─☼☼☼─

"𝙃𝙀𝙔," 𝙆𝙄𝙀 𝙎𝘼𝙄𝘿 as she took a drag of the joint her and JJ were sharing, "What did mom mean when she mentioned Kensington earlier?"

They were halfway through their ferry trip when the topic came up, and honestly, Charlotte wished it could have been longer. 

Brushing away her hair that had been tousled by the wind, she shrugged. "Nothing."

Kie eyed her sister suspiciously. "Then why has it been so 'hard' on you as mom put it?"

She was relentless. 

"Fine." Charlotte sighed, sitting up slightly in the bed of the truck. She had planned to keep that part of her life hidden from her sister and friends. It wasn't really necessary in the large scheme of things. But Kie always seemed to find a way to the truth. 

 "Kensington tried to sleep with Rafe." Her words were blunt, matter-of-fact. Her emotions over the whole situation had fizzled out long ago at this point. 

But Kiara's were brand new. "That fucking bitch!" She gasped, taking another drag. "I'm going to kill her the next time I see her."

Charlotte couldn't help but grin at her sister's vengeance. "Don't bother." She argued. "She's not worth it."

Kiara shook her head in disbelief. "And Rafe? God, there's one more reason to hate his guts."

Smile faltering slightly, Charlotte pulled at the bracelet on her wrist for a moment. "He was the one who turned her down." She admitted, voice quiet. "He actually did the right thing."

JJ snorted. "That's a first." Holding up the blunt as if to toast Charlotte, he grinned. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Charley."

Kiara whacked him in the chest. "Shut up."

Chest tightening and throat thickening with nerves, Charlotte looked back up at them. The words were forming in her mouth, but she had a hard time pushing them out.

She had wanted to save this conversation until they knew they would be able to clear John B's name, but part of her knew she needed to get it out now.

There was no doubt that they were about to be absolutely pissed at what she was going to propose to them. 

"Speaking of Rafe," She began, pulling at the bracelet again. "I need to talk to you guys about something."

Pope, who had mostly been ignoring them, too focused on the letter, finally looked up. JJ and Kie ceased the giggling fit they had fallen into seconds prior. 

"What's up, Char?" Pope wondered, a hint of worry in his expression. "You good?" He must of noticed the way her voice wobbled. 

"Yeah." She breathed, letting out a deep sigh. "But there's something you guys need to hear."

Reaching into the pocket of her shorts, Charlotte pulled out her phone. All three pairs of eyes watched her intently as she pulled up the latest voicemail she had received, putting her phone on speaker before hitting play. 

Rafe's voice came across the iPhone speakers, repeating the message Charlotte had listened to numerous times before Kiara had interrupted her earlier today. 

The three of them were silent as they listened, Kiara and JJ wearing perturbed expressions as they listened to the Cameron boy's voice. Pope was the only one who actually seemed to be looking for clues hidden within the words. 

When the message ended, Charlotte lowered her phone, looking up at them with curious eyes. She wanted to know what they thought. 

JJ was the first to speak. "No offense, Charley. But I really didn't need to hear that psychopath confessing his love for you. The thought alone of you with him makes me physically ill."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, Pope mirroring her action. "Did you even listen to what he was saying?" Pope challenged.

"Uh, yeah." JJ mocked. "Rafe's obsessed with Charlotte and wants her to have his evil spawns."

Kiara screwed up her face, fake gagging at JJ's words. "Ew...could you imagine if I had to be an aunt to Rafe's offspring."

"Okay." Charlotte interrupted, already regretting broaching the topic when two-thirds of her audience was high. "Let's just relax." Turning to the only focused one of the group. "Pope, what did you gather from the message?"

His eyes met hers with a certain determination. "He has the gold...and you know where it is."

A smile came to Charlotte's face, her nerves melting ever so slightly. "Bingo!"

