CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
water under the bridge
WAITING WAS ALWAYS difficult.
It was dark by the time Shoupe and a dozen other cops had escorted Nova Van Kirk and her friends to a large and open tent where they were forced to wait for their parents to arrive and take them home. At least they didn't get into too much trouble for aiding and abetting a known fugitive. However, that wasn't enough to erase the crippling anxiety Nova felt as she sat down next to JJ, her hand holding tightly onto his, nothing being heard other than the pouring rain, the rumbling thunder and the dozen of frantic voices as they walked in and out of the tent, not giving Nova and her friends they desperately needed.
The group of friends had recently discovered that Sarah Cameron had somehow found her way into the boat with John B and had taken off into the violent storm together. Despite the obvious risks involved, it was a risk they were both willing to take if it meant avoiding John B's fate if he landed into the hands of the cops. But the last time they had seen Shoupe, he had informed them they were going out to search for their friends and the boat now that the worse of the storm had passed. Nova and her friends had been waiting for a while now. If you were to ask the girl, she would tell you it felt like forever whilst she continued to wait for the verdict regarding her friend's fate.
"Hey..." JJ spoke up, and Nova glanced over at the boy to see the optimistic look burning bright in his enchanting, blue eyes. JJ then gave the girl's hand a tight and reassuring squeeze. "It's John B and Sarah. They've been chased down by a psycho old lady, almost been shot multiple times and still managed to get off an island filled with cops. They can survive a storm." He reassured his girlfriend, earning a small smile from Nova in response.
But it didn't last long since Nova couldn't stop thinking about all the possibilities. The storm that swarmed the island on this dark and cold night was one of the worse ones they had seen yet, and driving an old boat into uncharted waters, violent waves and blistering winds was dangerous. So dangerous that people would lose their lives and drown, never to be seen again and be considered, well. . . lost at sea. The very thought of the worse happening to John B and Sarah only seemed to make Nova worry a little more, fearing the worse might actually come true.
But then she thought back to what JJ had just said, replaying his reassuring words on a constant loop in her mind, and that gave the girl a sprinkle of hope that everything would be okay. They just had to wait a little longer, and when the cops come back in, it was going to be good news. At least that was what Nova Van Kirk kept telling herself.
All of a sudden, Nova was snapped back to reality when she saw Shoupe and a few other cops dressed in reflective coats enter the tent, their sudden appearance inside the tent being enough to make Nova and her friends stand up from where they were previously sat. Nova then let go of JJ's hand and stared at Shoupe, watching as he removed the hood to his coat from his head, before he stared back at the group of teenagers with a look filled with defeat plastered across his face. It didn't take a genius to realise whatever news he had for them was bad, and it left a feeling in Nova's stomach that made it churn with disquiet.
"Did you find them?" Pope was the first to speak up, being the first to raise his concerns about the potential whereabouts of their friends.
Nova spared Pope a quick look, before she glanced back over at Shoupe, watching as sadness began to glimmer in his eyes, an apologetic stare evident in his dark gaze. It made her realise there was something he wanted to desperately tell them, but he was trying to gain the courage to finally give them the news. John B and Sarah were either dead or they had been caught. Either way it couldn't have been good news.
Shoupe bowed his head to look at the ground for a moment, before he lifted his gaze to look back at the worried teenagers. "No." He told them.
"So, they got away?" Kiara questioned, believing it had to be the most logical explanation if they hadn't been caught yet. Nova thought different though. She believed it was just a matter of time before they received the worse possible news that there could be. She just didn't want to believe it was even a possibility yet.
Shoupe released a shaky breath past his lips, the older man placing his hands firmly on his lips. "We, uh...we lost them. I'm sorry." He told them.
Juno furrowed her brows together in confusion, a puzzled look evident in her dark eyes whilst she parted her lips to speak. "What do you mean?" She asked, her voice shaky as she spoke.
"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Juno." Shoupe reminded her, his sad eyes staring back at the girl.
Nova felt her chest tighten, her breathing becoming slightly uneven when she heard those words roll off the man's tongue. This was what she was scared of. Nova was afraid the worse would happen, and now that it has, Nova felt as if her world was crumbling apart around her, her newfound family tearing at the seams when they all began to realise what Deputy Shoupe meant. He couldn't find John B and Sarah, and not because they had gotten away, but because they had driven an old boat into a violent storm. John B and Sarah weren't okay at all. They were dead.
"So, they're dead?" Kiara queried, asking what they were all thinking.
Shoupe's eyes flickered over towards the girl. "We don't know." He replied, not being able to give them a straight answer.
