the backrest of the bench. "I wanted nothing more than to be back home after everything that happened in Nassau, but being back there made me feel like I was violently kicking my feet in the water again and despite my best efforts to reach the surface to get some air, I was drowning."

JJ clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, nodding in understanding. "Yeah, I know that feeling."

Jaylene appreciated his concern, she really, really did, but she shook her head in disagreement. "Trust me, JJ, our situations are different from one another, like, super fucking different."

He shrugged his shoulders in response.

Jaylene swallowed thickly, tapping her fingers against the side of her thigh. "If I would've had the choice, I would've stayed beside him. I hope you guys know that." She changed the subject, feeling guilty for having been separated from John B back in the Bahamas. Getting shot wasn't exactly written on her agenda that day.

"It ain't your fault that Rafe's a psycho."

"Maybe not, but it is my fault that he has a vendetta against me. I pissed him off and he made sure I suffered the consequences." She motioned towards her healing wound, wishing she could go back in time and do something to prevent Rafe from showing up on the tarmac. A part of her believed that if she hadn't left when she did, she would've somehow distracted him and prevented him from leaving to confront his father.

Maybe she could've like consoled him or something. She could've fed him lies and gotten him to believe that his father did love him and he didn't need to get himself into deep shit to prove it to Ward. Hell, who was she kidding? He was a deranged individual who had proven he would hurt anyone who got in his way. She was lucky to have escaped death a third time, especially at the hands of Rafe Cameron of all people. Maybe it was a good thing that he had some weird obsession with her; had that not been the case, she would've met the grim reaper long ago.

     "Uh, speaking of, how'd y'all like escape death out there in that storm?" JJ cleared his throat, the painful memory surfacing across his brain when Deputy Shoupe broke the news to him and everyone in that tent that the two teenagers had likely been consumed by the violent waves that night.

Oh, the usual, we happened to come across a cargo ship in the middle of nowhere and my dead mother just so happened to be on board was what Jaylene wanted to say, but she didn't feel like discussing her serious mommy issues at the moment. She preferred to bury them deep until she absolutely had to talk about the massive toll that the absence of Marleen had on her life and how her sudden appearance after twelve years was threatening to tear apart her mental health that she was still struggling to piece back together.

She didn't like discussing her family issues with anyone, so all she could really come up with was . . . "Luck?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Luck? In a storm like that?" He almost laughed . . . almost. "Nah, I don't buy it."

"Doesn't really matter what you buy, JJ. You weren't the one out there." Jaylene quickly grew defensive at the fact that he didn't believe her lie. To be fair, she didn't think he was the wisest—not in a rude way.

"Look, I get it, you don't wanna talk about it and I totally respect that." JJ held his hands up in surrender, lowering them slowly when Jaylene gave him a thankful nod in response. "I'll just ask John B once he gets home." He added with a small smile.

"Of course you will." Jaylene couldn't help but chuckle as she rolled her eyes at him.

Though she hated whenever he asked too many questions, she was thankful for him and the hope he was keeping alive in uncertain times —the hope that was stopping her from resenting herself entirely for being separated from John B. While she had zero control over the situation, she knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if something happened to him. He had to be okay. He just had to be.

"Sorry, Jay, I'm just a curious teenage boy." He defensively said, backing up slowly to get a better look into the shop's window where Kiara was currently paying Pope's debt with the card her parents had given her for emergencies only. When the transaction appeared to have gone through and the keys were back in Pope's possession, he motioned towards the truck. "Alright, looks like we outta get rolling." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and waited for Jaylene to get up from her spot so that the two could head back to the truck together.

     Once the engine was up and rolling again with Pope behind the wheel, the tension resurfaced as the wheels rolled across the asphalt for at least ten minutes until Jaylene realized they were coming to a stop in the middle of what appeared to be owned land judging by the fencing surrounding the acres of greenery. She lifted her head from where it was pressed against the glass of the window, looking around in confusion until she raised her brows in Pope's direction.

     "You're kidding, right?" She shook her head in disbelief at the idea of sleeping in front of some unknown persons land knowing that a vast majority of residents in the area had firearms to their names. "Do you like want to risk getting shot or something? Cause I've gotta warn you, it's no fun."

     "It'll be just like camping." JJ waved off her concern, nothing comforting about his attempt to justify sleeping out in the open without any source of protection.

     Jaylene shook her head in response, an idea quickly coming to mind. "No, keep driving, I know a place we can crash for free."

"Seriously? What's the point of that? We're already here, might as well get some rest." Kiara was quick to protest the idea, too quick for the brunette's liking.

Jaylene clenched her jaw, squeezing her eyes shut to stop herself from saying anything too rude. She was equally as tired as they all were, but she knew that they needed rest in a more comfortable area and if she was able to provide it for them just by driving twenty more minutes towards the lavish neighborhoods, she was going to stick to her idea. "Kiara, can you please set aside your pride for just one night? Not only do we all deserve to sleep on beds rather than the trunk of a car where mosquitos will eat us alive—that is if a redneck doesn't come out of that house and accuse us of trespassing before shooting us—but I got fucking shot and if I don't change this bandage in the next hour, I think that I will quite literally go into septic shock and that'll be my blood on your hands!" She snapped, the tension between the two girls rising.

