Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

xxxviii. broken

"Are you sure it was a good idea to leave him in that house alone?" Ashtyn Hughes was nervous as she kept in stride with her older brother, ignoring the ache in her tired legs from all the running she'd done in the last twenty four hours.

When Luke ignored her statement, she shifted her attention to Sarah who was a few steps ahead of them. "Sar?"

The blonde only shook her head, choked up about what she was about to do. "Ashtyn, not now."

Ultimately, this was her family she was throwing under the bus. Her own brother. The guy who taught her how to ride a bike and would play hide n' seek with her when they were kids, but that was a different time. Rafe Cameron needed help, and if her father wasn't going to supply it for him, she'd find another way.

"He'll be fine Ash." Lucas mumbled, rolling his eyes. He understood her nerves, the male felt them every time he glanced over his shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed, but her paranoia would lead to a panic attack if she didn't get it under control.

The mainlander stopped in her tracks, forcing her oldest friends to follow suit. She could barely recognize them, let alone herself at that moment. "What is wrong with us? How the hell did we get here?"

"Ash-" Sarah wanted to comfort her friend, but Ashtyn held a hand up to keep their distance.

With a clenched jaw, the brunette pulled at the roots of her greasy hair. "No, I'm fucking talking now! How the hell did we end up in this situation?" Frantic blue eyes darted between the couple as Ashtyn took a deep breath. "Lucas and I ran away from home! We went on this insane treasure hunt and found four hundred million dollars in gold! Things were going well, all of us were happy and then my boyfriend gets framed for murder? One that your brother, the missing member of our group, committed... That's not okay! How are you not freaking out right now?"

"Because-" Luke reached a hand out to his sister, cringing when she slapped it away like his touch would burn her. "Because freaking out isn't going to help John B, now is it?"

Sarah nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. "We're not ignoring how traumatic this is. Trust me, I'm freaking out just as much as you are, but Luke is right. If we don't stay calm and work through this, John B won't make it through the night. He needs our full attention."

"We're walking into the lion's den Ashtyn," Her brother used his thumb to point over his shoulder, "God only knows what's waiting for us at The Point. We need clear heads and confidence to get these people to listen to us. Remember what JJ said? To them, we're just a bunch of lowlife kids. Why would they believe us over someone like Ward Cameron?"

Ashtyn gulped, silently agreeing with the male as Sarah wrapped her up in a hug, sharing her fears through touch. "I'm terrified, but we will get through this. We have to. I just got you guys back and I can't lose you again."

"Okay."

Lucas Hughes placed a hand back on his sister's trembling body, wanting to make sure she was stable enough to handle what they were about to do. Part of him wished she'd stayed back at the house with John, but that plan went out the window when she caught Sarah and him on the way out the door. "Okay?"