Nova couldn't believe it. They were dead. John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron were dead. They drove into a violent storm and both of them became unfortunate victims to the perilous seas. They were dead. She repeated over and over in her head. They were dead. John B was an innocent teenage boy framed for a murder he didn't commit. The ringleader of the Pogues was gone. They were dead. Sarah Cameron. . . Her childhood best friend was gone. They were dead. The worse part in all of this was that neither of them were ever coming back. They would never see the leader of the Pogues and the Kook Princess ever again.
That was a kind of the pain that couldn't be easily fixed. Nova almost felt like she was experiencing deja vu all over again. She felt like she was standing back inside the waiting room of the hospital when she was told her brother had died in the emergency room earlier that same night. She couldn't go through this again. She didn't want to suffer the loss of not just one, but two friends. Nova felt the crushing grief and paralysing loss wash over her body like a tidal wave, all that pain, loss and unbearable grief drowning her over and over again until she could barely feel anything at all.
"They can't be dead." Nova spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper, tears already beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.
And that was when the crushing grief and sorrow that they all felt in that very moment spiralled out of control. JJ was the first to let his anger take over. "You drove them straight into the storm, man! Are you kidding me? Come here! I'm gonna kill you!" JJ shouted as he shoved Shoupe backwards, his booming voice making Nova jump slightly in her own skin as she began to cry, turning around to see JJ being pulled away from the rest of the group by the other cops in the tent with them.
"This is all your fault!" Juno cried, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared back at Shoupe with a look filled with anger and despair evident in her eyes. "You got them killed!"
"John B didn't even do anything!" Nova fired back at the cops, turning away as she did her best to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. However, it didn't take long for Nova to lose all sense of who she was, her strength fading away as she slowly began to fall apart, the loss of two friends being all it took to make the girl fall apart.
Suddenly, Nova lifted her teary gaze to look ahead to see Kiara's parents enter the tent, the pair pulling the hoods attached to their coats off their heads, their worried eyes finding Kiara, before they rushed towards the girl and pulled her into their embrace. Next came Pope's parents, the couple walking over to their son, who began to apologise profusely for some reason as they held him close, the boy crying into his mom's shoulder as he came to terms with the horrifying thought that John B and Sarah were gone. The last people to enter the tent were none other than Ethan and Allison Van Kirk, the pair catching Nova's tears eyes in just a matter of seconds, and despite how Nova felt about her broken family right now, she needed them more than ever in this very moment, causing for Nova to run over to her mother and wrap her arms around the woman.
"They're gone, Mom." Nova cried, her bellowing sobs echoing loudly through Allison Van Kirk's ears, making the older woman's heart ache as she held her daughter close. "They're gone."
Nova then pulled away and turned around to see Juno was standing all alone because whilst JJ had found a family in the Heyward's, Juno O'Connell was left alone, crying by herself as she grieved for her two friends. This caused for Nova to stretch out her hand and grab ahold of Juno's, pulling her closer before Allison reached out and embraced both Nova and Juno, the older woman holding onto both girls as they continued to cry, whilst Ethan stared down at his daughter with sympathy in his eyes. He would have hugged her too to let her know everything would be okay, but after the last time they had spoken, he thought it was best to keep his distance.
Nova then pulled away from her mother and turned around to see JJ standing alone again, staring back at her with tears in his eyes. This caused for Nova to walk over towards the boy and hold him close, burying her face into the crook of his neck as she continued to cry whilst JJ held onto Nova for dear life, the boy wrapping his strong arms securely around her waist as if his life depended on it. However, even though they provided each other with the comfort they desperately needed in that very moment, it wasn't enough to erase the pain of losing their friends.
Because John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron were both dead. . . and they were never coming back.
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Shortly after receiving the news regarding the fate of their friends, Nova and what remained of their group thought it was best to be with each other more than ever, which was why their parents all allowed them to be alone without them. Of course, Nova's parents weren't exactly on board with the idea of letting Nova and Juno go off in the middle of the storm after everything they had done, especially since Nova had done many things and had made many questionable choices these last few days to make her own parents have a sufficient amount of doubt in her. However, after the long and harrowing night she had been forced to endure, they gave her a free pass only on this occasion.
Nova Van Kirk just wished arriving at the chateau with the rest of her friends was on better terms. She wished she was arriving at the Routledge home to celebrate the fact that they were able to clear John B's name, and not because Nova and her friends wanted to be around each other, to support one another after the devastating loss of not just one, but two of their friends. Nova wished things were different, that maybe they were easier instead of the constant obstacles and hardships that they were all forced to face.
