TOM Bexley knew that his wife was full of secrets.
It's something that had intrigued him back in high school; had gotten him hooked on Isla Zheng in the first place. She was gorgeous, of course, and was from a well known respected family—she was the girl everyone wanted as she was.
But, it was the way her mind worked that really had Tom interested. The way she kept thousands of secrets in her head, the way her loyalties lied, how she held people so high in her head. How....complicated she was.
Tom admired it. But now, he was starting to question it.
Marrying Isla meant he would always be tied to Ward Cameron—he'd known that since the day he met the woman, watching her walk around the halls with the, at the time, Pogue. And Tom always respected the Cameron man; never showed him any sort of dislike. Ward Cameron was charming and respectful; he knew how to win.
Tom had always seen how close his wife and Ward Cameron were without any questioning or distrust towards Isla. He knew they went back, that Isla would forever stay loyal to him, and knew everything that happened at the Cameron estate was purely professional and friendly.
But, Tom was starting to question how exactly loyal Isla was to Ward, too.
Another thing Tom Bexley knew about his wife? She wasn't the best person.
When they were younger, Isla had been better. Her eyes were warm and a smile that had you fall all over again. She'd been friends with Pogues—Ward and him, for example—and Kooks alike, and hadn't been so obsessed with her reputation. She walked with her head high, but for different reasons.
However, the moment Bexley and Cameron became the respected and rich names they were, everything changed. Suddenly, Isla became self-centered; reputation centered; money centered. She saw Pogues as though they belonged below her; stopped talking to ones she used to call close. Her gaze grew colder and her smile became more deceiving than welcoming. Everything changed.
It was like becoming Full Kook had replaced Isla completely. Because Isla Bexley certainly didn't have the same heart Isla Zheng did.
Her cold heart certainly didn't change when Eden was born—if Tom's honest, it grew worse.
Instead of being in a household where it didn't matter where people were Pogue or Kook, didn't matter how much money your name was worth, Eden Brielle Bexley was raised to be someone who only hung around the most respected names, like Ward's two golden children, Rafe and Sarah, or the local children Topper and Kelce.
She was raised to believe the blonde Pogue who mowed their lawn was gum under her shoe, that money was everything, that she needed to walk with her head higher than everyone else because she was better than everyone else.
And, while Tom loves Isla, even with her imperfect ideas, he's glad Eden didn't turn out a carbon copy of the woman's beliefs.
Eden was everything Isla wasn't—she slummed with the lowest of Pogues and spent her nights smoking and drinking with friends for the sake of fun. She couldn't hold back her opinions and dressed casually; she liked making bracelets and partying; She wanted to travel; She prioritized her friends over her family and reputation; She was a free spirit and was spending her teenage years simply living life to the fullest.
In Isla's eyes, she was a mess. But to Tom, she was perfect.
The Bexley's themselves used to be a picture perfect family—on the outside, at least. But now, their frame was crumbling apart.
Isla was growing distant. Eden had been acting out. And Tom? He was left in the middle, unsure of what was happening—on why Isla had been spending so much time at the Cameron's recently, or why she was disappearing off to her car to answer phone calls from Ward. He didn't know why Eden hadn't returned home after Charleston, or why she'd called Isla out at John B.'s hearing the other day.
He doesn't know. But he wants too—needs too.
Another thing he knows about Eden? She can't hold herself back when it came to the truth. For the past week, she'd gone around, claiming John B. was alive and Tom, listening to his wife, brushed it off—she needed more therapy, more help getting over the death of her best friend.
But yesterday, she'd started calling out Isla herself-saying that she was too afraid to speak up, that Ward had her in some hold, that she was helping cover up a murder with the Cameron man. Tom saw the way his wife has tensed at the comments, as if she was afraid someone would believe Eden.
To say it made Tom more suspicious was an understatement.
Tom had always trusted his wife but that was breaking, and he needed to know the truth of what was really happening. What had been happening behind his back for who knows how long?
Currently, the couple were lounging in the kitchen. Isla was sitting at the island, checking her phone every few minutes, picking at her nails in the few seconds that she wasn't checking her device—she was anxious.
