The cops drove Topper and I to the tents and i saw they were full of officers, even the SBI was there.
Was this really all for John B? The cops let us out of the car and took us to a tent
"Sit down" one cop told us, we did as we were told and sat down, a few hours later Shoupe came over to me
"Tell me where your brother is, right now" ordered me Shoupe and i smiled at him
"Look deputy, I dont know where he is, and if I did I wouldnt tell you anyways. But i can tell you something, even though you probably wont believe me" i said and Shoupe sighed
"And whats that?" he asked me annoyed as Topper just watched sitting next to me
"My brother didnt kill the Sheriff. He would never do that, we actually liked her. But Rafe Cameron didnt. He did it. He killed her" i told him "But obviously you'd never believe me. Im just a poor teenage girl from the cut who's running from foster care"
Shoupe looked at me annoyed and left without saying anything. As soon as he dissappeared from sight i felt Topper staring at me in disbelief
"What?" i asked him
"You've got some balls. You just disrespected Shoupe and it was amazing. Good Job" said Topper and chuckled
I laughed at his reaction and thanked him, we sat there in silence when I saw Sarah, she looked like a mess
I saw her walk up to the cops and started talking to them, out of nowhere Ward appeared, it looked like Sarah was telling the truth but Ward was trying to stop her
Soon a cop took her away and the other one went to talk to Ward so i couldnt see her anymore. At least i knew they had gotten away succesfully without getting caught and were still meeting with the guys later
"Do you believe me?" i asked Topper
"What?" he asked me
"Do you believe me when I tell you it was Rafe who did it?" i asked him
"Yes" said Topper "I know how he has been acting lately" I looked at him and smiled, he returned the gesture
"Topper!" we heard someone yell, I saw the color drain from his face so i assumed it was his mother
"Oh no" he said and the woman came up to us
"How dare you get caught up in all this mess! And your talking to her! She was there when my boat sinked! She is a dirty girl from the cut, you dont hang out-" yelled her mom at him but he cut her off
"Stop, Mom" he said, she gave me a glare and i smiled at her
"The police said you can go" said his mother as a cop came over and unlocked his handcuffs. His mom pulled him up so he could stand up
"Are you gonna be okay?" asked me Topper
"Yep, definitely" i said and smiled at him. He nodded and walked away with his mom
I sat there alone and watched everything that was happening around me. I was covered in dirt, sweat, and i was hungry
A few hours passed and i was bored out of my mind, the handcuffs were starting to bother me a lot, and i was worried about John B
I saw Shoupe walk into the tent with an angry look on his face
"Hey Shoupe!" i called out for him "Can you take these off? I promise i wont go anywhere, theyre annoying the hell out of me" i told him
He looked at me unsure if he should believe "Please" i told him, he sighed and unlocked them
I rubbed my wrists and said "Thank you" with an annoyed tone
"Your brother just stole my car" said Shoupe making me smile proudly "You know where he's going?" he asked me
"No" i lied "But good for him"
____________________________________
(this next part is going to be on a 3rd person pov :))
John B and Sarah pulled up at the boat dock to meet up with the other three pogues in Shoupe's car. They got out of the car as the pogues looked at them in disbelief
"No way" said JJ
"No f'ing way" said Pope
"Im sorry" said Kie in shock
"Youve gotta be kidding me" said JJ in an amused tone and chuckled
"Shoupe let me take it for a spin" said John B casually
"Okay. Thats believable. I'll but that for now" said Kie and hugged Sarah, then she hugged John B
"It wasnt easy, bro, but I got the phantom for you. And she runs like she was made yesterday" said JJ throwing John B the keys "Ready to go?"
