—
The pounding of footsteps forced Kirsten out of her sleep. The sound of her door being slammed opened alerted the girl of her sister presence.
"Hey. We're going on a boat ride today, boys are picking us up after the get Evelynn. Which means we have like an hour to get ready." Kiara explains to her sister.
In actuality, the twins had a little longer than an hour. They knew that not only did Evelynn have to sneak past her parents, but the girl took an unnecessary amount of time to perfect an outfit, even if all they were doing was going on a boat ride.
The girls figured that if they told themselves that they only had a short amount of time to get ready then they'd rush, ultimately leaving them about forty-five minutes to themselves before they had to leave.
It worked, but that didn't mean they were always ready when the group showed up.
Kirsten groaned to herself as she got out of bed, already having a simple outfit in mind.
•••
"I can only assume by the way you're dressed that you're going to be with those pogues today." Matthew Connor spoke as soon as he walked downstairs.
"You would correct, father." Evelynn responds, her tone leaving an odd feeling in her dad's stomach.
Matthew could tell that his daughter didn't care for his opinions on other people. He knew she only truly cared about how his wife's mother felt. And if Elizabeth was okay with her being friends with the pogues, then that was all the approval she truly needed.
And that angered him to his core.
"And what would you do if I told you that I don't want you around them or that Luca anymore?" His question was more of a threat, they both knew. Yet, only one of them cared.
"I'd tell you that I don't really care and you've been doing this for the last tens years of my life so you should probably get over it." She shrugged.
Matthew angrily placed his cup on the counter as he glared at the girl in front of him, "What the hell did I tell you about talking to me like that?"
"To stop talking to you like that." Evelynn said, "I also recall you saying that respect goes both ways. And you haven't really went out of your way to respect me this week, have you, father?"
Matt absolutely despised that word.
Father.
He knew that Evelynn was aware of his hatred for such a sophisticated word. It made him feel like she didn't care for him, which he wasn't completely off.
Evelynn truly loved her parents. She respected them.
But to an extent.
She loved her friends.
She loved Luca. Nothing her parents said or did could make her think otherwise. She wouldn't dare let their high status on the island scare her into leaving someone that made her happy.
She didn't like that the couple felt like they should make every decision for her. She was aware of their family status, she was aware of how wealthy and 'important' they were compared to majority of the people on the island, but she didn't like it.
While she appreciated everything her parents did to get them where they are, that didn't mean she had to cower to them like everyone else did.
She thought it was pathetic that her parents had to disrespect to earn respect, therefore she went against everything they believed in.
Kooks vs Pogues? She's best friends with them.
Pineapple on pizza? She's prefers jalapeños.
Marry a wealthy black man? She likes the italians.
Although her parents never openly explained why they didn't like her dating Luca, the girl knew very well that it had to do with the fact that they want her to be with their friends son, Kelce.
Who she could not stand.
"Evelynn—"
"I have to go." She cuts him off, her eyes trained behind him as she looks out the window to spot the HMS Pogue pulling its way in.
"I swear to God, Evelynn Rose—"
"I'll see you later, Dad."
"Howdy there, little lady!" An exaggeration of a country accent calls out, Evelynn rolling her eyes at JJ's attempt to be funny.
"You're hilarious, JJ." She fault smiles, thanking Pope with her eyes as the boy helped her in.
"Oh, I know." He gushes, "Let's get outta here, Matty looks a little angry."
John B wastes no time in directing the boat forward, the group of friends ignoring the shouts of the man behind them as they set off to the Carrera's dock.
•••
"I never really understood your obsession with turtles." Kirsten admits to her sister, confusing the hell out of the youngest twin.
"We weren't walking about turtles."
"I'm aware. But there's one right there." She points out, Kiara following the direction of her finger. Gasping softly, the youngest twin falls for the trick as Kirsten struggles to hold back a smile.
"I don't see it—"
Kiara's words are cut off with a scream, Kirsten's laughter following closest behind as Kie turns to her with a glare.
"That's not funny!"
Kirsten shrugs, smile still evident on her face, "It was kind of funny."
"You could've pushed me in!"
"You're fine, Kiara."
"I damn near had a heart attack!"
"Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya!"
"Good morning." The twins spoke in unison, one more enthusiastic than the other.
John B smiled gently at the two, "Morning."
"Whatcha got? You got some juice boxes?"
"You know, just some yogurts and carrot sticks." Kie joked with the blonde, waiting patiently behind her sister who entered the boat first.
"How about my kind of juice box?"
"Yeah."
"Lemonade?" Evelynn's voice joined in, the eldest twin smiling brightly at her best friend before pulling out her favorite beverage.
"Always."
"Brace for impact."
•••
Evelynn watch with a content smile as her friends joked around with each other. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she watched JJ jump on the back of the boat in preparation for his so called 'parry trick'.
"Oh good god."
"Hey, Pope. Can you go a little faster?"
Sighing softly at his request, Pope reluctantly listens, "Here we go. I'm movin'."
"Doesn't work." Kirsten called out, earning a teasing smile from the blonde who stares at her with soft eyes.
"We've tried this like 6,000 times." John B follows, unknowingly annoying the duo, as they were forced to break eye contact.
JJ scoffs, "I got this. It's gonna work!"
Kie let's out an annoyed whine, moving herself so she was near Evelynn, away from everyone else, "You're getting beer in my hair!"
"Oh, my God."
"All right. All right! All right, you're done." John B finally says.
"All right, stop!"
Suddenly, the boat comes to a rough stop, Kiara and Evelynn harshly bumping heads as they fly from their seats. Kirsten barely had time to react before she was also forced to the ground, John B not too far behind her.
"Jesus, Pope!" Kiara cried out, checking over the girl next to her, "Are you okay?"
"You have a hard ass head."
"You okay?" John B mumbled to Kirsten as he stood up, allowing the girl to use his arm to stand on her own.
"JJ?" Kirsten called out, leaning her body against the edge, "You okay?"
"I think my heels touched the back of my head." The blonde groaned as he emerged from the water.
"Kie, you okay?" John B asked.
"I'm all right."
"Evelynn?"
"All good, Johnathan."
"Pope, what did you do?"
"Sandbar. The channel changed." The dark haired boy answered, suddenly feeling guilty that they got hurt.
"No shit."
"It's not his fault." Kirsten came to his defense, gaining a thankful look from the boy.
"Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up."
JJ smiles brightly at his friends, "Hey, I saved the beer, though."
"Yeah, cause that's our main concern."
John B felt the need to add on to the sarcastic statement, "Congrats, JJ."
Pope struggled to get their attention, "Guys... I think there's a boat down there."
"Shut up."
"What?"
"No way."
"No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's a boat down there. For real."
Evelynn forced herself to move to Pope's side, Kirsten doing the same. The girls didn't even hide the shocked looks on their faces as they stared.
"He's telling the truth."
"Seriously?"
"It's a boat!" John B exclaimed.
"Yeah, not shit, Johnathan." Evelynn muttered, "He just said that."