parley
noun. a discussion or conference, especially between enemies, over terms of a truce or other matters.
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Lee struggled to keep from crying out as Kelce twisted her arms painfully behind her back. In front of her, she saw JJ being held in a chokehold as Rafe led the group to the other side of the locker room, sarcastically apologizing to the disturbed bathroom-goers for the disturbance as he did. JJ was fighting against the chokehold, his blue eyes desperate as his gaze locked on her. He tried to signal her to keep her mouth shut, but Lee had always prided herself on her trash talking abilities.
"Rafe!" she said boldly, sneering as Kelce tightened his hold on her arms. "You want a fucking piece of this? Come and get it."
Rafe grinned wickedly, glancing over Lee's shoulder at Kelce. "Keep her quiet, would you?" he said to his buddy.
As soon as Kelce loosened his grip on her arms, Lee threw her elbow into his chest, earning a satisfying ugh! as the wind was knocked out of him. Her freedom didn't last long, however, as two of Rafe's other friends pushed her back against a locker, successfully restraining her. She spat at both of them, but they ignored her as one of them wrapped his arm tightly around her neck, putting her in a tight chokehold.
She looked forward and saw Rafe pretending to swing a golf club at JJ. "What do you think?" he asked his friends. "A four iron, right?"
JJ was struggling against the tight hold of the boy behind him, watching Rafe nervously. Lee wrapped her hands around the arm of the boy holding her, trying to dig her nails into his exposed skin. He simply tightened his hold on her, muttering a curse word.
"Very brave of you, Rafe!" JJ taunted as he was pushed forward. "Five on two?"
Rafe shook his head. "Okay, if you could please stop talking, it's very disrespectful. I'm trying to hit a ball."
Lee curled her lip back angrily. "Come over here, Rafe," she growled. "I'll show you proper technique to hit a ball."
Rafe smirked, looking away from JJ. "Wow," he muttered, his glare focused on Lee. "That's so kind of you to offer, but I think I have it down. Don't you remember from our last run-in?"
She sneered, "I think you did most of the running there, Rafe."
Frowning angrily, Rafe stepped in front of Lee. Just a little closer, she thought.
"I also remember your backhand needing a little work," she continued taunting. Rafe took another step closer to her. "Allow me to demonstrate."
Lee grabbed the arm around her neck tightly, using it to lift her feet off of the floor. She sent one solid kick to Rafe's privates and, as he doubled over, sent another to his face. Rafe stumbled backwards, cursing as he held his nose. Lee clenched her jaw, steeling herself as he slowly straightened up, glaring directly at her.
"You bitch!" Rafe snarled. He took one threatening step towards Lee before pausing as JJ spoke up.
"You know, Rafe," JJ called out, sending Lee a warning look, "You should be thanking her. It might be easier for you to get girls after that nose job."
Rafe turned angrily, storming over to JJ until he was close enough that Lee thought JJ could probably smell his breath. She didn't imagine that it would smell very good.
"Your face looks really bad," Rafe said to JJ. "Starting to look like your dad a lot more."
Lee grimaced as JJ spat at Rafe, who laughed menacingly. "All right—" Rafe began, cut off as the lights suddenly flickered in the bathroom.
Looking to the entrance, Lee saw a security guard with his hand on the light switch. "Gentlemen!" the guard said, eyeing the group. "Lady," he continued, looking curiously at Lee before his gaze shifted back to the boys. "Is there a problem?"
The boy holding Lee quickly released her, shoving her forwards just as JJ was released as well. She grabbed JJ's arm, steadying herself. She could see the wheels turning in JJ's mind as they stood up straight, looking to the security guard.
"Pardon me, officer," JJ began, his hands holding Lee's wrist. "No, there's not an issue. Well, actually, yes. There is an issue. Uh, we got a criminal trespass in progress here," he explained, squeezing Lee's wrist to encourage her to go along with his lie. "Beep! Call it in, right?" JJ continued, nervously glancing at Lee.
She nodded, stepping forward. "Oh, yeah. We've been, just, blatantly disrespecting private property, sir. I broke, like, at least three champagne glasses and possibly one lady's back. Not to mention the minds I blew on the dance floor."