Tom himself was leaning against the counter, watching his wife's actions. He could tell something was happening by the way she picked her nail polish—she only did that when she was nervous.
So, he simply asked.
"Are you okay?" Tom watches as his wife whips her head in his direction. Her makeup is still perfectly done, but her hair is down—she always had her hair up, in a tight ponytail or braid. "You've just been checking your phone unusually often. If you're worried about Eden, I can call—"
"Everything's fine, Tom." Isla purses her lips, pushing her phone away from her figure to draw suspicion away. She tries her best to smile at her husband, but he can see through it—the way her lips slightly tremble. "Just waiting on Ward to text me back."
"You two have been spending an awful amount of time together these past few weeks." Tom decides he's going to do it now—he's going to ask what's happening. He doesn't know what answer he'll get, let alone if Isla will budge, but he has to try.
Isla dismisses, "He's been stressed with all these accusations about Peterkin and his friend Gavin went missing the other day. I've been trying to help him out."
"Isla, you know, you can tell me if something's happening." the Bexley man begins, watching as Isla frowns in her chair. He cared for his wife, whether or not she was acting suspicious. "You don't have to keep it to yourself or between you and Ward. You can—you can tell me."
"Is this about what Eden said yesterday?" Isla looks at her husband, almost offended that he was bringing the topic back up—offended that he was believing what his daughter had to say. "Because, she's been a total wreck since that Routledge kid got back on the island. He was in jail because of what he did and she was upset that he was getting the consequences—"
"But is she, Isla? Is she really just upset?" Tom exclaims, looking at his wife. He tried to see through her but the woman didn't meet his gaze—almost as if she were ashamed. "And what do you mean he was in jail? John B. has the death sentence, he's in there for good."
"He was dropped of all charges this morning." Isla firmly states, pursing her lips like the news sat unsurely within her stomach.
"Dropped of all charges? That's not possible. He was found guilty of killing the sheriff, they can't just drop—" Tom stops himself from talking, a sudden realization setting in his mind. They wouldn't drop the charges unless he'd been wrongly convicted; just like Eden had been saying yesterday. "John B. is innocent, isn't he?"
Isla's jaw ticks and Tom takes that as his answer.
"Who has the charges now?" the Bexley man firmly asks, coming closer to his wife. Was this what she had been keeping from him?
"Ward and Rafe."
Tom's lips thin. Of course.
Ward and Rafe Cameron were now being held responsible for the charges that were previously held against John B., just like Eden had said. His daughter had been right the whole time; Isla is the one who'd been keeping secrets, who'd been lying.
"So, Eden's been right?" Tom scoffs, approaching his wife in an exasperated expression. She'd been so keen on the fact that Eden just wasn't in the right head space, that she was just frustrated but no. Eden had been right. "Eden's been right this entire time and you've been denying it? Why, Isla. Why?"
Isla doesn't meet her husbands gaze. She places her fingers against her temples, "You don't get it, Tom."
"What don't I get, Isla?!" Tom's voice grows loud but he doesn't care. He needs to know what his wife has been keeping from him. "I have been married to you for seventeen years, you're my wife—what could I possibly not understand about you! What could you be keeping from me that you're so afraid to tell me!"
"The fact that I'm not an innocent person!" Isla exclaims back, finally making eye contact with the man. She looks exasperated and tired—tired of all of this bullshit. She takes in a sharp inhale and admits, "For the past month, I have been keeping the secret that Rafe killed Peterkin and have done all that I can to blame it on John B. Before that, I kept the secret that Ward killed Big John and made it look like he got lost at sea. I'm not a good person and I'm not innocent!"
Tom's heart practically falls in his chest, "What?"
"You're the one who wanted to know the truth, so I'm finally admitting it." the Bexley woman seems like she's losing it—like all of the secrets and helping Ward has caused her to spiral. "I have been helping Ward for the past month to blame John B. on Sue's murder. I've been an accomplice to a murder!"
Tom doesn't know what to say. His wife, a woman he thought he could trust till the day he died, had kept that all from him? Had been an accomplice to the murder of the town sheriff and was trying to blame it on an innocent teenager? What the fuck.
