EDEN looked solemnly outside The Wreck's door frame.

The previous night—after stopping at the Cameron Estate to alert Sarah of what was happening, (Kie and Pope both went up, though the Heyward boy returned much sooner with a frown on his face)—Kiara offered them a place to stay within The Wreck.  

She knew that JJ nor Eden would go home, and if her or Pope tried to do so, they'd end up on house arrest.  So, she decided to break into her parents place to give them shelter and a place to sleep for the night—though the Bexley wouldn't really say she slept much.

Her mind was alert all night, the worry she was feeling increasing at every passing siren.  For all she knew, John B. had been found, had been harmed, was in a jail cell where no one would listen to his pleas that he didn't do it.  All the while Ward Cameron kicked up his feet upon a beach cabana, gold in his pockets.

Currently, the girl was watching the passing police cars, JJ beside her, the boy fiddling with his lighter—a nervous tick of his. The two stood in silence, not wanting to awake Pope—who made a make-shift bed out of toilet paper rolls—or Kiara, who was using a package of paper towels as a pillow.

"He's pinched for sure, man." JJ mutters. 

"No." Eden shakes her head, trying to hope for the best.  She was trying to see the continuous police sirens—they hadn't stopped since their getaway drive the day prior—as the station still searching for John B. rather than the opposite. "They wouldn't still be patrolling if they found him."

"Let's hope."

From her sleeping area, Kiara speaks, alerting everyone that she was awake, "You know, we were in that car. They're probably looking for us, too." 

"If they don't find him within the next day or so, I bet they'll start questioning everyone who knew him." the Bexley hums, agreeing with what the other girl said. "Starting with us, of course.  One way or another, we're going to become apart of this whole man-hunt."

"Well, if we're gonna be outlaws, we might as well help John B." Pope states, causing the three teens to look at him as he approaches from his toilet roll bed.

Eden nods, "I second that. I'd rather be caught trying to help him then just sitting around."

"So, find him before they do?" JJ questions as Pope heads over to a table, snatching the motorbike—which was sitting in the front yard of The Wreck—keys from his green bag. "Pope?"

"I'm gonna get gas for the boat." the Heyward boy states firmly, quickly pacing out of the restaurant. Eden's eyes narrowed at the cold shoulder he seemed to be giving them—ever since last night at the Cameron Estate, when he left with Kie, he'd been awfully distant and quiet, more than he normally was.

Eden sends him a motherly look, "Don't get caught, alright?" 

"Yeah, be careful. Okay?" Kiara adds. It's not hard to miss the way Pope visibly tenses at the girl's words.

Ignoring the Carrera, Pope turns back to JJ and Eden, "Meet me at the dock at three. Don't be late." He then exits out of The Wreck without so much as a second glance.

Eden and JJ share a look as Kiara chases after Pope. Something was up.

Now, Eden knew things had been tense between the two teens since Pope told her about the scholarship argument they had, but this tension was different.  She assumed it had something to do with how Pope seemed so upset returning to the SUV the other night, but what exactly had happened, she was still unsure of.

"Okay, what is your problem?" Kiara snaps, following the boy down to the motorbike.

"No problem, officer." Pope nips quickly, throwing a leg over the bike, "I'm just doing my job."

"Look, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." 

The Heyward boy revs the engine before turning towards the girl, "What was that?"

"Look, I didn't mean too—" she get's cut off by the revving of the engine.

"Sorry, I can't hear you. What was that?"

"Pope, I'm being serious—" Kiara sighs, the boy continuing to rev the engine, muting her words. "I'm trying to talk to you!"

The Carrera never gets to do so, as Pope then drives off on the bike, leaving Kiara in the dust—literally. 

"Pope is feeling petty today, I see—" Eden remarks, though is quickly cut off by the sound of whirring.  All three teens whip their heads up, brows knit in confusion as they watch as helicopter passes by. "What the fuck?"

JJ looks at his friends, "Who the hell is that?" 

Something about this helicopter didn't sit right with Eden.  Rarely did anything bigger than a small plane fly past, let alone something like a helicopter. This had to mean bigger reinforcements were being called it to find John B.—that things were getting bigger than just the Kildare County Police.

Eden opens her mouth but closes it when her phone starts to ring in her pocket.  With John B. on the loose, Sarah on lock down, and Pope upset, the Bexley is quick to pull it out of her pocket—she was running low on battery, so she'd been trying to save as much as possible by not being on it—and looks to see who's calling, frown etching on her lips when she reads the contact name.

Her mother.

Eden hadn't spoken to her mother since Midsummers—more than a week ago, as far as Eden's been keeping count.  She knew all that was waiting for her at home was a reprimand and an argument, and she'd heard Isla.  Her mother didn't want her back home.

So why was she calling?