"We are just in violation of all kinds of shit, sir," JJ said.
It was seamless. It was exactly like every time before when they had gotten out of a sticky situation. For a moment, Lee forgot how much had changed.
"These young gentlemen," JJ continued, patting Kelce's suit jacket patronizingly, "caught us, sir, and they're about to take us away."
Lee stepped forward, sighing dramatically, and held her wrists out to the security guard as if she was waiting to be handcuffed. "And that's what you should do, officer, escort us out of here."
The officer rolled his eyes, stepping forward to grab Lee and JJ.
"You're all lookin' spiffy," JJ taunted Rafe and his friends as they left. "You Powerpuff Girls have fun."
Lee ducked her head to hide her elation as the officer led them out of the bathroom, but the smile was quickly wiped away as Rafe spat out a final sentence.
"Lee, you looked pretty hot tonight for a Pogue!" He called.
She knew immediately that JJ would react poorly and jumped in his way. "JJ!" she hissed, wrapping her hands around his forearms to keep him from getting into any more trouble. "Let's go!"
JJ sneered at Rafe over her shoulder, but he quickly caved, allowing the security guard to lead them outside.
The guard kept a tight grip on JJ the whole way, having witnessed his volatility in the locker room, Lee's wrist tightly in the guard's grip as she walked alongside them with her head hung low. JJ tried to wrestle his arm from the guard's grip as they walked outside.
"Look, man, I can walk by myself," he said to the guard, ignoring the pleading facial expression that Lee made, wanting him to keep quiet. "I got legs. Can you see that, brother? I really appreciate what you did back there. Let me just walk out by myself."
Lee grimaced as she made eye contact with her mother, who was frowning deeply.
"Lee Carter, what are you doing?" her mother said icily.
"Nothing too out of the norm," Lee replied, shrugging and shakily smiling despite the fact that her mother's glare could cut glass.
"Sir," her mom continued, now addressing the security guard as she stepped around the people between herself and her daughter, "this is my daughter. We are guests here. If you could please release her–"
"Sorry, ma'am," the security guard cut off Lee's mom. He pulled JJ to an abrupt halt at the bottom of the stairs from the deck and turned to face Laura, who stood with her hands on her hips at the top. Lee stood in between them, wishing that she was a statue and not a living and breathing mortal about to be smited. "These two were causing trouble with some... other guests," he continued coolly. "I have to escort them out."
Laura Carter's eyes narrowed at the guard's warning. "Let my daughter go," she said firmly.
The guard stared back for a moment and JJ wolf whistled at the tension. Champagne glasses were sipped by patrons who had been eagerly awaiting Carter drama that evening.
"As you wish, ma'am," the guard said, releasing his hold on Lee.
Lee stood frozen on the stairs for a moment as the guard shoved JJ forward again towards the edge of the crowd. Glancing over her shoulder, Lee sent her mother a pleading look. Her mom's face already had acceptance written all over it–she knew that her daughter would never let JJ get into trouble alone. Lee smiled at her mom like the situation was helpless before turning to march after JJ and the guard. She groaned in frustration as JJ continued to make a scene. Ahead of her, JJ was downing an elderly man's drink. Rolling her eyes, Lee darted up to JJ's side, ducking under the security guard's arm as she took the glass from his hand and set it on a table.
"What's the matter with you?" she hissed, shoving him backwards. "We were supposed to stay undercover, not beg for attention!"
JJ ignored Lee, simply whooping as he swallowed the drink. "It's okay, everybody!" he shouted, stepping away from Lee and the guard. "Do not panic. Leave it to the men and women in uniform, huh? Let's hear it for them."
Lee's mouth fell open in shock as JJ began loudly clapping, causing Kooks to turn to watch the scene unfold before them.
"Rose!" JJ called out to Sarah's step-mother, who was wearing a strange crown with points that jutted out in every direction. "You look like Lady Liberty. It's good to see you again!"
Lee swatted JJ's hand down as he tried to reach for an hors d'oeuvres. The security guard's hands locked tightly onto JJ, forcing him to keep walking.
"Let go of him!" Kiara suddenly called from the front porch. "You can't just boot him!"
"Excuse me, ma'am?" The first security guard called, pausing in his tracks as they all looked to Kiara.
