( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔 𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙀𝙀. )
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THE BRUNETTE-HAIRED GIRL looked around the never ending water that surrounded her, letting out a deep sigh when she realized that she could finally breathe again. It felt like she'd been suffocating with the weight of the world on top of her, but right now, she was alone. Her stomach was pressed against the board, her body exhausted, wanting nothing more than to shut down and rest. She wanted to sleep peacefully in her bed. She wanted to forget these last couple days. Act as if they'd never happened.

But right now she needed to focus on getting the hell out of the water. She knew that she was back on figure eight now because of the luxurious homes that were slowly coming into view as she floated on top of the board.

Plus, the lavish boat sailing nearby was a huge give away that she was back to the wealthier side of Outer Banks.

"Jaylene! Sweetie, is that you?" She heard an all too familiar voice calling her, causing her to shut her eyes in regret for choosing to go in that direction. "Honey, what are you doing out here? There's a storm coming."

"Hi, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith." She politely greeted the older couple once she was close enough to them, acting as if she wasn't paddle-boarding in the middle of the ocean, fully-clothed. "H-How are you?"

"What are you doing out here?" The woman repeated her question, extremely concerned for her sons ex-girlfriend and her daughters best friend. "Oh, god, you're not high on drugs, right? Jaylene, please tell me that you aren't—"

"No! No, of course not! 6 months sober." Jaylene lied, shaking her head in the process as she looked around, hoping to get away while she still could. "Listen, I'm really sorry, but I gotta go."

"You kidding? C'mon, get up here. Your dad will be furious if he finds out that we just left you out here with a storm on the way." Mr. Smith looked down at the girl, gesturing for her to climb onto the boat.

"No. I—Uh, I have to go." Jaylene looked towards the docks that looked like they were so far away, but in reality, they were just a few short minutes away. "Uhm, thank you, though. I appreciate it."

"Stubborn as always." Andrea's voice rang through her ears as the girl appeared beside her mother, eyes squinted as she looked down at Jaylene. "Get the hell up here, Jaylene."

Jaylene looked up at her bestfriend, sighing in defeat as she carefully propped her body up, allowing it to be pulled up onto the boat. "The board can stay, I can just buy a new one." She pursed her lips together into a thin line as she briefly flashed the two adults a thankful look, knowing damn well that the board had been stolen and wasn't actually hers. "But may I ask, what storm were you talking about? I didn't even know about it."

"Yeah, there's a storm coming right at us. Weather predictions say that it should hit tonight. Worse than Agatha." Mr. Smith informed the teenage girl, handing her a water bottle due to how little energy she appeared to have in her system.

"Shit." Jaylene loudly cussed, immediately apologizing for her fowl language as she unscrewed the tap. "I mean, are you sure? Are you one-hundred-percent sure that it's heading straight towards us?"

"Positive. Which means that we should probably get you home before your father starts worrying." Mrs. Smith backed her husband up.

As badly as she wanted to protest, Jaylene carefully nodded her head as she drank every drop of water that the bottle contained, clearly exhausted from everything she'd gone through the past few days. "Yeah, alright. Thank you. I appreciate it."

The brunette haired woman gave the girl one last glance before placing her sunglasses back on, grabbing a hold of a White Claw as she took a seat next to her husband.

"What are you up to now?" Andrea kept her voice low, turning her head towards her best friend. "I haven't seen you since Midsummers when you revealed where you were actually at these past six months."

"You can't be mad at me for that. I wasn't able to stand up for myself and speak my truth because I got sent away to a rehabilitation center up in the Hamptons." Jaylene quietly whispered, making sure that no one else on the boat could hear their conversation.

"I'm not mad, Jaylene." Andrea loudly exhaled, pushing her hair from her face as the boat began to move again. "I just thought that you would've confided in me. God, I let you drink at a kegger and a stupid summer party. I helped you throw your sobriety down the drain."

Jaylene shook her head, placing her hand on top of the girls shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze. "That is not your fault. You are not to blame for my stupid choices."

"You're such an idiot." Andrea stifled back a laugh. "And I'm sorry. I was the one who told Jason that you were in chapel hill. He wouldn't stop bothering me about it the night of Midsummers, so I just let it slip."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm over that." Jaylene waved it off, her tone growing serious as she began to whisper. "Listen, Andrea, I need you to stop me from making a really stupid mistake."

｡･:*:ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹

ONCE SHE WAS BACK on the mainland, Jaylene walked in the direction of her home, Andrea trailing closely behind her, trying to keep up because of how fast the Rosewood girl was walking.

On the short ride back home, Jaylene had briefly explained the current situation she was dealing with. She told Andrea about what she planned to do. She told her that she was going to meet up with John B at the dock, and that she was gonna flee the island with him.

Suddenly, Jaylene stopped walking, stopping in her tracks as she whipped her head around to face Andrea. "Tell me that I am an idiot, Andrea. Tell me that I shouldn't do this. Tell me that I shouldn't get on that boat with him and get the hell off this island with him and never look back."

