CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
[38]
song: damaged goods by gang of four
Cassie struggled to keep the choking feeling down her throat as she pinned her phone to her ear, and listened to it ring on the other end.
"Where are you?" JJ asked when he picked up.
She didn't even want to say the words out loud. "It's Kie. Anna and Mike, they called Kitty Hawk, okay? She's gone. She's not at her house."
JJ was quiet for a few seconds. "You serious?"
She was in such a state of panic, she couldn't help but snap back at him. "Yes!" She says. "I can't— I don't have the car— are you... we can't just leave her?"
"Chill out for a sec, we're not going to." JJ says. "Hold on."
Cassie thought about Kiara. Wondered if they dragged her into the van in the same way. If they didn't say a word to her the entire drive to Bodie Island, and she was just sat there for an hour without any clue as to where she was going.
JJ was speaking to whoever was on the tarmac. John B, it sounded like, but she couldn't hear him very well. "How easy do you think it'd be to break into Kitty Hawk?" He asked, turning back to the phone.
"You're gonna break in to a rehab center?!" Cassie hears Pope say.
"It's Kie, man." JJ responds to him, impatiently. "Cassie?" He turns back to the phone.
Considering any other options was not an option. And it were moments like these where the Maybank impulsivity really pulled through. Because if Cassie took a second to think things over, there was no way she would've gone through with this. "It's doable." She says.
That was all JJ needed to hear. "I'll come get you."
The Twinkie came to a screeching halt in front of Cassie, where she was sat on a bench near the fishing docks. Actually, The Twinkie barely came to a 'halt' at all, before Cassie climbed into the side door, and JJ took off again.
He glanced at her, and then back to the road. "How long do we have?" Cassie asked quickly, as she climbed over to the front passenger seat.
"I was gonna ask you." JJ says, quickly losing confidence.
He turns a sharp corner without slowing down, and Cassie about slammed into the window. "Jesus!" She shouts. "We can't do anything if you kill us both."
JJ looks at her again, this time like he'd just forgot something very important, then remembered again. "Sorry."
Cassie swallows harshly and buckles her seatbelt. "Just get to Bodie Island."
"Bodie Island? The jet is already here, they're waiting on us!" He says frantically.
"Why are you acting surprised?! You picked me up from there?!" She then flung her arms out towards the windshield. "Stop sign!"
JJ slammed on the breaks, and the both of them flung forward as the van came to a sudden stop. Cassie sent him a sharp glare. "Get out. I'm driving." She says.
He couldn't really pose an argument, just nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Climbing into the driver's seat, Cassie took a breath, then spoke again. "How long can they wait?" She asks, beginning to drive again.
JJ rubbed his forehead, trying to gather himself though he was full of adrenaline. "They'll wait." He says.
When the initial panic began to wear off, the van was silent for the majority of the drive. Besides when Cassie told JJ to stop anxiously tapping his foot, and that the sound was annoying. Or when JJ tried to tell her she was going the wrong way, and Cassie had to tell him that there were signs off the road quite literally mile by mile directing her to the camp.
After a while, JJ leaned up from his seat, took a deep breath, then spoke up. "So... so what's up? What's going on with you?"
Cassie glances at him confusedly, then returns her eyes to the road. "What are you talking about?"
He scratched his eyebrow awkwardly. "Like with... like with Rafe."
She knew it was coming eventually. And she knew it must've been eating at JJ, too. Because there was nothing he hated more than having serious conversations. Especially with family.
She tapped the wheel with her thumbs, then shrugged.
He huffed. "Come on, I'm asking— I feel like everybody knows something I don't. And I know we're not..." he was struggling. "In the best place, right now, but— and I'm sorry for snapping at you last night, but I'm just really confused, dude."
"Yeah, it kind of sucks when your friends have to stick up for you against your brother." Cassie retorts.
"It caught me off guard." JJ says.
"It caught everyone off guard." Cassie says. "But Pope wasn't throwing out insults. Kie wasn't. Not even John B—"
"I apologized." JJ shrugged, confused as to why that wasn't enough.
"I just feel like out of everyone you should have my back the most. I'm your sister." She says.