"You didn't think to tell me any of that!?" Tom exclaims, eyes wide. "I could have fucking helped you, Isla! Because you know that if Ward is going down for this, you are too!"
"I couldn't!" Isla got out of her seat, eyes wide as she tried to explain her case—she knew there was nothing she could do. She'd admitted the truth and her husband didn't see her the same way anymore. "Ward needed my help—"
"No, Isla!" Tom roars. Ward hadn't asked for help, he'd asked her to cover up two murders-two different stories. "Ward is a murderer, his son is a murderer, and you're just as bad! You're helping people get away with murder—do you not understand how terrible that is? You've been letting him do this to you!"
"I know, okay?! Do you think I want to be a part of this mess, anymore?" Isla's voice cracks as she stares at her husband. "I have been wanting out since I promised to keep the fact that Big John was really dead to myself! Because one day, I knew that someone would figure out the truth. And now, that day has come, and Ward has no clue what the hell he's doing so I have to stay and fix it."
"Keeping this secret isn't going to fix anything and you know it." Tom lowers his voice, yet it's just as upset. "You can still go to Shoupe and tell him everything, you can get out of this mess—"
"Tom, I'm not going down for his mess." Isla states. "I can't tell Shoupe because then I'm going to jail. I'm not losing you and Eden—"
The Bexley man doesn't even hesitate before stating, "You already have."
"No, I haven't—" Isla shakes her head, almost if she's trying to deny the fact that her family was indeed crumbling.
"Eden won't come home because you won't tell the truth. You've been lying to her, making her feel like shit—you really think you still have your daughter on your side?" Tom says, sending a knowing look at his wife. "And I feel like I don't even know you anymore, Isla. This is not the same woman I fell for because she would do the right thing and tell Shoupe everything."
Isla shakes her head, "I can't, Tom."
"If you're not going to do it for me, do it for Eden." Tom prayed that their daughter could turn her. "If you want to keep our family from falling apart, if you want to keep your daughter, you'd turn yourself in, with Ward."
"I can't."
"Then you might as well leave."
Isla's face falters, "What?"
"Leave." Tom gestures towards the front door with a firm expression. He was serious-he didn't want her in the house anymore, not if was going to let this continue. "I'm serious, Isla. If you can't make the right decision, get out of this house."
"No, Tom—" Isla looks at her husband almost desperately-he wasn't kicking her out. "This is why I didn't want to tell you, because no one understands that I have to do this for Ward."
"You don't have to do anything! You're your own damn person, Isla!" Tom exasperatedly says. "I know you're a loyal person, but how far are you willing to take this?" He takes in a sharp inhale, "Are you really going to choose Ward over us—over Eden?"
Isla shakes her head, "I'm not choosing anyone. I didn't think it would get this bad—we all thought John B. and Sarah were dead, but they weren't so now, I have to clean the mess up. I have to help Ward but that doesn't mean I'm choosing him over you two."
"But you are." Tom firmly says, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is your choice and you're clearly choosing Ward. So, unless you're going to tell Shoupe the truth, get out of this house."
"Fine." Isla swallows. She seems to take this as her cue and she turns on her heel, right towards the door. There was only one place where she could go now—back to Ward, where she'd follow through with the plan he'd brought up earlier that day.
The Bexley family was split into three—one, caught in a mess that could leave her in jail, the other left to process the troubles of the first, and their daughter, struggling to to get her friend out of prison and her mother locked away.
They weren't so perfect after all.
For once in their lives, Shoupe admitted that he believed the Pogues—more so admitted that he knew the Pogues had been right since day one. That everything was starting to piece together slowly but surely.
John B. had gone to Shoupe—as well as an SBI Agent known as Bratcher, who seemed to be on Ward's case—and turned in the tapes, to which the two men nodded their heads, leaving the Pogues in a celebration of sorts all the way back to the Chateau, where they were now.
John B., JJ, and Pope had all fled to the kitchen to start shot-gunning in celebration of what was to come now that everything was getting sorted out. In mere moments, Shoupe would be arresting Ward, would be convicting Rafe, would be taking Isla in for questioning. Everything would be over.