"Don't." Andrea obeyed her friends demand, deciding against imputing her own opinion on this. "Don't get on that boat."

"My life is here. It's a complicated life, but it is my life." Jaylene could feel her heart on the verge of exploding as she spoke. "I can't–I can't just leave it all behind."

"Then don't." Andrea's tone was stern as she looked at the panicked girl. "Don't go."

"I promised. I promised him that I would."

"Well, some promises are meant to be broken." Andrea shrugged her shoulders. "Why do it, Jaylene? Why do it if you're this unsure with this decision."

Jaylene pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Because I am to blame for not staying with Rafe that day. I got up and left instead of staying. I should've stayed, but I didn't. Now sheriff Peterkin is lying dead in the morgue." She paused, taking that time to look at Andrea's confused face before continuing to speak. "He is the one who killed her, Andrea. He shot her on that runway and she bled to death. John B didn't do anything besides try to help her while she desperately clung onto life. I was there too. I watched everything happen."

"What?" Her eyes widened in shock, her mouth forming into an 'o'. "Rafe Cameron killed the sheriff?"

"I am not letting him go down for something that he didn't do." Jaylene shook her head, referring to John B. "Not alone, at least."

"Are you sober, Jaylene?" Andrea questioned, concerned with this decision Jaylene planned on making. She knew that she had always been one to take risks, but this was unlike Jaylene. "I am not letting you flee this island with him if you don't give me an honest answer. I care about you way too much to let you do that."

"I smoked some weed the other day, and I know how dangerous that can be for someone in recovery, but I am very much sober right now." Jaylene replied.

"Jaylene! Jaylene!" Sarah Cameron's voice rang through Jaylene's ears as the blonde ran towards her, sweat dripping from her forehead with her hair swaying back and forth due to the small breeze that was slowly picking up.

"No way. You're friends with Sarah now?" Andrea kept her voice low as she quietly chuckled to herself. She knew Jaylene had never befriended the girl because of how little they had in common, but things had clearly changed now.

"Sarah? What happened? Are you okay?" Jaylene raised her eyebrows, scanning the girl up and down. Just like Jaylene, Sarah was still wearing the same clothes she'd been wearing yesterday, except hers appeared to be covered in blood and dirt. "Is that blood?"

"Yeah. Uh, it's not my blood. It's Rafe's" She shrugged it off, saying it like it was no big deal.

"Rafe's? What'd you do? Kick his ass?" Jaylene couldn't help but laugh as she imagined Rafe Cameron getting his ass kicked by his own sister. Its exactly what he deserved right now. He was freely roaming the island while another boy had a target on his back for a crime he didn't commit.

"Yeah, something like that." Sarah struggled to catch her breath as she spoke. "But that's besides the point. JJ got the keys to the phantom. John B is good to go."

"Oh, wow." Jaylene thickly swallowed, her blood running cold because the reality of this was slowly beginning to set in. "So that's really happening, huh?"

"Yeah, but he needs to leave now. I thought he'd be with you since you were last with him."

"We got separated this morning after leaving the house Rose has listed." Jaylene explained, remembering the trouble they'd gone through to not get caught earlier that day. "He went home, Sarah. And if you haven't seen him either, he probably got caught." She let out a frustrated sigh, shutting her eyes because if that were true, it would mean that all of this had been for nothing.

"Shit!" Sarah loudly swore, shaking her head in the process. "No. No, he does not get to go down for something that Rafe did. We have to find him, Jaylene."

"I gotta go." Jaylene didn't look at anyone as she spoke.

"If you don't get on that boat, come over to my house so we can watch crappy romcoms and stuff our faces with a bunch of junk that will probably lower our life span, and if you do decide to get on that boat, I will be waiting for you to call me to let me know that you are safe wherever the hell you two decide to go." Andrea forced a smile onto her lips, looking over at Jaylene.

"Wait, what? You're going with John B?" Sarah knit her eyebrows together in confusion, an amused chuckle leaving her mouth. "Geez, a lot has happened within the last 24 hours. C'mon then, you can tell me all about it while we go to the dock."

"No, I need to go home." Jaylene sighed, knowing how dumb it was to go home, but she couldn't leave without letting her brother know that she was safe first. "I told Nate that I'd be back. And that's a promise that I will not be breaking."

"Alright. You go do that." Sarah nodded, knowing that she would do the same thing if she and any of her siblings were as close as the Rosewood siblings. Wheezie was an exception...sometimes. "Make it quick, though. I'll get to everyone else to make sure that John B hasn't gotten caught yet."

"Okay." Jaylene pursed her lips, knowing that there was no guarantee that she'd be able to make it to the dock in time. "But if I'm not there by three, tell him that I'm sorry."

"Okay."

     Because of how close she had already been to the neighborhood where her home was located, Jaylene managed to make it in less than five minutes. Her heels were killing her and there were a few blisters beginning to form by her Achilles tendon, but she didn't care. All she cared about in that moment was seeing her brother so that she could let him know that she was fine. But she didn't plan on telling him about the idiotic plan she was determined to go through with. The plan that involved getting the hell out of Outer Banks with the boy she had recently began dating.