"So, I'm not allowed to call you out when you fuck up because you're my sister?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying you know me better than any of them and it's like you actively choose to see the worst in me."
He sinks back into the seat.
"You're a very loyal person, JJ. I get that. And I wish I was more like you in that sense. But sometimes, and I was even talking to Kie about this, you can get kind of mean about it because you're so passionate—"
"You talked to Kie about this?!" He turned to face her, wide-eyed.
"Yeah, she's my friend, JJ. Am I not allowed to talk to my friend?" She asks sarcastically.
"What'd she say?" He asks.
Cassie shrugged again. "That's a conversation you need to have with her."
"You kidding?"
She didn't look at him.
"This is sibling-code. That falls above bro-code. You have to tell me these things." JJ spoke dramatically, flailing his hands around.
"See, that's what I mean. Sibling-code. You just need to put it to better use." She points at him. "Which starts with trusting me and trusting that I'm not an idiot."
"Okay," JJ starts. "Like in what context? Like in a school context? 'Cause sure. You're not an idiot. Relationships?"
"Alright, and now you're being mean."
"It's Rafe, Cassie. Rafe who like, lied to you repeatedly and, left you to die, and then aimed a gun at you, and then—"
"Okay, got it." She interrupts him.
"That Rafe." He huffs out.
She thought for a second. "Do you remember all the things I said and I did when things were really bad? Like, right before Kitty Hawk? And how awful I was? And how you probably thought I was the worst person on the planet, but you gave me a second chance?"
"That's different you didn't kill anyone." He puts a finger up as he interrupts her.
"Let me finish." She says sternly. "I wouldn't be here right now if you guys all didn't give me a second chance. Or a third chance. And you wouldn't be either— because you've fucked up a few times too, JJ."
"Yeah, but you've given him like ten chances."
"Dude." Cassie says annoyedly, fed up with his stubbornness.
He looks at her with a bored expression, one that read as, 'sorry, continue.'
"I wouldn't have given him any chances if I didn't think it was possible." Cassie says. "Okay? He was dealt some bad cards in life. And we actually have a lot in common in that sense. But he didn't have the support system I had. He doesn't have someone like you, or Kie. Anyone."
"So everything he did..." JJ was struggling to understand. "It's just... it's all forgivable because he had a shitty childhood?"
"No, It's just..." and now Cassie was struggling too. "I can understand a lot of his actions. And I... I do care about him."
"Oh, wow. Okay." JJ straightened his back and twisted his jaw, like he'd just been hit with a ton of bricks. "That's— so you... Cassie, what!?"
"Okay, this is why I don't tell you things."
"I mean, I just..." JJ squeezed his eyes shut as he thought it over. "Did you relapse?"
"No!" Cassie shouted, frustrated.
JJ puts his hands up defensively, then turned to look out the window, fidgeting with the skin around his fingernails. "So there's no excuse for this other than the fact that you're just an overly forgiving, good person."
"Thank you?" Cassie muttered.
JJ continued. "Which you had to have gotten from your mom's side because, holy shit, I still hate that guy."
Cassie couldn't help but get out a small scoff. "And look, I don't know what's going to happen. Or what is happening, but I—"
"Shit, and I hate his stupid bike, too. Mine's ten times nicer and I know I paid less for it but he—"
She shot him a stern look before continuing. "But I don't want this to drive a wedge between us again, okay?"
JJ shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Whatever."
"JJ." Cassie gave him another look.
He shrugged, like it was hard for him to admit. "Okay. I'm not chill with jt, like at all, so you gotta figure that out— but okay."
"Wait, shh— shut up." Cassie cuts him off, then gestures out the windshield.
"I was being nice?" JJ says confusedly.
"No, that." Cassie points again, at the big wooden sign with the painted sun yellow sun rays over the words 'Kitty Hawk'. "That's the entrance to the boys' camp. The girls' camp is a few miles down."
Cassie slowly drove past it, and they both turned their heads to get a good look at the security measures. A small security box that housed a guard, next to a gate that needed to be lifted to get through.
"Switch me." JJ says, before turning back around and fishing something from the back seat. "And put this on."