Over. The word felt non-existent to Eden, as she sat on the Chateau porch. Th Bexley was currently curled up upon the couch, staring off into space as she thought about the near future. What would happen to the Pogues, to Sarah, to her mother, to her.
For the past few weeks, she'd been so focused in the moment—on trying to free John B., on trying to get her mother, Ward, and Rafe behind bars, on trying to figure our Limbrey—that she hadn't really pondered what would happen after.
But, waiting out the mere minutes there was before everything went down, the thought was settling down in Eden's mind.
As it was Sarah's, because the moment they got back to the Chateau, the Cameron girl opted away from shot-gunning a beer and instead ventured to sit on the patio, to which Eden Bexley surprisingly followed.
Eden was happy that karma was finally coming for her mother, don't get her wrong. She knew Isla deserved everything that was about to come to her because of the tapes. However, the Bexley couldn't help but start feeling differently about the situation. She'd been so caught up as seeing Isla as nothing but a villain, that she'd almost forgotten that Isla Bexley—bad person or not—was still her mom.
Behind the lying woman Isla Bexley was—the woman who deserved what was coming for her—Eden couldn't help but see the woman who curled her hair for Midsummers, who bought her the first bracelet kit she ever owned, who bought her the Titanic DVD when she turned fourteen; her mother.
The little girl inside of Eden who just wanted her mom back was starting to show, starting to make Eden Bexley regret giving the tapes to Shoupe, regret spewing all she had over the week. She wanted Isla in trouble but did she really want her mom in jail?
For majority of her life, she'd wished that Isla would go away. But did she really mean it?
That's why she'd followed Sarah out to the patio. The Cameron was going through the exact same problem—Ward had done horrible things to her friends, was the reason her boyfriend was almost killed, yet all she could see was the man who splashed around with her in the ocean and built sandcastles with her on the shore; her dad.
The two girls were similar in that way, and Eden was sure if anyone could understand where her head was right now, it would be Sarah.
A loud trill takes Eden away from the small zone-out she'd been stuck in, and JJ Maybank's voice echoes out to the patio, "Ladies and gentleman, Kook royalty, Isla Bexley and Ward Cameron are going to jail!"
"Goodbye! Goodbye!"
"Adios! They're outta here! Adios!"
Eden wouldn't stop her friends from celebrating. John B. deserved to celebrate the fact that he'd finally be free by the end of the day. The Routledge had been through hell and back because of her mother and Ward, and he deserved to be happy about their capture—the Bexley knew that. So, she'd let her best friends celebrate, even if it stung.
A small smile graces Kiara's face as she looks inside the Chateau, but as she turns to see the two Kooks unwavering expressions, it falters. "Do you regret it?"
"No." Sarah firmly states, "He deserves all of it, and I know that."
"I thought I'd be happier about everything, you know? My whole life I've wanted nothing more than to have Isla out of it, but now that it's going to happen, my brain is just second guessing everything. I want to celebrate but I can't because my mom is about to go to jail. She's my enemy, but she's also my mom." Eden states with a tired sigh, wrapping her arms around her body. "I hate it. I've never felt this way until now."
"No one blames you." Kiara assured softly. "They're your parents. I'm sure it sucks to be in the middle."
Eden wasn't in the middle, per say. Unlike Sarah to Ward, the Bexley had never seen her mother as a fully good person. She wanted her mother in jail—she just couldn't stop herself from feeling different at this moment.
A phone suddenly rings and the three girls look down to beside Sarah. The blonde girl picks up the item and stands up, muttering a small, "Sorry."
"Yeah." Kie states wearily.
"Where'd you get a new phone from?" Eden asked as the girl placed the item to her ear.
"Topper gave it to me." Sarah dismissed before greeting the person on the other end, "Hello?" It's silent for a few moments before the girl pulls the phone away from her ear and puts it in on speaker for her friends to hear.
"Grandpa just signed the warrant." Topper Thornton's voice comes from the phone, traveling into the ears of Eden Bexley. Her chest slightly tightens—Ward and Isla's arrest warrant was being made official as they spoke. "And, um, if you have anything you want to say to him, I would do it now. And if you don't mind, would you tell Eden the same thing for me—there's one for her mom here, too. I just wanted you to know."