Pope uncomfortably shifted in his seat, switching the engine back on without anyone having to say anything. He looked to Kiara who had decided to bite her tongue because she knew Jaylene had a valid point. "Uh . . . where to?" He cleared his throat, turning his focus towards Jaylene.

"Just get back on the road and go straight onto the 17. You'll cross the bridge and take the second exit." Jaylene instructed in a calmer tone than before, a tension headache forming from how exhausted she was. To be fair, taking a ferry to South Carolina wasn't on her to-do list today.

Pope nodded in her direction, proceeding to put the truck in drive in order to head back towards the slightly illuminated road where he properly followed Jaylene's directions, the Ravenel bridge shortly after coming into view which was overwhelming for their tiresome eyes.

A shaky sigh left Jaylene's lips, her eyes twinkling from the shining structure that upheld the bridge. She grazed her finger against the glass window, her mind drifting towards the brown-haired boy, the blurry image of his panicked face resurfacing as the pain from the bullet lodged into her abdomen became too much for her to handle. Guilt was all she felt despite getting the chance to tell him that it wasn't his fault that she'd been shot in the heist for the gold.

As if they were connected in some way, JJ spoke up. "Wonder where John B is right now." He wondered out loud, his attention on the large sign hanging above that read Charleston.

     Unknown to them, as the vehicle continued its journey across the bridge, a boat, one belonging to the Camerons—which had been stolen from their luxurious home in the Bahamas, of course—rode across the gentle waves beneath. Inside the water vehicle was John Booker Routledge, alive and well despite the uncertainty of the future lying ahead of him as he approached the land of Charleston without any sort of idea as to how he was going to acquire the fuel he needed to reach the Outer Banks.

     By the time they'd gotten from the highway and onto the streets lined with the prestigious homes that clearly belonged to the most respected families in Charleston, it was close to midnight. It was then that Pope, who was in awe at the drastic difference between the homes there and the outer banks, turned to look at Jaylene for further instructions.

     "Jesus, these kooks make our kooks look like pogues," JJ muttered under his breath, scooting his body closer to the dashboard to get a better look at the three-story homes perfectly aligned with one another.

     "Turn onto this street and take a turn at the last stop sign. Park in front of the last house on the left with the Bentley and Jaguar in the driveway." Jaylene instructed, her pointer finger pointing at the street sign a few feet away from them.

     Absolutely flabbergasted at the ridiculously expensive area they found themselves in, JJ scoffed, narrowing his eyes at Jaylene. "How fucking rich are you?"

     "Billionaire type rich," Kiara answered before Jaylene could get the opportunity to.

     Jaylene ignored both of them, relief washing over her when the truck was parked in front of the three-story beach house which granted her the opportunity to open the door and step out from the vehicle. Being squished between JJ and the door for the past fifteen minutes was uncomfortable, to say the least, so she quickly stretched her legs out before encouraging the three to follow behind her as she began to head towards the paint coated in white and tan paint.

     "Whose house is this?" Pope questioned once he'd flipped the engine off and stuffed the keys in his pocket before stepping out from the driver's seat of the truck.

     Jaylene sighed, dragging her gaze toward the home. Realistically, if she weren't in need of some sort of disinfectant in order to clean the fresh wound, she would've gladly slept in the trunk of the truck instead of showing up unannounced to one of the many vacation homes belonging to the couple who had been married to each other for the past 33 years. However, given the circumstances, she had no other choice. "My grandparents." She responded, keeping her eyes glued to the porch light that activated with any sudden movement.

"Wait, I'm sorry, this was your genius plan? Crash at your grandparents?" Kiara gripped the strap of her backpack as she stepped out of the vehicle, her eyes wandering towards the house and then back to Jaylene.

The Rosewood girl didn't respond to that and instead hovered her pointer finger over her lips, signaling for them to be quiet considering that a majority of the neighborhood was likely sleeping. Not that she cared, but she figured that if her grandparents were home, they were a part of that majority and she planned to avoid any interaction with them, fearing that she'd let it slip that her mother was alive.

Heading towards the gated front yard, she motioned towards the gate that led to the backyard. "Wait there, I'll open that in a few minutes." She spoke quietly, punching in the six-digit code to get the gate open to get onto the property and head towards the front door. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the red light on the cameras, indicating that they were in fact recording every second of this, but she knew that those cameras were hardly ever checked by her grandparents.

Ignoring them, she approached the front door where she entered another code into the small keypad attached near the handle, the lock clicking shortly after which granted her access to the relatively quiet home. She turned around to make sure the trio was standing by the gate and sure enough, Kiara was practically being dragged there by JJ despite her protests.

"C'mon, Kie, crashing at a billionaire's place for the night is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." She heard JJ say.

     Jaylene carefully crossed the threshold, holding her breath up until she quietly closed the door behind her. Her eyes traveled towards the moonlight that spilled into the home through the thick glass that acted as walls in the far end where the kitchen