CHAPTER NINE
( independent and dependent variables )
"IS EVERYONE OKAY?" Aurora eventually piped up, voice hoarse and back aching from being crammed uncomfortably into the little corner of the hen house. No one had said anything in the wake of their horror. "Kie, you okay?"
The girl only nodded, unable to speak without crying as she placed her chin in her hand and looked away; on the brink of losing it. John B was the first to move, jetting angrily out of the chicken coop with an infuriated grunt and storming back into his house; checking to see if they had spared any of his dad's things at all.
"I-I don't know what to do with the uh... w-with the rooster." JJ voiced quietly, his eyes still glued to it.
Aurora swallowed hard and bit her tongue, taking a deep breath as she forced herself onto all fours again and shuffled over to him; gingerly taking the little animal from his shaking hands. "I got it."
She crawled out of the small enclosure, her knees popping as she rose weakly to her feet, glancing around before deciding to head to the back shed and retrieve a shovel. She held the carcass out and away from her, disgust and discomfort washing over her features. Laying the rooster on its side, she plunged the shovel into the earth in the outskirts of the woods; hitting it hard with her foot a few times before scooping out some of the dirt. The bird was teensy and didn't need a big spot, so it didn't take her long to finish burying it and trudge back over to her friends, who were now all standing in the yard.
"Hey, you good?" she windedly quizzed John B, who nodded with a clenched jaw; rubbing her dirt-stained palms together. It was almost pathetically easy to see through the boy; he was devastated about all of his father's things being stolen. "Everyone is sure they're okay?" she double checked, a bit tired of being the only one to have spoken in a good while now as everyone answered her with weary nods.
She silently advanced to the puffy-eyed, sniffling Kiara; wrapping her arms around the girl and leaning her head against her shoulder. Kiara hugged loosely onto her in return, still staring blankly ahead.
"Redfield." John B abruptly declared, his mien no longer matching the somber mood; a spark rekindling in his hazel irises. "It was on my dad's compass." he explained speedily, beginning to stride towards the van; his change in demeanor letting them know they would not be discussing what had just happened.
"Where are you going?" Kiara groaned in exasperation, her whole body still trembling.
"Come on, guys." he simply called, not answering the girl's valid question. They sighed, exchanging fatigued glances as they continued to play along with his wild goose chase; heading for the Twinkie.
"Rory?"
"Yeah?" Aurora turned to Pope just outside the van, everyone else climbing inside.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." she flickered a halfhearted smile to him, nodding. "Yeah I'm good, thanks Po."
༻✧༺
AURORA SAT SILENTLY IN THE BACK OF THE TWINKIE, MILES AND MILES OF WOODS PASSING BY HER as a blur of rich browns and greens through the grimy windows; still trying to process what they had experienced less than thirty minutes ago. Their lives had literally hung in the balance, and here they were going about their day as normal and pretending everything was fine; playing along with the pointless expedition John B was conducting.
"I mean it's obvious, right?" the Routledge boy prated on, Aurora lifting her tired head from resting against the window's cool glass as she listened. "A family heirloom? I mean what better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?"
Pope held the bronzed compass in the air by its chain, the little gamut dangling infront of his face as he surveyed it with furrowed brows; all of their bodies bouncing ever so slightly as the wheels glided along the bumpy, uneven back roads.
Kiara's subtly glanced back to the trio behind her as she rode shot gun, a look of deep sympathy and a growing concern on her face. Her eyes told Aurora she thought differently than how she chose to answer the boy behind the wheel, who to all of his friend's dismay, was beginning to act like as much of a madman as his father always had been. "Yeah. It's possible."
"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know..." Pope looked up, Aurora quirking an brow at him from across JJ.
"Pope?" John B sighed in frustration from the front, his salmon colored cap backwards on his head.
"... deal with your sad feels." he finished, Kiara shooting him an aggravated look from over her shoulder as she shook her head at him.
JJ butted into the conversation. "Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it."
"I'm not concocting, okay?" John B defended himself, his eyes leaving the road and traveling around to each of their sheepish gazes. "My dads trying to give me a message."
They paused.
"If it helps you believe, John B." Kiara told him slowly and softly with big doe eyes. Aurora winced, knowing he would have a negative response to what was meant to be a good-hearted comment from the girl.
"Look, I-I don't need a therapy session, okay? Look, I'm not trippin' out."