"Where's Ava?" said John B noticing that she wasnt there
"The last time we saw Ava she was with you" said Kie
"Yeah, but she promised she'd be here to leave" said JB
"No, we havent seen her, man" said Pope
They all looked at him and shook their heads indicating him they hadnt seen her
"Okay, well, im not leaving without her. Ava is my sister. My twin sister. I cant live without her! I cant leave without her!" said John B
"John B, look at me" said JJ "I'll take care of Ava, she'll be okay, i promise" John B was trying not to cry
"Youve got plenty of gas, plenty of food. Once you get around that point, its a straight shot across the sound to the Dismal swamp. Okay? Once you get there, lay low, all right?" said JJ
"Hang out for a couple of weeks and then go overland, cross the border at Brownsville, you got that? Brownsville" said JJ
John B was looking everywhere waiting for his sister to appear
"You-- Hey! You got that?" asked JJ to John B as he noticed he was looking for Ava
"Yeah, yeah. Brownsville" said JB "But i cant leave Ava. I need her! She needs me!" he said with his voice shaking
"John B" said Sarah trying not to cry "She knew she wouldnt make it on time. She wants us to leave without her"
A few tears slipped John B's eyes and he wiped them away quickly "Okay" he said quietly
"All right. Saddle her up, saltwater cowboy. Lets do this. Yeah" said JJ
John B hopped into the boat and then helped Sarah, he looked back at friends with teary eyes
"Hey. Hey" said John B "Im sorry for basically... throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing" by know he was crying
"Hey, John B, yo... we were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right?" said JJ trying not to cry and they all laughed
"Yeah" whispered John B
"At least we did it together, though" said JJ grabbing Pope and Kie "Pogue Style"
"Pogue Style" said John B
"Get out of here! Please" said Kie
"Now" said Pope with a smile "We'll see you in two months, down in Mexico"
"Love you" said JJ
"Hey, wait-- wait a second" said John B and turned to look at this friends and letting out a sob "Tell Ava i said goodbye, okay? And that I love her"
The pogues nodded and they all had tears in their eyes
"Dont forget. Cross the border at brownsville, okay?" said JJ
"Got it" said Sarah and John B
Sarah and John B started the boat and the other three helped to push it away
____________________________________
(okay, back to Ava's Pov)
I was sitting in my chair hoping that John B did it and managed to get away, by now it was already getting dark
All of a sudden i heard a lot of noise and everyone's voice got louder. I looked up and saw JJ, Kie, and Pope coming in with Shoupe behind them
I looked at JJ with hope that my brother had gotten away, he looked at me and smiled then nodded
I looked at Kie and Pope and they also nodded, I felt tears starting to run down my face. Happy tears. He made it!
Shoupe sat the guys down a couple of chairs away from me, the wind picked up its speed and the rain got heavier
I started getting worried about the storm as I heard the officers talking about it. I looked at JJ and he gave me a reassuring look
I heard all the cops talking about how they had spotted John B and were going after them, shit
My concern started growing every second, I felt JJ's eyes on me so i looked at me and he mouthed 'its okay', but that didnt relax me, I was still nervous
After a while Shoupe walked in making us all stand up
"Did you find them?" asked Pope
"No" said Shoupe
"So they got away?" i said with a little hope in me. We all looked at Shoupe waiting for an answer
He looked down"We, uh.. we lost them" he said making my heart drop "Im sorry"
"You lost them?" said Pope and i felt JJ grab my hand "What do you mean you lost them? Like, theyre gone? What are you talking about?"
"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope" said Shoupe
"So theyre dead?" asked Kie making my heart clench
"We dont know" said Shoupe
I tried to breathe normally but i couldnt, I felt like I couldnt breathe
No. No he cant be dead. He cant be dead.
I crashed into JJs body and sobbed. I cried out loud and uncontrollable sobs left my body. I didnt care who was watching. I just lost my twin brother
I felt empty. I lost half of me. My twin. My brother. My only family. I have no one left. He's gone.
Big tears left my eyes and JJ's grip around me tightened as I let all my weight fall on him. I felt him crying too. Of course, John B was his best friend, brother almost
Soon Kie and Pope left their parents and joined our hug, we were all crying, not being able to imagine our lives without our best friend
Our group that once was of five, was now of four.
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And its done! I cried writing this chapter :( let me know your thoughts on the book!
Thank you so much for reading, it means the absolute world to me
Writing this book was an amazing experience! I hope you loved the book and the ending ❤️
-Author