[ c h a p t e r t h i r t e e n ]
cake by the ocean
"A bit of madness
is key,"
- anonymous.
•••
"Jesus Christ. Grizz, where the fuck have you been?" Luke scolds the boy who jogged towards them. Karma has been laughing for ten minutes, looking at all the nervous' boys' faces. "I slept through my alarm," Grizz says with an apologetic tone. Karma chuckles, not really minding the boy's tardiness.
"Pre-dawn raid means pre-dawn!" Luke tells him with his hands motioning. "I know!" Grizz replies repeatedly. "Yeah, man, it's like post-dawn right now." Jason adds, looking up the sky.
Karma laughs, and Adonis gave her a look, "Yeah, okay, okay, I shouldn't be laughing."
"Can we just do this?" Clark says annoyed, then showing his gun. The boys backed away a little, shocked and eyes wide. "Woah, what the fuck is that, Clark?" Luke questions him.
Karma began laughing again, what the hell is happening?
"It's a gun." He sarcastically replies, "Yeah, No shit, we can see that." Leo shots back. It was cold outside, and all of them had worn dark colors for some reason, although Karma would've wanted to wear red for this occasion. The reason? She didn't know. Jason offered his extra hoodie, and she has been wearing it for a while now.
It was around 5 AM, and they should've started thirty minutes ago when it was a lot darker, but she didn't mind. Adonis had asked her if it was alright for her to come, making sure that she was going to be alright—considering they were catching the man who is suspected to have shot her. She shrugged, determined to come. After all, she was the Head Guard.
"Where'd you get it?" Adonis asked Clark with his eyebrows furrowing. "Gordie gave it to me." Clark explains nonchalantly.
"Good idea. We might need it." The boys looked at Karma weirdly, as if she was planning something evil in her mind while saying those words. She looks back at them, "What? it's true." She defended.
"This weirdo shot someone, okay? We can't go in unarmed." Clark states pointing at the house with his gun. "Have you had it here this whole time?" Jason asks hesitantly.
"Yes, bro. Relax." Clark retorts. "Do you even know how to use it?" Grizz asks him and Clark rolls his eyes, cocking the gun to the sky, "I mean how hard could it be?"
"God—just give that to me." Karma snatches the gun away a little too harshly and the boys back away once again, yelling 'woah, careful!' She grins, chuckling, "I know how to use it, take a chill pill."
"Oh, my god." Jason mumbles, sighing.
"You know what?" Luke starts, "You're going in first, all right, Clark?" He instructs Clark with his baseball bat on the boy's shoulder. Clark nods. Jason agrees, stepping up, "Cool. Hey, I'll read him his rights," He tells them with a childish smile, and Karma snickers. "Make sure everything's legit—"
"Dude, no one gives a shit about that." Grizz interrupts. "Law and order, man. You don't read the bad guy his rights, he gets away like everytime—" Jason goes on about it.
"Oh, god," Adonis groans, rubbing his temples while Karma was holding back her laugh. "There's no more legal system, Jason, we're living in some sort of fucking black hole anti-universe," Grizz talks back, "I really don't think the Miranda warning—"
"Okay! Im just trying to make sure everything's legit so we're not stormtroopers—" Jason raises his voice and Karma couldn't stop laughing at the side, God these boy's are idiots.
"Guys! Hey, Hey!" Adonis scolds, also glaring at the laughing Karma who shrugs at him. "Let's just fucking do this, all right?" He shouts at them. The two quarreling boys nodded, looking defeated.
"Come on, follow me, Fuck." Luke mutters, starting to jog as everyone followed behind him quickly. They reach the doorstep, and began to hesitate who opens the door. Karma aims towards the door, the boys started to instruct her, "Aim up!"
"Aim a little higher,"
"Up here,"
She rolls her eyes, looking at them sternly, "Will you just shut the fuck up?" She tells them, then goes back to look at the door. She aims at it, her arms in perfect structure and she could see Clark and the others looking at her with awe. She counts down, waiting for Luke to kick the door. "Three!" Luke kicks the door, but it doesn't break open.
