Carson Keller used to think her biggest problem was their rivalry against the Kooks, but that was until buried secrets rose to the surface. Now her biggest problems included a dangerous treasure hunt and a hot-headed teenage boy.
✰ season 1-3 ✰
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IT HAD NOT BEEN AN EASY TRIP to get to Charleston with Pope's truck failing them, but they finally made it. Granted, they were late so they had to hope that whoever Limbrey was would be understanding. It was intimidating standing at the front door as Pope knocked to alert them of their presence.
"You think that was too much?" he said.
"It echoed the entire house, that's for sure, so they definitely heard it," JJ said.
"Maybe nobody's home," Kiara said.
"We didn't come all this way just for nobody to be home," Carson said. Pope must have agreed with that because he leaned in to knock again, but this time the door actually opened to reveal a man.
"You must be Pope," he said.
"Um, are you Mr. Limbrey?" Pope asked awkwardly. There was something about the man that felt oddly creepy but maybe it was just the whole estate and the history behind it.
"Ms. Limbrey was expecting you yesterday," he said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. My car broke down on the way up here," Pope explained.
"Carburetor blew up in the middle of Nowheresville," JJ said. "Sorry about that."
"Yeah, she was, uh, real upset when you didn't show up," the man said.
"Well, we're here now," Carson said.
"Yeah, we tried to call but there's no number on the invitation," Kiara said. "We got here as fast as we could."
"She also expected you to come alone," he directed to Pope.
"I mean, these are my friends. They helped find the Royal Merchant too so I-"
"Yeah, the instructions were explicit," he cut him off. "Your friends can stay outside."
"Well, we're kind of a package deal, man," JJ tried.
"JJ, it's okay. I got this," Pope assured him. He looked back at Kiara and grabbed her hand. "Keep the car running."
✰
"Does anyone else get bad vibes from this place?" Carson asked as her, Kiara, and JJ sat in the truck.
"It's definitely not my favorite place," Kiara said. "But if Limbrey is legit then Ward gets arrested and maybe Sarah gets the gold." Carson had to hope she was right. They looked over when Pope was then being brought out of the house and through an alley. "Does that look voluntary?" The way that the man pushed Pope forward made Carson already have a feeling about that answer.
"That would be a negative," JJ said. It would be too suspicious of them to have followed them into the alley, so JJ pulled the car around to hopefully meet them at the other end. Carson began getting nervous when they couldn't find them as they drove around and the bad feeling she was getting from these people became harder to ignore.
By the time that they decided to just get out on foot and they were able to find Pope, he was on the ground wrestling with the man named Renfield. JJ sprinted over and kicked the taser over towards Kiara before helping Pope get back onto his feet.
"Let's go!" Carson yelled as they hopped over the fence and jumped back into the truck to make their getaway.
"That was crazy as shit. Let's get out of here now," Pope said. JJ whipped the truck around, but it wasn't long before Renfield was behind them.
"I think he's following us," Kiara said. The truck was already tight to begin with but with Carson squeezed in between Pope and JJ and the way that he was driving, she was trying her hardest not to slide around.
"JJ, please don't kill us," Carson said as she had one hand pressed into his thigh and the other clenching Pope's arm to try to hold herself in place. As soon as he whipped around the corner, the car started smoking as the engine made an unpleasant noise.
"You said he fixed the carburetor!" he said. "You said he fixed it!"
"He did!" Pope yelled back.
"Shit," Kiara said.
"Number one rule. Never trust mechanics," JJ said. "We gotta go." He pushed Carson forward as they began running through the alley. They kept turning corners and trying to find any way to lose him. When they turned the corner and found John B and Sarah in a bike cart, Carson felt like she was seeing ghosts. She obviously knew that they were alive, but seeing them in person made it finally feel real. The second that they stood there and stared at each other, they almost forgot that they were being chased. There wasn't much time for a reunion though so they all hopped into the cart that Sarah was in so John B could pedal away from their chasers.
When they were actually able to get away, they felt like they were on cloud nine. It felt better than ever to be with each other. It also worked out because Sarah and John B had a boat so they were just going to cruise back home without a care in the world, at least for that time being. All they could do was laugh and talk about everything that had happened recently.
"Holy shit," Sarah said in satisfaction as the girls sat and ate watermelon together.
"Okay, so you really got married?" Kiara asked.
"It wasn't exactly legal, but, yeah," she said with a smile on her face.
"So, does that make John B, like, my sort of brother-in-law now?" Carson joked. Sarah and Kiara laughed.
"Am I crazy or is there definitely something going on between you and Pope?" Sarah said towards Kiara.
"Maybe," she said casually.
"That's not a no," Sarah pointed out.
"It's not a no," Kiara said.
"Girl," Sarah said. They all laughed and continued to shove watermelon into their mouths, just enjoying each other's company without having to run from anyone too. "And you and JJ?"
"Oh, please, you and John B won't be the only married ones," Kiara inputted. "Those two already act like they're married." Carson laughed and shrugged.
"He's it for me," Carson admitted with a smile she couldn't fight against. This had been one of the first times she had actually spoke about her relationship with him and it was obvious that they loved each other, but acknowledging it out loud with Sarah and Kiara felt weird. She was so comfortable with JJ that there was never any tension or awkwardness, but now that they were together, there was this new feeling of giddiness when she was him.
"Aw, you're blushing," Sarah teased.
"I don't blush," Carson rebutted, but she could feel the heat in her cheeks so she knew she was.
"He'd do anything for you, you know," Kiara said, which just made Carson's smile grow even more.
