"FIVE Kildare teens who went missing nearly six weeks ago are now reported alive, safe, and back on Kildare Island." 

Eden slurped on her cereal, eyes fixed on the morning news that dully played in the back. Her spoon lazily scoops up Cheerios, milk dripping off the utensil and back into the bowl. She sat upon the island, feet swaying back and forth as she ate and watched the television.

Across from her, JJ did the same thing. Cautiously, he drank orange juice from a glass, staying relatively quiet. Personally, he didn't care for the news—he doubted anyone had even realized he was gone for the past month. If anyone did, they didn't care. 

"And now a live report from the sheriff's department." 

The camera switches from showing the two usual reporters to Shoupe and another officer standing on a dock. He doesn't seem any different from the last time Eden saw him, but she can almost see the wear that the missing teens had put on his shoulders. The relief that filled his voice as he admitted that all of them had been found alive and safe. That he hadn't failed. 

"Yeah, after six weeks, the five teens that had been missing from Kildare County have returned, been reunited with their families." Shoupe's voice rings. "We're still waiting for details on their journey, but I'm sure they have quite a tale to tell."

"You can say that again," Eden mutters, picking up her can of Redbull—yes, she was having an energy drink in the morning, sue her—and bringing it to her lips. 

She still hadn't said shit to her dad about what happened, but she knows she has to. Tom deserved a reason, a solid reason as to what had happened to her. Even if she didn't want to talk about the gold, the cross of Santo Domingo, Ward, her mom....it had to happen eventually. 

"We also got word that the father of one of the teens, John B. Routledge, who's been presumed dead for a year now, has also returned alive and well." Shoupe continues to tell any viewers with a sigh, "Wonders never cease."

Eden wonders how everyone else is reacting to this news. She hadn't seen much of Kildare since she got back; had it changed? Had they all been hunting for the group of teens, or had they just sat and presumed they were dead without a single hard search?

"Right now, we're just trying to get those kids settled back into school, with their families." As Shoupe speaks, images of Pope, John B, Kiara, and Eden herself appear beside the video of the sheriff. Eden's photo is a more outdated one from a family photo she was forced to take years ago, her parents cut out so it's just an image of her smiling. "They've been through a lot." 

Shoupe's face disappears and the two reporters return, the peppy voice of a woman stating, "The teens were found down in the Caribbean with another Kildare teen, Sarah Cameron, the daughter of disgraced real estate magnate, Ward Cameron, who confessed to the murder of Sheriff Peterkin two months ago." 

Eden thinks to how Ward is still alive. Somewhere. 

"Notably, while one of the teens, Eden Bexley, has been returned home safely, her mother—business woman and formerly connected to the murder of Sheriff Peterkin—has not been. Reported missing around the same time as the five teens, the Sheriff's department is still looking into whether the two cases are connected. With more information from the five found teenagers, we may be one step closer to closing said case."

Eden purses her lips and takes another bite of cereal. Isla was also still out there, but whether she ended up in Guadalupe with the Cameron's, she doesn't know. 

"All the teens back, safe and sound on Kildare Island and John Routledge back from the dead." The woman continues with a pearly white smile on her face, "That's about as good as a result as we could hope for."

The news switches to a different subject. Eden grabs the remote and turns the volume down as she mutters, "That was cute."

"I guess we're pretty famous now." JJ replies with a nod, even though he hadn't been mentioned in the news. 

The doorbell rings and the two teens stop talking. Eden sets her spoon into her bowl and hops off the island stool to go and answer. She sarcastically muses, "Probably the reporters asking for an interview." 

"Hm." JJ hums. 

Eden unlocks the front door and opens it to reveal Sarah Cameron standing on her doorstep, expression unreadable. However, she doesn't seem relatively happy, which causes the Bexley to feel slightly confused about why she was here. 

"Hey," the Bexley greets, tugging down her pajama shorts. 

Sarah spares no time for greeting, "Is JJ here with you?" 

The Maybank must have heard his name because there's an echo of, "Yo!" from behind the Bexley, signaling his presence. 