"Jesus, fuck." Clark curses, disappointed. Luke looks at them a little embarrassed, coughing.
Karma laughs hard, unable to contain the laughter when she saw the boys' faces. "You take it, I-I can't—" Clark takes the gun from her and she allows him, moving to the side to stop herself from laughing.
"Hey, Jason, little help, man. Come on," Luke asks Jason. The boy scoffs, moving forward and in position. "Your spot's in between us, All right? ready?" Jason nods, "On three, ready?" Leo says, backing them up.
"One, Two, Three!" They all push the door as it breaks wide open. Karma follows after them as they entered Dewey's house. "This is a fucking raid!" Luke shouts, people inside shrieking and shocked. Everyone started to yell at everyone and Karma searched for the petite boy. She had separated from the other boys, going towards the other direction of the house.
Teenagers were everywhere, shocked while looking at her carrying the Baseball bat she exchanged from Clark. "You guys seen Greg Dewey? Short little redhead?" She questions the boys who looked half asleep. They shook their heads quickly, not knowing where the boy was. From the side, a boy shouts, "H-He's in his room!" Karma nods shortly and moves to the stairs.
When she reaches upstairs, her eyes meet Clark's, holding the gun up his chest. She nods at him, "He's in the room," Karma speaks, motioning to the door before them.
Clark kicks the door open, "Come on! Get out! Get out, move!" He shouts. Greg Dewey sat on his bed, his hair unfixed, his form petite and his face sleepy but awake. He was only on his briefs, but he quickly put a shirt on, realizing Karma was there.
He looked at the both of them—Karma and Clark—with wide eyes, growing even wider as he spots the gun. The boys rounded up, walking up from the stairs and beside the two. "We got him," Karma informs them. The boys nodded, and they all walk inside the room. They cornered the shaking boy.
"Little lame was about to shit himself," Clark adds. "Don't fucking move, weirdo!" Clark shouts at the boy in his bed. "All right, Jesus!" Greg replies, shaken up. Adonis lifts the crowbar he was holding towards Clark, "Hey, Clark, don't shoot him." He tells his friend.
There were a lot of things running inside Karma's mind, usually she would be speaking, but she started to feel like she was suffocating from seeing Greg Dewey. Was this defenseless boy in his bed really the one who killed Cassandra? Who almost killed her? She wasn't so sure anymore. Looking at his face, he didn't look like he could hurt anyone, but then again, she didn't look like she could hurt anyone either.
"You okay?" Jason's voice calmed her down, the boy running his hands on her back for comfort. She gave him a nod and a small smile, assuring him that she was fine.
"Grizz, tell him his under arrest." Leo nudges the boy, "He's standing right there, you tell him."
"Go through his shit!" Luke ordered the others. Grizz and Adonis began to rummage through his stuff, Karma also assisting and going through the drawers. "You guys got no right to be in here!" Greg yells in protest.
Karma snaps at him, "Shut the fuck up or I'll hit you." Something in her tone of voice made Dewey purse his lips in defeat. He only sighed in response. "We know what you did to Cassandra and Karma." Jason shouts. Greg looks at them with wide eyes, fear evident on them. "You're under arrest!"
"I-I didn't do shit to them!" Greg defends himself, his hands in the air. Karma went over to one of his open cabinets and saw a shoe box beneath the gap from the floor to the wood. She reached for it and pulled it out. Opening the box, her heart broke.
She knew it was the gun.
Without saying anything, she stood up and aimed for Greg's face, but the boys held her back, "Woah! What—"
"She found it." Leo's voice was heard as he ducked to see what Karma was holding just a moment before.
"That's not mine! I don't know where that came from! No!"
She yelled for them to let her go, kicking Grizz who had wrapped his arm around her as she reached the frightened Dewey and grabbed his collar. She had dragged him out of his bed and to the floor, he pleads from her hold.
"Karma—Karma I didn't—" She was about to punch him when someone threw her on his shoulder. Jason.
