Chapter Five
Life Is Hell
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HERE'S THE THING ABOUT POGUES: Everything ends bad.
When Eden was going home yesterday afternoon, she immediately understood that she shouldn't go back to see them because. . . Well, she almost died in less than an hour, and the bottom line was she didn't want to die. But she was going to have to go back, even after the speech her mommy gave her when she found out what happened on the beach the other night. To make more court, Yasmina did not want any more Pogues close to her daughter, otherwise she called the police. She is crazy! But you know what's the craziest thing about this story? The Pogues are looking for treasure. Just thinking about it, Eden wants to let the biggest giggles come out of her mouth, but at the same time, she wants to take her things to help them.
'Cause let's be real for a minute. The Pogues. . . Eden knew them by heart, and a group like them could easily or hardly find this treasure. John Booker Routledge, the son of a man who spent his life searching for treasure. He spent his childhood getting into that sort of thing too, and although he has a wonderful brain, he's not going to make it. JJ Maybank, the crazy little guy, stupid and oblivious to everything he does. He lives his life day to day, he lives it as every person should live it. He doesn't care about anything, and he has nothing in his head. He's not gonna make it, too.
Pope Heyward, the little genius of the band, Eden's favorite. He never ( well, almost never ) does anything stupid. It's his friends who drag him into endless shit, like this treasure hunt. Although his brain is the one that everyone would like to have, he could not make it in turn. He doesn't know anything about treasures, unless he's read about it yet. Which would be very useful. And the super, protective, brainless Mrs. Carrera. Kiara is surely the one who really knows but fuck nothing about treasures. All she is able to do is stay close to her three little puppies named John B, JJ and Pope. So she's not gonna make it either.
And the turn of Eden Blair Winslow. The former resident of the Cut, and now Princess Kook of Figure Eight. You already know the story. She was a little information brain when she was a Pogue, but now her thoughts are filled with voices telling her what to do to get the Kooks to like her. She wasn't going to make it too. But, Eden knew more things than anyone here. She lived on both sides of the island, knew all the people Thomas Perez frequented. She could find why he betrayed Big John, but she couldn't find The Royal Merchant. And even less the gold of it, so the Pogues and her are fucked up.
Or. . . The Pogues are real little geniuses now. But Eden doubts it, that's why she's going to do nothing at all. What do you believe? Yes, of course she will see them again, but it will be up to them to come and see her. Out of the question that she is threatened with death a second time.
Eden just doesn't understand why Thomas Perez supposedly betrayed Big John? Like, they were the best of best friends. And her father was the first to care about everyone, to help anyone he saw in danger, so why would he leave his friend in the despair of poverty? Who knows, if Big John and Thomas would have found the Royal Merchant's gold together, John B, JJ and Pope might be with Eden right now. They remained Pogues, but with the style of Kooks. Eden would no longer need to spend her days with Rafe and his stupid friends, like today.
"—I mean, he deserved this, don't ya think?" Rafe continued to speak while Eden played with the hot sand that surrounded her body. "John B is just an asshole. Plus, he stole some scuba gear the other day."
This reflection was enough to bring Eden out of her thoughts about her father. "What?"
"Yeah, he got fired. Ward discovered about it and he got fired. He deserved that too, he's just playing with fire, this Pogue."
"Okay, and what the fuck you know about him? His life and all his pro—" Eden stopped when she realized what she said. She shook her head before displaying a lying smile. "Yeah. Actually, he. . . He sort of deserved this." She hated herself to say. She hated herself from the bottom of her heart.
Rafe nodded, pressing his arm around her shoulders. "Exactly."
Eden let her gaze sink into the blue of the ocean which seemed to know everything about her life. The ocean was Eden's first best friend, whenever she had a problem, the water already knew how to welcome her with open arms. Every time John B and Eden went for a walk on the beach, the ocean took care to take pictures of them as a fan. She couldn't lie when she was in front of the salt water calling her to tell her to reveal what was on her heart. Except that she had nothing more to say, her pain had already sunk too deeply into her for her to be able to pull it out.