Kiara nodded fiercely, crossing her arms. "I invited him here. I'm a member of this club."
The guard rolled his eyes but loosened his grip. "Another member of this goddamn club," he muttered.
In the moment of confusion, JJ turned sharply, pushing the security guard away from him.
"Hey, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Kie!" JJ called as Lee grabbed his arm, trying to lead him away from the crowd. "Pope, you as well, all right?" JJ said, pointing to their other friend, hidden between a few Kooks. "Rixon's Cove. Let's roll."
Lee looked to the ground, hiding her grin as JJ wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Look, Lee's in!" he called, tugging her into his chest as they walked backwards out of the celebrations. "Workers of the world unite! Throw off your chains!"
Sending a wave to her mother, who could only shake her head in reluctant acceptance, Lee reached down to grab JJ's hand. "Let's go," she insisted to JJ, spinning around to push on his chest.
They stumbled out of the crowd and Lee made eye contact with John B, who was smiling brilliantly.
"Mission status, sir?" Lee said, straightening her spine and saluting.
"Mission accomplished, ma'am," John B responded, saluting her in return.
Lee grinned, turning to see Kiara and Pope dashing towards her and John B. She shouted as JJ suddenly scooped her into his arms, whooping in elation.
"Damn, Carter," he exclaimed, spinning her around. "You were brilliant in there!"
Lee huffed, stumbling slightly as JJ set her feet back on the ground.
"Just like the old days, eh?" JJ continued, his blue eyes flashing brightly.
Lee hesitated at his statement, the smile leaving her face. "Just like the old days," she murmured in response.
She was silent the entire way to Rixon's Cove, ignoring the banter of her friends around her. She was lost in her thoughts, trying to sort through whether or not she could trust JJ as well as her excitement and fear about their second chance at finding the gold. Her mind was a whirlwind, pushing and pulling her emotions in ways that she had never experienced before. Her friends noticed that she was unusually quiet, but didn't want to push her to explain. They knew that she wasn't the type to open up about her feelings.
Cicadas chirped in the forest as they sat down around the fire that JJ and Pope had built. Lee listened for the tide in the distance, soft and steady, unchanged by the whims of boys and girls. It grounded her—reminded her that she could always return to the ocean in times of uncertainty.
"Hey, guys," Pope said, calling Lee's attention back to her friends. "So, like, my dad's already gonna kill me. What's this mandatory meeting about?"
John B glanced between Lee and JJ, shooting finger guns at the both of them. Lee shrugged, looking to JJ for an answer.
"Might as well tell him, man, before we're gaffed," JJ decided.
His blue eyes met Lee's from across the fire. She held his stare for a moment before looking at the ground. It hurt that he didn't seem to register how deeply betrayed she felt by his rejection. It hurt that he thought he could call her "just a friend" while treating her like so much more.
John B continued, not noticing Lee's turmoil. "You ready for this?" he asked Pope and Kiara, his eyebrow raised.
Kiara was staring at Lee curiously, trying to figure out why Lee was acting so differently, when she realized that John B had been addressing her. "Uh, yeah," she said, quickly looking up at John B. Lee would have to wait.
"So, the gold never went down with the Royal Merchant," John B explained.
Pope sighed, "Oh, my God. Here we go again with this."
Kiara looked at Lee incredulously and Lee shrugged. "I know he sounds crazy," she said quietly, biting her lip, "but hear him out."
"It's been here the whole time. It's on the island."
"Are you serious?" Kiara said, her eyes going wide with excitement. "Oh, my God."
Pope was not as easily convinced. "I'd like to voice my skepticism," he said, an eyebrow raised.
"I'm sure you would, Pope," John B said, slowly standing up, "but can I please present you with my evidence, sir?"
Waving a hand dismissively, Pope muttered, "Proceed."
John B grinned, bending down to grab something from his backpack. "All right. So, in my backpack, I have a letter from Denmark Tanny," he began, whipping a piece of paper from his bag.
"Who the hell's that?" Kiara said, frowning.
"Denmark Tanny was a slave that survived the Royal Merchant wreck," John B explained, waving the paper as he gestured wildly. "Check this out," he muttered, coming to Lee and Kiara as he unfolded the paper.