"Calm down," He tells her, carrying her outside. "Calm down, Karma," He repeats. He puts her slowly down the floor. He only noticed her eyes began to water. She promised herself she would never cry again. But there were things she couldn't stop.
They could both hear the shouts from inside the room. Jason pulled her to his chest. He knew Karma did not want to be seen crying. People were looking at them, all of them whispering. "Let's get out of here," He covered her, then led her outside the house, where there were less people.
Soon enough, Karma had calmed down. The boys, including Greg Dewey who had cuffs on him, had gone out of the house. Dewey was carried by Grizz and Clark, whila Leo carried the box with a gun. Luke and Adonis were talking, contemplating about what to do now Dewey's captured.
Allie also arrived, with Will on her side. Since the Guard was busy with the raid, Will had to accompany Allie the whole time. The curly haired boy didn't mind, Karma knew he would watch over her no matter if they asked him or not.
Karma and Jason walked towards them, people chattering around them. Others who came from different houses began to walk towards the scene. Leo approached Gordie, handing him the box.
Karma was beside Allie now, "Okay, so, uh, where to?" Grizz approaches them after shoving Dewey inside Leo's car. "Yeah, Allie, where do you want us to take him?" Adonis adds.
"Can we keep him in a bathroom?" Allie suggested, earning a few hesitant looks from the guys. "Wait, did you guys seriously not think about where we're gonna keep him?" Luke says.
"No, Luke. I've never held anyone prisoner before." Allie replies sarcastically, her voice rising. "We can't lock him from the bathroom, they're locked from the inside," Grizz starts, "So that's no bueno."
"Maybe there's a room at school we could use." Will suggests, "What is we just leave him in the car? Roll down the windows a little?" Jason tells them, like it was the greatest idea.
Adonis, for the nth time this day, rubs his temples. "Are you insane? that's my car." Leo tells him. "Yeah, Dude, He's not your mom's maltipoo." Clark adds.
Karma cleared her throat, "We can keep him in our maid's quarters. It's far from the other rooms so others would be safe," She suggested. Adonis looked at her, realizing how hard the girl was taking it—but not showing it.
He knew it was the best plan for now, but taking Dewey under the same roof as Karma wouldn't be such a good thing. Luke seemed to understand the look on Adonis' face.
"Give me my keys," Luke, who also brought his own car, tells Grizz. He gives him his keys. "Just meet me at my house, all right? I got an idea," He tells them. Leo sighs, nodding.
————————————
"Better not fuck with the Lafite while he's in there," Luke spoke as he locked the glass doors, "My dad would lose his shit." He finished. Turns out, Luke's father had a whole wine collection just below their living area, a whole compartment just like Karma's father had on their kitchen.
"Bro, how come you never told us you had all this wine down here?" Jason beamed, his face plastered with a childish grin. Adonis shook his head, this really wasn't the time.
"This isn't just wine, Jason. This is a collection." Luke boasts. Again, for the nth time, Adonis rubs his temples. "Okay, not the time, fools." He says.
Greg Dewey sat inside the glass compartment, right beside the stacked wine on the wall, hugging himself. He looked like he was a deer caught in headlights, his face blank. Karma looked at him, and for a moment, she felt pity.
Looking back at how she had reacted at his house, it made her realize she was so caught up with the anger and resentment that she didn't look for any other option. She just wanted to see him beg, to punch his face and break his bones like he did Cassandra when the second bullet shot through her.
Now, it seemed like he wasn't the covered man at all. She wasn't so sure anymore, looking at his figure and the way he was shaking. He didn't look like he could kill. Let alone hurt two people. Greg Dewey was a man caught in some rough shit and Karma wasn't sure if it was him who caused it or just got caught in the middle of the crossfire.
Either way, she didn't speak her thoughts. She could be mistaken, and letting a killer free wouldn't bring any good.
"Someone has to make sure that he gets food and water." Karma speaks, Allie turns around at them while nodding, "Yeah, we can't starve him."
"Luke can you bring someone down here? keep an eye on him?" Will asks the boy, turning to him. "Yeah, we can do shifts," Adonis answers for him. Luke nodded.
