Chapter Twenty-Three
Pogues For Life.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。
Fallon hummed as she tossed Kie another rag, helping her wipe down the empty tables, Kie had to finish before they could go out on the boat, and Fallon thought it would go faster if she helped. JJ watched Fallon, trying his best to be respectful of where his eyes fell to, as John B explained his new living situation.
"Sorry, you're staying where?" Kie asked, a hint of annoyance and anger dripping from her tone. Understandably, of course. John B had promised her, just last night, that nothing was happening between him and Sarah. Now, not only had she seen her kiss him, she finds out that he's now living under the same roof as her. All while knowing what Sarah had done to her Freshman year. If she were Kie, she would be pretty pissed herself.
"Tannyhill." John B answered, fidgeting with his hands as he looked up at her.
"So, you're living with Sarah Cameron?" Kie repeated, pursing her lips and humming to herself. "Interesting."
"Is nothing still happening or is something happening?" Fallon asked, tossing the rag onto her shoulder and walking over to JJ. The blond boy glanced at her, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders.
"Okay, look," John B sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right? It's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't-"
"Still fuckboy-ish." Fallon hummed, grabbing JJ's wrist and pulling the cup he held to her lips. John B rolled his eyes as JJ pulled his hand back, faking an angry look at her.
"Hey, so, does this mean you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope interrupted as Fallon reached up and swiped the hat from JJ's head. She gave him a teasing look as she rested it on her head. JJ rolled his eyes teasingly, biting back his grin as his eyes danced over her joyful expression. He didn't care that she often stole his things, especially his grey sweatshirt. He thought it looked better on her, anyway. Not only that, but it drove him absolutely crazy to see her wearing his clothes.
"I don't know, Pope." John B groaned.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Fallon suddenly exclaimed, turning towards him. "Do you get those, uh.."
"Golf carts." JJ spoke for her. "What about those golf carts they get to drive around? You get one of them?"
"Does it come with a sweater-vest or do you have to go buy one of those on your own?" Pope continued, resting his hands on the back of his head.
"What about the entitlement?" Fallon raised her eyebrows, yawning as she leaned on the table. "You gonna get any more of that?"
"Wait, did you say-" John B started, turning to his attention on her, his eyebrows knitted together.
"Look, you promised." Kie said, her voice wavering as she leaned on the table and looked down at him. "You said you weren't with her."
John B shrugged, avoiding making eye contact with her as he looked towards JJ for help. "Bro, just own it. She got you."
"You wanna talk about that?" John B raised his eyebrows, "What about y-"
"Look, if you wanna hang out with her, that's fine." Kie waved him off, seeming nonchalant, even if Fallon knew that Kie wasn't actually okay with the situation. "But I'm letting you know now, that I'm not doing anything with Sarah."
"Do you guys see her here?" John B countered, looking around the relatively empty restaurant for the blonde princess. "No? Right. Okay, a little focus would be fantastic. We've got the map, right?"
"Well, it's a little out of wack, 'cause the guy was ganja'd when he drew it." JJ waved his hands around as he spoke.
"It's 'cause the coast has changed." Kie pointed out.
"So, we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed." Pope hummed as JJ nodded in realization, taking a sip of his drink.
"What about the old forts?" John B suggested, looking around at the Pogues for any other options.
"Battery Jasper." Kie pointed to a location on the map.
With a sigh, Fallon stole the keys from John B's hands. "I'll start the van."
~~
"Wow," Fallon breathed out, her eyes trailing over the horizon. "I haven't been up here in.."
"Years." JJ finished for her, a look of nostalgia washing over his face as he pulled his attention away from her. Fallon nodded, a sad smile plastered on her face. It felt like just yesterday she was here, laughing and eating s'mores with her friends under the twinkling stars while Big John told them stories from when he was their age. But in reality, years had passed by in a flash. She had grown up.
Fallon never much liked the idea of passing time. Especially when she looked back and realized just how much time had passed. Seemingly in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it felt like life was passing by her before she could even understand what was happening in life. She worried that life would be over before she could truly experience it.
It kept her up at night, more times than she cared to admit. She'd lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her LED lights engulfed her in purple while her playlist filled with songs, each holding a different memory to them, played from her TV.
