LAURA SAT DOWN BETWEEN JJ and Pope, knowing what the mandatory meeting was about. She was still in her previous clothes from Midsummers, except her heels were no longer on her feet and instead sitting in the dirt. Her brown hair was put into a side braid so it wasn't down on her back any longer.
"Hey, guys. So, like, my dad is already going to kill me. So what's this mandatory meeting about?" Pope asked, finally sitting down.
John B and JJ shared a look before the brunette pointed finger guns at the other. "Might as well tell him man, before we're gaffed." JJ stated.
"You ready for this?" John B asked, then looked over at Kiara.
"Yeah."
"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant." John B started. Laura rolled her eyes, looking down at the fire instead of at her brother.
"Oh, my God. Here we go again with this." Pope stated, sighing out, obviously done with the topic of the Royal Merchant.
"No. All right, wait. Hear him out, all right?" JJ said, leaning forward and turning to the side to look at Pope. Laura tapped her foot impatiently.
"It's been here the whole time." John B said with a sly smile covering his lips. Laura looked at him confused. "It's on the island."
"John B, what?" Laura spoke. He nodded his head at her.
"I'd like to voice my skepticism."
"I'm sure you would, Pope, but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?" John B said, standing up and walking around.
"Proceed." Pope replied, not really caring.
"All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny." John B started, getting cut off by Kiara asking who the hell that was. "Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck. Check this out."
He took out a folded piece of old, crumpled paper, and handed it to Kiara. As she looked at it, John B continued talking.
"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest. That was his big discovery. So Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom."
Kiara whistled, handing the paper over to Pope.
"After that, he bought his farm. Drumroll, please..." They all started doing a fake drumroll on their legs. "... because that farm is... Tannyhill Plantation." They all stopped as John B looked over at Kiara.
"Tannyhill?" Kiara asked, surprised.
"Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."
"Where?" Laura asked, resting her elbows on her knees.
"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water. Except... There's no wheat. You see, wheat is the code for gold. Check this out. The gold in parcel nine, near the water. All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold!" John B finished off excitedly.
Laura tapped her finger on her knee, still deciding if she believes it's true or not. She looked between Kiara and John B seeing the excited looks they both had.
"Okay, so this might have a small chance of actually being true." Pope said, still holding the flashlight down at the papers.
JJ stood up and walked around, grabbing John B around the waist and lifting him up in a hug. "I am a genius. Hey, whoa! Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn."
Laura laughed at her brother's reaction, loving it. "So, John B, what's the plan?"
"Good question, LB. So, Sarah Cameron and Briar are coming tonight. They'll bring an original survey map--"
Laura immediately cut John B off. "Hold on, Sarah Cameron and Briar Thornton? What the hell do they have to do with any of this?"
"This is gonna be good." JJ said, looking down at the ground while Laura gave him a slightly dirty look.
"Sarah, um, she-- she got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday, and Briar knew where everything was and that's where I got the letter." John B said, looking down at his sister who stood up off the wood log.
"You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah and Briar?" Kiara said, saying the exact words the brunette girl was going to.
"He was mackin' on her. You were totally mackin' on Sarah Cameron." JJ stated, looking over at John B.
"I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was using her for access." The brunette boy replied.
"I'm gonna throw up." Laura said, turning around, not being able to look at her brother.
"Did you tell her about the treasure?" Kiara asked angrily. "You let a Kook in on our secret? What about Pogue Lyfe? What about the T-shirt company, bro?"
"I was just using her for information."
"Why don't I believe you?" Laura asked, turning back around. Kiara held out her hand, agreeing with the other girl.
"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here, man. Okay, so we can pay off a boat, or--or uh... send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies. Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?" John B continued on, trying to prove a point.
"You don't want an answer." Laura said, sitting back down.
"Look, you don't know them yet. We do! You can't trust them. They're like a-- like a spitting cobra. First they-- they blinds you, and then-- Listen to me! Whatever we get, they're gonna try to take." Kiara said, and Laura nodded her head, agreeing.
"She's right. You can't trust any of them."
"He really just left us like that. To meet up with Sarah Cameron. This is such bullshit." Laura said, laying across the seating in the back of the van, looking up at the roof of it. "Also, I definitely should've changed out of this damn dress."
"I mean, you look hot." JJ stated casually. Laura started laughing at his bluntness, as did he. The other two looked at them weirdly, not understanding what was happening. "I'm being honest, LB."
"Yup, thanks JJ." Laura said, turning over and smiling at him.
"Wait, do you guys hear that? Sh." Kiara said, looking out the window of the van. It sounded like someone yelling for help.
"Oh, wait, no, I hear that." JJ said, and the four immediately got up, getting out of the van.
Laura sat up from her seat, being the last one, but running over to the yelling first. The first thing she saw was her brother lying on the ground, not talking, and Sarah leaning over him, crying. Briar turned her head to look at his twin, shocked. Laura fell to her knees, looking at her brother with concern and fear.
"I don't know what to do. He needs help. Topper shoved him." Sarah said, looking at the brunette sitting on the dirt in front of her.
"Where the hell is he?!" JJ yelled, looking around the area.
"Oh, please, please, please get help. I don't care who. Just call someone." Sarah continued through tears.
"I'm so sorry. I- I tried to stop him, Laura." Briar said quietly, voice breaking. "I tried to stop him from going up there but he didn't listen to me."
Laura was paralyzed with fear, staring down at her unconscious brother. Pope had ran to get help, while JJ crouched down next to the girl in the now dirty blue dress, wrapping an arm around her.
"Let go of me." Laura said quietly, eyes still stuck on John B. Immediately the arm around her had disappeared. "John B, you're okay. You have to be okay."
It was early in the morning, and Laura was sitting in the corner of John B's room, watching Sarah hold his hand while waiting for him to wake up.
"Where am I?" Laura snapped her head up, looking at her brother whose eyes were barely open. She got up, and sat at the edge of the bed, opposite side of Sarah.
"St. Olives." Sarah responded. "You fell from the Hawk's nest. You have a concussion and a broken wrist."
John B looked down at his arm, lifting it up slightly. "Whoa. I need to get outta here. DCS is gonna find me--"
"Hang on there, kid. Hang on." The twins turned to look at Ward Cameron who had just walked into the room. "Sarah told me everything. About your little adventure, about you running from the DCS, about how you were protecting her in the tower."
John B and Sarah looked at each other and smiled. Laura sighed, and looked down at her hands resting on the dirt covered dress.
"John, I believe I owe you an apology. You were honest with me about a small indiscretion, and I went ahead and fired you anyway. And I shouldn't have. Unfortunately, from time to time, I have a bit of a... short fuse. Ask her." Ward looked over at Sarah, and Laura's gaze followed.
"I'd like to make up for it if you'll let me. I spoke with Sheriff Peterkin, and... I've offered to be your legal guardian, if you'll have me." The twins looked at each other with confusion.
"What?"
"It'd mean a roof over your head and no more runnin' from the DCS." Ward finished, and the three teenagers looked at each other. Sarah had a smile on her lips, but Laura felt off about the whole situation.
"Sure, yeah. Uh... sounds good." John B replied, then looked at his twin.
"As long as I don't have a curfew or have to be at your house twenty-four seven, I'll agree. And nobody is on my back about everything." Laura said, giving Ward a dead serious look.
"Well, welcome to the family."