Kiara took the paper skeptically, and she and Lee both glanced over it. Lee wasn't sure exactly how John B had come to any conclusions based on the list of names she was reading, but she let him continue without questions.
"Okay, slaves weren't mentioned as crew members on the ship, but my dad, he found the complete manifest," John B said, his volume increasing with his enthusiasm. "That was his big discovery. So, Tanny used the gold from the Merchant to buy his freedom."
Whistling lowly, Lee passed the manifest to JJ, who took it gently. Their eyes met for a tense moment before Lee looked away, blinking quickly.
"After that," John B continued, "he bought his farm. Drumroll, please, because that farm is..." he trailed off, waiting as each of his friends began to stomp their feet on the ground. "Tannyhill Plantation," he finally announced.
Kiara's mouth fell open. "Tannyhill?"
John B nodded in confirmation before continuing, "Yeah. So, after that, he used his money to free even more slaves, and then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pisses off all the white planters, and then they decide to lynch him. So on the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of that letter, he leaves a coded message about where to find the gold."
Kiara and Lee smiled at each other, each of them wondering the same thing. "Where?" Kiara asked.
"Harvest the wheat in parcel nine, near the water," John B stated. Lee's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and, noticing this, John B continued, "Except... there's no wheat. Wheat is code for gold. Check this out," he said, growing excited as he walked to his backpack again and pulled out another paper. "The gold is in parcel nine, near the water."
Lee coughed out a small laugh as Kiara smiled brightly. Pope stared at the paper that John B handed him, analyzing it.
"All we need is an original survey map of the property, and we've found the gold," John B exclaimed, pacing around the fire.
Lee high-fived Kiara, both of them sporting wide grins.
Across the fire, Pope nodded slowly. "Okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true," he conceded.
JJ suddenly stood up, walking around to scoop John B into a tight hug.
John B hugged him back tightly until noticing the fire right beside them. "Hello! Fire! You're near the fire. You're gonna burn," he exclaimed.
Setting John B back down, JJ said, "I'm so proud of you right now."
"Thank you," John B replied, cupping JJ's face. "That's really sweet of you."
Lee smirked. "Kiss already," she called jokingly.
"You two first," JJ replied, glancing between Kiara and Lee with an eyebrow raised.
Lee shrugged as she made eye contact with Kiara. Just as she went for the kiss, however, Pope interrupted.
"Okay, so, guys," Pope said awkwardly. "What's the plan?"
Lee winked at Kiara, leaning away from her.
John B grinned, stepping forward. "Good question," he explained. "Sarah Cameron's coming tonight. She'll bring an original map—"
"Hold on," Kiara said dangerously.
Lee winced, knowing the shitstorm that they were about to suffer through. John B should have predicted that Kiara would react poorly to Sarah Cameron being involved, but here they were.
"Sarah?" Kiara asked incredulously. "Why Sarah?"
Looking at Lee for assistance, John B coughed innocently. He knew that Lee had never supported the grudge that Kiara harbored for Sarah Cameron, but that was one fight Lee rarely got herself involved in.
"This is gonna be good," JJ muttered, glancing between the two girls and John B.
Feeling bad for John B, Lee tried to help—despite the fact that Kiara was glaring at her. "Sarah, um, she..." trailing off helplessly, Lee looked to John B. "Sorry, I don't know. You're on your own."
"She got me into the archives in Chapel Hill yesterday," John B said, shrugging in an attempt to seem casual, "and that's where I got the letter."
This did not calm Kiara down. "You were in Chapel Hill with Sarah Cameron?" Kiara restated angrily.
Lee placed a hand on Kiara's shoulder only to have it shrugged off. She was reminded of why she would never tell Kiara that Sarah had gone with her to Virginia Beach to shop for a Midsummers dress.
"He was mackin' on her," JJ explained.
Lee shot him a warning look, not wanting to add fuel to Kiara's fire, but he didn't notice.
John B rolled his eyes. "I wasn't macking."
"You were totally macking Sarah Cameron," JJ insisted.
Frowning, John B tried to defend himself. "I wasn't macking on her, okay? I was... using her for access."
Lee scoffed slightly at his lame excuse.
Rolling his eyes, JJ said, "There was access, all right."