"It's okay to trip, bro, but—" JJ gave a failed attempt of trying to make him feel better, his best friend cutting him almost instantly off.
"Look my dad is missing, okay?" he whipped his head around, looking to each of them intently. His voice sounded so sure, so positive that he was right. Missing." he repeated, redirecting his vision to the road ahead; Pope, Aurora and JJ all swapping looks behind his back. "You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering."
Aurora's eyes fell to her lap, twisting her lips to the side. She ached for her hurting friend, not sure how to give him help when he so blatantly wouldn't accept it. He was right, though; they didn't know what that felt like. They could all only imagine the kind of emotional distress it could bring upon a person, especially a 16 year old with no other family. All he had were a couple of rag tag friends, each as broken as himself in one way or another.
Kiara glanced nervously around before making her next bold statement, scooting closer to him as she lowered her head and voice; speaking as if he should move on already. "It's been almost a year."
"Rory, you believe me. Right?" John B suddenly asked, the last word full of such hope.
The girl's mouth fell open with no response. No, she did not believe him. But she had a feeling he needed at least one person rooting for him right now. "Yeah, I believe you." she nodded compellingly, exchanging knowing glances with the boys to her right.
"Thank you. Jeez." he exhaled in exasperation, his head falling against the back of his seat.
"Hey- uh, he could've been kidnapped! That's definitely a possibility." JJ suggested from the back.
"Yeah, he could be in a soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope added with a shrug, Aurora clenching her jaw at their teasing tones of voice.
"Absolutely, absolutely." JJ carried on, openly finding it amusing at this point. "Or Atlantis!"
At that, Aurora swung her arm out to the side; effortlessly knocking him in the gut. He grunted and doubled over slightly; Pope chuckling beside them. "Don't make me do it to you too." her warning eyes shot over to him, the smile falling flat off his face.
"JJ." Kiara huffed, turning her gaze back to John B. "Look, what do you think the message is?"
"Redfield." he responded plainly as they turned a corner. Aurora's eyes drifted back out the window to see them passing a large sign to the local lighthouse; a smaller sign attached to the front to inform visitors of their temporary closure due to hurricane Agatha. "Redfeild Lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place."
The old vehicle rolled to a stop next to a mud-splashed, white picket fence; everyone hopping out of the vehicle. They stood side by side, staring up at the towering half-gray, half-dirt-stained-white lighthouse; its appearance both rundown and intimidating.
"Right, here's what's gonna happen," John B quickly began, turning to face his friends. "You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys." he instructed JJ, whose head slung slightly back as his brows furrowed; uncertain on how to feel about his assigned duty.
"Wait... why me?" the blonde questioned, Aurora standing in between JJ and Pope with her arms crossed nonchalantly.
"Because you're not coming." Pope tried to explain gently.
JJ's head snapped to him as he shrugged aggravatedly. "Why?"
"Look, JJ. There are independent and dependent variables, and you're an independent variable. We don't—"
"Shut up!" the Maybank cautioned, warning my pointing his finger to Pope just above Aurora's head. In less than a single second it had turned into a screaming match, the two inching steadily towards each other.
"— we don't know what you'll do!"
"Shut up, Pope! Shut up!"
"Guys!" Aurora shoved them apart with a groan.
"Listen to me for a second!" John B snapped, grabbing JJ and yanking him away. "Just listen to me for a second! Pope, you stand look out with JJ. Okay? Rory, you make sure these two dipshits don't bite each other's heads off. If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."
"Aye aye, Cap." she saluted.
"Great." Kiara said, departing shortly after with John B; the two hopping the fence and heading for the lighthouse.
"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay. And I'm trying to keep the felonies down to a minimum." Pope informed them, ambling back towards the car.
"Alright, would you just shut up already." JJ voiced, his attention on the ball he was kicking upwards with the top of his foot to pass the time.
"Don't be an asshole." Aurora sighed, following Pope back to the Twinkie. She plopped down next to him, both resting against the bottom of a gigantic oak that so graciously offered them shade from the harsh sun.; hugging onto her knees. "Weird day."
He glanced over at her with a small chuckle. "So far."
"Ugh, there can't be more." she feigned exhaustion, the boy grinning as she draped her body dramatically against him.
There was a beat. "Hey, what were you gonna tell us earlier?" he asked, almost regretting his question when she sat back up and removed her head from his shoulder.