"Good." The Cameron sighs, glad the Maybank was here, too. Now she had one less person to hunt down and tell. 

"What's up?" Eden asks, still hovering in the door frame. She tries to read their expressions. "Did something happen? Do you need a place—"

"Can I come in?" Sarah questions. "I found something out." 

Early that morning, Tom had gone into work, which left no one to care for Sarah's figure in the house. So, Eden stepped back and allowed her friend into her home, the Cameron walking to the center of the kitchen. The Bexley closed the door and returned to the girl—JJ having gotten up from the island to tune into what she had to say.

"I tried to text you, but I didn't think you'd have a phone." Sarah began to explain, toying with the hem of her bright blue tank top. "After I left the Chat, I went back home to change my clothes and find a phone, and you're not gonna believe this...." She locks eyes with Eden, who widens hers to usher the blonde to finish, "....Rafe's back." 

Eden hadn't thought through shoving the Cameron off of his boat, but she didn't expect him to get home so soon—or come back to Kildare, period. In the moment, she'd needed an escape and wasn't planning on seeing the boy for a long while. But now there was a chance she could, and she doubted he would be too happy to see her. 

The Bexley purses her lips to dryly state, "Of course." 

"Spectacular," JJ drags out, just as unimpressed as the Bexley was at the news.

"Yeah, I saw him at the house." Sarah nods in confirmation, "I don't think he saw me, but I overhead him talking on the phone and I think the cross is coming back here, to Wilmington. Tonight." 

Eden's brows raise in surprise, but she recalls the reason why Rafe had been called to Singh's and states, "He's probably still trying to sell it off. That's why he was at Singh's with me. Thought he was selling it off, but that turned out to be a scam."

"Wait." JJ says, turning to face the group with a light bulb appearing over his head, "Hold on, though. We know where the cross is gonna be. That means it's still on the field. So we can come in and swoop, alright? We're still in this. We gotta get everybody together, and then we're gonna come up with a plan. Get our asses to Wilmington as fast as we can—"

"Loving the enthusiasm, but it's not our choice. It's Pope's." the Bexley voices. As much as she doesn't want to lose the cross, it's not the group's choice on whether they went on guns-a-blazin' on Rafe. It was his cross and in the end it was his say—maybe he was over all this bullshit, though Eden doubted that. "Does he know?" 

The Cameron girl explains, "I was going to tell him at the Chateau last night, but no one was there. I met with Kiara, she said he was on lock down." 

"Okay, well, he deserves to know." Eden states. If the cross was coming back to the OBX, Pope had to know—he deserved another chance at getting it back, or at least to have the decision. "So, we need to find him now." 

Sarah nods in agreement. "Yeah, I agree."

"You go and try to get Pope. Me and J will go to the Chateau and see if John B.'s there." Eden looks at her friend for confirmation. Sarah nods and the Bexley finishes, "We can all meet up at the Chat, and then get Pope caught up and go on from there?" 

"Sounds like a plan," Sarah agrees, "I'll contact Kie while I'm at it too and send her your way."

Eden looks at the Maybank, JJ nodding in agreement with the plan.

"Alright," the Bexley nods, "It's a plan." 

Eden held on to JJ tightly as he drove into the Chateau.

The motorbike rode over the rough terrain of the yard, rolling over overground grass and tiny dirt hills. The light breeze flies through Eden's hair, her eyes trailing over the exterior of the Chateau as the bike comes to a halt. Christmas lights were still strung over the trees—she's not sure if they'll ever come down.  

The bike comes to a halt a few feet from the shack, engine humming as it dies. Eden unravels her arms from JJ's waist and stands up, the blonde doing the same. The Bexley throws a leg over the side of the bike to stand up, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"John B!" JJ gets off the bike. He let's out a whistle, "Yo!"

Eden scans around the perimeter for the sight of John B drinking with Big John, or for his figure napping on the porch. However, there's no sound of sign of him within the house or outside. There wasn't even a show of his father.

