Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

twenty five

THE PAIR of friends had fallen asleep at some point during the night, curled up together on the dock. Scarlett awoke just before John B, the brightness of the sun temporarily blinding her. Sitting up, she moved to the side of the wooden platform, leaning her back against one of the beams. She stayed like that, watching the sunrise, until John B woke. He sighed, sitting opposite her.

Scarlett smiled softly at him. "Morning, JB."

John B looked over at her, pushing his hair out of his face. "Morning." He said simply. It wasn't difficult to see that he was still coming to terms with the previous days revelations- Scarlett was to.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them knowing what to say to the other. After a while, Scarlett spoke, her gaze drifting from the horizon to John B. "You look like you're thinking about something." She observed. "Care to share what it is that you're wondering about?"

John B bit the inside of his cheek before answering her. "Just thinking about the conversation I had with Ward Cameron yesterday. He mentioned something about the gold- warned me about going after it."

Scarlett furrowed her eyebrows. "What did he say, exactly?"

"He said, if I continued after the gold I'd end up like dad."

Scarlett's face fell. "Oh." She took a moment to think before speaking again. "So, obviously he knows about the gold. But, do you think he knows where to find it?" She asked, worried about the answer. That gold was their only opportunity for them and the other Pogues to make a better life for themselves. If Ward took it first, they'd be screwed.

John B shrugged. "I don't- I hope he doesn't. But I can't help but have a bad feeling about it all."

Scarlett nodded. "I have that same feeling." She told him honestly. "You wanna go check on the well? Make sure its still there?"

John B agreed, and soon the pair were sat in the front of the van. Speeding down the roads, a nervous silence circled them and Scarlett found herself biting at her nails and bouncing her leg up and down at a rapid speed (two of her anxiety ticks). As soon as the van pulled up outside the Crain House, John B switched off the engine and jumped out the driver's seat. Scarlett followed him, her face falling at the 'For Sale' sign attached to the wall. The two shared a worried look. Surely it had to be a coincidence that Cameron's company was buy the house the gold was buried under. There was no way he knew it was there. Right?

Following after John B, Scarlett scaled the wall and ran towards the garden. If it were possible, her face fell even more. Ward Cameron knew where the gold was. It was obvious now. Wheelbarrows with 'Cameron Development' written on them littered the grass, along with various sales signs.

"No. No!" John B muttered. He shared a worried look with Scarlett before storming off towards the basement. Scarlett struggled to keep up with him as she dashed through the long grass. The rope could only hold one, so Scarlett took it upon herself to stay by the entrance to the well while John B delved deeper into the secret tunnel. It wasn't long before she heard yells of frustration from John B.

And then she knew.
The gold was gone.

❤❤❤

By nine am, Scarlett and John B were back at the Château- this time joined with JJ and Kiara. Scarlett pulled her knees to her chest, sitting with her back against one of the beams. John B had taken to lying on the dock- his head resting on an old life-jacket- whilst Kiara and JJ had taken to perching on the fencing. Both John B and Scarlett recalled to the others what they had seen at the Crain House, going into detail about how Ward Cameron had brought the land and taken the gold.