Instead they were forced to endure loss after loss: John Routledge, Riley Van Kirk, Susan Peterkin, the gold, and now John B and Sarah. Nova wondered if the pain and loss would ever end. Then she realised this was the path she had sent herself on and now she had to live with it because as much as she wanted a carefree life with her friends, a life where they didn't have to suffer the loss of things that meant the most to them, it just wasn't meant to happen. Maybe it wasn't meant to be.
When Nova got out of the car, she looked ahead to see the chateau standing tall in all of its glory in the middle of the cold and dark night, a dull ache erupting in her chest when she looked back on the memories of the times she had spent at the chateau. There were good memories, and plenty of bad memories too, but mostly good. It was strange to think she would end up coming back here multiple times in the near future only to find John B was no longer around. Not only would she come back to find the boy was no longer around, but she would be coming back without Sarah at her side.
It was a hard and unfortunate truth, but one Nova Van Kirk would have to face sooner or later.
"Hey, the lights are on." Kiara pointed out, being the first to speak amongst the group since they left the tent and their parents behind to come to the chateau. The group didn't really speak at all since finding out they had lost two of their friends. Truth is, they didn't really know what to say to one another.
Nova took a second look at the chateau to see the lights were on inside the Routledge family home, illuminating the darkness within the four walls of the home. This caused for Nova to furrow her brows together in confusion, a puzzled look evident in her crystal, blue eyes, the girl wondering for a split second why the lights were on when no one had been there in the last couple of hours, raising her suspicions. But it seemed to be the last thing on Nova's mind right now, the girl still reeling from the shock of losing her friends not even an hour ago, their deaths still weighing heavy on her aching heart.
Pope raised his brow as he continued to look ahead, noticing how strange it was that the lights were switched on. "That is weird...very weird." He muttered under his breath, nodding his head in agreement with the Carrera girl. "We should head inside and check it out." He suggested, earning a nod filled with agreement from everyone else in return.
Nova began to walk ahead with the rest of the group. However, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed JJ wasn't with the rest of them. This caused for the blonde to turn around to face the boy, taking notice in the sad look that glimmered clearly in his blue eyes. Nova could tell JJ was suffering and it was clear by the way he could barely take another step towards the chateau and who could blame him? She struggled to take a step closer towards the place because of the memories she had made there. She couldn't imagine how JJ must feel, especially since he had lost his childhood best friend just like she did earlier tonight.
"Hey, you guys go in without us." Nova called out to Juno, Kiara and Pope, causing for the trio to stop in their tracks and turn around to face Nova. "We'll be in there in a second." She told them in a reassuring voice. She even did her best to force a smile, but after the night they had all endured, a smile was completely out of the equation.
Juno shot Nova a look filled with kindness and understanding as she reached down and held onto Kiara's hand, lacing their fingers together, before the trio made their way closer towards the chateau and headed inside, leaving Nova and JJ outside alone. Once Nova knew they were alone, the girl turned back around to face JJ, a comforting and sympathetic look plastered across her face. She understood what JJ was going through in this very moment. They had been through this kind of loss once before with Riley Van Kirk, and now again with two of their closest friends.
"I get that it's hard." Nova informed him.
JJ glanced back at the blonde, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, forcing the boy to inhale sharply as he quickly wiped his tears away, sniffling for a moment, before he parted his lips to speak. "Does it get easier?" He asked, hoping Nova would have all the answers he desperately needed in this very moment.
"I would like to say yes." Nova told him, taking a step closer towards the boy, before she reached out and grabbed his hand with her own. "But it's been almost five months now and I still feel the pain of Riley's death everyday. I've known Sarah since we were born. I grew up with her and now she's gone and I don't know how I'm suppose to live the rest of my life without her." She explained, trying her hardest not to crumble apart when mentioning Sarah.
JJ nodded his head, running his free hand through his messy blond hair. "Yeah, I don't know how I'm suppose to do all of this without John B. He was my best friend and now he's dead." He only just managed to choke up, causing for Nova to let go of JJ's hand, before she wrapped her arms around JJ and pulled him into her embrace, holding him close to her body as he cried into her shoulder.
"It's okay." Nova cooed, JJ's soft cries almost bringing tears to her eyes. Truth is, she had cried more than enough to last her a millennium. She didn't think she could cry anymore, but hearing a boy filled with so much good and so much light fall apart pained Nova to the point where she thought she could cry a damn waterfall if she really wanted to. "I know it's awful now, but it'll be okay because we have each other."