"John B,  you here?!" Eden calls out, "We got shit to tell you!"

"Hey, Jayj, Eden. " 

At the soft voice, both teens turn to see Kiara sitting in the surf shack, lips drawn in a thin line as she zeros in on JJ. The Maybank looks at the Carrera, and Eden can sense the unspoken tension that suddenly grows in the air.

"I'm assuming Sarah sent you here?" Eden voices, walking towards the curly haired girl. Kiara gives a stiff nod, though her eyes don't seem to leave JJ's figure.

JJ takes his hat off of his head, swinging it in his arms as he walks towards the shack. With a sigh, he asks, "John B. not here?"

"Nope." Kie glumly admits. She looks down at an envelope in her hands before extending it towards her friends. Eden takes the paper and scans it over as the Carrera explains, "I guess he and his dad went and got the Twinkie. They're off to God knows where."

Eden reads over the Routledge's scrawny handwriting and rolls her eyes, handing it behind her to JJ. "That hoe." 

"Yeah, of course." JJ brushes past the Bexley and steps onto the other side of the surf shack. He runs a stressed hand through his hair, and sighs. "Just when we need them."

"Wouldn't be the first time John disappears in the middle of shit." the Bexley thinks back to when John B. disappeared off and spent his day mackin' away with Sarah Cameron all the while the group got beat up at the movie theaters and JJ got his un-payable restitution before Midsummers. "He'll just have to get caught up on whatever plan we create today when he gets back."

"Before we go into planning something crazy, can I...." Kiara trails off and glances at the Maybank, who's still standing away from the two girls looking out into the distance. Clearly, whatever spiff that Kie and JJ had was still causing tension between them.

Eden sits down in a chair putting her hands in the air. "Nah, go for it, man." 

She didn't want to be involved in whatever the hell was happening between the Maybank and Carrera, but she's certainly not gonna allow it to put a weird wedge in the middle of the friend group when they needed each other. 

Kiara gives a thankful smile and stands up, pacing towards the Maybank. "Jayj, can we talk?"

Wanting to give the two teens space, Eden stands up and heads for the Chateau. The door creaks as she steps in, and the Bexley can't help but sigh as she looks at the messy interior of the home. It seems neither John B. or Big John had decided cleaning up was worth it—beer bottles lazily discarded on the table, different wrappers of snacks beside it. Dishes were still piled up in the sink.

The Bexley would have started with the dishes, but she doesn't want to risk there not being any hot water, so instead she grabs a garbage bag from the cabinet and starts to pick up the trash laying everywhere. John B. will tell her she didn't have too, but she does. 

The easy task of tidying up the Chateau grounded her. The cross was coming back, Rafe was on the island, but things were normal. She was cleaning up John B.'s house just like she always used to before the gold. Just like she always would. 

She filled half a garbage bag with remaining trash. She wiped down the littered table as best she could. She threw random dirty clothes into John B.'s room for further examination. She remakes the couch and props pillows back up. She even manages to find a joint that didn't seem to have mold on it. 

"Yo, Eden, they're back!" 

Eden halts in her cleaning spree and appears at the porch, watching as Pope and Sarah walked up to the surf shack. The Bexley hops down the stairs and joins her friends at the shack, outstretching her palm towards JJ, who takes one glance at the joint in her hands and pulls a lighter out of his pocket for her to use.

Pope looks at the girl, "Seriously?"

Eden shrugs at the Heyward before sitting down. She takes an inhale of the joint, glancing at Sarah. "I take it he's all caught up?"

"Yeah." Sarah nods, sitting down as she begins to re-explain everything that she'd heard about the situation. "When I went back to Tannyhill, Rafe was on the phone with Ward, and he just kept saying 'My thing, this is my thing'. He had to be talking about the cross."

Pope agrees, "Absolutely."

"And he's coming into Wilmington tonight at eight o'clock." Sarah proceeds, earning widened eyes from Pope. "And it's being shipped by a train to Raleigh from there but this....this is our chance to get it back." 