She rolled her lips into her teeth. "Hm?"
"You were saying something about Sarah Cameron?"
"Oh. She was just making a big drama out of something. Typical. Topper nearly shit himself."
He hummed in response, waiting a moment before a smirk grew on his face. "Have anything for me to read?"
"Yes!" she instantly replied with an excited smile, as if she'd been waiting for him to ask. He laughed at her as she shot up onto her feet and skipped over to the van, pulling the humongous door open and retrieving her little green notebook. Aurora had always loved to show her poetry to Pope. He had an eye for that sort of thing, and it always felt like he appreciated it on a deeper level than anyone else.
With a light grunt she sat back down next to him and handed it over, scooting and shifting around to position herself comfortably on the dirt. She watched with a giddy flutter to her beating heart as his fingers filtered through the crinkly pages until he reached her most recent entry; one she had quickly jotted down while watching Ingrid's favorite movie earlier.
Hardly being able to wait, her eyes traveled back and forth from Pope and the ocean-inspired poem in anticipation of what he might say about it.
"So?" she inhaled when he perked back up, letting the book relax in his hands against his lap.
The boy looked back over to her face glittering in obx sweat, Aurora biting down her bottom lip with her big chocolate eyes that he couldn't help but admire. Did she really think after all this time he'd actually say something bad about her poetry? Not only was her art— as he referred to it— truly outstanding, but never could he bear to speak any words that would potentially wound her heart.
"This is incredible, Rory." he told her genuinely, a bright grin lighting up her face. You're incredible, he almost added; the words dying on his tongue before he could muster the courage to speak them. "You gotta take this notebook somewhere and get it published."
"Psh." she scoffed with an eye roll, playfully shoving him with the corners of her lips still unknowingly turned upwards; scarlet blush creeping across her cheeks. "As if anyone would actually want to publish my collection of shit on paper."
"Shit on paper?" he raised his brows at her with a chuckle, tilting his chin downwards as he watched her shake her head; the phrase clearly not serving her in the way she wanted it to.
"My point is, this is school yard poetry, Pope. The big dogs at publishing offices would chew it up and spit it out."
A high-pitched, doubtful squeak arose from him. "Mmmm, I dunno. Maybe you don't give yourself enough credit." he shrugged, the girl's eyes trailing over his face with a smile, taking the moment in for all it was.
"Also," he furrowed his eyebrows, looking back down to the notebook. She scooted closer to him so she could see what he was pointing out, the boy clearing his throat at their proximity. "Uh, w-when you said—"
They both flinched where when something came abruptly hurling at them, smacking Aurora in the shoulder as she gasped; their eyes shooting out to the culprit infront of them, looking as guilty as a child who had snuck a cookie from its jar. His hands were behind his back as he rocked unsteadily back and forth on his heels. "My bad." he chortled awkwardly, raising his shoulders to his ears in a shrug.
"You meant to do that. Didn't you, you little shit?" the dark-haired girl sassed with a grin, a wave of sparkling mischief rushing through her gaze.
"I-I didn't, I swear." JJ chortled, slowly beginning to back up as he lifted his hands in surrender; feeling quite defenseless without his ball. Aurora seized the object roughly from the ground, accidentally yanking a tiny patch of grass out with it; an uptick of carefree laughter emitting from all of them as she sprung urgently to her feet and took off for him. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed, spinning rapidly on his heel and nearly tripping over his own two feet as she chased him; Pope watching with a delighted smile.
Still laughing ridiculous laughs, Aurora hared after him with the ball in hand and ready to be thrown, weaving through the trees as JJ's head whipped occasionally over his shoulder to make sure she was still far behind. Eventually he lost her as they darted through the woods, Aurora's breaths leaving in heavy pants as she began to slow herself and slink around; trying to catch him in stealth as opposed to spontaneous action.
"You can run, but you can't hide!" she called out in a sing-songy voice, prowling through all the Spanish moss and towering oaks; narrowed eyes scanning for him.
She smiled in satisfaction when she saw the slightest flicker of movement in the distance through the viridescent leaves. "Gotcha, Maybank." she murmured under her breath, leaping extravagantly out onto the road that led to the lighthouse, her arm already catapulting the ball before she had time to realize it wasn't JJ Maybank who she had spotted.
