─☼☼☼─

𝙒𝙃𝙀𝙉 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀 𝘼𝙒𝙊𝙆𝙀 the next morning, she was in a slight daze. 

Her and Kiara had stayed up through the night, each of them recounting the six weeks they had been apart. 

Kiara told Charlotte about Poguelandia, about the rescue by Jimmy Portis, and the subsequent plane crash-turned-kidnapping that resulted in Kiara ending up here. 

Charlotte's heart ached when she thought about how much she had missed with her friends over the past month and a half, but a large part of her was grateful for the time she got to spend with Rafe. The Kook part of her was even more grateful that she didn't have to live without running water for six weeks. 

In return, Charlotte told Kiara about Guadeloupe, about Ward's current condition, about her history with Matteo...and about Rafe. How great he had been. How he'd surprised Charlotte with the change that had become of him. 

When the two girls finally dozed off, it had to have been closer to early morning than it was to night. 

So, when something awoke Charlotte at early dawn, she could barely convince herself to open her eyes. 

And she didn't, not at first. 

For a few blissful moments, she had forgotten where she was, the only thing encompassing her mind was the fact that she had finally found a comfortable position in the plush bed.

But then, the noise that had awoken her became incessant, cracking her blissful facade.

Someone was tapping at the window. 

Finally, Charlotte's eyes cracked open, the bright sun leaking through the windows assaulted her vision for a moment as she sat up. As her eyes adjusted, she scanned the room, pinpointing the source of the noise. 

Her sister stood by the window, the same one they had watched the murder of Jimmy Portis through. 

She was trying to get someone's attention, quietly mouthing the same words over and over. 

"I need to talk to Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh."

"Kiara." Charlotte snapped, startling her younger sister. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kiara spun around, a finger flying to her lips, attempting to quiet her sister. But it was too late. 

Rafe sat up from his spot on the floor, his face still written with sleep as he regarded Kiara, "Answer your sister." He demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

Kiara rolled her eyes, brushing past him as she made for the door, "Like I owe you an explanation."

Scrambling out of the bed, Charlotte followed after her sister, "You, uh, you kinda owe me one. Remember me, your sister?"

Pounding her hand against the door, Kiara gave Charlotte a quick glance, "Don't worry, Charlotte. I'm gonna get us out of here."

"And what about me?" Rafe wondered, stopping next to Charlotte. "You think you're gonna just sacrifice me here or something?"

"That's not happening." Charlotte assured, looking between the two of them. 

Kiara gritted her teeth, still pounding against the door. "Somebody get Mr. Singh!"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Rafe focused on Kiara. "You're lying...about this diary thing. You know something."

With her eyes flickering toward her sister for a moment, Kiara shook her head. "No. I don't."

Having no luck at the door, she moved back toward the window, trying to gather the guard's attention. 

"You don't?" Rafe challenged, pressing his lips into a line. "Okay, I get it. I wouldn't tell me either, but he is never going to believe we don't know something, alright. Singh killed that─"

His sentence was abruptly cut off when Kiara turned to face him, "Don't touch me!" She snapped, pulling free from the grasp he had placed on her arm. 

"Guys," Charlotte begged, far too exhausted to deal with them at that moment. 

Rafe let deep breath, biting down on the inside of his cheek, "Look around Kie. Your sister and I are the only friends you've got."

Kiara glared at him, eyes shifting to Charlotte. "My sister is the only friend I need."

"No." Charlotte disagreed. "We're all in this mess together, okay? So you two need to learn to at least tolerate each other until─"

The door opened, causing Charlotte to quiet, her eyes travelling to the guard that had entered the room. 

He didn't say anything as Kiara marched toward him. "We need to speak to Mr. Singh─my sister and I. It's urgent."

The guard regarded her for a moment, his face not wavering. He then looked to Rafe, and then Charlotte before settling back on Kiara. "Yes." He agreed. "But just you."

Kiara didn't miss a beat. "Okay."

They were gone by the time Charlotte made it across the room to intercede, the door slammed and locked behind them. 

"Kiara!" Charlotte snapped, pulling at the handle. "Kie!"

She hated this. 