Cassie stopped the car as JJ tossed a brown fishing hat that tied under her chin. "Oh, cute." She says, as she climbed out and put it on.
JJ was back in the driver's seat, and lets out an adrenaline fueled huff. "What's the story, here? Am I a visitor? Am I dropping you off? Am I a concerned friend? Like, I need something to work with."
Cassie snaps her fingers as she thinks. "Okay, I'm getting like..." she closed her eyes to let it come to her. "Like you're dropping something off for your cousin who's a counselor here. Laura. And she knows you're coming and you're just gonna meet her in the mailroom, and I'm... I'm asleep. And also her cousin."
"Okay, okay yeah I can work with that." JJ nods eagerly.
Cassie sunk farther into her seat as JJ approached the girls' camp gate, pulling the fishing hat over her face, and curling up against the door to 'fall asleep'.
When The Twinkie came to a slow halt, and the breaks made that familiar screech, Cassie tensed. "How y'all doing?" JJ spoke loudly, after rolling the window down.
"Can I help you?" The security guard asked, leaning down to meet JJ's level in the van.
"Hey there, I um— camp counselor Laura? I'm her brother—"
"Cousin." Cassie whispered.
"Cousin. I'm her cousin. We, we are her cousins." JJ continued seamlessly. "I was actually just gonna drop off one of these packages for her if that's okay. Just real quick. In and out. Promise."
It was quiet for a few seconds, and in those few seconds, Cassie couldn't breathe.
"Alright, go ahead." The security guard spoke.
"Alright, perfect." JJ said cheerfully. "Thank you very much, sir. Y'all have a good day."
As the van moved forward, and the window rolled up, Cassie slowly moved the hat off of her eyes. "These idiots, I could've just walked out of here?"
"Do the bullet-holes on the windshield really not raise any red flags?" JJ mutters as he sends another wave to the security guard, and drives forward through the now-open gate.
The farther they drove down the sandy road, in between the palm leaves and following the signs towards the center of campus, the more Cassie started to recognize. And with that, the more she started to process what she was really doing.
To see the camp from this point of view felt wrong. Like at any moment she'd get hauled off by her arms, and shoved into the reflection cabin for twelve hours. She shouldn't be sending polite nods of greeting to the security they drove past. She should be walking in a straight line with the rest of the campers, where they were instructed to shake the hands and say good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, to every employee they passed.
"Turn there." Cassie spoke up, and JJ brought the van off to the left.
Her heart sank as she found the camp just as she left it. Girls wearing the same blue t-shirts, walking together to go off and finish their daily tasks. Some wore gloves and carried buckets and shovels. Some had mops and brooms, some carried boxes of produce off to the kitchens. And each one of them looked miserable.
"Can I park here?" JJ asked.
Cassie wasn't really paying attention, but she nodded anyways. "Yeah." She said absent-mindlessly.
When the van stopped, Cassie got a better look at what she was seeing, JJ too. He leaned forward and looked out the windshield. "Hol-y shit." He got out.
One girl was kicking and screaming, being yanked away by two big men, her heels digging through the sand they pulled her through. Both Cassie and JJ whipped their heads towards the commotion, both of them probably thinking it was Kiara.
"I'll call her." JJ says, pulling his phone from his back pocket.
"Kiara?" Cassie says.
JJ nods, but Cassie shakes her head. "We can't access the outside world for the first six weeks." She stops, then corrects herself. "She can't."
"Well, shit." JJ says.
"There's ten cabins total." Cassie says. "Five on the left and five on the right. Each one holds like, thirty girls."
"So we just need to find her cabin?"
Cassie points at the security guards. "They stand in front of every cabin from 6am-9pm to make sure no one sneaks off from their chores to sleep. At 9, everyone has to be accounted for inside their cabins, they lock the doors, and security leaves for the day."
JJ glances at the time, they had two hours 'til nine. "What about their offices? Do they have it on file anywhere?"
"Yeah. Meghan has everyone's records." Cassie says. "If we can get into her office..."
"Oh, easy money." JJ says, quickly opening up the driver's seat door.
Cassie looked alarmed, glancing around to make sure no one was looking before pulling her hat back on, and climbing out of the car after him. "She really only comes out when people need to be dealt with."