Being up here really put things in perspective for Fallon. It showed her just how little she truly was in the ever-expanding universe she was born into. Battery Jasper was here ages before she was, and it will be here ages after her. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people had stood here. People who each led their own lives with their own complex thoughts, thoughts Fallon would never even know about. People with ideas, opinions, dreams, and wishes unique to them. And Fallon would never know about any of them. And they would never know about hers. It was grounding to think about, really. That people who won't ever know of her existence will stand where she's standing in this exact moment. Possibly even thinking the exact same things she is right now.
Yet, at the same time, an overwhelming feeling of calm had grasped her as she overlooked the horizon. A dreamy, yet sad, sigh escaped her lips as she hugged herself. JJ noticed her change in mood almost immediately.
"You okay?" JJ whispered to her, breaking her out of her own thoughts. Fallon looked over at him, her heart stopping as she locked eyes with him.
She sent him a strained smile, nodding. "Yeah, thanks."
JJ's eyes scanned her face, and it was clear he didn't believe her by the look he held. But he didn't push it as Pope laid the map flat on a rock. "We're in Battery. Right here. So, if this is Parcel Nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here."
Kie looked over the horizon, following where Fallon watched. She hummed to herself, gesturing northeast of where she and her friends stood, "Somewhere over there."
"Right." Pope nodded, looking back down to the map to confirm. "Yup."
"Over there?" JJ asked, raising his eyebrows and pointing where Kie had been. "Guys, that's not Tannyhill. That's a subdivision."
"Tannyhill Plantation was the entire island."
"Fuck. You're serious?" Fallon scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I hate it here."
"Yeah, anyway, it got sold into smaller pieces over time." John B continued to explain.
"Alright, so we're just looking for an old stone wall." Pope pointed to a wall illustration on the map.
"Cool. Shouldn't be hard, let's go."
~~
"That looks like a stone wall to me." JJ hummed, raising his hand to block out the light so that he could get a better view of the building.
"It is a stone wall." Fallon pointed out. JJ rolled his eyes, nudging her as she teasingly stuck her tongue out at him.
Pope sighed nervously as John B slowed to a stop, shutting the engine off and pulling the Kie from the ignition. "This is it."
"Wait a minute." Fallon said, a sudden realization washing over her as her feet hit the ground. "This is... Oh, shit."
"Not the Crain house." John B groaned uneasily as he walked around the van to stand beside her.
"The Crain house." Fallon repeated, shuddering as she looked up at it. "Haunted house vibes"
"Are you kidding me?" Kie spoke up, looking up at the house as she slowed her movements to stand beside Pope.
"Could be worse." Fallon said, trying to be optimistic, but her tone said differently. The statement came out as more of a question than an actual statement, and she was clearly trying to reassure herself more than anyone else.
"Nope." JJ shook his head, pursing his lips as he pulled his eyes away from the house and looked over to her. "Worst-case scenario."
"Why'd it have to be here of all places?" Pope sighed, shaking his head.
"I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head somewhere on this property." JJ said, looking around at the trees suspiciously.
"Nah, can't be true." Fallon crossed her arms after tying her hair into a low pony-tail. "Wait, can it?"
JJ shrugged, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. "Totally true."
"No, Fallon." Pope disagreed, shaking his head in annoyance at JJ. "Don't worry, it isn't true."
"How would you know?" JJ argued, shooting Pope a look. "You aren't Mrs. Crain... or her dead husband."
"Jesus, JJ." Pope squinted at him, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why would she even do that?"
"The real question is, why wouldn't she?"
"JJ, stop it." Kie scolded, rolling her eyes. "You're freaking Fallon out."
"Nah, she knows I'll protect her from the husband burier. Right, Fal?" JJ looked down at her, a small smile plastering itself on her face as their eyes locked.
"Ha! Duh.." Fallon giggled, clearing her throat as she looked away and shifted awkwardly. "Speaking of dead husband bodies, did, uh, did you guys know that way, way, way back, in the Middle Ages, people would dig up dead bodies, specifically ones that had died from the Plague, and hurl them using a catapult into enemy territory during wore times. Talk about a biological warfare power move, right?"