"How's he gonna go to the bathroom?" Allie asked. Grizz shrugs, "We'll get him a bucket or something,"
Karma's face churns in disgust, imagining Dewey shitting on a bucket made her sick. "Not too happy with that, princess?" Leo snickers at her expression. She glares at him in response. "Are you? From now on you get shitting and peeing duty." She commands him, and Leo's face went pale, making the others chuckle as they listen in.
"It's the only option." Will speaks, "He could hurt someone else, and what he did to Cassandra, he's not getting away with it."
"Then why don't I feel any better?" Allie sighs. Karma didn't reply to this, only looking at Dewey as well. His face was beginning to grow paler, and he refused to make eye contact to anyone. She looked away, unable to stare any longer.
"I need to go to Avery, said she left packets of seasoning in my car," Leo broke the silence as he stared at his phone, reading Avery's text.
The blonde girl woke up at Karma's alarm—which was surprising since she didn't the last time—and told them she had early morning duty in the kitchen to prepare for everyone's breakfast, saying she had to go early because Jasmine was taking a raincheck and Will was going to have to watch over Allie. They dropped her off at the school before they went to meet with the others at Dewey's.
Karma then remembered she hasn't taken a shower. After being dismissed by Karma and Allie, Leo had left.
"Hey, let me drive you home," Jason's voice spoke behind Karma. She turned to look at him and smirked,, "You want to?" She teased. Fortunately, the others were too busy talking amongst themselves to hear the two's conversation. "Yeah, I-I mean if Adi isn't taking you home," Jason scratches the back of his head, laughing nervously.
Karma smiled, "Sure, I don't see why not."
"Well, I can stay here for now. You guys catch some sleep," Adonis offered, looking at everyone. They all nodded after being convinced by Adonis that he had eaten breakfast and had a book with him he could read while watching over Greg.
Luke made sure to leave his baseball bat right beside the staircase for any emergencies. Karma patted Adonis' back before leaving.
"We should have a meeting later to inform the people. I'm sure everyone's already talking about it." Karma tells Allie who agreed with her.
"After lunch, then. When everyone's sure to be awake," She told her. They both parted ways, Will driving Allie back home while Jason approached Karma. She grins at him, walking towards him as well.
"I guess you're going to have to drive me home, Hernandez," Karma tells Jason as they began to walk towards his car. His eyes beamed, nodding at her. "I guess so," He replies cockily.
Karma sat on the passengers seat, and Jason buckled himself, "Have you eaten?" He asked her, starting the engine. Karma shakes her head, "Nope," She says, popping the p. "But i'm not really that hungry," She says.
"Still, you should eat something," He mumbles, "Should we grab something at the cafeteria?" He suggests, waiting for her reply. She snickers, "Don't worry 'bout it, big boy,"
"I just need to rest, I guess," He nods his head in understanding. After talking for a while, Karma connected her phone to his car with bluetooth, clicking on her saved playlists from spotify and started listening to Khalid. They both hum along with the song, enjoying each others non-verbal presence.
"So, how are things going with Erika?" Karma blurts out. She wasn't even sure why she asked—her heart beating a little quicker for some reason. "Oh, uh, we broke up," Jason says, nervously chuckling. "We didn't really get along after uh, prom." Karma nodded at this, not sure what to say.
She felt like a bitch, because she wasn't even sad about it. Avery would be teasing her, had she heard that Karma even asked the question. "It was a mutual thing, really," He added.
A few moments after staying silent, Jason turned to look at Karma, and realized she had fallen asleep while leaning on his window. He turned the music down, so that Karma wouldn't wake up. He pulled over the driveway to her house, and turned the engine off.
He stared at her and took it in. Her hair looked lighter as it hit the sun, and her breathing was soft. For a moment, he couldn't catch his breath. Karma moaned, slowly waking. Jason's cheeks flushed, his head drifting to inappropriate imaginations. He shakes his head, he didn't want to think that way about Karma—even if she wouldn't know.