"Jesus, okay." JJ scans the area, stepping out of the way of a line of girls taking the path he stood on.
Cassie kept her head down and out of the way. Seeing the girls shoes step by her, their faces blocked out by the rim of the hat. It was barely five seconds of contemplating before Cassie kicked her foot out, caught onto someone's leg, and tripped them.
And then that girl fell into the one in front of her, and the one behind her crashed into her, and then the next. And then it was, "Watch where you're going, bitch!" and, "It was a fucking accident!"
Cassie pushed JJ away quickly before fingers began to be pointed, running away behind him as the yelling got louder, and with it, some screams, as a fight broke out.
"There!" Cassie gestured to the white cabin closest to the kitchens. A sign above the door that read 'Main Office'. "Lay low."
JJ glanced behind him as more and more girls fell out of line to go and watch the dog pile. He slipped around the corner, and Cassie with him, the both of them sticking close to the outer wall of the office cabin.
He looked at his sister as she watched the girls yank each other's hair, and swing each other around. Everyone else cheering and laughing, until security came running after them, tasers at the hip.
The cabin door swung open, and the two leaned back against the wall as Meghan came rushing out to see what the commotion was about.
JJ pulled on Cassie's arm to get her to move, as the familiar crackle of the taser echoed in her ears. Once, then a scream, and again.
"Come on," JJ whispered, after Cassie froze again.
She quickly lead them up the back stairs, swinging the screen door open to Meghan's office. Where every month, Cassie came and did a behavioral assessment, and she was asked questions like: How often do you think about drugs? How often do you want to do drugs? How often do you think of stealing drugs? On a scale of one-to-ten, how much do you want drugs right now?
That was the problem with Kitty Hawk. These people who assessed her, and lead group therapy discussions, and tried to talk her through her issues, had never taken drugs in their life. To them, the best idea they had of drug addicts was Tony Montana. These people weren't psychologists. They weren't trained on how to talk to these girls. They were minimum-wage employees who ran down a sheet of required questions every day and thought that was enough.
And they worked these girls to exhaustion. Wake up at six AM sharp, find your chores for the day, work until your twenty minute lunch break at noon, work until dinner at seven, work until bed at nine. They didn't let them talk to their families over the phone, ridding them of any communication that wouldn't be filtered. Cassie knew very well that all the letters she sent to JJ were read before mailed. And she wondered how many just got tossed in the trash.
They barely fed them enough to get through the day, especially when the camp was overpopulated, and even when they did, it was hardly edible. They stripped them of everything that made them feel human, and when they inevitably acted out as a result of these feelings, the cycle was repeated and they were deemed 'unfit' to leave camp.
And in Kitty Hawk's defense, they truly thought they were doing something good for these girls. They thought they were teaching them how to build community and trust. To improve on their work ethic and responsibility.
But all it did was make them resent each other. There was no community at Kitty Hawk. These girls hated each other, because that was the only emotion they were left with at the end of the day.
As the siblings stumbled into the office from the hallway, they found a front desk lady slowly lifting her head up from her computer to see who'd just barged in.
"Oh, shit." JJ muttered. Cassie froze, staring at the lady who looked just as confused as they did.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
Cassie and JJ exchanged glances, before JJ cleared his throat and put on a warm smile. "Yes, actually. I'm looking for the mailroom."
The woman, clueless and not sure how to react, lifted her finger and pointed out the window across the lawn. "It's over there."
JJ nodded slowly. "No, I— actually. I was just, I was pretty lost earlier. We've been walking around trying to find it for a while. Could you... could you just show us? actually?"
It was clear the woman's day-to-day social interaction wasn't a very common occurrence. She seemed almost horrified to find two teenagers standing in the receptionist's room.
"Is that..." JJ started to sniff the air, stepping closer over to the woman's desk. "Are you wearing perfume?"
Cassie let her eyes close, embarrassed and impressed at the same time.
The woman blushed, getting out a small, awkward laugh. "I am."
JJ nodded and smiled eagerly. "That's really nice. What is it? Chanel?"
She shrugged innocently. "Dior."