Eden bites her lip, taking in the information. It was happening.
"Yeah, of course." Sarah whispers, voice slightly shaky. "Thanks."
"I'll be here if you need anything, okay?"
Sarah glanced past her friends into the house, eyes narrowing in on her boyfriend. "Thanks, Topper."
"Of course."
The blonde hangs up on the Thornton boy and makes eye contact with Eden. The Bexley nods her head—they need to get to Tannyhill. Ward and Isla were going to be taken into custody within minutes.
"I need to be there for Wheezie." Sarah tries to stay calm, but the Bexley can hear the worry in her voice.
Eden quickly stands up, "I need to be there for my dad."
Kiara nods in agreement and the three head inside to round up the boys.
Police sirens echoed through the streets of Figure Eight.
It hadn't taken too long to rally up Pope, JJ, and John B. into the Twinkie again—the Routledge himself seemed to take the drivers seat with an odd amount of ease, for that matter—and the group quickly sped into the direction of Tannyhill.
The van was yet again tense, given the circumstances of which they were driving. Everyone sat in anxious silence, listening to the passing police cruisers as they sped through the streets to Tannyhill as well.
"Shit." Kiara whispered, eyes wide as she watched cruiser after cruiser fly past them.
The Twinkie swerves its way through corners, John B.'s foot locked on the gas—however, the van's highest speed wasn't fast enough to anyone's liking, particularly Sarah's.
"Oh my God." Sarah exclaims, eyes darting between the road and her boyfriend, "Can you please hurry? I need to be there for Wheezie."
Eden understood the need Sarah had to be there for her little sister. The blonde herself had just had the realization that her father wasn't the hero she always saw him as, and she didn't want Wheezie to have the same realization—she didn't want Wheezie to watch her father get shackled in handcuffs and stuffed inside a police van; certainly not by herself, if she was bound to see it happen.
Eyes locked on the road, John B. bluntly scoffs, "You think I wanna miss this?"
Sarah hears the passive attitude laced in his tone and her features falter in offense as she turns to look at him. John B. meets her gaze, but he doesn't seem to take back his retort at all, merely sharing a blank expression with his girlfriend.
Recklessly, the Twinkie halted outside the exterior wall closing the Figure Eight house off to the public. The Pogues piled out of the van and came to the wall, standing on their tippy-toes as they tried to get as best a view they could of what was happening within the walls of the home.
"Holy shit." Sarah breathes at the swarm of police cruisers and SBI vehicles within her driveway. The sirens were no longer ringing through the streets and it's clear that every car they'd seen on the way had indeed been heading to Tannyhill.
Eden tries her best to peer over the wall, however her short stature does her no justice—tippy toes or not. She can slightly see officers, deputies, and agents running off in the direction of the water, but no much more is able to come into her view line.
"I can't see, bro." JJ came forward, pulling Pope back by the shoulder so he could get closer to the wall.
Whispering, Pope retorts, "Okay, well now I can't see."
"You guys are literally, like, six-foot, stop complaining." Eden rolls her eyes at the two boys and their quiet complaints.
"Screw it. I'm going over." John B. gruffly states, before hoisting himself over the wall abruptly.
"Right behind you." JJ mutters before shuffling around to help the girls over the wall. Pope slides down and uses his hand as support, Kiara hoisting herself over with the small boost. Eden follows through, allowing the Maybank to help her, Sarah filing right after. "Alright. Three, two, one, go!"
Once everyone is over the wall, the group is off towards the house. Exiting the home is Wheezie, a panicked and confused expression in her eyes as her step-mother tries to drag her back inside the home, Rose's eyes puffy and tear stained as she grapples to hold on to the young girl.
"What's going on?" Wheezie asks, voice firm yet slightly worried. Her eyes dart over the red and blue flashing lights as she tries to shake off Rose, "Why are the police here!?"
Sarah's eyes lock upon her sister and her lip trembles, "Wheeze—Wheezie."
"What's going on?" the youngest Cameron questions again as her older sister approaches, "Why are the police here again?"
Sarah wraps her arms around Wheezie, the younger girl practically melting into the embrace.
