haven murphy had nothing to lose. everything was different after sarah cameron's birthday party, the night her father died. haven just didn't feel right in her own skin. then, on a whim, she befriended pope heyward and got sucked into a wild goose h...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: BOUNTY (episode nine: the bell tower | trigger warning: mentions of murder)
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"AND THERE GOES THE gold," Pope sighed as they watched Ward's plane fly away.
After dragging JJ away from the airstrip, the four pogues had taken cover in the first bit of shelter they could find; an abandoned shed cluttered with empty boxes, upturned furniture and a bunch of other junk. Haven searched through it while the others crowded around the entrance. She didn't think she'd be able to watch the gold disappear for good. If it was enough to have Pope shouting in frustration and throwing things against the wall, she knew it would be rough.
"Pope!" Kie cried, instinctively reaching out to grip Haven's hand as the boy found a bat at the bottom of a box and swung it against a table. "Pope, watch out!"
But he was too far gone. Haven couldn't blame him for lashing out. He'd abandoned his scholarship interview, his key to a good future, in the hopes of finding that gold for John B again. Only for those hopes to be ruthlessly dashed away, leaving him with nothing but his father's disappointment and a long life spent stuck in Outer Banks. Glass shattered and popped as the bat continued to wreak havoc. Haven stayed well out of Pope's way as he circled the room, wincing with every crash but finding herself unable to speak up. She felt suffocated, like nothing she or any of them said or did would make any real difference.
Finally, he went quiet, dropping down onto a moth-ridden couch with his head in his hands. Haven hesitated for a moment before eventually stepping forward. She waited for him to lash out again, to push her away and retreat. But he didn't. Instead, he just sighed to himself, frozen as she lowered herself down beside him. Neither of them said anything, but it was enough. Kie and JJ soon joined them, Kie looking ready to cry while JJ just stared at Pope in awe, like he was seeing him in an entirely new light.
"Hell yeah, dude," he gave an impressed grin. "I was wondering when this was going to happen."
"JJ, what are you—"
Haven went quiet as she saw the outstretched blunt in his hands. She looked at Pope then, wondering what he'd choose. He was rather like her in the sense that he didn't need drugs to make himself feel better, but even people like Pope Heyward were pushed to their limits sometimes. He slowly reached out to take the blunt, just blinking at it for a second. And with JJ saying shit like 'a little weed never hurt no one' he seemed to come to his decision. One that Kie definitely didn't like.
"Really, JJ?"
"Oh, relax, Kie," he waved her off with a roll of his eyes.
"You know he doesn't smoke."
"Well, maybe not until today."
If anything, Kie's strong aversion to it seemed to only encourage Pope more. He went to raise the blunt to his lips as JJ sat down on his other side, before she quickly intervened again.