"Right." JJ laughed it off. "Of course. So... the mailroom?"
She quickly stood from her desk, grabbing her keys from the drawer. "Are you visitors?" She asked, but was really only speaking to JJ.
He sent Cassie a glance as he turned to follow after the woman. "Yeah, just dropping some stuff off for our cousin. She's a counselor."
Cassie nodded, understanding her brother's look. She began to walk with them toward the door, but just as JJ followed the receptionist outside, Cassie stayed behind.
She spun around quickly and made her way over to the door behind the receptionists desk, swinging it open and walking into the familiar office.
Meghan still burned the same lavender and sage candle that she always did. A smell that now made Cassie sick. She moved over to the metal file cabinets, yanking open the first drawer.
They were sorted by their behavioral issues first, alphabetically second. Anorexia, self-harm, suicidal ideation, aggression & physical violence, disobedience, gang-related activity, anger issues, etiquette issues, school-expulsion, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, persistent truanting, depression, anxiety. They had a file for everything.
Cassie thumbed through the disobedience file first, skipping through the archived files before going through the current A names, to B, to C's, until she found Kiara's.
She yanked it out of the cabinet, glancing behind her to ensure she was still in the clear. Turning back around, she opened the yellow folder and scanned the file.
Name: Kiara Michelle Carerra
Age: 18
DOB: 5/19/2002
Inducted: 11/14/20
Release: —
Category (please list): disobedience, gang-related activity, etiquette issues, persistent truanting.
Location: Cabin 6
Department(s): —
Lead Counselor(s): Lindsey
Notes: —
Reflection Cabin Inductions (please list): —
Behavioral notices: —
Cassie couldn't help but roll her eyes, wondering if the 'gang-related activity' came from Anna and Mike's interpretation, or if that was Meghan's doing.
She took note of cabin six, folded it back up, put it back in its spot, and just as she was turning to leave, curiosity got the better of her.
She went to the drug abuse section, flipping through each file with her head turned over her shoulder to ensure she was still alone. She went through the J's, K's, and L's before she found her last name among the M's.
Cassidy Maybank, written in black ink among the rest of the archived campers. She opened up her folder to find an old school portrait paper clipped to the front. The same photo that was used on the missing persons posters when she was on the island.
ARCHIVED
Name: Cassidy Jude Maybank
Age: 16
DOB: 12/12/2002
Inducted: 8/02/19
Release: 8/27/20
Category (please list): drug abuse, alcohol abuse, aggression & physical violence, depression
Location: Cabin 2
Department(s): Kitchen prep, kitchen clean up, wilderness exploration & ideation, laundry room management
Lead Counselor(s): Anya, Janice
Notes: Gets to chores early and completes on time and well. Cassie seems to have warmed up to her counselors, but hesitates to participate in group therapy sessions. Has taken interest in culinary duties.
Reflection Cabin Inductions (please list):
8/02/19
8/20/19
10/5/19
10/11/19
10/29/19
1/12/20
1/14/20 - 1/20/20
5/19/20
6/02/20
Behavioral notices: Has improved greatly over the first five months! No issues since early October. edit- had outburst on 1/12/20– stole from pharmacy. Sluggish, quiet/reserved, keeps to herself but struggles with frequent outbursts. Gets involved in aggressive, physical altercations with other campers, most times as a means of self-defense. edit- moved to Cabin 2 on 5/20/20. Rarely brings up either parents in therapy sessions unless prompted. Respectful to employees and counselors.
Cassie felt sick. She remembered each and every day at Kitty Hawk. She remembered every incident that would've caused these notes. Every induction to the reflection cabin, every fight, every meal, every sleepless night. It was hard to imagine that her first day here was over two years ago. That that sixteen year old girl in the photo had no idea what her life would turn into.
"Druanne will you call the mainland for backup security?" Meghan's familiar voice echoed inside from the porch.
Cassie shut the file drawer quickly, tucking her own file into her jacket and rushing out the door.
"Emma P. and Sydney got into it again." Meghan continues as she walks back into her office. "Druanne?"
Cassie was successfully out the backdoor without getting caught, the door shutting with a thud just as Meghan came in. She hugged her jacket around her, quickly scanning the campus for her brother.