"Topper really did a good job. He kicked his ass like a king."
Eden sighed. "Okay, you're what? His fan club? You sounds ridiculous. I'm not gonna say that Topper did a great job or whatever, he called me a bitch, and you don't even care about that, Rafe."
Cameron removing his arm from Eden's shoulders when he felt her stiffen. "I care about you, Eden. I— I just think Topper was pretty. . . Drunk. He didn't mean what he said." What was she expecting? Rafe cares a lot more about Topper than her, and Eden knows it very well that he doesn't care about her at all and that he just wants her in his bed for one night, then rejects her like he did with all the girls he met. Eden Winslow was definitely not going to be Rafe's absolute exception, so what did she expect, damn it.
"Then why you did nothing last night when he called me like that? If you care so much about me, why the only one who reacted was John Booker Routledge? Huh, Rafe? Tell me why." Eden asked, anger in her voice as she tried to stay calm.
Rafe sighed, running his large hand through his blond hair. "Look, we're not a couple, okay? I don't have to protect you all the time."
Eden knew deep in her heart that Rafe wasn't a good guy for her, but still, by always being that cool ( just, not cool, just okay ) guy when she's around, and always trying to be nice, Eden built things up for him. Not feelings, but things she couldn't explain. Sometimes flirtation takes over us. And hearing what he said did something to her, even if she didn't like him. And she hated that he could have a place in this fragile heart of Eden.
"Okay. Fine, I see how things are. Fuck you, Rafe." Eden spat, but before she could get up, he put his strong hand on her knee, his eyes hard but his voice pitying.
"Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that this way. Last night, I— I was drunk like everyone. I didn't realize what was going on. Eden, I'm sorry. . ." His words began to slowly fade away as his mouth came dangerously close to Eden's. "I'm sorry. I really am. I'll do better next time."
Rafe's mouth brushed Eden's like a sensation of wind touching her mouth. She didn't even close her eyes, she left them on the face of the guy she didn't like. And here's the thing, Eden doesn't date people she doesn't like. So, sorry Rafe, your turn won't come.
"Yo. You look thirsty, guys." Kelce exclaimed, moving forward towards the two sitting on the sand. Eden pushed Rafe away, while their friend smirked.
Sarah motioned Eden not to taste, to which she gave her a raised eyebrow. Before Rafe could even get up and take the bottle Kelce was holding, Eden snatched it from his hands and let the drink run down her throat. She felt a small tingle in it, but finished her sip before giving it to Rafe in a hard movement.
"Yeah, that's it, Eden!" Kelce said, slamming his hand into the girl's.
"Guys, we're here to clean the beach, not to get drunk like alcoholic teenagers. And also not for making excuses, huh, Rafe?" Josie commented, opening a plastic bag in her hands. Eden sneered, then made her way towards the three girls who were waiting for her. "It's disgusting how the world doesn't think about the planet."
Sarah huffed. "You remind me of someone when you talk like that."
Eden nodded. "That's funny, me too."
"Stop scheming about who knows who and pick it up. For once I'm motivated." Drea interrupted them as they whispered in each other's ears. Eden shared a laugh with Sarah before the four girls started putting all the trash in their bag.
Eden needed an answer about the theft that John B had done and the only person who was going to give her details was Sarah Cameron. Winslow then walked over to her, while Josie and Drea were arguing over which of the two throwed an chewing gum on the sand.
"Hey, Sar." Eden said, immediately attracting her attention. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure, Ed'. What's up?" Eden scratched the back of her head, not liking the concern that was already taking possession of her body.
She cleared her throat, preparing as if she was going to give an oral presentation. "John B got fired, if I understood Rafe correctly. And— And I'd like to know why. Not that I care about him, or like him, I just wanna be aware of what he's doing. My mother would like to hire him. And I don't want a thief close to my house, y'know."
Sarah stifled a laugh. "Look, John B came and stole some dive stuff. I caught him, but I didn't tell my dad. So for God's sake, I don't know who told him."
