★★★
★★★
Ward had stolen the gold. Swiped it right from under our noses with his construction crew. It was infuriating. Truly infuriating.
I felt as if I could've figured out that was Ward's plan if I spoke to Rose last night, but I couldn't hold myself accountable. I was physically dragged away from the situation, so it's not like I could've gone through with it anyway.
I found it incredibly difficult to bear watching John B.'s life fall apart at the seams. Everything he had worked for went to shit after Ward went out of his way to ruin our plan. It was lost on me how he found out, but my suspicions pointed to little miss perfect from Ward's side of the island.
"It had to be Sarah. Who the hell else could it possibly be?" I asked JJ, and he shrugged as he continued making himself a sandwich. I hoisted myself onto the counter, sitting there while I waited for him to finish up.
"I don't know, but I thought Sarah was okay. I guess John B. trusted her a little too much," JJ reasoned and I nodded. "I hope it's not true, I hope she didn't grass us up," I said honestly. John B. had too much going on in his life, I hoped she didn't betray him.
When he was done and I took a bite of whatever he made and we headed outside. Pope had his big scholarship interview today and had gone back home last night. I knew Heyward wouldn't be happy about the fact that he had been gone for days.
There was nothing to do anymore. There was no more grand treasure hunt for us to embark on, the treasure had already been hunted. There was nothing left to do but go back to exactly what we had been doing before all of this Royal Merchant stuff.
It made me sad, honestly, because almost the entirety of the summer was wasted. I wanted to help John B., but this was all a waste of our time. I knew what I had to do, but I knew JJ would be against it.
I had a bad idea. One person would know exactly where to find her and how to get into the house.
Rafe.
I know, I KNOW, it was a terrible idea.
But it was all I could do.
"Hey, I'm gonna go surfing," I said, and JJ nodded. I knew he was tired this morning, it was obvious, so I knew he wouldn't want to come. "I can come..." He started slowly, and I shook my head.
"It's okay, you can chill here. I don't mind, I like 'me time'," I said with as convincing of a smile as I could muster. He smiled back and I leaned down to kiss him quickly, but when I pulled away fast, he looked at me with a confused face.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and I nodded again, not wanting to falter. "Me? Pssh, I'm great. Can't wait to get on the water," I said, smiling widely as I left the house so he couldn't ask me any more questions.
I walked directly to the van and got in, planning to borrow it for my little trip. I thought about where he might be and realized that Sarah had told me he was kicked out of the house recently. I drove around Figure 8 for a bit, realizing this whole thing might've been hopeless.
I would never be able to find him, there was no chance I could just coincidentally...
Oh, was the Wheezie?
Wheezie Cameron came walking out of some Kook house to my left, and I slowed down as she made her way onto the road with a tan backpack on. She walked away pretty fast, luckily not seeing me as I parked nearby, and I figured there was only one person who could be there.
I walked around the deck with only my hunch guiding me, and when I arrived at the back porch, I saw who I had hoped to see, weirdly enough. I never thought I would want to find Rafe Cameron, but the world was full of surprises.
He stood up quickly, not sure what to do with himself. He looked worse for wear, and by that, I meant he looked awful. "Jesus, what's wrong with you?" I asked a little more bluntly than I wanted to.
He shrugged, awkwardly standing there while I debated on what to say first. "I'm not here to get angry. I'm not over it, but i'm past it," I said and he seemed relieved.
"I wanted to say I was sorry, there was just never a good time," He admitted.
"I don't care, I-"
"No, I just want to say one thing," He said. I nodded, letting him speak before I asked him to help me with my thing.
"I wanted to say sorry. I was... just, such a douche to you. I would say I never wanted that to happen but I was drunk, I probably did want it. I can't say you're not beautiful, that would be a lie, but that's no excuse for me to be an asshole and not listen to you when you rejected me. I'm really fucking sorry, honestly, and this whole summer has been kind of a blur to me," He said.
"You look terrible, Rafe," I said as he scratched the back of his neck after his big apology. I felt bad saying nothing about it, but I didn't know if I was ready to forgive him yet.
"I've been in some deep shit lately," He said shakily, and I looked at the glass table next to us. It had white powder scattered across it and I put two and two together at that point.
"Is it bad?" I asked, and he nodded.
"I don't know what to do anymore," He said, his voice cracking, and I found myself surprisingly feeling bad for him.
"Rafe, I don't know if I can say you're forgiven for what you did, but I can say I appreciate the apology. It takes a lot for you to say that to me, and I'm glad you did. You don't know what I've been through, and what you did to me was traumatizing. I hope you get that," I said, and he nodded.