"Hey!" A loud voice made her jump. She spun around to see a man in navy blue scrubs, a security guard, approaching her. "You're not supposed to be on break yet."
Cassie quickly glanced over to the mailroom, looking for JJ, before she turned back to the security guard. "I'm not—" She stopped herself, beginning to realize there might be an easier way to do this. To at least communicate to Kiara that she was here.
"I left my gear in the cabin and got lost. I just got inducted here, and I don't know my way around yet." She spoke with ease, like it was suddenly in her nature to lie and be good at it.
He nodded hesitantly. "Do you know what cabin you're in?" He asked.
"Six." She responded.
The security guard led her across campus, where she eventually watched JJ walk out of the mailroom with Druanne, assumedly, he was still making light conversation with her as he caught glance of Cassie with the security guard.
He widened his eyes at his sister confusedly as Druanne continued talking, and Cassie gave him a big shrug in response.
"Make it quick." The security says, as he unlocks the cabin door for her. "You don't want to be late."
All the cabins looked the same. A long, narrow building with bunk beds lining either side. There was a central area with bean bags, books, and a TV, but that was only ever used on the weekends if they were granted time-off.
She scanned each bed, finding the only one that didn't have blankets or sheets yet. No letters from home hung up on the wall, and was sat right next to the air conditioner vent where the other campers always made the new girls sleep.
Cassie rushed over to the chore-list by the wall, and tore off the most recent sheet posted with instructions. She took the black marker hung next to it and made her way back to Kiara's bed.
In big letters, she wrote 'P4L', and hid it under the pillow.
Cassie found JJ again after security had escorted her from cabin six to the truck stop. He told her Cabin Six had already left for their hike, and she was going to have to wait until the next truck came to pick her up and take her to the trail.
It was a lot easier to slip away from security when she wasn't facing any real consequences. The worst he could do was get her kicked off the premises. When in the past, she could risk getting tased, drawn up for aggressive behavior, and locked away for the night.
The second he was distracted, Cassie turned and left to make her way back to where she last saw JJ.
He grabbed her and pulled her into the bathrooms as she walked passed them. "Where the hell have you been?!" JJ asked, his voice echoing off the tin-roof.
"Kie's in cabin six. And she knows we're coming so, can't mess up now." Cassie says, then looks around. "Have you been hiding out in the girl's bathroom?"
"Yeah, and my hairy-ass legs under the stall doors has to have raised some suspicion, so, can we get going on this before I end up on some list?" He says, ashamedly.
Cassie looks at the watch on JJ's wrist. "We've got an hour until sundown. Have you talked to John B?"
He shakes his head. "He's not answering."
"Oh, god." Cassie rubs her eyes.
"But we worry about that later." JJ says. "We gotta lock-in."
Cassie nods, agreeing. "I'm locked in, are you locked in?"
JJ shook off some nerves, letting out an excited huff. "Oh, I'm locked in."
They found themselves in the tree line after Cassie said girls would be coming in the bathroom to get ready for bed. They sat in the sand, cross-legged and out of sight, leaned against the trunk of a tree.
Two planes passed in the duration of them sitting there. And they both wondered if it were the Cameron's plane. If John B couldn't wait any longer, and had to leave without them.
"Look what I snagged." Cassie says after a long chunk of silence. She leans up and pulls her now crumpled up file from her jacket pocket, and hands it to JJ.
He takes it from her and examines it, She leans back against the tree, waiting for him to crack a joke, or acknowledge something, but he was quiet.
She leaned back up, confused to find his eyebrows narrowed in concern as he read over every word. She wondered if he was struggling to read the cursive handwriting in the darkness of the night. "What?"
"As a means of self-defense?" JJ looks at her.
Cassie was slightly taken aback, and shrugged. "Well, I mean—"
"Like from the other girls?" He questioned.
Cassie didn't intend for the conversation to go this direction, and she took the file back from him. "Yeah, sometimes." She said, trying to shake it off like it wasn't a big deal. "One time I unscrewed a pipe under the sink, and had to carry it around in a towel in my shower caddy just in case someone tried to jump me again."