However, the sisterly embrace doesn't last for long, as Sarah pulls away. She places her hands on her sister's shoulders and shakily instructs, "Go inside. Don't come out."
A frown etched on Eden's lips as she watched Wheezie's lip tremble—the Bexley feels horrible for the girl. She had no clue what was happening, unlike everyone else storming her home. She thought her father and brother were innocent, she thought her sister had been dead until she texted mere days ago. She had no clue of the bad blood her family truly held.
Sarah quickly rushes off, the Pogues following behind her but the Bexley strayed for a minute. Wheezie owlishly blinked at her through her glasses, looking on the verge of tears, "Eden? What's going on?"
The Cameron girl didn't know the Bexley terribly well, but she'd always looked up to her from afar. She was the Kook princess, after all.
"I know you want to know what's happening and you deserve to know why police officers keep storming into your house, but please listen to your sister, okay? It'll all be okay." Eden tries to stay reassuring, but she too sounds nervous. "Let Rose take you back inside. Your dad's gonna be fine."
Wheezie slowly backs up towards her house with a small sob and Eden locks eyes with Rose. The blonde woman nods her head and Eden quickly begins sprinting towards the dock—her mother was out there.
It didn't take long for the Bexley to make her way down the wooden jetty, feet pushing her legs as fast as she could go. Her friends were a few paces ahead of her, Sarah and John B. leading then group down towards the end of the dock where all officers and agents were lined up, eyes locked on something within the water.
The My Druthers stood still in the calm waters, and Eden could make out Ward Cameron standing on the top level of the boat, glass of whiskey in his hand as the sun streamed against his figure.
However, Eden couldn't spot her mom.
The Bexley girl fell into line with her friends, pushing past John B. to the front so she could try to find her mom. The woman was no where to be found with any agent or officer, meaning she was on that boat—she was following Ward, as she always did.
"Dad!" Sarah wails, doing the same act as the Bexley and pushing forward to try and get closer to her father.
Ward's expression immediately falls, "Sarah."
Eden moves closer to the boat but is blocked by a barricade of officers, to which she tries to shove past. "Hey! Let me through—my mom might be up there! Let me through!"
"Hey, hey, you gotta let us through." John B. raises his hands, trying to make sure his girlfriend and best friend got to the boat. "Let her through, Shoupe! Shoupe!"
Shoupe catches hold of the two girls and calls out to the blockage of officers, "Hey, that's Eden Bexley and Sarah Cameron! Let them through!"
When Ward catches hold of the two girls coming towards him, his heart starts racing. They couldn't be here—not when he was about to commit to this. He'd had everything planned out, he'd convinced Isla to follow through with it that day; they couldn't be here or everything would be ruined.
"Hey, Eden, you can't be here! Get out of here right now!" the Cameron man called out to the Bexley, who was making her way down the jetty towards him. His eyes darted from the girl to the section of the boat below him. "Get—get out!"
Eden looks around the boat, "Ward! Where's my mom?"
"Dad!" Sarah calls out, following Eden down towards the boat, "What are you doing!?"
"Vic, you gotta get Eden and Sarah outta here!" Ward's voice is hoarse as he screams out to the interim sheriff, practically begging that the two teenagers were removed from the premise—call him heartless for what he let happen but he would never let these two girls see this. "They can't be here right now!"
Before anyone else could let out a yell, the door on the deck below Ward clicks and none other than Isla Bexley exits—her sunglasses are drawn upon the bridge of her nose, as if this wasn't the scene of her arrest.
"Ward, what is all this screaming—Eden." Isla's face immediately drops as she sees her daughter standing at the dock. Her hands come to her sunglasses and she pushes them to her forehead, eyes wide.
"Mom!" Eden yells in response, eyes darting between the two Kooks atop the boat.
Isla looks utterly torn as her eyes desperately meet with Shoupe, "Vic, get her out of here! Please! Her and Sarah both—take them away right now!"
Eden had never seen her mother in such a state of panic—what was happening? While she's sure Isla doesn't want her daughter to see her get cuffed, deep down, Eden knows it's more than that. Something bigger.
"Mom, what are you doing?" the Bexley calls out, trying to figure out the reason why the two Kooks were on the My Druthers in such a time. "Get down and turn yourself in! Do the right thing, please!"