"I get it. I'm sorry. I wouldn't want anyone doing that to my sisters, and it's no different when it's any other girl," He said.
I smiled to myself at his words. He wasn't redeemed, but it was progress in this obviously fucked up guy.
"I need your help," I said simply, not sure how to segue back to my point. When he nodded to let me know I could continue, I started off.
I explained everything to him about my parents and how I thought they were dead. I told him Rose was my mother, but I didn't know where my father was. I told him everything. And then I told him I needed his help to speak to her.
I couldn't just waltz into Tannyhill after John B.'s crazed scare with them, and I didn't fully understand the issue, but I knew they didn't trust the Pogues one bit.
"Wow... that's... a lot to take in," He said, and I nodded. I wasn't sure what else to say, so I instinctively took the locket off my neck and popped it open. "Here, look," I said, showing the picture inside.
I pointed, "Yeah, that... that's me. The baby, yannow? And that's Rose. That's my dad behind us, I don't know him. I don't know if he's dead or-or gone, but he's not here. At least... I haven't seen him," I said.
"I'm sorry. That must be super awkward, have you talked to Rose, does she know?"
"Hardly. I only saw her that one time at Midsommers when I went with Kie," I answered and he ran a hand through his hair.
"You were at Midsummers?" He asked and I shot him a look. "Okay, I get it. Not the point."
"Anyway, I was kind of hoping you could help me get into Tannyhill and get her alone. I think it's time she knew," I fibbed. I couldn't tell him about the gold, but it's not even like he deserved a full explanation.
"I can't go on my own because they have some vendetta against John B. all of a sudden, not sure what that's all about," I said.
"You don't know? Wheezie told me earlier, John B. flipped his shit and shot my dad with a speargun on their fishing thing," He told me.
I went pale at that information. "No way," I stammered.
"Yeah, apparently he was ranting about his dad and got super pissed off and impaled my dad. He's fine, but that's why he's on high alert. Your friend's a headcase," He said.
"Careful," I hissed, and he nodded.
"Can you help me?" I asked, and he nodded. "I owe you that much," He nodded. Before I could think of something better, I hugged him. I don't even think I internally wanted to hug him, but I did. It was something instinctual, but I caught myself and pulled away quickly.
"I can help you," He said when we were finally standing apart again, and I nodded. "Thank you," I said.
"I brought the van, so wanna just come with me now?" I asked, and he shook his head. "They know John B.'s van. I have my dirtbike, let's just go on that," He suggested, and I debated it in my head. "I don't know," I said warily, and he guided me to the bike as we both walked down the house's stairs.
"I have an extra helmet," He said, and I caved. "Hey, who's house is this anyway?" I asked, and he scratched the back of his neck, exhibiting a nervous tick I recognized he did a lot.
"It's a family friend's place. They let me crash here sometimes," He said, and I chuckled. "I know a lie when I see one. It's okay, I know this life all too well," I said, and he almost chuckled too.
We arrived at Tannyhill ten minutes after we left the other house, and as I walked up with Rafe to the door, I grew nervous. On the ride over, he became a little more crazed seeming and I got worried. What was so bad about going back to Tannyhill, and why did he want to go so bad?
Was there an issue he wasn't telling me about? I could only speculate briefly as we arrived and began to get closer to the daunting truth hiding inside the historic walls. I knew he was on his own mission, and I was on mine, but when he pointed to where Rose would most likely be, it became all too real for me.
"Rafe? What are you doing back here?" A snippy voice asked, and my face paled. The blood had drained from it, and I hid behind the wall, not wanting to yet make my appearance. "I have someone that wanted to meet you," He said, turning around to look for me.
When he realized I wasn't there, he looked around the wall I was hugging, and he furrowed his brow. "Come on," He encouraged, and I took a breath, not wanting the suspense hanging over me any longer.
I turned around and walked out with him, my flip-flops pitter-pattering on the kitchen floor.
"Who's this?" Rose asked, clearly confused, and I cleared my throat.
"Hi, mom," I said simply, and she shook her head in dubiety. "What did you call me?" She asked, and I took a deep breath.
Get it over with.
Get it over with.
Come on, just do it.
Get it over with.
"Mom, it's me. Stevie," I said, holding my head up high.
All was going well until a pale Rose dropped to the floor.
★★★
Okay, listen up y'all. I need help. Can someone, anyone, design a new book cover for me? I would like to spice mine up for this book, and it would really be amazing if I could showcase (and credit) any one of your talents! I'd love to see them! I'll def use it if I like the vibe, so pleaseeeeee please give it your best shot. <3