Hated Kiara being with that man alone. 

Panic had begun to encompass her once again, any semblance of sleep now erased. She was wide awake...wide awake and terrified. 

"See I knew this would happen!" Rafe, pacing the length of the room. "I knew she would cause shit."

Charlotte lowered herself onto the bed, dropping her head into her hands, "She's not causing shit." She argued, not entirely sure if she believed her own words at this point. 

"She is!" Rafe argued in exasperation. "This is exactly why I didn't want that Matteo kid looking for them."

Lifting her head slightly, Charlotte's face clouded with inquiry. "What are you talking about? You offered to pay him to look for them."

Sure, Rafe had never been super on board with the idea, but he had facilitated it nonetheless. 

Licking at his lips for a moment, Rafe stopped his pacing, focusing on Charlotte with a slightly guilty expression. "Lottie, I gotta tell you somethin'."

Charlotte's heart felt like it stopped for a moment as she read the expression on his face. "Rafe, what did you do."

He sighed, crouching down so he was at eye level with her. Gently, he took her hands into his own, as if to soften the blow of what he was about to say. "I paid him double to stop looking for them."

Shock washed over Charlotte's features as she pulled her hands from his, betrayal cutting deep. How had she been so stupid?

"What?" Her words were laced hurt. 

"It's not what you think." Rafe assured, reaching for her hands again. "I never trusted that Matteo kid...I never believed that he would find them and actually bring them to you. And look, I was right. He would have brought them all to Singh ages ago. Who knows what could have happened to them!"

She definitely shouldn't have believed what he was saying, but she so desperately wanted to, that she did. 

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" She wondered, voice cracking slightly. "I thought that was part of our agreement...no more secrets."

Rafe dropped his head in shame, "I know, baby. I'm sorry."

Despite the logical side of her brain telling her not to, Charlotte reached out and placed a hand on his head, providing him with comfort. "It's okay." She assured, knowing they needed to be in this together right now. "But you can't─you can't treat my sister like shit. I'm not going to let that happen."

Rafe lifted his head, his eyes slightly brighter upon Charlotte's forgiveness. "She's icing us out, Lottie. She knows something."

Guilt panged in Charlotte's chest. Here she was preaching about honesty between the two of them and she wasn't even adhering to it. 

Biting down on her bottom lip, she squinted slightly, her features taking on a sheepish expression. "I suppose if we're talking about honesty...I should probably tell you something."

With a furrowed brow, Rafe stood up. "What?"

Already regretting her decision, Charlotte spoke. "Kie and I know what diary he's talking about...we have a copy of it."

Rafe threw his head back, letting out a groan. "Charlotte, are you─"

"It wasn't my information to share!" Charlotte argued, pushing herself to her feet. "That diary belong to Pope's ancestor. And since you already stole the cross, I thought I could do him a solid and preserve the one thing he had left."

Pointing a warning finger in her direction, Rafe scowled. "Don't." He ordered sternly. "Don't make this about the cross."

"Kinda hard not to."

"So that's what Kiara is talking to Singh about." He deduced, ignoring Charlotte's previous comment. 

"If I had to guess, yes." Charlotte answered, part of her feeling like she was betraying Kiara, but the other part of her knowing that they needed to all work together to get out of here. 

Seeming lost in thought for a moment, Rafe chewed at the skin around his thumb. "You're not going to leave me here...right?"

Charlotte was taken aback at the question. "What?" She breathed, already shaking her head. "No. Of course not."

It looked like Rafe wanted to say something else, but he didn't have the chance. 

Kiara and the guard from before burst through the door, the former being shoved into the room before the door was closed and locked once again. 

The youngest Carrera ignored both her sister and Rafe, sitting down on the edge of the bed, tears in her eyes as she dropped her head. 

"Kie." Charlotte said softly, concern overtaking her. "Kiara, are you okay?"

"What happened?" Rafe wondered, less concern and more curiosity on his features. 

Kiara looked up at him for a moment, a clear look of distaste overshadowing her face before she looked back down at her hands. 

"Look, you're going to have to talk to me at some point." Rafe declared. 

With her head shooting back up, Kiara glared at him. "Do I have to remind you of all you've done?"