Kiara ignored JJ's joke, growling, "Did you tell her about the treasure?"
"I was trying to get into the archives!"
"Is that a yes?" Kiara asked, her eyebrows raised challengingly.
John B stuttered slightly, "I—I left out key details."
That seemed to cross the line for Kiara. "You let a Kook in on our secret?" she exclaimed. "What about Pogue Lyfe?" she continued, referencing a fashion lifestyle brand that John B had once joked about starting up. "What about the T-shirt company, bro?"
"I was just using her for information!" John B insisted.
Kiara shook her head patronizingly. "Why don't I believe you?"
"I'm trying to make us filthy rich here," John B argued, staring at Kiara incredulously. "Okay? So that we can pay off the boat or, uh, send you to autopsy school to study dead bodies," he said, gesturing to Pope, "Or pay for Lee's mom's treatment."
Frowning, Kiara glanced at Lee, who was beginning to grow annoyed at Kiara for letting a grudge come between them and $400 million in gold.
John B shook his head slowly. "Look, you guys know me. Do I look like the type of person to fall for Sarah Cameron?" he asked.
"Is that rhetorical?" Lee asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I don't think you want my answer."
Pope and JJ immediately chimed in, agreeing with Lee.
Sighing, John B said, "Just—just stop."
"Look, you don't know her yet," Kiara said, growing frustrated. "I do! You can't trust her."
Lee frowned, glancing at Kiara. "I know her, too," she argued. This time, she didn't crumble under Kiara's glare. "I knew her a long time before you ever did, Kie. Don't act like you're the only one here that's ever been friends with Sarah Cameron."
Kiara said nothing, turning to glare at the fire. Lee glanced around at her other friends, begging them to help her. None of them seemed willing to stand up to Kiara.
Pope grimaced. "Her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club."
"And he's attacked you several times, Lee," Kiara said venomously.
Lee snarled, standing up. "Rafe and Sarah are different human beings," she argued. "But holding a grudge, Kie? Acting like we owe you something? Now you're starting to sound a lot like Rafe."
Kiara stood up, her lip curled back over her teeth, but Lee stood her ground.
"You gonna hit me, Kie?" Lee growled. The boys watched with fear as Lee's blue eyes gleamed dangerously. "That's what Rafe would do if he got mad."
Exhaling shakily, Kiara sat back down. Lee's fists clenched and unclenched at her sides, begging to punch something. She settled for imagining punching Topper in the face.
JJ turned to Kiara, and, in a poor attempt at easing the tension, said, "What did she do to you, exactly?"
"She's like a—like a spitting cobra," Kiara said.
Lee scoffed.
"First, she—she blinds you, and then—"
"That's a bad analogy," Pope said, cutting Kiara off.
Lee rolled her eyes and turned away from the fire in frustration. They were so close to finding the gold and Kiara was going to let an old grudge ruin everything. It was no secret that after Lee left the Kook Academy, things had fallen apart between Kiara and Sarah and that Lee hadn't kept in touch with Sarah. After Rafe's betrayal, Lee had walked away from Sarah before she could feel the same hurt all over again.
"Listen to me!" Kiara exclaimed. "Whatever we get, she's gonna try to take."
Although she wanted to defend Sarah, Lee said nothing, instead walking away from the fire as Kiara crossed her arms stubbornly. None of the boys called after her as she went into the woods, knowing that bringing her back might mean a fight between the girls. Lee imagined that Kiara would continue being angry with her for a little while, but would agree to meet up with Sarah.
Once she was far enough away from her friends to not be heard, Lee kicked at a fallen log. All of her pent up emotions from the past few days poured out as she attacked the log mercilessly. Her frustration with Kiara for not being willing to work with Sarah, her hurt over JJ's rejection, her anger with herself for getting into so many messes that she couldn't get out of. The log suddenly broke as she jumped on it and Lee fell backwards to the ground, catching herself with her palms but unable to save her dress from the dirt.
A sob lodged itself in her throat as she inspected the scratches on her hands. She didn't know if she could trust JJ enough to be vulnerable with him anymore. She didn't know if she could trust Kiara enough to not let her grudge ruin their mission. She didn't know who she could trust at that point. Hell, she wasn't sure that she could even trust herself.
