❝it's a damn cold night
trying to figure out this life
won't you take me by the hand?
take me somewhere new❞
-i'm with you, avril lavigne
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chapter twenty nine, THE WING WOMAN ACT
"Yeah, this was all our old family history. They kept it from me. My dad too" Pope said as he, Cleo and AJ stood in the storage container, stacks of containers and papers filling the room.
Cleo was searching through the boxes in one corner while AJ was helping Pope look through a stack of papers. The blonde turned and looked at what Cleo was doing before she spoke.
"do you need help with that?" She asked as she crossed the storage container, standing next to the other girl as she sorted through a box.
"I think Pope needs more help than me" She answered and AJ furrowed her brows.
"uh, not really, we were just sorting through papers. I could probably be more help with you" AJ told her as she flipped through a small journal that Cleo took out of a box.
"no, AJ, Pope probably needs more help" Cleo nudged her side and when AJ went to question it Cleo signalled for the girl to go over with her eyes.
"uh, oh" Finally it had clicked in AJ's head at what Cleo was hinting at. "okay," She turned, slightly embarrassed from the interaction and moved back to Pope's side.
"Did she need help?" She was thankful the boy didn't hear their conversation.
"uh, no. She was good, here" She reached forward and grabbed a stack of papers. "I'll help sort these" She sent him a smile before looking down at the papers in her hand.
Cleo cleared her throat and AJ looked back at her. She shouldn't have been surprised to find that Cleo was tipping her head to the side, trying to get AJ to move closer to him.
AJ sent the girl a look before shaking her head. 'Do it' Cleo mouthed back. AJ rolled her eyes and tried to ignore her further insistence. "I gotta get some air" Cleo let out.
"the doors wide opened," Pope, clueless as to what was happening behind his back said with a confused tone.
"yeah, but the dust" She fake coughed before walking out onto the pavement.
"It is dusty," AJ said before mentally facepalming at the way it sounded.
"yeah, it is. I don't think anyone's been in here for a while" Pope stated, picking up a photo from the box in front of him. "this is my mee-maw" He said and AJ looked over to the picture he was showing her.
"She held us all together" Pope continued and AJ could have melted at the way he talked about his family. The pair shared a look, their eyes meeting, neither looking away.
AJ sucked a breath in before clearing her throat and turning away. It wasn't exactly the right time to talk to him about everything. Besides, the kiss probably meant nothing.
"We should probably keep looking" Pope's voice sounded distant and AJ nodded, moving off to the side a bit to try and search. After what felt like the longest thirty seconds of her life, AJ told Pope that she too needed some fresh air.
As soon as her feet stepped over the line dividing the storage unit from the pavement Cleo was in front of the girl. "what are you doing?" She got out, looking at the girl with shock.
"I don't know why you're do-"
"I saw the two of you kissing from the window, I know neither of you have talked about it, go" Cleo tried to shoo the girl away.
"I appreciate the wing woman act, but it's not a good time. We need to be focused on searching" AJ scoffed, grabbing the girl's arm and tugging at it to make her follow.
Neither girl announced their presence, just simply going back to looking through the contents of the storage unit. AJ could feel the knowing stare on her throughout the search and she tried to shake it off.
"See anything?" Pope asked, checking in with the two girls. Cleo stepped forward and grabbed a picture frame.
"Is this that Tanny guy who owned that lake house I lived in?" Cleo asked and AJ crossed over the unit, settling at the girl's side and helping search through the next pile.
"Yeah, it's Denmark Tanny. You know the story, fugitive leave turned landowner. He had three sons who survived him" Pope explained and AJ's face furrowed at the sight of an unopened envelope. She shared a look with Cleo before the latter spoke up.
"Did he have a daughter too?" Both girls looked down at the envelope and the name on it had AJ searching for a family tree.
"Let me see that" AJ moved away from Pope and Cleo, searching through a few stacks as quickly as she could now that she had a goal. Find the family tree.
"Wheat symbol, Clarice Tanny" Pope spoke as AJ used a shelving unit as a ladder, her hand searching on the top of it.
"Yeah, this was the daughter. She was raised in the Limbrey plantation"
"AJ, do you still have the copy from your mom?" Pope asked and she looked back, steadying herself on the shelf.
"Uh, yeah. Should be at the Chateau" She resumed looking and she grabbed a piece of paper, her face brightening at the sigh of it. "But we won't need it, here" She passed it to Cleo before attempting to get off of the shelving unit.
"I got you" Pope let out as he wrapped his arms around her waist to help her. She could feel the tips of her ears redden at his touch and she tried to hide her blush.
They shared a look before Pope finally turned to look at the family tree. A smile ghosted Cleo's lips as she met AJ's eyes.
"Here she is." Cleo and AJ step forward and stand on either side of Pope, looking down at the family tree. "Clarice Tanny." He pointed at the tree, his finger leaving a mark in the dust. "He must have sent this to her. But look, it's never been opened. Should I open it?" Pope looked to AJ.
"You see anyone here who can stop us? Open it" Cleo urged and he nodded, peeling open the letter carefully. His eyes scanned the page before he read aloud.
"Dearest Clarice, I apologize for writing the letter which will most likely reach you after my death." Pope read before clearing his throat. "It's from Denmark" He looked up and AJ slid next to him, her eyes looking over the page.
'I also apologize, I've never met you and I'm your father.'