"Oh, you didn't wake me up?" Karma's voice was drowsy. She checked her face for any dried up drool, turning away from Jason. When he noticed this, he chuckles. "You seemed like you enjoyed the window as your pillow too much, didn't want to wake a sleeping beauty," He replies.
Karma laughed at this, fixing herself before opening the door. She contemplated what to say, barely hopping out of the car. She turned around to face him, "Want to come in?"
———————————
Warning: Mild Mature Content ⚠️
They were both panting. Karma's hair was a mess against the hard wall of her bedroom, while his hands roamed around her body.
Karma moaned when he lifted her shirt, the only thing covering her undergarments as his hands started to massage her breasts through the fabric of her bra. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath.
Her hands that lingered on his neck had made its way down to his chest and to the hem of his boxers. Karma didn't even notice how he has already removed his pants—maybe it was even her who removed it. She bites his lip, and as soon as he opened his mouth she entered his space and fought with his tongue.
She sucked softly, earning a moan from his busy and bruised lips. She smirked as they kiss and trail kisses from his lips to his neck. She begins to suck, softly then roughly, making sure to leave marks on his neck. His big hands managed to unclasped her bra from behind and take it off of her completely along with her white shirt. Her hands pressed on him, palming and rubbing at his member through the soft fabric.
"Hmm.. You like that?" She asks teasingly, slowly taking his boxers off along with his brief using her fingers. His member was hard. "Fuck, Karma," he hissed, holding her neck. She was almost fully exposed, her bare chest plastered in front of him and the only thing left on her body was her necklace and the black lace panties she wore.
black lace wet panties.
"I guess that's a yes," She looked at him and he looked at her with lust, his hands going from her neck to the top of her head, and gently pushing her down. Karma got the hint and pushed herself down to her knees, his member right in front of her face.
She holds his length on her right hand, "Lick it, babe," His voice was hoarse and dominant. He wanted himself to be inside her wet mouth. Now. Karma looks at him with her tongue out, licking the tip of his cock—then sucking it whole.
"Ugh," His moans became louder, his hand grabbing her hair as his hips softly grinding and thrusting on her mouth. She didn't know if he was scared to hurt her, but Karma did not want him to go soft on her. She momentarily took out his member from her wet mouth, and looked up to his confused face.
did he do something wrong?
Karma gave his tip a lick, "Don't go soft on me," She sucked on it softly, "You don't know what I can do for you, Hernandez,"
———————————
Karma bolted awake. She was panting, much like in her dreams, her cheeks flushed and her eyes wide.
Did she really just had a wet dream of her and Jason?
Karma shakes her head, refusing to believe herself and feeling embarrassed. At that moment, Avery had stepped out of the shower, a white towel wrapped around her body and another one wrapping her wet hair. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, noticing the red Karma.
Karma shrugs, "Why wouldn't I be?"
Acting like she didn't just do something wrong, Karma proceeds to get out of bed and fix her beddings. "Well, for starters, you look like you just had sex," Avery jokes, taking the towel from her hair and seats on the chair in front of the mirror. Karma only grows redder, her face warm.
"What's that? Why are you getting redder?" Avery smirks, looking at the girl from the mirror. Karma doesn't reply, only looking down and avoiding her friends gaze, walking towards the comfort room quickly.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the cafeteria?" Karma questioned her from inside the bathroom as she tried to change the subject. "Will took my shift," Avery replied shorty. Karma began to strip from her clothes, noticing how wet the collar of Jason's hoodie was from the sweat on her neck.
Her heart almost dropped when Avery pops her head on the doorway of the bathroom, "And when I came home, I saw a certain someone sleeping beside someone," Avery teased, a huge grin on her face. "I heard Erika and him broke up last night, must've been something you did, huh, you naught." She continues to say as Karma's face reddens more—if that was even possible.
Karma doesn't reply, only hitting Avery's head with the jeans she just took off. Avery laughs in an evil manner, then walks away giving Karma privacy. Karma suddenly remembered how she had invited Jason in her room just hours ago—giving him a cup of coffee and they spent minutes just talking about random things, from sports to favorite flowers to childhood memories. She didn't notice she fell asleep mid-conversation.