"Lee?" a soft voice called to her from a little ways away.
She glanced up to see Pope staring at her in concern. She furiously wiped away the tears on her cheeks, her fingers leaving behind trails of dirt. "What's up?" she asked, struggling to stand up without ripping her dress.
Pope walked to her side, reaching out towards Lee before hesitating and retracting his arm. "Uh, Kiara came around. We're about to leave. Are you okay?"
Lee nodded quickly, sending him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm okay," she muttered, stepping around the broken log. "Let's get this show on the road."
It was clear that Pope didn't believe Lee was telling the truth, but he said nothing as they walked back to their friends together. Once they were loaded in John B's van, a tense silence fell over them, nobody choosing to ask Lee why she had come back from the woods covered in dirt.
When they pulled up to the Kildare Island Hawk's Nest, where John B planned to meet Sarah, the van came to life.
"Hit it, boys!" JJ said enthusiastically, throwing open the back door. "We're goin'. Recon mission."
The excitement was short-lived, broken when John B turned around in the driver's seat and said, "Yo, uh... so, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself tonight."
His friends stared at him, slowly processing what John B had just said. Thunder rumbled overhead ominously as Kiara's eyes narrowed at John B. Lee raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Really?" JJ said dejectedly, leaning back against his seat.
John B shrugged. "What?"
"Nothin'," JJ claimed, pulling off his hat.
Lee could read the frustration on his face as clear as day. She quickly looked away when she realized she was staring at him, cursing herself inwardly.
"I don't want to spook Sarah with the peanut gallery," John B defended.
Lee frowned in mock offense. "Are you calling me nuts?"
Kiara ignored her poor attempt at a joke, stating angrily, "I just don't understand why we're involving her at all."
"Kie, we're not involving her, okay?" John B said. "It's just, uh, like a business meeting... thing."
An eyebrow raised skeptically, Lee said, "Wow, I've never macked one of my coworkers before during a meeting. I'll have to try it out!"
Pope fist-bumped Lee as JJ pretended to perform a blowjob on a lighter.
"Look, once we get what we need, we cut her loose, all right?" John B argued, throwing his hands in the air defensively. "Plus, we need the map."
Kiara wasn't convinced. "Promise me nothing's happening between you," she insisted, her tone vaguely threatening.
John B shook his head sarcastically. "Nothing is happening, Kie."
"I'm being serious," Kiara pressed, her eyebrow raised dangerously. "This isn't about you, and this isn't about us. This is about her."
Lee pursed her lips, tapping them thoughtfully. "No, I'm pretty sure it's about us," she decided.
JJ snorted softly at her comment.
"Dude, she's gonna get inside your head," Kiara continued, shaking her head in disappointment. "Just promise me nothing's happening between you guys."
John B raised his eyebrows. "I promise," he agreed lamely.
Thunder rolled overhead as Lee groaned at John B's completely unconvincing response.
"That was really believable," JJ said, nodding slowly at John B.
Pope shot him a thumbs up. "A hundred percent believable."
Lee rested her head in her hands. Kiara turned to her, silently begging for help to convince John B to let them come along. Lee didn't offer any.
"Anyways, um..." John B said, turning back to the driver's seat. "I'm gonna take care of business."
JJ grinned mischievously. "You're gonna take care of it."
"We'll just sit here in the hot-ass car," Pope agreed sarcastically. "While it's lightning."
Ignoring their comments, John B climbed out of the van and began to walk towards the Hawk's Nest as thunder crashed threateningly overhead. Lee watched John B as he left, staring after him until he disappeared around the trees.
"Kiara," Pope said hesitantly, "holding onto your grudge is like drinking poison and thinking Sarah will die."
JJ raised his hand to Pope for a high-five. "Now, that's a good analogy," he applauded.
Kiara ignored the boys, turning instead to face Lee. "Lee, walk with me?" she asked, gesturing towards the other girl.
Lee nodded reluctantly, climbing out of the van after Kiara. She followed her a little ways into the forest, sitting down on a fallen log from which they could still see John B's van. Both girls were stoic, awkwardly staring in different directions, unsure how to start a conversation. Lee wasn't particularly sure that she wanted to get into an argument with Kiara, but she didn't want to sit silently for any longer.