"What?" Kie questioned, confusion sweeping her features. "How did you get that out of..." she motioned to Charlotte's phone in jumbled movements, "that."

Pope was quick to explain. "He tells Charlotte that his dad showed him something...something that can allow Charlotte to drop out of school so they can start their lives together. What could that be?"

"His trust fund?"

"No, JJ, you idiot. It's obviously the gold!" Pope chastised. "That's why he never actually states what it is. But it's definitely the gold."

Turning back to Charlotte, Pope had a new fire in his eyes. "Where are they? Where's your favourite place?"

"The Cameron's house in the Bahamas." Charlotte answered, her nervous eyes meeting Pope's. "That's definitely where they are."

"Kie," Pope rushed out as he turned to the other Carrera sister. "Did you try to hit John B back on that number?"

Kiara sighed. "Like twenty million times. Some lady at a hotel keeps picking up."

A million thoughts seemed to be rushing through Pope's head as he spoke. "Maybe he already knows its there...maybe they've gotten to it. But if they don't know..."

"Then we clear his name and find a way to tell him about the gold." Charlotte filled in the final pieces for Pope. "Or we tell him to get his ass home and I'll figure out a way to get to it. Rafe still trusts me...we can use that."

She didn't want to hurt Rafe. She never wanted to do that. But Charlotte was one hundred percent willing to hurt Ward Cameron. She wanted him to suffer. To lose all he had worked for. 

Kiara, JJ, and Pope were grinning at each other, quietly celebrating the newest revelation. 

"That brings me to my next point." Charlotte spoke again, causing all of them to pause as they looked back over at her. 

Sucking in a deep breath, she continued. "When we get John B exonerated...the truth is going to come out about what happened to Peterkin." She paused for a moment, really thinking about if she wanted to continue. She did. "I don't want Rafe going down for what happened."

Kiara let out a noise of contempt. "What─"

Charlotte cut her sister off, rushing out the rest of her words. "I want us to find a way to pin it on Ward. It's his doing anyway. All of this is his fault. Rafe is his fault. We can send Ward to prison...for Big John and for Peterkin. I'll deal with Rafe. I'll get him into rehab and I'll take responsibility for him."

When Charlotte first found out what Rafe had done, she wanted him punished. She wanted him to be saved from his father and himself by being put in jail. But now, the thought of him rotting in a cell made him physically sick...she wanted to protect him. He could be saved, just not in prison. 

As she finally stopped talking, there were three pairs of very stunned eyes staring back at her. They were shocked...that much was evident. 

"Have you lost your damn mind!" It was JJ who first broke the silence, an incredulous expression on his face. 

"Seriously, Charley. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Kiara demanded, reaching out to touch her sister's forehead. "I think you've fallen seriously ill."

Pushing her sister's hand away, Charlotte let out a defeated huff. "Guys, come on!" She pleaded. "I know I sound crazy, but you have to see where I'm coming from here. Ward Cameron is the real villain here."

"Yeah, and Rafe is his little evil sidekick who also happens to be a murderer!" JJ argued. 

"Charley, you are not responsible for him or what he has done or will do." Pope asserted. "You don't have to take care of him, and you don't have to protect him. Can't you see that?" His voice was softer than the others, less confrontational. 

Kiara pointed to him. "Exactly! If you deal with Rafe, he's going to end up murdering you too, which would be slightly worse than you having his babies."

Charlotte scoffed. "Seriously, Kie?"

JJ continued on the train of thought. "Kie's right. He'll kill you and probably keep your body around and stare at you all day long. Will probably jer─"

"Okay!" Charlotte interrupted, not needing, or wanting, to hear the rest of whatever was about to come out of JJ's mouth. "I got your point."

Pope leaned on the truck, his eyes more sincere than the other two. "We just want you to be safe, Charley. And I really don't think you would be if you tried to protect him."

Defeat washed over Charlotte as she dropped her head for a moment, giving a small nod. She had been expecting this response from all of them, but it didn't mean it stung any less. 

