─☼☼☼─
"𝙉𝙊 𝙒𝘼𝙔 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 fucking worked," JJ exclaimed, moving around in his seat like a giddy little kid.
Surprisingly, JJ's convincing really did work, and Barracuda Mike had agreed to fly them to South America. Charlotte didn't even want to ask what he had a plane for, nor did she want to know why JJ was in so much trouble with him in the first place.
He looked over at her, grin on his face, "We make quite the team, Charls."
Charlotte shook her head, returning the smile, "It was all you, J."
"Nah, it was your idea...I just ran with it." He fell quiet for a moment before adding, "but for the love of God, next time I ask you to stay in the car, will you please listen?"
A laugh fell from Charlotte's lips as she shook her head, "Listening isn't one of my strong suits."
"Yeah, no fucking shit." JJ muttered.
The trees had begun to thin out, signalling that they were getting closer to their destination. They had passed a sign not long along denoting that Kitty Hawk was only a few miles down the road. Nerves swarmed Charlotte at what they were about to do. She knew trying to break Kiara out was not going to be easy, and it they failed...well, she didn't want to think about that right now.
"How about you let me do the talking here," she proposed, already trying to come up with a plan in her head.
JJ turned to her, offence covering his face, "You just said how well I did and now I'm getting demoted!?"
Charlotte shot him a look, "You bamboozled a guy named Barracuda Mike...I think these Kitty Hawk freaks are going to need a bit of a different touch."
"You gonna flirt with them?" JJ wondered, raising his brows.
"No," Charlotte argued, slightly offended before muttering under her breath a quiet, "Only if I have to."
A low sigh came from JJ as he gripped onto the wheel a bit tighter, "Well get your pick-up lines ready because we're here."
Sure enough, the ominous Kitty Hawk sign loomed over them as they pulled up to the gates. Charlotte felt physically sick as she thought about her little sister in there.
"Aw, shit." JJ whispered, two guards blocking their road into the camp.
One of the men held out his hands, causing JJ to slow the Twinkie, "Hold it right there, please."
Luckily, he didn't seem to be one of the men who had taken Kiara from the Carrera house, meaning he wouldn't recognize Charlotte.
"Can I help you two?" He wondered, looking between JJ and Charlotte, a slight look of suspicion on his features.
Charlotte leaned over JJ so she could speak to the man, "Oh, hi!" She greeted with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, "I'm a counsellor here, just checking back in after my day off!"
JJ shifted beneath her. Because an effort to speak to her man, she'd dug her elbow into some part of his lap. He let out a small grunt as he tried to keep his face neutral.
The man looked down at his clipboard for a moment, "Can I get your name?"
A sweet smile settled on Charlotte's lips as she prepared to lie through her teeth, " Counsellor Avery," She answered, leaning closer to the window which caused JJ to curse in pain.
There was no way she was on any list of his, but somehow the man didn't turn her away. Instead, he looked to JJ who was smiling stiffly through the pain.
"Who are you?" He wondered, his voice holding less kindness than when he had spoken to Charlotte.
Charlotte sat back slightly, allowing JJ to let out a sigh of relief as he addressed the man, "Oh, me? I'm her boyfriend, sir." He grinned, taking Charlotte's hand before holding it up as if to prove they were dating.
Without the man seeing, Charlotte shot JJ a look that basically told him to shut the hell up, as she spoke again, "It's out six month anniversary," she explained with a blissful smile, "We just celebrated."
The man looked to his colleague for a moment, a silent conversation taking place between them. "Typically you'd be dropped here and the shuttle comes to get you. Are you two able to say your goodbyes here?"
Charlotte sagged her shoulders, giving JJ a sad look, "Oh, I know the rules," she sighed, "But I would love to spend just a few more minutes with him. Can't we bend the rules just this once?"