"Do you know why he needed that?" Eden asked, frowning.
Sarah shook her head as she removed her protective bands. "If you want, I'll give you his phone number, so you can ask him."
"Oh, no, it's okay. I already have it." Sarah's mouth widened as if she had just discovered, and Eden banged her head. "I mean, I already have his name, not his—"
"It's fine, Eden. I'm not going to break you in two because you have the number of a Pogue. I'm a nice Kook." The Winslow girl offered a sweet smile as Sarah ran her hand over her shivering arm to relax her friend. "And I get you, he's kinda cute. Are you—"
Eden hissed between her teeth. "We're not friends, we never talk to each other, and we're definitely not dating. John B is just a person that. . . That I knew before." Sarah nodded as she raised her eyebrows slightly, knowing full well that Eden was hiding something.
The two girls returned to the group of friends, where they shared the bottle that Kelce had brought. Nobody knew what was in it, but it must have been very strong since they all ended up kind of drunk after their day. While they were all standing in a circle, not only their group, but also other people who had kindly offered to clean this beach which deserved a better life, Eden and Drea looked at each other to try to contain their laughter in their blocked. Josie finally put her hand on Eden's mouth when she let out a chuckle, and Eden put hers on Drea's to silence her in turn.
"Just a moment, friends, to acknowledge our blessings." The man who was in the middle of the circle said, while everyone took hands. Eden, Josie and Drea then pressed each other's head on the other's shoulder, keeping their hands where they were. "To the big Kahuna. . . Thank you for the opportunity for us to come out here and restore Masonborough to its virgin glory. Amen."
The girls finally let out their laughter, attracting the attention of everyone close to them. Eden passed her arm over Drea's shoulders while Josie jumped into the arms of a guy, who happened to be Noah Winslow who finally decided to show up.
"Bro, where were you? You just disappeared after you saw that gir. . . Ooh!" Eden realised, displaying a drunk girl's smirk.
"Yeah, shut up, Eden." He answered, and she moved over to wipe the red lipstick off the corner of his mouth. "Ew."
"Ugh, you're such a drama queen, bro. I didn't do anything to you, why are you whining?" She teased, as he moved his hand away from her face.
Noah ran his hand over his cheek, as if to make sure it was still intact. "I put a product on my skin, and you're ruining everything." He complained, making Eden rolling her eyes while Josie still had an arm around Noah's waist. "I saw you were with Rafe earlier, you—"
"There's nothing between the two of us. He's a jerk, and I don't like jerks. Well, only you." She pointed at her brother, earning a grimace from him. "You are my favorite jerk."
"Aw. I love you, guys." Josie whispered, literally sinking into the discussion. Noah and Eden shook their heads, giggling as he patted Josie's back who was clinging to him.
As she started to walk, someone came to stand next to her. She thought for a second it was Rafe, but when she saw little Cameron, her heart suddenly warmed. "Wheezie! Weirdo, I missed you." She said as she wrapped her arms around her.
"Hey, Ed'." Wheezie's calm voice made her frown. She pulled away from her, still keeping her sanded hands on her shoulders.
"You okay, Wheez'?"
Wheezie left her head. "I think I'm going to puke, Eden. I hate puking."
"Oh, shit. Seing someone puking make me puke, so we gonna avoid you doing that in front of me." Eden looked in all directions, trying to find her friend. "Sarah Cameron, get your ass back here, girl!"
Sarah, who was having fun with Topper, suddenly arrived in front of her little sister. She pressed her hand to her back, forcing her forward as Wheezie held back her 'thing' from coming out. Eden gave her a thumbs up with a wink. She adored this little one with all her heart, but seeing someone do what Wheezie was going to do was going to drive her crazy.
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WHILE EDEN MADE HER WAY TO Josie's house where she would join her and Drea too, Eden was thinking about her current relationship with Rafe. It was going nowhere. Each discussion landed at an Eden who moved away from the Cameron boy, anger boiling in her chest. He didn't deserve Eden, but here's the problem. . . When she attaches even a minimum to someone, it's hard for her to let this person escape from her life. Rafe didn't even have the slightest feeling for her, so what was holding her back? Pity. Rafe didn't have many friends ( real ones ), his family didn't love him very much and he has big problems with drugs. So the reason she stays with him is because she wants to make sure he's somehow okay.
