PETRICHOR ━ pope heyward

- FOUR -

The next day, Frankie didn't know what to do with himself. A big part of him wanted to go out in search of Pope, fully keen on spending the day hanging out and making sure he was okay, but a smaller part of him was worried that would be overstepping. After all, even though Pope accepted his apology and trusted him enough to sink Topper's boat with him, they weren't best friends. They'd only hung out a few times a week for four months, give or take.

In the end, Frankie spent the first part of the afternoon with Margot and River like usual. He was more upbeat, even more so than usual, and his friends definitely picked up on it. Music flowed from River's bluetooth speaker as they lounged on the Pelphrey's boat, a discarded Twister mat laid out on the ground from an earlier game.

"Hey," Margot hummed, leaning up from her spot on the deck floor. "What's that about?"

Frankie followed her finger pointing further down the docks. Topper and his mother were standing on the deck with another man, and if her body language said anything, Dr. Thornton was pissed. A crane sat on the loading area and it slowly pulled up a large red object, water leaking out of the sides.

"Oh, shit!" exclaimed River as he stood to get a better view. Frankie held back his smirk. It seemed Topper finally noticed the boat.

"What happened?" Frankie asked, feigning innocence. He shoved himself up from his seat and removed the sunglasses from his face as he joined his friends in watching the debacle.

"Topper's boat sunk?" River replied, though it sounded a lot like a question. "How the fuck?"

River's confusion made sense, really. It was a brand new wakesetter, the best on the market, and there was no reason for it to sink. Not unless there was a manufacturer or user error.

"I don't know, but that's a lot of money that they wasted," replied Margot. "I think they cost, what? Like, 130k off the lot?" She guessed, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at both of her friends.

"Probably," Frankie shrugged back. "How d'ya think it sunk?" He asked, wondering what they would think as two people not involved.

"Maybe he forgot to put the drain back?" Margot hypothesized.

River scoffed, "Not likely. It was in the water all week. That was done on purpose."

Frankie internally started to panic at his friend's words. If even River knew enough to say someone else sunk the wakesetter, how long would it be before Topper figured out who did it? He stepped back from the side of the boat, grabbing his button up shirt and shoes from the floor of the deck.

"Hey, I'm gonna head off." He announced, sliding his feet into his SeaVees. "I've got um... laundry to do." Without looking back at his friends, Frankie hopped over the stern of the boat and headed down the dock. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his boardshorts, mentally berating himself for his horrible excuse for leaving.

Luckily, he'd been smart enough to drive his golf cart to River's house, so he skipped stopping at his own home and headed straight toward Heyward's. His shorts were wet from the water and his shirt wasn't fully buttoned, but at least he'd be able to let Pope know what was going on with Topper.

When he pulled up to Heyward's, Pope was already outside, cleaning up plates from an outdoor eating table. He looked up when the cart pulled up by the front of the store, sending Frankie a smile and a quick wave when he realized who he was. Frankie shut the cart off, stuffing the keys in his pocket as he climbed out.

"I think Topper knows someone sank the boat." He whispered as soon as he was within earshot of the other boy.

"What?" Pope gritted back. He grabbed the fabric on Frankie's sleeve and pulled him over to the side, out of the way of the shop's door.