"Eden, get out of here! Please! You can't be here!"
"Just come on in, and you....you—you can talk to her!" Shoupe yells in response, trying to get the two off the boat. Despite the police and SBI boats beginning to circle the My Druthers, it still stood a chance to get away—they couldn't afford that.
"Dad! Please come down here!" Sarah yells out, eyes wide in fear.
"Sarah, I'm so sorry, baby. I can't!" Ward choked out, running down towards the controls and fidgeting with a few buttons before the anchor began to rise from the water, sun gleaming against the metal.
Eden's breath hitches. They were trying to get away.
"What are you doing?" Sarah stood frozen on the dock, eyes locked in panic as she watched the anchor rise, "Dad, no, no, no!"
The Bexley's eyes darted between the Cameron man and her mother, the latter standing frozen on the second level of the boat. Her eyes were locked on her daughter, as if she was making a choice. Ward or Eden; Her family or the gold.
"Ward, this ain't gonna end the way you want it to!" Shoupe roughly screams, growing angry as the anchor finishes rising. He too looks between the two Kooks on the boat and, noticing Isla's zoned out figure, begins to call to her. "Isla, come on! Make the right choice and get off that boat! I promise it'll all be easier if you just listen to me!" Ward begins to climb down the ladder towards Isla and the sheriff calls out, "You don't need her seeing this!"
"Dad, don't leave! Where are you going?!" Sarah screeches, tears prickling in her eyes as she watches boats begin to swarm the My Druthers.
Ward's words get lost over the commotion and sirens, "I love you!"
The Cameron man finishes climbing down the ladder and rushes towards the inside compartment of the ship, almost tripping over a chair. One of his arms extends towards Isla and he tries to yank her with him. "Come on, Isla! We don't have much time—"
"I can't, Ward!" Isla responds, voice echoing. She yanks her arm out of the Cameron man's hold, and Eden can see a tear rolling down her cheek. "I can't do this in front of my daughter! I can't go through with it—I'm sorry."
"Isla, we don't have time to do this, come on—"
"No, Ward, I won't do this in front of my daughter and you shouldn't either!" Isla snaps, exasperated. Her eyes glance between her friend and the inside of the boat.
Ward looks at the Bexley woman before backing away, "I have too."
Isla does nothing more than curtly nod, another tear falling down her face.
Without another word, Ward darts towards the inside of the boat.
"Hey, damn it, Ward!" Shoupe calls out, aggravated. "Turn it around and get it back in here!"
Isla walks towards the edge railing of the boat. She looks over it before throwing one leg over, trying to stabilize herself upon the thin edge she had to stand on.
Eden's jaw slightly drops as she watches—Isla was going to jump.
"Mom?" Eden wearily yells. She doesn't even care what Ward's doing—she's concerned about why her mother is choosing to jump. "Mom? What are you doing! Why are you jumping! What's happening!"
"I'm choosing you, okay?" Isla reassuringly states, standing shakily upon the edge of the boat, knuckles white as she gripped upon the railing. The salty breeze blew against her hair as she faced her daughter. "Everything is gonna work out now."
"What do you mean?"
"Dad, no!" Sarah cries, "Please don't leave!"
There's a loud boom and the shattering of glass echoes through the pier.
Eden's lets out a pierced gasp as the bottom half of the boat jumps out in heated flames.
Another explosion. Right where her mother was standing.
The mere force of it causes Eden to stumble backwards, but her face is frozen. Her mouth is dropped and her eyes are wide in horror as flames engulf the My Druthers completely, pieces of glass and debris fly from the boat.
Smoke steams off of the remaining melted remains of the boat, pieces of debris littering the ocean near it. Panicked eyes search through the nearby waters but Ward is nowhere to be spotted.
She feels sick as what Ward had just done sets into her bones. Ward had just killed himself—he'd rather die than go down for what he did. Despite his three children, despite his wife. Despite everything.
However, that sickness turns into worry when Eden is unable to find her mother amongst the debris.