JJ sniffled again and pulled away from Nova, his teary eyes staring straight back into her own. "Promise me you won't leave." He begged her, his pleading voice being enough to make Nova's eyes soften at the sight of him in his current state. "I've lost three of my friends in the space of a few months. Maybe if I give it time then the pain won't be there forever, but you're the one person I can't lose. Please, promise me we'll never leave each other." He elaborated further.
A faint smile found its way to Nova Van Kirk's lips, before she pressed her hand against the nape of JJ's neck and pushed him closer towards her. Nova then pressed her lips against JJ's, causing for JJ to simply return the favour, their lips moving together in perfect sync as JJ lifted his hand and caressed Nova's cheek with a gentle touch and bringing her closer to deepen the kiss, his thumb brushing against her soft skin. However, this kiss was much different compared to all the others. Before the kisses Nova and JJ shared were filled with burning passion. This time around, the kiss was laced with desperation and fear because the last thing either of them wanted was to lose each other.
That was a kind of loss neither of them could survive.
Slowly, Nova pulled away and rested her forehead against JJ's, a shaky breath leaving her lips as she locked eyes with the boy, a reassuring look burning bright in her gaze. "I promise."
JJ couldn't help but sigh in relief as he planted one last lingering kiss on the girl's lips, before he backed away from the girl and held out his hand for her to take. "We should head inside. The others are waiting for us." He informed the girl, causing for Nova to lace her fingers with JJ's, before they began to make their way closer towards the chateau.
When Nova and JJ entered the chateau, closing the door shut behind them both, Nova lifted her gaze to see Juno, Kiara and Pope standing in shock as they stared into the distance. Nova couldn't help but knit her brows together in confusion, wondering what had left the rest of them so shocked that they were all frozen in place. "What's going on, you guys?" Nova queried.
Nova pushed her way past her friends with JJ following close behind her, her hand dropping his as she made her way to the front of the room, and Nova felt her entire body become frozen in place when she locked eyes with the last person she ever expected to see again. She couldn't believe it. Nova felt her chest tighten, her heart beginning to race as a thick lump formed in the back of her throat. She felt the walls closing in on her, her breathing becoming a lot more erratic and her palms becoming sticky with sweat as she struggled to comprehend who was standing in front of her right now.
It wasn't possible. Nova knew that much for sure because it isn't every day people come back from the dead. Hell, it almost felt as if she was staring back at a ghost. But how could she deny what was right in front of her. She could never forget his kind features, his bright, blue eyes that were the shade of the violent seas, and his golden blond locks that she often ruffled up just to piss him off when they were children. Oh. . . and how could she forget his kind smile filled with so much warmth, his sheepish grin bringing back sixteen years of memories, good and bad. Truth was that he was real, more real than Nova could have ever imagined, and he was standing in front of her. After months filled with grief and sorrow, he had finally come back to her. He had finally come home.
"Holy shit." JJ cursed, his voice barely above a whisper as a dumbfounded look plastered its way across his face. "Is that..."
"Yeah, I think it is." Pope interjected, standing next to JJ with a mix of shock and confusion evident in his widened gaze.
The boy standing on the opposite side of the room smiled at his friends, a bubble of joy erupting in the pit of his stomach when he saw them all standing together, minus two, of course, which was confusing for him, but he knew he would get those answers soon enough. First, he had his own explaining to do, especially after all this time, knowing they all deserved a real explanation behind his sudden and unexpected return. The boy's gaze then landed on Nova, his smile only growing when his eyes locked with her's, the pair reuniting at last after months of harrowing separation.
"Hey, Nova." He greeted the girl.
Nova quickly became pale, the girl releasing a shaky breath past her lips, tears forming in the corners of her eyes with a shocked expression washing over her face. Nova then swallowed the lump lodged in the back of her throat, the girl furrowing her brows together when she came face to face with a ghost from her past, her lips parting so she could speak. However, nothing could come out because she didn't know what to say. She could say one thing though. . . his name.
"Riley?"
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authors note.
Riley Van Kirk really be like:
But yes! Riley Van Kirk is alive and this was something I've had planned since I first published this version of heavenly and it's killed me not being able to tell you guys so I left loads of little clues. To everyone who guessed he was alive well done!
And that is also the end of season 1. I want to thank everyone who's been reading, voting and commenting so far. The support I've gotten these last couple of months has meant everything to me especially since I struggled to find an obx plot I actually liked. So thank you so much! Love you all <3