Jason, however, noticed everything. He noticed how her lips would curve when she talked about lilies and sunflowers, how her skin was perfect against the sun hitting her face, and how her fingers played with the blanket wrapped around her, and he wished it was his arms instead. When she fell asleep, he was about to leave after tucking her in, but he couldn't. He wanted any second left with just the two of them—no matter what they did.
He chuckled, realizing it was the second time she had fallen asleep on him yet he wasn't disappointed at all. Soon enough he dozed off, his arm used as his pillow and Karma's face as the subject of his dreams. He woke up just a few minutes after sleeping, a camera shutter from a phone as his alarm.
Avery's face hovering him and Karma stared at them with awe, but it made the boy scurry away. Luckily, he did not pass Leo nor Adonis in his way out—that would be a cause for the whole group of boys to tease him.
He's already had enough teasing from Grizz as it is.
After preparing and scolding herself the whole time she was in the shower, Karma decided to go wear her b&w checkered skirt and a white crop topped halter. She didn't bother straighten her hair, and she didn't put it up in a ponytail like she has been for a couple of weeks. Instead, she just let her wavy hair down, brushing it quickly and just letting it loose. Avery had worn her favorite tie-dye shorts and shirt, while her hair was up in a bun.
They both decided to go to the church together, leaving without Leo who was still choosing his outfit.
When they arrived at the church, they met up with Allie who also just arrived, the Guard following behind her. Jason looked up and met Karma's wandering eyes. When she flushed, Jason smirked and was about to tease her, but she quickly looked away.
It was safe to say that Karma was too embarrassed to look at him, pictures and fragments of her dream would flash back inside her mind.
"I heard they drag him out of his house, butt naked," Karma heard whispers as she walked towards the front rows. Most of the guard went for the right side, and she quickly sat on the left side. Avery looked at her confused, but followed her friend to the long seat.
Allie walked up to Karma. "Can you stand by me?" She asked the girl, and Karma nodded. "Sure, Al,"
"Okay," Allie replies. They both walk to the stage, Karma following the blonde before positioning herself beside her. "Hey, everyone," Allie called out for everyone to hear. The people in the crowd looked at her, waiting for her words.
Amongst the crowd, Harry sat beside Campbell. And as usual, he looked like shit. This time, Harry smiled at her when their eyes met, and she did too. Although Karma and Harry had talked about it once, his habits didn't seem to have changed. More so, he looked worse than he did before. Karma mentally noted to talk to the Bingham boy.
"Um, we just wanted to give you an update on everything," Karma snaps out of her thoughts. Allie continued to speak, "There was an arrest this morning. Greg Dewey."
"We're keeping him in an undisclosed location until we figure out what happened, you know, if there was anyone else involved," Allie informs them.
A number of people began to chatter amongst themselves, others not updated with the new drama in town. The others who witnessed it first hand, however, silently kept to themselves and nodding. However the differences of who knew or who didn't did not change the fact that they all looked skeptical. Karma understood their judgement.
Everyone was a teenager, and that means teenagers are the ones handling the arrest of a fellow schoolmate. It's undeniably an alarming situation.
Allie looked at Karma for help. Karma nods before speaking, "We're taking care of him." She speaks, and people began to silence themselves. "Making sure he has everything he needs." She turned to Allie, "Cassandra would have wanted that,"
Allie nods at her, and mouthed a thank you.
"So you don't have to worry about him. He's safe. I'll make sure of that," Karma says to the crowd.
—————————
that's a wrap!
im sure you all know by now who's Karma's love interest, i made that pretty clear 😉
anyways, thanks for reading & see u next chap! i'll probably be updating tomorrow or when i'll be available. since it's our finals, things are pretty hectic and i'm not sure when i'll be revising everything.
+ i also want to point out that i misspelled erika the first few chapters 😭 my mistake lmao i added a c on her name :// oh well.