Rafe exhaled, turning away from her for a moment. Meanwhile, Charlotte resisted the urge to insert herself in between the two of them. She was partly afraid that a bomb was about to go off. But, maybe this was a discussion that needed to be had. 

"You killed Peterkin." Kiara continued. "Remember that? And everything you've put Sarah through...everything you've put my sister through."

"Peterkin," Rafe repeated, stepping toward Kiara. "I was protecting my father, okay."

His frustration was rising, Charlotte carefully monitoring his tells of a blowup for when she would need to step in. 

"I did what I had to." He argued. "So...don't."

Sitting down on one of the chairs by the window, Rafe rocked slightly, as if he couldn't sit still. His mind was racing, Charlotte knew that all too well. "I'm as much of a victim as she is." He declared, voice wavering slightly. No, think about it, okay? What did I get from shooting Peterkin, huh? Nothing, okay?"

Kiara rolled her eyes, still trying to hold back tears from whatever happened with Singh. 

"I had nothing against her. I─I liked her." Rafe continued. "You think I wanted to make that...that choice."

Truthfully, this was the most open Charlotte had heard Rafe speak about what happened with Peterkin. He'd always denied it, even when it was clearly evident he had done it. He'd never really accepted the responsibility for the action until now. 

"What I did, was a gift from me to my father for...for him, and I got screwed because of it, okay?" He was getting more and more worked up by the second, causing Charlotte to tense slightly. She couldn't interfere...not yet. 

"So don't get that look when I say I'm a victim, okay? I am!"

Kiara turned away, not answering Rafe's words. She caught Charlotte's eye for a brief moment, but didn't say anything...she was willing to hear him out. 

"But I will admit, what I did to Sarah...what I tried to─uh─" Rafe paused for a moment, tears flooding his eyes, "What I tried to do to Sarah. I admit that was wrong. I know that, alright? So you don't have to remind me."

He stood, pacing in a small circle as he pounded his open palm against his head. 

"Rafe." Charlotte finally spoke, hoping her voice could draw him back slightly. 

Kiara let out a small muttered, rolling her eyes as Rafe snapped back to focus. He stopped hitting himself, but continued pacing. "She's family. I shoulda never touched her...but I just lose control in moments like that and I don't─I don't know what happened. I'm trying─I'm trying to get better, okay?"

 He looked to Charlotte for a moment, voice breaking. "And what I did to your sister, what I've done to your sister, I know how fucked up I was. Believe me, I know."

Charlotte gave him a sad smile. As much as she hated seeing him so distraught, she knew that this is what he needed. He needed to face his demons.

"Okay." Kiara finally conceded, seeming to have heard enough. 

Rafe paused for a moment, exhaling deeply before talking a couple more steps toward Kiara.  "It─it doesn't even matter, alright. All I'm saying is that I'm not the bad buy you think I am. And even if I was just like, bad Rafe Cameron or something...you got no choice. Your sister isn't leaving me behind...so neither are you." 

Kiara looked to her sister, as if looking for confirmation that Charlotte was, in fact, not leaving without Rafe. Charlotte didn't even think that solicited a response, of course she wasn't leaving without him. 

"Look, Lottie and I have a boat that can get us off the island. But we both think─" he motioned between he and Charlotte. "That it's better if we work together."

"Is that what you both think?" Kiara challenged. 

"Yes." Charlotte answered definitively. "It is."

"Okay." Kiara finally answered, trusting her sister. "Okay."

The sound of a commotion from outside caused all three of them to perk up, Kiara being the first to move to the window. 

Charlotte and Rafe were close behind her, all three of them watching as at least a dozen guards piled into a pickup truck. 

"They getting out of here?" Rafe wondered. 

Kiara rose a hand to her mouth, sheer panic covering her expression. "They're going to find John B." She answered, finally alluding to what had her so distraught. "And your sister."

Charlotte's heart dropped as she watched the truck peel down the driveway, all the guards equipped with guns.

"Sucks for them." Rafe responded, "But good for us. This might be our only chance of gettin' out of here."

"Okay," Charlotte breathed, finally turning from the window. "Then let's make a plan."

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