However, she didn't even manage to make it to the gate before hearing two familiar voices, arguing right outside the massive home with deep frustration lingering through both their tones.

Jaylene recognized the voices immediately, causing her to crouch down behind one of the bushes nearby, making sure to not be spotted by Henderson and Lorelei as she perked her ears up, eavesdropping on the ongoing argument.

"That's absurd and you know it, Henderson!" Lorelei scoffed, waving her hands around in disbelief. "I am not a murderer!"

"No, you aren't!" Henderson's anger could be sensed as he shouted out the next sentence. "Because my wife is alive!"

Jaylene's eyes widened, mouth gaped open in shock because of how clear she had been when she told Nathaniel to keep his mouth shut about that. There was a reason why she didn't want her father knowing. "I'm gonna kick your fucking ass Nathaniel." She muttered under her breath, but quickly waved that shocked emotion away as she turned her attention back towards the two.

"Marleen is dead! She has been for the past twelve years! Has Jaylene made you believe otherwise?" Lorelei gave the man a cold look, a small chuckle escaping from her lips in the process before she continued to speak. "Your daughter has hated me since you and I got married. And she is the least reliable person on this island. She's a low-life, drug addict for god's sakes! That girl is off the rails!"

As Jaylene quietly crouched down behind the bush, she bit down on her tongue, restraining herself from giving away her hiding spot. She would've loved to walk up there and slap the smug look off of the woman's face, but she wasn't here to argue, so she sat back and continued to listen to them argue.

"Keep my daughters name out of your god damn mouth!" Henderson shouted in anger, defending his daughter for what felt like the first time in forever which resulted in a small smile forming on Jaylene's face at the simple gesture. "And stay the hell away from my family, Lorelei, or I swear to god, I'll do more than just get you placed behind bars!" He spat, leaving her with that threat as he turned to walk back into the home.

Lorelei followed close behind him, shouting the mans name as he approached the front door. "Henderson! Don't walk away from me! We are married and these are the type of matters that we need to discuss!"

"Actually, we really aren't. I can't be married to two people at once." Henderson Rosewood shrugged his shoulders, not feeling the slightest bit bad about what he said next. "If I were you, I would go around searching for some cleaning jobs on this island. You'll need to earn enough money to keep staying at that expensive hotel down the street. Any money in the Rosewood fund is no longer yours to use."

"You want a divorce, Henderson? Fine!" The brunette-haired woman rolled her eyes, a smirk planting itself onto her lips. "But might I remind you that we will be forced to split half of everything that you own."

"Did everything I say just go in one ear and out the other?" He questioned, looking down at her like she was some stupid child who couldn't comprehend what he was trying to tell her. "Marleen is still my wife. We never filed for divorce and there's no death certificate out there saying she is dead; I confirmed that last night. You and I aren't legally married, but she and I still are."

That smirk quickly fell from her lips, a gasp falling from them instead. "Henderson—"

"Get the hell off my property, Lorelei Kabana." He sneered, flashing the woman one last glare before stepping into the home, slamming the door behind him.

"Shit, I didn't think he had it in him." Nathaniel suddenly spoke from behind, the sound of his voice causing Jaylene to jump in surprise.

Jaylene quickly turned around, shoving the boys leg before standing onto her own two feet. "We gotta go before she sees us." She quietly whispered, referring to Lorelei, who was slowly making her way towards the large gates to exit the premises.

"Right." Nathaniel nodded, signaling for Jaylene to follow him as he began to head towards the large pine trees nearby that would allow them to be free from sight.

Jaylene followed her younger brother, making sure to not be spotted by anyone as she rushed towards the large trees. And once she was sure that Lorelei was gone, she harshly smacked the boys arms. "What the fuck! What part of don't tell dad was unclear to you?"

Nathaniel hissed in pain, applying pressure to the redness that was quickly forming on his arm as he parted his lips to speak. "It just slipped, alright? We were arguing last night and I don't know what came over me, but he knows now, Jaylene."

"That's the problem, Nate." Jaylene snapped, knowing that nothing good could come from this. "Now that he knows that she didn't actually die that night, he'll go through everything to find her. I despise her for what she did, but she left for a reason. And I think that Ward Cameron was one of those reasons as well."

"Ward Cameron?" Nathaniel's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Gross, you think they were having like an affair or something?"

"God, no." Jaylene's face twisted in disgust. "But something definitely happened in the past."

"Look, I'll try to make sure that dad doesn't go insane trying to find her, alright?" He assured her, determined to fix this horrible mistake he had made. "I'll fix this."

"Okay, I am counting on you to fix this, Nate. I mean it." Jaylene nodded, pushing briefly before continuing to speak. "I would help, but right now, I gotta go find John B."

"Okay. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, maybe."

authors note. Next chapter is the last one & I am so excited, yet kinda sad, to publish it!