"Sorry, guys, uh, my mom's calling." Eden excuses herself from her two friends —see? Some proper manners stayed—and headed into The Wreck, quickly maneuvering to the restrooms so she could privately speak. 

Then, with a breath, she swiped up.

"Eden?"

Isla sounded.....worried? Rather odd, given Eden was expecting much more anger from her mother—she couldn't tell you the last time she heard this type of tone.

Eden paused a moment before replying, "Yes?"

"Oh, Eden. Thank God you're okay."

"I mean, you would have probably gotten a phone call from, like, the cops or the hospital if I wasn't, so..."

"Don't get smart with me right now." Isla's stern voice returned for a moment, "I was worried about you, honey."

"That's a first—"

"Eden, could you listen to me for five seconds? I didn't raise you to be a smart-ass." Isla snapped, causing the Bexley to quiet herself—she was honestly curious as to what her mother had to say. "Me and your father were worried.  We haven't heard from you since Midsummers."

"Well, Isla, you clearly stated that you didn't want to see me back home, and I know you always mean what you say." Eden hummed, before asking, "What do you want? I'm actually really busy right now, so—"

"I want you back home, that's what I want."

"Since when?"

"Since your little Pogue friend John B. Routledge decided to murder Sheriff Peterkin." Isla hisses, the thought of her daughter hanging out with a murderer for years causing her to cringe. She always knew the Pogues were bad news. "It's not safe out there anymore, Eden. I want you back home, right now, where you'll be on house arrest until everything is sorted out."

Eden couldn't help herself from spitting, "He's not a murderer, Mom! John B. would never ever hurt someone, let alone Sheriff Peterkin, the one adult who gave a shit about him! He's—he's being framed!"

"Eden, honey, are you delusional? He clearly has you brainwashed! Who would frame a seventeen year old boy for a murder he didn't commit?"

"The Cameron's." the Bexley doesn't care that she's revealing this to her mother—the woman won't believe her. "Rafe shot Peterkin on a tarmac while they were trying to steal the Royal Merchant gold which is ours! We found the gold and now he's trying to steal it! Rafe shot Peterkin and now, Ward is using John B.'s name to protect his reputation!"

"Oh, honey, you can't believe a word out of that boy's lips." Isla states, before adding. "Not until he's found and goes to court that is. He's a Pogue, baby, what did you expect? They always end up screwing up. Though, may I say, I always thought it was going to be that Maybank kid.  His dad is Luke—"

"Don't talk about JJ like that." Eden snaps. "Oh, and to answer your question, no. I'm not going home—not until John B.'s name is cleared and I see Rafe Cameron's mug shot photos."

"Eden, please. As long as that Routledge kid is on the loose, you're not safe!"

"I promise, Mom. I'm safe." Eden pulls the phone away from her ear. "If it makes you feel any less worried, I'll come home by tomorrow, okay? I just —I need to clear John B.'s name."

Isla tried to stop her daughter again, "Eden Brielle, do not go with your Pogue friends right now—"

Eden hung up.

Sighing, she turned her notifications off and slid her phone back into her pocket. She had bigger problems to worry about than her mother being worried—her best friend was being hunted by the whole island for a murder he didn't commit.

She could hear JJ and Kiara quietly talking from the kitchen, and quickly left the bathroom to meet them instead. As expected, the two teens were within the room, boxing up different items of food for who Eden assumed to be John B. and Sarah—who would be joining the Routledge on his small trip away from home.

Kiara was first to notice the reappearance of her friend, but instead of asking why she had to leave, the Carrera popped a different question. "How long have you known that Pope liked me?"

"Uh.....a while?" the Bexley truthfully replied. She wasn't sure when started picking up the clues, but once she did, it was clear that Pope had a thing for Kie—a thing that only Eden seemed to notice. "Why?"

JJ snickered, "She broke his heart, that's why."

"I did not break his heart." the Carrera girl shook her head, though a small frown appeared on her face at the thought.  When Pope said he loved her, she didn't know what to say—she didn't love Pope like that in return, and besides, Pope's never been in love, so who's saying it wasn't just a high-off-his-ass thought, or an exaggerated crush from the extra amount of time they spent together? In her opinion, she'd mildly hurt his feelings. "I just......hurt his feelings."

Eden raised a brow, "What did you do exactly?"

"When he came with me to tell Sarah, he.....he told me he loved me." Kiara admitted, the subject slightly tense by the looks of her face. "I turned him down.  Believe me, I—I love him just not like that.  I want a life of adventure, and Pope just isn't that."

"Ah, so that's why he's been so quiet." Eden hummed.  She felt bad that Pope had his feelings turned down like that—he couldn't help his crush, (Kiara was a hot, sweet, sarcastic and friendly girl who actually liked his presence)—but at least Kiara had told him the truth up front.  It would have been worse if she led him on.