"They never let him see her. He's talking about her brothers, the family legacy, and the royal merchant." Pope said as he continued to read.
'the priest was often delirious but in a moment of clarity, he spoke of an idol and a city of gold'
"El Dorado" AJ breathed out.
'I believed it to be the rantings of his fever but'. Pope flipped the page as he finished reading and there were pages of symbols.
"wait, so you think it's a code for that gnome thing?" Sarah leaned forward, reaching for the beer that rested on the edge of the table. AJ had gotten back a few minutes prior and was updating the girl on their night.
"Gnomon" AJ corrected, the girl leaning back in her seat. "And, yeah. If the thing is held up during solstice, at least that's what Big John said, the pages we found should be the translation for it." She explained to Sarah.
"Now we just have to find a way to South America" Sarah sighed.
"yeah. I heard about what happened at the party" AJ said, sipping from her beer.
"yeah, Topper's pretty messed up"
"You think John B will show up here tonight?" AJ asked, meeting the girl's eyes. She knew what started the fight, Sarah cheating. AJ tried not to judge anyone in the situation but it was proving hard not to.
"I don't know, he's pretty upset and he's still trying to figure out a way to get to his dad" Sarah shook her head. "I can't blame him, ya know. I know this is on me, but, I don't know"
"Sar, it's not okay but it's not like you're some kind of evil person," AJ told her.
"His dad is missing and I hooked up with Topper"
"Yeah, it's bad but you didn't know Big John was kidnapped and John B shut all of us out for his dad. He lied to you about everything, he hasn't exactly been the best boyfriend"
Sarah gave the girl a look before nodding and taking a long sip from her drink. "I think I'm gonna try to get some sleep," Sarah said before standing, draining the beer from her bottle before resting the empty back on the table.
"Okay" AJ looked behind her as the girl crossed the room and lifted the blankets on the pull-out. AJ stayed at the table, tracing the label on her beer as time passed. She did not have the capacity to have any thoughts at that moment.
She knew she had to try to get some sleep at some point but as she stared forward and the minutes passed, she just could not seem to move. The girl tipped her head back, trying to refocus her mind on simply breathing.
Her rapidly rising and falling chest started to hurt, the breaths getting harder to take. She looked across the room at the couch to find Sarah sleeping already and she tried to take a deep breath in. Her panic returned as soon as she unfocused her eyes.
The girl downed the rest of her drink before getting up, the chair scraping against the floor roughly as she moved towards the door. She needed fresh air.
When she was younger, she would run. It never occurred to the girl why she stopped, maybe it was because her running partner used to be her mother. She made a mental note to go for runs more often.
Her thoughts were scattered but her heart was calming down. The fresh air and cool breeze as she ran down the street did the trick. She stayed out for twenty minutes, bringing her breathing back to normal as she switched to a light jog.
She wished she knew what started the panic attack. Realistically she knew it was probably nothing she could have stopped but she had no clue what triggered this one.
With her mind occupied, she almost didn't see the shadow emerge from the side of the Chateau. She slowed to a stop, her stomach dropping slightly. She bit the inside of her lip with nerves, trying to see who it was.
When they turned her entire body went numb. Logan took a few steps towards her and she shook her head. "leave" She got out.
"Mel, I'm sorry" He tried but she scoffed.
"what the fuck Logan? The boat, the other day, and just an I'm sorry?" She shook her head, trying to regulate her emotions. "get the fuck out of here"
"I was wrong okay"
"Are you fucking psychotic? You can't seriously think you could show up here, do a one eighty and everything would be chill. You could not possibly think everything would go back to the way they were before Mom died"
"before mom was killed" Logan corrected and AJ tried to find the truth in his eyes. It was her big sister specialty growing up. His human lie detector. He wasn't pretending, he believed the words coming out of his mouth.
"what do you want me to say? You almost killed me. You tried to kill my friends and what? Now that you suddenly believe mom was murdered we're all buddy buddy?"
"No, I know you hate me" AJ tried not to show her reaction to his words. She couldn't hate the boy she helped raise. She couldn't hate the boy who would cry in her arms when he got nightmares. But she really wished she could, because it would be a whole lot easier for her. "I know you hate me, I hate me too. I'm sober, I'm gonna stay sober"
"sober" The words exited AJ's mouth like a scoffing laugh. "sure" She tried to push past him to get inside.
"I am, I don't want to be this way anymore. I've been doing a lot of thinking yesterday and today"
"Listen, I don't fucking buy it, Logan. Go back to wherever the hell you came from. I don't want to see you, I don't want to be near you" AJ pointedly said.
"Mel" He pleaded.
"Go away Logan, leave!" She shouted, watching her little brother shake his head before retreating.
"I heard about our uncle and I heard he was kidnapped, I can help you and your friends. I'm at the house at the end of Farrow Drive" Logan told her before walking off the property and disappearing down the street.
"AJ?" Sarah stood behind her on the porch. "are you okay?" She asked, taking a step forward and placing a hand on her arm.
AJ was going to say yes, she was going to lie. But all she could do was shake her head and turn to Sarah. She wrapped her arms around AJ, pulling the girl closer.
AJ didn't know if she could trust her big sister ability anymore. She didn't know if she could trust him, or if she even should.
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(NOTES)
jj, aj, sarah trio
or
pope, cleo, aj trio?