"What's up?" Lee said, turning to face Kiara.
Kiara pressed her lips together before sighing. "You've been different. I mean, not just today, but especially today. Did something happen?"
Lee certainly hadn't expected Kiara to be asking about her, so she decided to avoid the question. "What do you mean?" she asked innocently, running a hand through her tangled hair.
Rolling her eyes, Kiara murmured, "Turn around."
Lee didn't protest, turning on the log so that her back was facing Kiara as she swallowed thickly. She felt the other girl's hands begin to run through her hair, loosening the knots in it and deftly beginning to braid it.
"You know what I mean," Kiara said quietly as Lee relaxed into her touch. "I'm always touchy about Sarah, but you've never gotten upset about it before."
"I guess..." Lee began, trailing off as she thought about an answer. "I just don't know who I can trust anymore."
Kiara sat quietly for a moment "You don't trust me?"
"I don't know if I even trust my mom."
"What?" Kiara asked, her hands pausing in Lee's hair. "Why wouldn't you be able to trust your mom?"
Lee shrugged. "Nothing's been the same since my dad died. I just know that I can't rely on her to always be here. On anybody."
Kiara placed a hand on Lee's shoulder. "I'm not going to leave, Lee," she reassured. "None of us are."
"Yeah," Lee agreed, though her words felt hollow. "I know."
Truthfully, Lee wasn't sure that she could believe Kiara. After moving out of Figure Eight, Kiara had been all too happy to assume her former place of Sarah Cameron's best friend, and in the process of doing so she had abandoned Lee.
"You're my best friend, Lee. I don't want anything to change that."
Lee nodded blankly. "Me neither."
"Someone help!" a girl's scream echoed in the distance.
Lee and Kiara glanced at each other. Lee jumped into action first, running towards the van as she shouted, "JJ! Pope! Something's wrong!"
Both of the boys stared at Lee in confusion as she ran up to the side of the van, understanding illuminating their faces as another scream echoed through the woods.
"Please, somebody help!"
JJ and Pope quickly leapt out of the van, following the girls as they ran towards the sound. It was the fastest that Lee had ever run before—no small feat considering she was wearing a gown. She hiked up her skirt as she sprinted through the trees, praying that nothing had happened to John B. She could hear her friends running behind her, each footstep faster and more desperate than the last.
Running into the clearing near the Hawk's Nest, Lee could see Sarah crouched over someone on the ground—John B. She darted to Sarah's side and fell to her knees, inspecting John B's face.
"What happened?" Pope asked, panting as he came up to them.
JJ and Kiara arrived just behind him, each with wide eyes.
Sarah sobbed slightly. "I don't know what to do. He needs help. Topper shoved him," she explained quickly.
"Where the hell is he?" JJ asked angrily, his eyes scanning the woods for Topper.
Lee placed her hand on John B's throat, checking for a pulse. Although she expected it to be fine, her lifeguard training had firmly ingrained in her the need to check for a heartbeat. "Okay, Sarah, he's okay," she murmured, feeling a steady pulse.
"Just please, please get help," Sarah pleaded desperately. "I don't care who, just call someone."
Lee glanced up at Pope and they nodded to one another. Standing quickly, she ran after Pope back towards the van. They sprinted through the trees, Lee ignoring the way that branches cut at her face and arms as she barreled through everything in her path. She arrived at the van first and Pope shouted at her to get the engine going.
"Go, Lee!" he shouted, flinging himself into the passenger side.
She climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition, but she froze as she felt the hum of the engine in the steering wheel. Lee stared through the windshield, her expression blank for a moment. In her head, the sounds of a scream, of crunching metal, of tires screeching echoed. She saw headlights cutting through fog, broken glass on pavement, blood slowly dripping down down down—
"Lee," Pope said insistently. "Lee, we need to go!"
She shook her head frantically. "I can't do this," she murmured, throwing herself into the backseat. "I'm sorry. You have to drive."
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Updated 8/17/22. If you see this note and realize this book has been updating as you have been reading, I recommend going back to the beginning to reread the changes. Otherwise, please look at the pinned message on my profile for more information on updates to "The Deep End."