This didn't help. JJ shut his eyes and shook his head. "Jumped you again?"
She put the file back in her jacket, and let out a small laugh. "If you're quiet you get picked on. And I don't know, never really made it into the right cliques here."
JJ turns away, still slightly shaking his head. "Dad would've had this place shut down and cleared out if he knew that."
"Yeah, by walking in here with a gun." Cassie joked. "Have you heard from him?"
"Nope." He said. "You?"
Cassie shook her head.
The both of them looked up as the sound of voices grew louder, as lines of girls began to spill out from every direction, chores wrapping up for the day.
"Look, do you see her?" JJ sat up eagerly, looking around for Kiara.
Cassie shook her head no. "Ten minutes until security leaves." She says, watching as a guard escorts a group of girls from the bathrooms to the cabins.
"She's never gonna forgive Anna and Mike for this." JJ shakes his head, suddenly pissed off as he sits back down against the tree with a thud. "Kooks, man."
Cassie leans back down too. "It's her family."
He waves it off. "Family doesn't do shit like this." She looks at him, and it took him a second to realize what he said. "Not that—"
"No, I get it." Cassie inhales sharply. "Kie wants to hang out with her friends and I was actively trying to kill myself, so. It's a little different."
"Don't put it like that." JJ says, Cassie shrugs. "I'm just pissed for her. All she's done is be loyal friend. Don't they want that in a daughter? Loyalty, or some shit? Kie's the best out of all of us." He chucks a small twig he's been fiddling with to the side. "Shit's not fair."
Cassie couldn't help the smile on her lips as she watched JJ talk about Kiara. "You guys have gotten a lot closer since the island."
JJ shrugs. "We've always been close."
Cassie nods slowly. "Right, right. But, I don't know. She just talks about you differently now."
He quickly turns to look at her. "She does?"
Cassie knew that would get him. She smiled excitedly. "Have you told her you like her yet?" She asks.
He shakes his head no and swats a hand at her, urging her to stop.
"Come on," Cassie whined. "I know you still like her."
He was quiet, and the look on his face made Cassie think further.
"You love her?" She asks.
JJ inhales sharply and leans up from the tree. "Okay, we're done."
"JJ, are you serious?" Cassie spoke, shocked.
"Shh. I don't know." He says, beginning to stand up, dusting the sand off his shorts. "Will you pay attention?"
Cassie almost forgot what they were doing, and that they were supposed to be quiet. She looked forward at the cabins. Everyone was inside now, the campus was clear.
"Do we have a plan?" JJ asks, as they watch the security guards speak into the walkies on their shoulders.
Cassie shook her head. "Nope."
"Got it." He says.
The security guards turn and lock the doors behind them, sending hand signals to the other officers around them and ensuring they got everyone in.
JJ and Cassie were still against the trees, not wanting to bring any attention to themselves until security left. "Try John B again." JJ whispers, tossing Cassie his phone.
He scans the area as Cassie brings the ringing phone to her ear. The long tones making her anxious. When John B didn't answer, she tried Sarah. And then Pope. No answers from any of them. "They have to be on the plane already." Cassie whispers back.
JJ crinkled his nose, trying not to let that bother him until they had Kiara. "They're leaving." He nods forward.
Cassie caught glance of the security guards leaving their posts, walking down from each cabin and meeting each other to walk to the parking lot to head home, or head to the night-shift cabins.
She stood, "Okay, okay let's give it another twenty minutes just to make sure—"
"We don't have twenty minutes." JJ said, before ducking his way out of the trees and making his way towards the cabins.
Cassie quickly burst up, panic filling her system as she wasn't prepared enough at all for this. "JJ, wait!" She whispered harshly, as her brother left her at the tree.
When he didn't, she had no choice but to follow after him. He dug into his back pocket, and took out his wallet.
"Hey, let's think about this—" Cassie whispered after him. "There's still night-guards."
He turned around, and tossed her the keys to The Twinkie. "Get the van, meet me by the front sign, okay?" He was all adrenaline now.
"Dude, seriously?" And Cassie knew there was no use in talking sense into him when he got like this.
"Cassie, trust me, okay?" He spoke confidently. "It's Kiara."