"Did you get any other information?"

Kiara leans forward and picks up a paper with something written on it, "Uh, Sarah got the cargo number."

"Okay, well, that's a start."

"Yeah, it is." Eden leans to her side, reading the words 'Wilmington Depot tomorrow; Train #05432750X'.

"I mean, they're definitely fencing that shit as we speak." JJ announces, glancing at the group. "So, we should probably get a move on."

"Sadly, we can't go anywhere without a car." the Bexley rings, causing Pope to furrow his brows at her. She jabs a thumb back at the Chat, "John B. isn't here—he's probably off with Big John playing catch in a field, which would be great if it didn't leave us Twinkie-less." 

Kiara's face falls. "Um..."

Pope returns to the conversation, admitting, "I could ask Heyward for the truck."

"Uh, what?" JJ whips around, sending the Heyward an incredulous look. "Yeah, that's gonna go well."

Eden knows it's their best shot at a way of transportation, but after what happened last time they took Heyward's truck, she doubted the man would be on board—especially now of all times. "Good luck with that."

"I know." Pope deadpans, "But we have no other options."

"Alright, well...." Kiara stands up, "If we're doing anything, I have to tell my parents. I leave again without telling them and I'm fucked." 

Eden sighs, "I hate to agree but I have to tell my dad, too." 

It was time Tom got an explanation of sorts, Eden thinks.

"Okay. You two go and say whatever you need to say to let your parents come with us." Pope states firmly, "I don't care if you're begging on your hands and knees, just get your ass there. We need all hands on deck. Especially without John B." 

"I'll try." Eden stands up.

Kiara stands up too, "I'll need backup."

"On it." JJ replies to the curly haired girl.

Eden sends the boy a look, "Her parents actually despise you." 

"On it." JJ repeats again, sending a mocking glare at the Bexley. 

"Well, I need a ride home first, so..." Eden starts walking off towards JJ's bike, the blonde boy following without a word. 

"This is.....a lot."

Tom Bexley sits on his living room couch, staring at his daughter with an unreadable expression. For the past half an hour, Eden had been coming clean—spilling everything that had happened in the last month, albeit minus a few small details. The gold, Rafe and Ward, her mother, the cross, everything.

If her dad was even going to think about letting her go to Wilmington, he had to at least understand why. 

"I know, Dad. I know it is." Eden nods eagerly, trying her best to stay as patient with her father. She just needed him to listen. "But, I just need you to hear me out, as crazy as it gets."

"I am. I think I have it." Tom slowly nods, wrapping his head around everything his daughter had spilled in the past thirty minutes. It was all intriguing and surprising information, but he could tell it was true—after how little he gave Eden his trust during after John B. died, when all she did was spew about Ward, he thinks she deserves his trust now. "So, the Cross of Domingo, that you and your friends found, is on its way back here....." the man seems to blank, "....how?"

"Rafe is trying to sell it off because making more money is his only personality trait." Eden explains, "But, that cross technically belongs to Pope—his family is related to the Tanny's, remember?"

"Denmark Tanny, the man who brought the gold and cross, yeah." Tom nods again, mentally writing in the timeline of everything and how somehow it all manages to intertwine. "Rafe and Ward stole it..."

Eden continues, "And then they stole me and put us all on a giant cargo ship to Guadeloupe. Which is where they all are now, I think." 

"They all includes your mother, right?" 

"As far as I know, yes." Eden had gone over that night in the Cameron house—how they'd tried to get the cross, and Eden went in to find Sarah. How she got caught by Rafe, shoved in the liquor cabinet, and had a panic attack. Comforted by Isla only to be literally back-stabbed by her and drugged out of it. Tom hadn't been a huge fan at all. "But, I really don't know." 

If she wasn't talking to her father, she truly would have said, 'But I really don't care.' 

"If the cross is coming back....does that mean Ward and your mother are, too?" Tom inquires, though Eden can't exactly find his true feelings about the woman. She doubted he wanted her anywhere near him, let alone her, but who knew?