Time and time again, Charlotte saw herself crumble under the spell of Rafe Cameron. She was willing to do almost anything for him, no matter what he did wrong. Even when she hated him, she couldn't bear the thought of him getting hurt in any way. 

"Hey," JJ muttered, reaching out to pull Charlotte's phone off of her lap. "Why don't you call Rafe and tell him you'll have sex with him if he gives you the gold. That would solve our problem."

The defeat Charlotte had been feeling turned to embarrassment as she ripped her phone out of JJ's hand. "I'm not a fucking prostitute, JJ."

He feigned surrender, raising his hands. "It was worth a shot."

Kie giggled, taking the joint from his still-raised hands. "Can you believe my parents want to send me to boarding school?"

And thus, the topic was changed. 

But as the others moved onto the new conversation, Charlotte couldn't help but become distracted by her thoughts. She hoped more than anything that this trip to Charleston could help clear her jumbled mind, if even just a little. 

─☼☼☼─

"Guys, I've read this thing, like, a thousand times and it makes no sense." Kiara announced from the front seat, Pope's letter in her hand. 

Leaning forward slightly, Charlotte plucked the fancy piece of paper from her sister's hands. "The Limbreys own, like, half of Charleston. What do the Kooks of Charleston have to do with a murder on our little ol' island?" 

JJ nodded, moving closer to Charlotte to look down at the letter. "Yeah. And why you specifically, Pope?" He wondered. "That's the creepy thing."

Kie recited a part of the letter. "'Please come alone'? That's hella sus."

"I was thinking the same thing." Pope agreed. "I think it's because─" He cut himself off, his voice fading as his attention caught on something at the front of the truck. 

Charlotte followed his gaze, her eyes landing on a plume of smoke that was billowing from the hood of Heyward's truck. 

"Oh, come on!" Pope groaned. 

"Pull over!" Kiara ordered, stating the obvious. "That's a lot of smoke, even for your dad's truck."

JJ let out a sputtered cough, trying to roll down his window. "Pope, I got sensitive lungs man."

Gripping onto the back of Pope's seat, Charlotte let out a curse as he veered off the road, something falling from the wheel as they skidded into the gravel. "It's gonna blow up!" She yelled, scrambling to get out of the truck as the others did the same. "It's gonna blow!"

"It's not gonna blow up." JJ assured with an amused smile that quickly faded to a displeased one as he looked to Pope. "You probably unhooked the radiator, Pope. I haven't seen this before, you knocked the entire hubcap off!"

Charlotte watched as he picked something up from the side of the road, presumably the hubcap, before engaging in a mocked applause. "You might want to consider rescheduling your meeting tonight."

"Uh, Plan B?" Kie suggested. "We could...um, public transportation. We could hitchhike. We could rent bikes." She listed the (not very helpful) options off on her fingers. 

"Great idea, Kie." Charlotte mocked. "In that case, why don't we just call a freaking Uber?"

Kiara turned on her sister, shooting her a glare. "Don't be such an ass, Charlotte."

"Then don't be stupid." The eldest of the two shot back. 

"You first."

"Would you two cut it out?" Pope pleaded, hands on his head as he paced back and forth, a look of utter stress covering his face. "How bad is it, JJ?"

Pulling off his hat and running a hand through his hair, JJ sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. "Gonna be honest...pretty damn bad."

"Why are our lives just a never ending pattern of bad luck?" Charlotte wondered, leaning against the side of the truck in defeat. 

JJ shrugged nonchalantly. "Probably karma or some shit like that."

"Well it's not my bad karma." Kie maintained. "So it's one of you."

All eyes turned to JJ who was glancing around in shock. "You're blaming our bad karma on me?"

"JJ," Charlotte levelled. "You commit literal crimes."

He tilted his head slightly before nodding. "Yeah...you've got me there."

─☼☼☼─