Even if she would like to leave him in his shit, Eden had a big heart, big enough to welcome people who wouldn't even deserve her pity. And still less the joy of having the Kook princess by their side.
But what do we want? Eden Winslow was the girl that everyone dreamed of meeting at some point, and she welcomed them with open arms before eating a dagger in the back. Life is hell, people are demons, so Eden could only hope to find heaven in the next years of her life.
Life is hell, goddamn is it, she thought as she saw a brunet in the distance, leaning against the cool wooden fence of Josie's house. Hands in his pockets as the wind ruffled his hair to make him even more better, his eyes wandered between each house as if hoping to see a special someone come out of there. His half-tied shirt, a color out of the ordinary, the turquoise blue fit perfectly on his muscular body. His gaze ended up resting on the statue frozen on the sidewalk. John B ran his hand through his hair, starting to make his way to Eden who was still in place like ice.
When she finally realized that she was staring at him like an obsessive, Eden passed her hand over her forehead before turning around, not knowing at all where she was going to take refuge to avoid addressing the slightest word to him.
"Hey, pretty girl!" John B called out, starting to run to catch up with her. She pulled her earphones out of her pocket as quickly as possible, then only put one on before he walks next to her. "Eden, hello?"
She pretended not to see or hear him, which made him sigh and roll his eyes. He passed his hand over the hair that camouflaged Eden's earpiece, then took it away from her ear. "Hey!"
"You didn't listen to me." John B replied before aiming the earpiece into his ear, encountering a song by Taylor Swift. He nodded slightly at the rhythm of the music. "Which one is that?"
Eden rolled her eyes, taking the earpiece between her fingers. "Miss Americana and The Hearbreak Prince." She answered, putting it back in its place, but John B pulled it back immediately. "What do you want, John B?"
"Nothing. I was just walking and— and I end up here. So, yeah."
Eden frowned. "Walk on the enemy ground? I don't believe you."
She continued walking, being done by John B. He scratched his forehead before running his greasy hand through his dark hair. "I just wanted to, um. . . You know, about what happened yesterday—"
"Don't worry. I'm not that much a bitch to go to the police, John B."
"Yeah, no. I know you won't." He said, lowering his eyebrows.
She stopped suddenly, displaying a crooked smile on the tip of her mouth. "You think I won't?" He stared at her for a moment, a glint of concern creeping into his eyes as her smirk turned into a small laugh. "Calm down, John. I'm a cool girl, you know what I think about the cops."
"Fuck them?"
"Correct." Eden congratulated him, tapping him on the shoulder. He frowned at her change in attitude, but still took the opportunity to finally have a cool time with her without her getting upset, or him getting upset. "Why do you keep following me?"
John B then hissed to make her look at him. When her eyes fell on him, she quickly noticed her bracelet swaying in the breeze. "It fell when you left the Chateau the other day. I thought—"
Eden shook her head, walking at a faster pace. "You can keep it. Now that I'm rid of it."
He huffed. "You're really impossible. I'm trying to be nice, Eden." He complained, but she didn't answer. John B sighed, to then come and land right in front of Eden, walking towards the back to let his hypnotizing gaze on hers. "You really don't want it?"
"Yes."
A smile tugged at John B's rosy lips, causing her to frown. "You may be a good liar to the Kooks, but I was your— well, something to you, I know you better than anyone."
"Pfft. No, you don't." Eden was the best liar on earth so why did this little Pogue have to come and ruin her lie about that fucking bracelet. She would like to burn it, but she couldn't because it has too great a meaning. Ugh, Eden hates it when things don't go her way. "You'll never."
"Keep telling yourself that, pretty girl, but y'know I'm right." John B continued to back up, fixing his eyes on Eden's like a padlock. "Fine, I'll keep it, knowing full well you'll want it again."