Aurora had mistaken an oncoming car, a police car, for her friend; the vehicle in the middle of flipping on their siren and flashing lights when she suddenly jumped out before them and a ball was suddenly flying at their windshield. Her hand went crashing over her mouth as they slammed on the breaks to avoid hitting her; glass caving in the upper right corner as she watched long cracks crescendo across the whole thing, a look of sheer shock plastered on her face. Only standing stunned for a moment, she was quick to spin around and urgently motion the two boys in the distance into the Twinkie; which calmed her slightly to see them obliging and firing up the engine, the old van whizzing away.
"Aurora."
She turned begrudgingly back to face Shoupe with an awkward, apologetic grin on her features; the officer standing with a glower on his face just outside of the vehicle. His hands were placed irritably on his hips, the man shooting daggers at her.
"Heya, Shoupe! How's the wife, kids?" she teased before taking off, swearing she could feel sparks fly from underneath the bottom of her worn out sneakers.
"Run away and I'll make sure the two boys who just drove off play a part in the consequences of all this." was all he had to say to make the girl stop in her tracks; never even having to lift a finger.
"Damnit." she murmured aggravatedly, stomping over to him with angrily crossed arms and a bitter scowl.
"Huff and puff all you want, you know where you're sitting."
"Yeah, yeah." she spoke shortly, aggressively yanking open the car door and scooting into the backseat; not the first time she'd found herself there.
He returned to his seat behind the wheel, turning on the dread siren as they drove off. He let out an annoyed growl, observing the demolished windshield. "You broke my windshield, Jen—"
"Don't call me that." she interrupted him sternly, a fatal seriousness to her tone. She couldn't stand being associated with her last name. He peered subtly over his shoulder, a twinge of guilt passing through him and dulling the anger he had towards the girl.
Even though Aurora and the rest of the Scooby Gang— as they were referred to down at the station— were a massive pain in the ass for every Kildare County officer, he couldn't help but feel sorry for them sometimes. The past nine month's of John Routledge's life had been hell, JJ Maybank's father was a complete asshole, and Aurora Jennings... Aurora Jennings had been dealt a hand Shoupe wouldn't wish on his own worst enemy. He had no tolerance for their illegal, immature ways, but despite all the trouble they caused him, he knew it was a miracle he wasn't arresting the young girl for far worse crimes.
Still, there couldn't be a free pass.
"Trespassing and destruction of state property all in one day. Bail fees ain't cheap, neither are windshield replacements." he declared from the front seat.
Her blood boiled, the girl tossing her hands to the side as she leaned forward. "You think I don't fucking know that, Shoupe?!"
He glared at her through the rear view mirror, staying silent after that. She let out a sour chuckle, running her tongue aggravatedly over her bottom teeth and flopping back against the seat. Crossing her arms, she sunk down further in the car; staring out the window and watching the world pass by in defeat. Stress was making her head pound— where in the hell was she going to find the money to pay off all the things he'd just listed?
"Busted." she heard him mutter in satisfaction from the front after a minute or two of driving, Aurora furrowing her brows as she strained her neck to see what he was looking at.
Her humongous eyes nearly popped out of her skull from how hard they bulged, her jaw dropping when she saw her two friends sharing a kiss in the distance. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" she shouted, being shushed violently. She watched as Kiara pulled away and began speaking inaudible words, still unable to believe her eyes.
The siren whooped again, the two friends spinning in alarm to see they had been caught. "Routledge! I got you son!" Shoupe pointed his finger to the two. "Now why don't you be chill and not make me chase you?"
Aurora watched, still paralyzed in shock as Kiara smoothly moved behind John B; her curly locks blowing daintily in the breeze as she sneakily received the compass from him.
"Hands where I can see em'." he instructed, heading towards the two with cuffs.
The teenagers begrudgingly followed his rules and lifted their hands in the air, the compass safe in Kiara's back pocket by now. Woefully, they plopped down on either side of their friend in the back of the car; not really questioning why the wide-eyed girl was even arrested to begin with. It was pretty self-explanatory.
"Hey, Ror." John B mumbled quietly, he and Kiara staring blankly ahead as they began the drive down to the station.
"John Booker Routledge..." Aurora whispered, in some sort of trance as she pointed her finger lazily at the boy, then to Kiara; her friends furrowing their brows at her. "... and Kiara Carrera."
"Oh shit." the curly-haired girl groaned, rolling her eyes as she plopped her head defeatedly into her hands; realizing what she was referencing.