Shamelessly, Charlotte batted her eyelashes at the man who was old enough to be her father. He looked to JJ who gave him a grin before refocusing on the teenage girl who was giving him puppy-dog eyes. "Fine," he conceded, "But your boyfriend needs to be gone in twenty minutes."
Squealing like a little girl, Charlotte clapped her hands together, "Thank you, Alan!" She gushed, quickly reading the name tag on his shirt, "I owe you!"
Alan's cheeks tinted red as he stepped back, allowing JJ to drive the Twinkie through. Neither of them turned around as he drove down the dirt road, one step closer to Kiara.
"God damn, you are good." JJ praised, looking over to Charlotte, "How do you do that?"
She shrugged, "Have boobs."
JJ let out a laugh as he stopped the Twinkie at the main part of camp, his eyes wandering for a moment. "You know, Charls. If we keep roleplaying with you as my girlfriend, I might get the wrong idea."
"Oh, relax." Charlotte muttered, stepping out of the Twinkie, eyes squinting beneath the sun. "If it bothers you that much, we'll switch it up for our next ploy."
"Woah, I never said it bothered me, now did I?" JJ argued, following suit by following her out of the vehicle, "It just messes with a guy's head is all."
JJ had always flirted with Charlotte. It was just the way things were. From the time they were kids, he was always making passes at her. But those were always harmless...in good fun. As of late, something had shifted. The two had kissed, and even if Charlotte had ended up back with Rafe, and JJ had whatever was going on with Kiara, there was something that hung in between the two of them...unsaid, but ever present.
Unsure of how exactly to answer him, Charlotte focused back on their task at hand. "Excuse me?" She called to one of the men standing─guarding─ one of the cabins. "Could you direct us to the main office?"
He scanned JJ and Charlotte, slightly unsure as he pointed to one of the cabins down the way. "Over there," he answered, not giving them another look as he went back to what he was doing.
JJ and Charlotte shared a quick look before navigating their way through the dozen of teenagers girls who milled around the camp. Charlotte kept her eyes sharp, looking for any sign of her sister.
"What's the move here?" JJ murmured to her as the ascended the wooden steps.
Charlotte gave a small shrug as she reached for the door, "Play it by ear. Do whatever it takes."
The wooden floorboards creaked beneath them as they stepped into the office. It was a small room, with only a single desk sitting in the middle of it, two chairs set in front of it. Behind the desk was a middle-aged woman. She had kind eyes, but Charlotte didn't buy it. If she worked at a place like this, she had to be at least a bit evil.
"Hi there," Charlotte greeted, plastering on another one of her fake smiles as JJ struggled with the door behind her.
The woman looked up at them, quirking her brow at the sight of JJ still attempting to latch the door. Charlotte spun, lightly shoving him out of the way as she closed the door in one try. JJ shot her a look as he held up a hand in greeting. "How you doin', ma'am."
Furrowing her brows, the woman looked between the two of them, "Can I help you kids?"
JJ nodded, "We have a message for one of your campers here, um...Kiara. Kiara, uh, Carrera. She's here, right?"
He and Charlotte had taken a few steps to close the distant between themselves and the woman's desk.
"I'm sorry," the woman apologized, "Unfortunately we're not allowed to do that. You two aren't even supposed to be here on campus."
"Can we sit?" Charlotte wondered, already in the process of lowering herself into one of the chairs. The woman didn't object as JJ did the same. "It's very important," Charlotte continued, still unsure of where they were going to go with this.
"Oh, well, I'm sure it is, sweetie. But we have a policy. No contact from the outside world for the first six weeks." The woman explained softly.
First six weeks? Her parents were sending Kiara away for that long?
Charlotte stole a glance at JJ, noting that his eyes were focused on a picture on the woman's desk. It was of a cat. He looked to her for a brief moment, a silent understanding transpiring between them. They had their plan.
