I sit in front of a laptop with my family. Dad recorded a message for us before he died.
"A great man once said that if you're born poor, that's not your fault, but if you die poor, well, that's on you. I think, in the end, it was my fear of going back, of losing everything I have that made me lose sight of everything I am... everything I wanted to be. I killed Big John Routledge. I murdered Sheriff Peterkin. I shot Gavin Barnstead. I know there's nothing I can do to ease the pain I've caused. Many will say I took the easy way out. But I leave this world with the terrible pain of knowing that I leave behind my family, shattered by grief, broken by my sins. I don't expect you to forgive me for leaving you this way. I just pray you understand that... I can't go on ruining your lives anymore. This had to end. To all of you, I leave my estate, uh, to be divided equally, and I leave a love deeper than I could ever express. Take care of each other."
Wheezie sniffles as she stands up and walks away. Sarah slams the laptop shut as she holds back tears. Rafe and Rose leave. It's just Sarah and I.
"I need to see John B," Sarah tells me.
I nod my head. "I'm going to head off to see Topper."
Sarah and I grab our bikes and start out of Tannyhill.
"Ash. Sarah. Hey, wait." Rafe is running after us. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Slow down. Slow down." He grabs my shoulder.
I get off of my bike and throw it to the ground. "You touch me one more freaking time!" I push him away from me.
"We can't keep ignoring each other. Dad would want us to talk," Rafe says.
"When I tell you you are the last person I want to talk to, I mean it, Rafe," I state.
"I know you hate me. I know you hate me..." Rafe starts.
I cut him off, "You tried to kill both of us, Rafe."
"I know. I know, I know." Rafe puts his head in his hands. "I know, Ash. I just..." Sarah and I start to pedal off. "Please. No, Ash, Sarah."
"Jeez," Sarah remarks.
"Please! Sarah, Ash, please don't leave, okay?" Rafe begs. Sarah sighs as she stops. "Dad's gone. And now, it's just... it's you, me, and Wheezie."
"What's the point, Rafe?" Sarah asks.
"I know. I know... I know what I did, okay? But listen, um... I was only trying to do right by Dad, okay? Everything I... Everything I ever did was trying to help him, okay? And you heard... you heard the recording. He said we should... we should stay together as a family. It was his dying wish, and he's gone. And I swear I'm gonna do what I can to make that happen. I know I can't... I can't change the past, but I'm gonna be different now. I'm sorry," Rafe tells us before walking back to the house.
I head to Topper's house. He pulls me into a tight hug as soon as he sees me. I start to cry immediately.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see that," Topper tells me.
"Can I stay again?" I ask.
"Of course you can. I'm gonna be here for you, Ash, whatever you need," Topper tells me. "You can stay as long as you need. Okay?"
I nod my head. "Thank you. I just can't go home."
"I just can't imagine what you're going through," Topper says.
I sit on the edge of Topper's bed. "I just can't believe he's gone."
Topper sits down beside me. "Look, Ward wasn't, you know, perfect by any means, but, um... you know, he... he was still your dad. I think it's... it's probably hard to be just simple and happy now."
I sniffle. "Nothing feels simple."
"Tomorrow's the bonfire," Topper reminds me. I nod my head. "I don't know if maybe you'd want to go. Just forget about everything for a while."
"Yeah." I nod my head. "I... I think I'll go."
Topper smiles slightly. "Okay. Uhh... You should probably get some sleep." Topper stands up and walks towards his dresser. "You can borrow some clothes."
He tosses me a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I stand up and slip them on.
"Come on now." Topper pulls down the cover on the bed. "In you go."
I settle into bed as Topper wraps his arms around me.
I wake up in the morning when I feel Topper getting out of bed.
"Go back to sleep," Topper tells me. "If you need anything, call me okay?"
I nod my head. "Okay."
Topper leans down to kiss me. "I love you."
"Love you too," I tell him.
I call Sarah hoping to check in on her. Instead of hearing good news she tells me that her and John B broke up. It was just too hard for her to stay with him. I asked her where she spent the night and surprisingly she stayed at Kelce's place.
Topper and I head to John B's. Even if Sarah and John B broke up I still want to see my friends. I don't think any of them hold any hard feelings over the whole Ward being my dad thing not after everything that happened. Well everyone but John B. I don't know that he's ever going to fully get over everything that Ward ever did to him.
Apparently a teacher gave Pope the diary that belonged to Denmark Tanny. JJ told me that Pope hasn't put it down all day. Even more important, the diary proves that the Cross of Santo Domingo was on the Royal Merchant.
"Guys, this is from Denmark's diary. 'August 15th, set sail from Port-au-Prince on calm seas. Came upon the Spanish ship San Jose on fire. The entire deck was aflame. And we could hear the screams of men trapped below. The Spanish captain cared about only one thing, his valuable cargo, the Cross of Santo Domingo and countless bars of gold. Once the cargo was on board, we went to help the crew, but Captain Limbrey ordered us to pull bayonets and not to let any of the Spanish crew on board. He robbed them and left them to die.'" Pope reads.
"So it didn't go down off Bermuda," JJ states. "And it was a Limbrey stealing shit again."
"This diary proves that both the gold and the Cross of Santo Domingo were on the Royal Merchant," Pope explains.
"Why didn't we find it in the well then?" JJ asks. "I mean, if Denmark was able to get this, like, bedazzled cross off of the Merchant to shore, why didn't he just hide it with the gold?"
"Because it was too big," John B reasons.
"You're right," Pope tells him. "He had to hide it someplace else."
"But where?" Kie asks.
"Right before he was hung, Denmark said he'd buried the treasure at the foot of the angel," Pope tells us.
"I thought this was about the key," JJ says.
"Right. So what's the connection?" I ask.
"'The path to the tomb begins in the island room.'" Pope repeats.
"But what is the island room?" Kie questions.
"You know what helps me figure shit out?" JJ says as he stands up.
"Oh boy. Here we go," John B remarks.
"Smoking beers and drinking weed. The ideas just pour out of me. If we just sit here and try to figure this out, we're gonna get nowhere. But if we get creative and go to this bonfire tonight, maybe we get somewhere," JJ offers.
"Well, I just got disowned by my parents, and I'm an official member of the I-have-nothing-to-lose club," Kie states.
"Ash? Topper?" JJ asks.
"I need a distraction," I tell him.
"If Ash is in, so am I," Topper states.
"Pope?" JJ asks.
"We're so close," Pope states.
"Look, look, think about how much you could think if you just gave your brain a rest," JJ insists.
"Okay, fine," Pope gives in.
We all cheer.
"Okay, great!" Kie shouts.
"Okay, wait. We gotta shotgun before we go," JJ insists.
Kie turns to me as we head inside. "You sure you're up for this?"
I nod my head. "I need to take my mind off of everything."
"You think Sarah is gonna be there?" Kie asks.
"I don't know," I tell her. "Don't tell John B, but she spent the night at Kelce's."
"Wow," Kie remarks.
I nod my head. "I know. I just think she needs someone to be there for her with everything going on."