[tw: drug misuse/relapse]
THE NEXT morning, Rory reunited with Big John and John B. She hugged his tightly as JJ jumped on his back, reminding them both of the days when they used to act like one big family. Rory hugged John B too, observing something was off with him but she didn't want to bother him by asking.
John B explained, "Yeah, so we, uh... we went to the archives in Charleston, and, uh... it was a dead end. So..."
JJ looked at John B before looking at Rory, as the twins both thought the exact same thing. They knew John since the 3rd grade. They knew something was bothering him.
"So, that's the gold, the Cross, and now El Dorado. Gone." Pope replied, chucking his can of beer at a tree, "We're three-for-three!"
The Pogues separated in disappointment, all wanting to be alone to get along with their normal life. Rory didn't know where Sarah was, so hung with Cleo until Pope got back to break some unwanted news.
"You did what?" Cleo questioned angrily, watching the boy sweep the deck.
"Quit school." Pope repeated, "I lost my scholarship. I lost all my old classes. I'll be lucky if I even passed the grade. My transcript is ass."
"Pope, I'm the last person to be telling you to pull your shit together... but you need to pull your shit together!" Rory replied, "I mean, you had everything figured out-"
"But now I don't, Rory." Pope interrupted, "And do you know why? Because I tried to do the right thing. I tried to help JB with his treasure, to get my family's inheritance back, and do you know what I got for it? Kicked in the dirt. It's over. I'm done-"
"Pope!" JJ's distant voice called, as he sprinted towards the deck. He panted, "Yo! Bombshell! What's going on? What happened? I'm detecting a really heavy vibe."
Cleo informed, "Pope's quitting school."
"Being a coroner's kind of weird anyway, bro." JJ shrugged honestly.
"Shut up, wrench dick." Pope argued.
"Great. So, it's definitely not the time for this." JJ breathed heavily, "Okay, shit. I was down at Guffy's trying to get my job back. And I see the Catty across the way, and on it... is Rafe and Barry."
"Barry?" Rory questioned, "As in, Barry Barry."
"Yes. Barry Barry. The only Barry you know." JJ replied quickly, before continuing, "I sneak over to hear what they're talking about. Pope, he has the cross. And he melted it down. I'm sorry, bro."
Pope shut his eyes tightly, before leaning on the wooden fencing. He yelled, "Fuck! Of course, it was Rafe."
Rory flinched slightly, "Pope-"
"The Cross of Santo Domingo, desecrated! For money? God!" Pope continued angrily, as he picked up the broom and held it over his head as he paced up and down.
JJ suggested, "I think we need to stay calm. We need a plan, but we gotta stay-"
Suddenly, Pope smashed the broomstick into the deck, causing it to snap in half. JJ, Rory, and Cleo all flinched, watching the boy walk away angrily, "I'm sick of being the good guy."
JJ, Rory, and Cleo helped clean up the deck for Mrs Heyward's dinner, waiting for Pope to get back from his anger outburst earlier. Rory helped Mrs Heyward cook the food, reminding her of old times, when Heyward rushed to the deck unexpectedly.
"Either one of y'all moved the pistol from in there?" Heyward asked, "The one I keep under the register?"
"No." The three replied in unison.
"JJ?" Heyward questioned, "Rory?"
JJ defended, "Whoa, hey. I didn't touch it."
"Me neither, I swear." Rory added truthfully, raising her hands in surrender.
"Well, somebody did." Heyward retorted, "Because it's gone! I need to find it."
Mrs Heyward walked inside after the man, who rushed inside quickly. Cleo leant closer to the twins, "It's him. He's goin' after Rafe. I'll check the marina."
"I'll check the Château." JJ added, "Rory, you check Tannyhill."
***
As instructed, Aurora headed to Tannyhill searching for Pope. She couldn't stop thinking about Barry helping Rafe melt down the Cross, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. However, Rory's thoughts were interrupted by the loud music and crowds of Kooks surrounding the mansion. Rafe's party.
Rory walked inside of the mansion to search for Pope, only to find Rafe and Barry slouched on the couch. The Kook looked stressed, as usual, despite making thousands of dollars from selling pieces of the cross. Rory's blood boiled, thinking of how upset Pope was and how careless they were being.
She stormed over to the couch, as Barry raised a glass to her. He slurred, "Rory, I was wonderin'-"
"Don't act like you didn't fucking lie to my face!" Rory blurted out angrily, "You were acting like you weren't working with him the entire time!"
Rafe tutted smugly, standing up to leave with a smirk on his face as he walked extremely close to Rory, "Give our best wishes to Pope-"
Without hesitation, Rory shoved the Kook away from her, causing him to stumble slightly though his face still contained a smirk. Rafe chuckled manically, knowing he had touched a nerve. Barry stood up quickly, holding Rory back and motioning to Rafe to walk away.
Barry slurred, "Listen, man-"
"I have been fucking listening!" Rory shouted angrily, "I heard about you melting the Cross. Barry, are you out of your mind? I told you not to get involved with him!"
Barry sighed, "I get it, Rory, but he offered me some of the cut. Don't tell me you wouldn't take that shit, 'cuz I know you would."
"I wouldn't betray my friends. My family!" Rory corrected, gritting her jaw tightly.
"Pope ain't my family, bro." Barry replied, as he sat back down on the couch.
"I'm your family." Rory retorted, as she stood up in front of him, "Do you actually think Rafe cares about you? He's using you. When this is over-"
"When this is over, ima be rich. Fuck Rafe." Barry interrupted, taking another sip of his beer, "I know what I'm doing, Rory. I ain't meaning to upset you 'cuz I like you, man. I'm sorry."
Rory hesitated, as she sat down next to Barry. She shook her head, "I'm not forgiving you. Ever. But I'll consider staying at this party with you."
After hours of drinking rich alcohol, Rory was shitfaced with Barry. They remained on the couch for most of the evening, however Barry brought up multiple bags of drugs. Though Rory didn't want to participate, being an addict was addicting. And obviously, Barry wasn't good at saying no when he was incredibly drunk and high himself.
They snorted lines from the glass table, a gathering of Kooks had surrounded them, placing bets and getting money involved. A few Kooks were recording on their phones, as Rory and Barry put drugs in their body in as many ways possible: snorting, smoking, inhaling. The Kooks loved watching Pogues destroy their lives.
And suddenly, the world went quiet. Rory looked around at the Kooks, cheering in slow-motion as the familiar wave of guilt had drowned her. She knew she had gone too far. But it was too late. There was nothing Rory could do, except keep going... keep entertaining the Kooks who could never understand.
a/n:
im so proud of every single one of you reading this! please message me if you r struggling, ill be happy to help or just listen.