JJ laughed, squeezing her shoulder before pulling away. "Wo-"
"That's really interesting, actually." Pope interrupted JJ's sentence. "Do you think coroners and morticians existed back then? They were probably-"
JJ huffed, crossing his arms as Pope began to ramble. A feeling of jealousy swarmed Pope as Fallon's lips curved into a smile as she nodded along to what Pope was saying to show him she was not only listening to what he was saying, but interested in it.
"Can we just move already?" John B cut Pope off, "I don't wanna wait around anymore."
"Yeah," Kie hummed in agreement, rolling her eyes sarcastically. "As fascinating as this all is, of course."
"Fine, fine." Fallon relented, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. "Let's go."
A brief uneasy silence fell over the group as they carefully moved through the weeds, attempting to not be spotted by Mrs. Crain.
"I mean, look, you guys know whose house this is, right?" Kie asked, breaking the silence as she glanced up at the stone statue. The statue's eyes seemed to be following Fallon's movements, which left her with an eery feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Oh, yeah. No, I do." JJ answered, an edge to his voice from earlier.
"Look, honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." John B shrugged, raising his hands in surrender when Pope turned around and shushed him.
"Which stories did you hear?" JJ asked. His question directed to Kie rather than to Fallon, who he would usually ask. Fallon wouldn't lie, a twang of jealousy hit her heart as he did this.
"The one where she killed her husband with an axe." Kie answered, "And that she's been holed up ever since."
"Fun." Fallon whispered, pursing her lips. "I love a good old fashioned axe murder."
"On certain nights, when the moon is full, you can see her in the window." Kie continued, waving her fingers in JJ's face as she walked backwards. Fallon laughed under her breath, shaking her head.
"No, Kie, it's not funny." JJ scolded, "'Cause it's all true! I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis, jeez!"
"Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" John B asked, stopping JJ from walking forward.
"Yeah," JJ replied nonchalantly.
"Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?"
"She was my babysitter, man. She told me all about it. Told me the truth about her mother, and what happened in this house." Fallon shifted uncomfortably, glancing up at the house and shuddering as the curtains moved. It reminded her of the Amityville house. She never cared for that movie, it had always given her nightmares. "So as a kid, she heard all these stories that her mother killed her father, and she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it. Until that night."
"What night?" John B pressed.
"It all came back to her." JJ answered mysteriously. Fallon shared a look with Pope, waiting for the blond to continue. "When she was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mother washing her hands in the sink full of blood."
John B rolled his eyes, shaking his head. He clearly didn't believe JJ, assuming that the entire story was bullshit. He glanced at Fallon to see that she had a look of wonder shining in her eyes as she listened to JJ speak. "Her mother says that she just cut her finger, and the next morning she says that she and her father split up. But then Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor constantly, in and out, in and out, with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis decides to use the outhouse, and as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head looking back at her."
John B rolled his eyes again, clearly unamused as he rolled his head back. "God, you are so full of shit!"
Fallon snapped herself out of her daze, furrowing her brows as she watched John B's expression fill with annoyance. JJ raised his hands in surrender, not backing down from where he stood. "Dude, I swear to God, man."
"Did she call the police?" Pope asked.
"Or, like, tell anyone else?" Fallon shifted her weight, "Besides a kid."
"She didn't have time." JJ answered as John B pushed past him. "Wait, hold on-"
"We can't do this!" Pope protested.
"What?" John B asked, exasperated as JJ turned him to look at him.
"You sure you wanna do this?" JJ raised his eyebrows, "She's an axe murderer and you've got a cast on. Come on, man-"
"Look, I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer! Okay?" John B exclaimed. The Pogues fell silent, Fallon and Pope sharing a look as JJ searched John B's face for any signs of humor. "I've got nothin' to lose. So, are you comin' or what?"
"Pogues for life." Fallon answered, sticking her hand out. "Right?"
"Pogues for life." John B sent her a smile, resting his hand on hers.
"Pogues for life." Kie said, nodding to reassure herself.
"Pogues for life." Pope said, glancing at JJ who remained still. Fallon's eyes fell onto him, and she subtly directed him to join them.
"Pogues for life." JJ relented, pulling his attention away from Fallon and down to the hands. Fallon sent him a smile, directing her attention onto John B seconds later.
"You ready?" She asked with raised brows, "'Cause I'm not. I might die, guys, but... That's fine."
"Let's go."
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。
{ A/n: I'm so tired }
{ Edited: No }