Eden rolled her eyes, not responding to this one. She continued walking, not even caring a bit ( almost not ) about John B who stayed next to her. It brought him back memories of when he and Eden walked the streets of Figure Eight at night, judging each house they found more or less beautiful. Eden used to ride on John B's back the whole way they walked, causing him to arrive at the Chateau with a bad back. Their evening always ended in the tree house, not far from Eden's house.
When their fingers rubbed a few millimeters, Eden felt this same sensation when John B took her hand to direct her towards the water of the sea before. Roultedge gave her a look, while Eden stopped in front of her house. Now she was supposed to go see Josie and Drea, but infact she ended up walking with the guy she hates and finished at her house.
"You got me to my house! Was that your plan? Get me away from my friends?" Eden got annoyed, pointed to her right, to indicate Josie's house.
John B nod his head, putting his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I wanted to have you all to myself." She lifted her eyes slightly so that they landed between his. He slowly approached her, keeping the eye contact in place. "I'm a bad boy, Eden."
"Whoa," She took a step back, rolling her eyes again. "Seriously, that's not funny. I have to go all the way back to Josie's."
"Oh, come on. Admit it. Walking with me was the best part of your day. Isn't it? You actually adore me."
Eden hummed. "Oh, yeah. I adore you. I want you so bad, Routledge." He nodded, also knowing that she was joking as usual. "I hate you."
John B nodded to the right, shrugging as his gaze locked on the glowing face in front of him. "Not as much as I hate you."
Eden moistened her lips with a quick lick of her tongue, feeling them dry. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, before turning back to her house. She advanced very slowly, she didn't want to return to this house where joy no longer streaks over her. Eden now felt like a prisoner in this house. Weird, huh? Everything around her was things that belonged to her father, every discussion she had with her mother ended up at her father. . . It's crazy how Eden was more focused on a deceased person than on the people who still surround her. She liked being close to a ghost more than a real person. But at least she knew the ghost couldn't hurt her, while the people around her were just doing that day and night.
"Hey, wa— wait!" John B's voice stopped her, making her sigh before she turned around again, seeing him standing in earlier's place. "Um, look, I just want you to know what we know about the Royal Merchant."
Eden let her head fall backwards, clenching her jaw. "Are you serious? Did you come here just to tell me about a treasure?"
He nodded, face unaware. "We. . . We actually found it." Lightning waking up inside Eden, almost making her jump but she just shrugged. "Is that all? I'm talking about a treasure with 400 million of gold."
Yeah, well, she didn't just want to find treasure. Eden has always loved treasures, but for her, the only treasure she wanted to find was her father. Thomas Perez was one of the greatest treasures Eden found and then lost. He was the one who taught her everything, who made her discover extraordinary tricks while the other six-year-old children played with their dolls.
She didn't care about the treasure ( well, at a certain point. John B said: 400 million! ), all she wanted was to get her father back. Was it that hard?
"I'll be outside your house at 2 p.m. tomorrow, okay? I won't be waiting for you thirty minutes, so be ready." He explained, receiving a frown from Eden. "Yeah, I know you hate it when I'm right, but. . . We have to admit it. You've been dreaming of finding treasure since—"
"Shut up!" She said loud enough for him to hear for her, eight meters separating them. She plugged her ears like a three-year-old child, continuing to walk towards her house, hearing nothing more of what John B was saying.
He then sneered under his hot breath, staring at Eden Winslow's figure until she disappeared between the white walls of the house on Figure Eight.
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authors note: heyyy everyone!! how ur doing guys?? if ur not good, hope this chapter helped you <3
sooo......... ik i made a lot of scenes with rafe & eden, and you wants more eden & john b, THEIR COMING SOON THE SCENES WITH THEM.
anyway so jb and eden gonna have lots of scenes where they will be together during the treasure hunt, I HAVE PLANNED THINGS AND OMFG UR NOT READY
ps: gonna say it again but please don't be a ghost reader, i would like to know what u think of that story like, is it bad, good, boring?? tell me <3