JJ continues to stack items of food into a bag, "You sure he wasn't just being weird Pope?"

"It wasn't really the type of thing that needed interpretation."

Eden nods, "I don't think Pope would fake or joke around about his feelings like that.  He rarely has outbursts of strong emotions—excluding whatever the fuck you want to call yesterday."

Kiara decided she was finished with the conversation and changed it towards the food her and JJ were filling boxes with, "Is that gonna be enough food for them?"Them was clearly John B. and Sarah. 

It slightly saddened Eden as she recalled why JJ and Kie were doing this in the first place—John B. and Sarah were going to be leaving the island.  She didn't want her best friend, as well as the girl who'd grown on her, to depart, (even for a mere few weeks), but there was no way the Routledge boy couldn't.  If he stayed in Kildare County, something was bound to happen and she couldn't watch him get accused for another day.

 And, where John Booker Routledge went, Sarah Cameron followed—they were practically a package deal.

"I mean, for a couple of weeks, and that's all they really need, so....." the blonde trailed off, grabbing his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder. 

Kiara frowned, "Look, I actually think I hurt his feelings."

"Kie, don't beat yourself up about it, okay? Pope's been knocked up on more weed in the past day than he ever has been in his entire life, and I'm sure he didn't mean for it to slip out like that. The best you can do is just hope he gets over this grudge and realize that you don't have to love him in return." the Bexley sends her friend a reassuring look before grabbing a bin of food and following JJ outside.

"Yeah, he's completely changed his feels." JJ hums in agreement, "The past 24 hours have been like Jekyll and Hyde."

"I hate to admit it, but I miss the old Pope." the Carrera continues walking, "At least I knew what to expect from him—"

The conversation is quickly stopped by the sight of Anna Carrera standing right in front of them.

"Where have you been?" Anna asks harshly, clearly upset that her daughter's been M.I.A for days—just like Isla.

Kiara points towards The Wreck, sensing her mother's disappointment, "Uh—I'm fine. I slept here."

"Well, we were up half the night, scared to death, lookin' for you." Anna scoffs, eyes narrowing at her daughter's chill behavior. She then slides them over to the Bexley, who stands awkwardly to the side, "You too, Eden. Your mom is very worried about you and your whereabouts."

Eden gave an awkward smile, "Already called her, Mrs. Carrera."

Looking back at Kie, Anna asks, "Were you even gonna tell us?"

Slightly lowering her voice, Kiara says, "Well, I'm telling you right now."

Raising her brows, Anna scans over each of the teens, suspicious as to what was going on as the Maybank sets a box within the trunk of the 4Runner. "Alright, what the hell are you three up too?"

JJ runs a hand through his hair, "I'm sorry, Miss Anna, we just gotta go—"

"No." Anna shakes her head, "Absolutely not."

Kie tries to apologize, "I'm sorry—"

"Have you heard what's going on out there?"

"I'll explain, later—"

"Honey, have you seen the storm comin' in? This is not safe of you to do!"

"I'm sorry, Mom. I have to go."

Kiara gets in the drivers seat, JJ taking passenger.  Eden sits in the back, lips drawn in a thin line as the mother continues to argue with her daughter, against the girl going off on her own in a time like this.

"These cops are armed, Kiara." Anna reasons, "You're gonna get shot."

"I have to go!"

"I am not letting you do this—"

"Mom, John B. needs me!"

"You need to stay right here."

Kiara starts the engine of the SUV, "I understand! I'll be careful!"

The two Carrera's continue to scream and plead at one another and Eden can hear the tears in Kiara's eyes as she shuts the door on her mother, the woman begging for her daughter to return to their house, to stay safe and sound.

Of course, the curly haired girl doesn't listen, and drives off, leaving her mother behind.

John B. was more important.

mara's misc

guess who got guts tickets???????

yeah, so i threatened to like disappear off the face of the earth if i didn't get a presale code—yes, very dramatic, i'm a theater kid for a reason—and i guess the olivia rodrigo gods heard me and decided i was to good to disappear, and not only send me a code, but my mother too.  

literally woke up to a text saying i got a code and texted my friend like "holy shit"

anyway, i gave my dad my info and he and my mom both waited in a queue, both of them ending up with tickets (we got seven tickets, two for me, three for my friends since they got wait listed and two to re-sell so we don't go utterly broke) so expect me to make this my new personality until march 23rd when i go.

2023-2024 is my concert era fr.

so, back to this chapter, it was pretty basic.  we're literally in the last episode and i can't believe it bc like how?????? i'm literally writing the last chapter as we speak and it doesn't make sense.  i formally apologize for the sadness i will be putting eden through now.

also, yes, i had to bring isla back. haven't heard from her in a bit.

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter 27!!!