𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝚬 𝐒𝚬𝐂𝐑𝚬𝐓, ʲᵒʰⁿ ᵇ ʳᵒᵘᵗˡᵉᵈᵍᵉ

xxxvii. maybe i'll wash my hair

"show some respect!" ward yelled.

"muzzle your goddamned dog!" jj yelled at shoupe.

"get off her!" pope snapped at thomas.

"why don't you take the kooks down for a change?" jj yelled at shoupe again.

"you wanna get arrested?" shoupe looked at the group of teens. "get out! you need to go."

"this is bullshit," kie mumbled.

"come on," sarah said gently. "look, it's not worth it."

the teens walked away, arm in arm, tears in their eyes.

"it's not a coincidence your girls are sitting with us!" kie yelled. ward cameron's final blow.

🃏

"i'm gonna testify," sarah decided. the pogues were sitting on the chateau's porch. it was pouring, the rain reflecting everyone's mood.

"under oath," sarah continued. "i was there. i just need to get a hold of my sister."

"sister," jj scoffed.

"kie, do you have your phone?" sarah asked. "wheezie is the only other person that knows rafe wasn't home that day."

"wheezie?" jj asked in shock.

"i don't know what else to do," sarah half-yelled. "i got us into this mess. i'm gonna do my best to get us out."

"wheezie?" jj scoffed again after sarah went inside. "yeah, that will work."

"she's my cousin, jj," briar snapped and rubbed her bump. "she loves john b. she loves sarah and she loves me. she'll help."

"well, she's right about one thing," jj continued as if briar hadn't spoken. "we gotta do something. our boy is a PO-dub right now, okay? he's held captive by the enemy right now, maybe even scheduled for execution. are we just gonna sit here?"

"what's the plan?" kie screamed.

"yeah, what are you gonna do?" briar began to raise her voice. "we kidnap shoupe?"

"maybe, like, that's not the worst idea actually," jj looked to pope for support. the hayward boy offered none.

"oh, it's not?" kie said in disbelief.

"no!" jj yelled.

"that is actually the worst ideas i've ever heard," pope interjected.

"it's pretty bad," sarah said from inside. the window behind jj was wide open.

"you know?" jj snapped at sarah. "please, just stay out of this. okay, pope, look, we've been doing everything your way, and how has that been working out?"

"are you seriously considering kidnapping right now?" briar yelled.

"yeah!" pope yelled. "so what's your plan? you gonna storm a jail, guns a-blazing?"

"look, pope, all i'm trying to get you to understand is they got our boy. are we just gonna sit here and do nothing? no! we're gonna go get his ass. we're gonna do something about it!"

"jj, we're not storming a jail," pope said. "it's not happening."

"no, fine, man," jj scoffed. "sit in your comfy chair. do nothing. i'm gonna see what i can do. make something happen even if i have to do it by myself."

"okay," kie said, lips tight as jj jogged of the porch. as he jogged down he smacked into holly valentine.

"holly?" briar looked at her sister curiously.

"hey, holl," sarah called from inside.

"hi, holly, hi," kie shifted and pushed pope's hand off her shoulder. "what brings you around?"

"hey, kie," holly smiled. "so, um, b, mom and dad want to kill you. you gotta come home."

"what?" briar groaned. "they know what's going on."

"and you're lucky i'm here and city counsel president chase valentine isn't. let's go."

"okay, fine," briar huffed and hugged kie. "bye, y'all, see you from heaven after my parents bury me alive."

🃏

chase valentine was clicking his tongue when his daughters walked in the door.

"when was the last time you walked through that door?" chase chuckled.

"ha," briar said stiffly and rolled her eyes. she sat down at the kitchen table, hands around her bump, ready for whatever they were going to throw at her.

"honey," cecelia sighed. "this isn't healthy."

"what isn't healthy?" briar said. "spending time with my friends? fighting for my boyfriends right to live? come on, what?"

"you never being in your own damn home!" chase snapped. "you look like a street-rat, briar! wearing that delinquent's clothes and your hair all messy."

briar touched her hair self-consciously. it was in two dutch braids kie had done for her last week. she was wearing a shirt of john b's, only buttoned about three times. her shorts were old, pre-pregnancy, unbuttoned and dirty.

"honey," cece led with that again. honey. "you need to come home. you haven't been to the doctor since john b got back. you haven't slept in your own bed in weeks. this isn't okay."

"i'm fucking fine," briar snapped. "i'll sleep here tonight. maybe i'll shower! maybe i'll wash my hair! is that what you want to hear?"

"no, not really," chase said shortly.

"but, it's a start," cecelia hugged her daughter, who was sat still, arms still around her bump.

"a really good start," briar huffed.

"yes, it is, i don't want your sarcasm, briar rose," cece said rubbing briar's head. "please shower, you smell awful."

"thanks, mama."

SADIE SPEAKS!
sorry i low key disappeared!!!
i love them so much and missed them
i need jb so get out of jail so him and briar can have more moments