𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 - kiara carrera¹

𝒙. 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏

"HEY, CAN WE TALK?"

Kiara Carrera spun around to face her bedroom window. A glare sat comfortably on her face when she seen her intruder. Tatum. The two girls hadn't spoken since the night she shot Topper. "Are you gonna explain to my why you would do something so stupid?" she snapped.

Tatum frowned and sat beside Kie on her large, queen-sized bed. "No."

If looks could kill, Kiara would've been in prison by now, because the way she was looking at Tatum was deathly. "So what are you here for?"

Tatum sighed, taking her time to get her words right. She wasn't usually one to apologise. She wasn't usually one to acknowledge that she did anything wrong. But nobody had spoken to her in days. Not even JJ had come out of hiding. Her friends were truly scared of her, and that crushed every piece of her heart. Because her friends were her family. They were all that mattered to her.  "I'm not here to explain myself, because then I'd be lying," she said, the words coming out carefully and soft. "Because I don't know why I did that myself."

Kie furrowed her eyebrows and waited for her to go on. She was so angry at Tatum for what she did - furious when she found out about Topper's trip to the hospital. Apparently, her dad and Leroy threatened his family to not go to the police. Not like they would've anyway. Snitch on a Quinn and you're dead; it was a simple and well-known law of their town.

"Joe is dead," she went on in a quiet, softening tone. Kiara's mouth dropped, her glare falling with it. Tatum shook her head at the sympathy. "Don't give me that look. You know we weren't your typical big brother/little sister duo." She paused, trying to find the right words to say. "Dad made Leroy kill him..." She gulped, warm fear travelling through her body. "...Because he found out he was gay. I guess that's why I hooked up with that touron." Why was she explaining herself moments after she said she wasn't going to? Kiara wasn't her girlfriend - it was none of her business. But the thought of the girl hating her drove her crazy. It hurt her, physically. "I don't know what happened after that. I just...lost myself."

Kiara nodded understandingly. She held Tatum's hands, rubbing her thumb softly over her knuckles. She knew the Quinns were fucked up, but she didn't expect that. Joseph Quinn was dead. It was mind blowing. What was OBX without its hot, gay, murderous porn star?

"I guess, what I'm trying to say is..." Tatum cringed at herself. She hated this. It made her feel so icky and uncomfortable, but for Kiara Carrera, she'd go through all that slimey stuff just for her forgiveness. "...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for taking out the gun, for shooting Topper - for scaring you."

Kie's eyes went soft at the words of Tatum Quinn. There was something about her...the feeling she got when she was around her. She hated it when Tate got into trouble, she hated it when Tate got hurt, she couldn't stand the thought of her going back to juvie...Kiara Carrera was falling for her best friend.

Tatum finally dared to look the girl in the eyes; those soft, beautiful brown eyes. "You didn't really think I was going to hurt you, did you?" she asked desperately. She couldn't imagine being in a world where the only person brave enough to shout at her was scared of her.

Kie shrugged. "For a moment, I thought maybe you might," she said truthfully. "But I think I always knew you'd never really hurt anyone."

"I hurt Topper," she pointed out with a sad smile.

"Not because you wanted to."

Tatum nodded, a single tear dripping down her face. Kiara's eyes widened at the sight. Tatum giggled. Kiara smiled. She missed that sound. She really did. She wiped away the one drop, and all was forgiven.