༻✧༺
TENSION HUNG IN THE AIR AS KIARA, AURORA, AND JOHN B ALL JOGGED HURRIEDLY DOWN THE stone steps exiting the Kildare County Sheriff's station. They were closely following Kiara's father, who strode in large, apoplectic stomps.
"If you skip out on your bail and I lose my money, I'm gonna hunt you down and skin you." the Carrera man spat out angrily, Aurora walking alongside John B with her head lowered to avoid his wrathful gaze.
"Dad!" Kiara exclaimed slightly.
He didn't hesitate to fire back, sharp-tongued. "Cut it."
"Thank you, Mr C—"
"Don't thank me!" he snapped, not letting John B finish his sentence; the boy re-arranging the hat on his head out of guilt.
"Yeah." he murmured quietly, Aurora gulping and deciding to say nothing after John B's regretful interaction.
They reached their friend's shiny black car, Mr. Carrera promptly sliding behind the wheel and slamming the door shut behind him; the three teens meeting on the other side of it. Exhausted, upset and irritated looks covered their tired faces.
Kiara stuck her hand into her pocket, digging around and rolling her eyes in vexation when her father ordered her around from inside the car. "Get in."
"Give me a sec!" she called exasperatedly over her shoulder, soon retrieving the precious death compass and passing it hesitantly off to John B, who received it dispiritedly.
"Good. You're gonna be good." she told him with a nod, though the fret on her face and the worried tone of her voice told them she didn't really believe that; which only discouraged the Routledge boy more.
"Kiara!"
Her lips parted, her gaze lingering on John B as she clearly struggled to turn away from them; not wanting to abandon him in his time of need. "Sorry." she mumbled, begrudgingly entering the car.
"I told you. You hang out with trash, you get dirty." the two heard from inside the car, Aurora twisting her lips to the side as she looked down to her dirt-stained shoes; he wasn't necessarily wrong.
Compared to Kiara, and her status and wealth and family and the life that she should be living, John B and Aurora were— bluntly put— trash. And she had in fact been dragged into this mess because she was friends with them. She had gotten dirty, but she had chosen to. His harsh words, despite their hint of truthfulness, weren't going to stop her anytime soon. They drove away, the Carrera girl watching forlornly through the rolled down window as her friends grew smaller; soon becoming completely out of sight.
"Okay," Aurora sighed, their eyes still fixated upon the now empty street. She looked away from the pointless scene and over to her best friend's despondent, grimy features. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Nope." he muttered under his breath, still not looking at her.
"Okay." she chirped simply with a shrug. "Come with me." she grabbed his arm and started down the street, ignoring the fact that she now owed money she didn't have to pay for Shoupe's broken windshield.
"Where are we going?" he asked blandly, not in the mood for just about anything right now.
"Figure Eight. We're stealing ice cream from Ingrid's house and forgetting all our fucking troubles!"
At that, he perked up ever-so-slightly; allowing Aurora to stop dragging him and beginning to actually put an effort into ambling along himself. The two journeyed side by side in silence, watching the pavement beneath them for a long while.
"Hey, JB?" Aurora glanced up at him, this time the smile on her face was nothing but reassuring— no hints of sadness or fatigue mixed in.
"Hm?" he hummed, his mind fogged and his heart throbbing with a of cloud emotions.
"You are gonna be okay." she told him certainly.
He flashed her a grateful look. "Thanks, Ror. We'll get em' next time."
The girl nearly stopped in her tracks, her face washing over in concern. "Next time?"
"Yeah. My dad's trying to tell me something, and we're gonna figure it out."
She swallowed. When was he going to let this go? They'd been shot at and home-invaded— there shouldn't be a next time.
There was a pause, John B deciding to push his thoughts and feelings aside for a moment, just long enough to breathe again. "So, what kind of ice cream do Kooks eat anyway? Is it shipped all the way from some famous person's factory in London? Does it have specks of 24 karat gold in it?!"
The girl chuckled. "Nope, just regular person's ice cream. Oh, but their family is dairy free, so it's plant-based or whatever."
"What?!" he exclaimed, stopping in the middle of the road with a bewildered expression. "You're making me walk all the way to Figure Eight for vegan ice cream?!"
Aurora laughed at him, soon interlocking their arms and forcing him along with a hefty yank; getting a genuine smile out of the boy. "Come on you lazy, vegan-hating bum!"
word count 4,476