Letting out a defeated sigh, Charlotte nodded solemnly. "I understand, ma'am. But, well, you see, it's a family matter. I'm Kiara's sister, and this is my─"
"Boy─"
Charlotte quickly cut JJ off as he spoke, his words from earlier ringing in her ears, "─My cousin," she finished, "My...boy cousin. We like to make that distinction in our family." A forced smile came to her lips as the woman looked between her and JJ with a slight furrow in her brow.
JJ placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder, "You'll have to excuse my cousin, she's been through a great trauma lately."
That was the cue for Charlotte's tears to start. She thanked her freshman year drama teacher as she put into effect the one lesson she seemed to master─fake tears.
The woman's face softened as she noted the watery eyes on the Carrera girl, "Oh," she said softly, "Dear, what's wrong?"
Charlotte waved her off as JJ stood, "You know what, we should just go. Like you said, you have a policy and all." He helped Charlotte out of the chair, "Come on, Charlotte."
Sniffling, Charlotte took a few steps toward the door, "We're sorry for wasting your time," She said to the woman, "But before we go, could you please just let my sister know that..." She took a watery breath, "Just let her know that Marley didn't make it."
The woman seemed more intrigued, "Who's Marley?"
A sob broke from Charlotte's lips as she turned toward the door, "I can't," she whispered to JJ who gave her shoulder a squeeze.
He took over, stepping back toward the woman, "Marley's her best friend. A Siamese mix, and it was, uh, it was very sudden."
"The mailman just didn't see her," Charlotte declared, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she turned back around, "He was goin' what... 40 miles an hours?"
JJ nodded solemnly, "Probably closer to 50, really." He snapped his fingers to denote the collision of the mail truck and non-existent cat, "But she's in a better place now, so...could you just let Kiara know that for us, please?"
His own voice broke as he rejoined Charlotte by the door, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "Thank you, ma'am. My cousin and I really appreciate it."
The woman looked almost moved to tears as JJ and Charlotte stepped out onto the porch. They were barely to the bottom of the stairs by the time each of them broke into a fit of laughter.
"Holy shit. We just keep getting better and better," JJ praised as they moved onto the next part of their plan. If the woman bought their sob story like it seemed she did, she'd be headed toward Kiara's cabin in no time.
Sure enough, within minutes the woman had exited the office, speaking to one of the men before the two of them made their way toward a cabin almost right next to the main office. JJ and Charlotte, from where they hid behind one of the buildings, shared a hopeful smile.
"There she is," JJ whispered, eyes lighting up slightly. "We got her, Charls."
It felt like Charlotte's heart was literally going to explode as someone stepped out onto the porch of the cabin. Charlotte instantly recognized her sister, and real tears threatened to spill. Kiara was okay...at least physically.
Her and JJ strained their ears as they listened to the woman tell Kiara the horrible (fake) news of her cat's death. Kiara took after her big sister, and played into the role of grieving girl beautifully.
They were onto their final step...prison break.
─☼☼☼─
JJ and Charlotte had both agreed that it would be best to wait until dark to break Kiara out. But now, as dark had fallen, Charlotte stood in the cabin where Kiara had been...only there was no sign of her.
"Is she there?" JJ whispered from outside of the window they had broken into.
Charlotte shook her head before realizing he couldn't see her, "No," she whispered, defeat dripping from her word. "She's not." Spinning in a slow circle, she looked for any signs of her sister. It didn't take long before her eyes snagged on a set of 3 words scrawled on one of the bunks.
P4L. Cabin 6.
Her sister was a genius.
Shimmying back out of the window, Charlotte allowed JJ to help her to the ground. "Cabin 6," she whispered, pointing in the direction of a wooden sign that listed the whereabouts of the different cabins.
The words had barely left her mouth by the time JJ was taking off down the dirt path, bandana pulled up around his face. Charlotte didn't go that far to disguise herself...but she did bother to wear a black hoodie.
They found the cabin in record time, and Charlotte could feel butterflies in her chest over the prospect of reuniting with her sister. Her and Kiara had been apart for much longer than a day...in fact, they had gone months without seeing each other. But Charlotte had never missed her this much it felt like.