For the first time in what felt like ages, Cassie saw a very strange look in her brother's eyes; fear, and worry. When he was scared, he never showed it. Never told anyone. But she saw him plucking at the frayed skin around his fingernails, she saw him anxiously shaking his leg. She knew JJ would do whatever it took to get Kiara back.
"Okay, go!" Cassie pushed him on as he turned to leave.
Cassie ran in the other direction, glancing behind her to find JJ tying a bandana around his face, pulling it above his nose.
When she got inside The Twinkie, she winced as she turned the engine back on, knowing the sputtering sound was louder than she needed it to be.
"Oh, jesus." She muttered, as the headlights came on, and shined directly into the security office's windows.
She put the car in reverse, and slammed her foot on the gas, the tires screeching against the pavement as she watched a guard bust out of the office door to see what was going on.
"Shit, shit, shit," Cassie shrieked. "Let's drive now, please." She twisted the steering wheel with one hard yank, charging the van out of the parking lot and over a grass patch.
The Twinkie caught more air coming over that patch than Cassie would have preferred, and she landed back down onto the ground in two big thuds; the front tires, then the back tires. "Sorry John B." She winced, glancing in the mirror as the security spoke into his walkie.
She sped out down the road. The surfboard charms and purple lei necklace hung from the mirror swing back and forth.
Cassie fumbled for her phone in her pocket as she drove, trying John B one more time. Only this time, she noticed a voicemail in her inbox from him.
"Where the hell are you guys?! We're running out of time!" John B yelled over the phone. He pulled away from the phone, and spoke to whoever was beside him, before turning back. "Shit, guys. We have to go, like now."
A small golf cart turned onto the road behind her, a flashlight reflecting off her side mirrors. "Oh my god." Cassie muttered anxiously.
"We need you guys." John B said, before the voicemail ended.
"Stop the van!" The security on the golf cart spoke over a megaphone.
Cassie held her breath, turning up the radio as an attempt to calm her down. An 'out of sight, out of mind' approach. But in this case it's 'I can't hear you, so I'm not stopping'.
She didn't have time to think. She didn't have time to consider any other options or outcomes. Her heart was pounding so hard it shook her whole body. Running purely on adrenaline, she dialed Rafe's number as the golf cart crept closer.
It rang twice.
"Pull over!" The security yelled.
Then another, before she finally heard the fourth ring get cut off as Rafe picked up the phone. "Where are you?" He spoke.
He sounded out of breath, like he'd just caught her phone call amidst a certain chaos.
But Cassie didn't have the time to overthink it. "How fast can you get your boat to Bodie Island?"
Rafe let out an exasperated breath. "Bodie Island? What do you— what do you mean Bodie Island?"
"Rafe, can you get here!?" Cassie asks frantically, white knuckling the steering wheel.
"Shit." He says, his voice muffled as he turned away from the phone. "Keep pressure on it."
Her eyes widened. "What's going on?"
"Shit." He repeated, with more urgency this time. "It's my dad, he has to get off the island, I— where are you?!"
It had become suddenly difficult to remember what it was she was so panicked over. Given her sudden abundance of options. "Rafe, what's—"
"I'll be there, okay? Cassie? I need you to meet me at the docks off 17th street. Can you do that?!" Rafe was speaking just as quickly, just as adrenaline-fueled, if not more so than Cassie.
And it made her wonder what she'd just dragged herself, JJ, and Kiara into. But she was nodding before he even finished his sentence, knowing that this was their only option.
"Cassie?!" Rafe spoke again, like he thought he'd lost her on the other line.
She took a sharp turn off towards the security gate where she was supposed to pick them up. "Yes, yeah— we'll meet you there."
a/n
i said this on my message board already but i'm planning on pausing updated on this after the south america arc, just until season 4 comes out! so i won't touch on the 18 month time jump (when the ceremony back in kildare happens and the black beard plot is revealed) until after s4 !! it's hard to sorta wrap things up here since i don't know what's happening in s4 just yet— so i'll have to leave it open-ended for a few months :'(
edit: omg i mean i'll put it on pause a few chapters from now this was just a heads up ahahah im not done yet!