Staccato gasps break the deafening silence and suddenly, Sarah's choked out sobs start to echo, "No—no! Dad! Dad!" Her knees begin to buckle in on herself, "No! No! Dad!"
"Mom?" Eden musters, lip slightly trembling as she tries to spot her mom amongst the debris. The ship had blown up right where she was standing but she was going to jump—she had to have jumped. "Mom? Mom!"
Her chest grows tight at the thought of Isla being dead—of her mother having gotten caught in the flames before she could jump. She always wanted her mom out of her life but she didn't mean dead.
She'd never mean dead.
"Eden—" she feels a hand fumble for her own, and she can hear JJ's voice but it seems to fall deaf to her.
"No, no, no! She jumped, she jumped!" the Bexley wails, still trying to find her mother. A few tears begin to pool in the corners of her eyes as her chest grows tighter and tighter at the thought of her mom being dead. "She's not—she's not dead."
The woman might be Eden's worst enemy; the person who made coming home a dread, who made her feel so low at times. Yet, Isla Bexley was her mother—there would always be something there, no matter how much Eden wanted to deny it.
The Bexley places a shaky hand over her heart to try and stop herself from falling into a panic attack—she couldn't afford to break down, she just needed to find her mother.
"Eden, breathe." She can hear JJ's voice behind her again, but it still falls deaf as she searches the debris filled waters.
Beside her, Sarah's figure collapses into the arms of Topper Thornton—who'd appeared on the dock without warning. She's a mess of tears and her arms grasp out towards the boat. John B. stands unemotionally beside her, face ever so firm.
Suddenly, a splash breaks through the wails of Sarah Cameron and Eden's breath hitches when she see's a figure start to swim out from underneath the boat.
Isla.
"Mom!" Eden's never been more relieved to see the woman. She feels sick at how relieved she is—Isla didn't deserve her care or relief at this point—but she can't help it. Eden watches her mother begin to weakly swim towards the jetty, coughing up water as she did so. "Oh my God, Mom—"
Isla manages to swim to the edge of the pier where her daughter is standing. Mascara is stained against her cheeks and she's struggling to breathe against the water that had just been forced into her system but she was alive. And right now, that's all that mattered to Eden Bexley.
From behind her, Eden can hear Shoupe wearily muttering into his walkie, "Isla Bexley is alive."
The Bexley crouches down on the wooden dock and outstretches her arms to help the woman up beside her. She doesn't even need to voice anything before JJ appears at her side and does his best to help pull Isla up upon the deck—he didn't want to help the Bexley woman per say, but he could see that Eden needed it.
If he's honest, he's glad Isla didn't die within that explosion. Listening to Sarah's broken wails was already hard enough and he isn't sure if he could ever hear Eden cry the same way.
The two teens manage to pull the woman out of the water and the Bexley girl barely gives her mom time to breath before she embraces Isla—something Eden isn't sure she's willingly done in a while.
Isla doesn't even hesitate before tightly grasping on her daughter. A mix of emotions ran through her mind as she held the girl—she hadn't gone through with it. She was going to face the consequences of everything. But, she couldn't have done what Ward did in front of her daughter.
Eden doesn't let go. Her mom had chosen her for once.
mara's misc!
isla picking eden over ward???????? what??????
honestly, adding isla into the whole gold mess was the best decision i've ever made bc THIS shit is what needs to happen???? imagine if i just kept isla out of it like this book would be 100% more boring than it could be.
thank you to 12am me from two months ago for the (not) thought out decision.
mvybanksss said to put isla on the boat with ward but i didn't feel like hurting my baby eden (for once) and decided to do half and half. character wise, isla was GOING to follow out with ward's plan but she saw eden and realized she couldn't "kill herself" in front of her daughter and jumped. so like she would have if eden hadn't ruined the fun.
also madelyn's acting in this scene??? hearing her cry breaks my heart (even if ward doesn't deserve our tears). her and chase just eating up the emotional scenes this season fr.
also i was OBSESSED with the song "strange" after watching this scene. like ofc i knew the song itself from the "strangers to friends, friends into lovers, now strangers again" trend but i listened to full song and it's actually so pretty??? it got me through math last year tbh
i got nothing else to say other than peace love and cupcakes
hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 48!!