"Well, Ward is supposed to be dead. So, maybe not him." Eden replies, before recalling the last conversation she'd had with her mother. She'd wanted to get away from Kildare, and hadn't told Tom. Why would she come home? "I don't know about Mom."

Tom nods slowly.

"To sum it all up again, the cross is in Wilmington tonight, and me and my friends decided that we aren't going to let it all go, and that we have to try and get it back because this could be the last chance we have to do it." the Bexley begins to finalize her case. She'd explained everything, now it was her father's turn to just say yes. "Which is why I'm here. To ask you if I can go to Wilmington." She pauses before adding a tight, ".....Please." 

The Bexley man lets out a tense sigh and Eden can already hear where this is going. "Angel....."

"Dad, please. Please." Eden doesn't think she begs for too much in her life, but she needs to go. This could be it—and honestly, Pope might not speak with her ever again if she can't go. "This could be the last time we ever get the chance to take the cross back; to get Pope's heritage. I've explained it all—"

"And I've listened. I get it." Tom tries to reason with his daughter before she starts going off entirely. She couldn't blame him for being hesitant—she'd just gone missing for over a month because of all of this gold and cross shit. He'd just gotten her back yet she was already running away. "But this is the very thing that took you away from me. When is enough enough for you and your friends?"  

When is this going to turn into the exact same thing your mother ruined her life by getting involved in?

Eden looks down at her feet, the familiar conflict rising in her chest. She knows her father is right in some ways, but he just doesn't understand. "I don't know, but....but I need to do this. My friends need me there." She pauses, trying to think of something. 

Tom has no reason to let her do this. She's been a shitty daughter since before the gold came into play—going M.I.A for days on her parents, returning sometimes high or drunk. She'd rarely spent any real time with her father since she was a little girl, and while most of that was because of Isla's shift to a shit person, some of that fell on her. After all, she'd never hated her dad.  

This was his chance to have his daughter back. He had all the right to say no, to tell her that this treasure hunting shit had to stop. And as much as she'd bitch and moan over it, Eden would listen because that's all she owed her father after leaving for a month. 

But she has to try to win him over, even with her slim chances. 

"I'll literally do anything." Eden hates the desperation in her tone as she spews flimsy promises, "I'll go back to school and try. I'll actually tell you when I'm staying with the Pogues. I'll....I'll stop running off so much. I'll go back to therapy. I'll be better."

Tom admits. "I'd like that. School, therapy, not disappearing so often."

Eden blinked. She didn't really want to keep any of those promises, but she nodded at her dad's admission anyway. "Yeah, okay. Okay."

Tom gave a small nod, his expression serious but not angry. "It would be nice to have a daughter who I didn't have to worry about every time she stepped out the door." 

"I can do that." Eden nods reassuringly, fingers anxiously picking at one of her bracelet. The father and daughter fall into silence for a moment before she returns with, "....So I can go?"

The Bexley man let out a sigh. "You can go. But please come home. I don't care if you drag your friends back here, just come back." 

Eden manages a light tipped smile and nods. She could do that.

mara's misc!

this chapter is SO much dialogue i actually mf despise it 

anywho this weekend is REAL busy for me! yesterday, i saw a production of cabaret at a local opera house and OH MY GOD it was amazing??? while it was an awkward show to watch with my mom (even tho she loves it) it was so freaking good. the ending had me in tears and i knew it was coming. it was SO well done and beautiful.

it was also awkward to see my choreographer being heavily sexual on stage. like do i want to tell her i saw her in the show bc $10 she'll be like "OH! you saw that." 

ALSO TODAY I SEE CONAN GRAY. I SEE CONAN MF GRAY. 

i've had these tickets since easter and i'm SO excited. i'm going with two of my friends and i've dragged my mom into it too and AH i'm just so excited. conan is one of my absolute favorites and the fact that i'm about to hear some of my absolute favorite songs live is bananas. 

also as stated, here's your little ss tweet 

also also big heads up next chapter is like 10,000+ words and that's my bad.

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 71!!