"Here," JJ whispered as he passed Charlotte the crow bar he'd been wielding. "Hold this. We gotta go for more of a silent entry here." He reached into his back pocket, digging through his wallet before pulling out his driver's license.
Charlotte watched intently as he jimmied the lock with the card, the door popping open with a quiet click. "You amaze me," she awed, giving him a small smile.
JJ shot her a wink, pushing open the door before motioning her through. Stepping through the threshold, Charlotte squinted through the darkness, looking for the familiar outline of her sister. "Kie?" She whispered, JJ echoing her calls in the darkness. "Kiara?"
Their footsteps creaked on the old hardwood, that mixed with their quiet calls seemed to have woken more than one of the campers. A light flicked on near the bunk JJ was standing in front of.
"What are you doing?" A girl questioned him, his bandana disguise looking more suspicious than anything at this point. Charlotte could have gotten away with blending in, but JJ was a clear giveaway.
"Uh, evening, Miss." JJ whispered, still hunched over, "I know this looks bad. Really bad. But I..we─" he motioned to Charlotte who gave a weak wave, "─Come in peace. We're actually looking for someone."
More girls sat up, staring at the pair with looks of apprehension.
JJ pulled his bandana down, raising his hands in surrender, "We're just looking for─"
"Me?"
The voice came from down the line of bunks. But even in the darkness, Charlotte knew who it belonged to.
Her whole body felt like it had collapsed as she let out a sigh of relief. They found her.
Kiara pushed herself onto her knees, climbing over the edge of the bunk as she approached them. Her eyes stayed locked on JJ the entire time, a wordless exchange occurring between them.
Charlotte watched quietly as Kiara increased her speed, soon enough throwing herself into JJ who caught her with a tight embrace. Kiara's clamped her eyes shut, seeming to melt into JJ.
"How...how did you...?"
JJ pulled back, giving her a hurried nod, "I know...I know, yeah. It's a long story. No time to explain, okay?" He let out a deep breath, "Wait, there is one thing though... what I was going to say last night. I was going to say...that I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Kie."
Kiara's face softened, and while Charlotte didn't know what JJ was apologizing for, it was clear it meant a lot to her sister.
A small nod came from Kiara as she stared back at JJ, complete relief on her features. It didn't seem like she needed to think about what she said next, "I love you."
Charlotte felt her heart clench in her chest at the words. She didn't know why, and she hated herself for feeling that way. Maybe it was because Kiara had never shared with her the extent of her feelings for JJ, and she felt left out of the loop...but she knew it was more than that.
She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but she could have sworn JJ stole a quick glance at Charlotte before he spoke, "I love you too, Kie."
Within the blink of an eye, Kiara had closed the distance between her and JJ, their lips connecting as cheers erupted from the girls around them. Charlotte was the only one not cheering, her eyes falling downward as she wore a sad smile.
It was always supposed to be like this. Kiara was the someone for JJ, the someone Charlotte promised him...so why the hell did she care so much?
She had Rafe. JJ had Kie. That was what the universe had crafted for them. That was what was right.
"Charley,"
Charlotte hadn't even noticed Kiara and JJ had broken apart until Kiara was enveloping her older sister in the most bone-crushing hug. "I knew you'd come for me."
Pushing her ridiculous feelings aside, Charlotte relaxed into her sister's embrace, ravelling her arms around Kiara' torso. "Of course, Kie. I would never leave you behind. Ever."
JJ placed an arm around the two of them, "As much as I love this, we've gotta make a move."
The girls around them were still screaming, and it was a matter of time before security came running.
"Right," Kie nodded, stepping away from her sister, "Let's go."
And so they did.
The three of them made their escape unscathed and somehow managed to meet back up with Barracuda Mike who was waiting with his plane. It all seemed so surreal, the whirlwind of a day. But Charlotte knew it was only going to get more intense.
Next stop: South America.
─☼☼☼─