𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 - kiara carrera¹

𝒙𝒍. 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒚

"SO, APPARENTLY SARAH AND KIE SORTED THEIR SHIT OUT."

Tatum smiled at her brother's newfound enthusiasm over the hunt. She knew her friends would win him over in the end, whether or not he was too stubborn to admit he actually enjoyed hanging out with them. But after all their support yesterday, he really couldn't deny it anymore. They were good people. He would never say that out loud, of course, but Tatum could tell he felt that way by the look on his face and the eagerness he had to get to the creep Crain house.

After finding out their mom bailed them with their secret sister, the twins didn't get much sleep that night. They stayed up, in the cold, dark room they were currently hiding in, and stared at the ceiling in silence. Nothing made sense. None of it did. They were almost grateful for their dad - almost, they snapped each other out of it straight away. But the realisation that their mother really didn't want them made the two rethink everything in their lives. Obviously, they knew she left, and they had come to terms with that over the years. But they thought she left because of Nathan. Clearly not. If she did, then she would've took her other two children with her. How could she live with herself after abandoning them with that man? Why was the box in the Crain basement? They were abused, they were put against each other, they were forced to break the law, they were threatened for their sexualities - Tatum was raped - and all that could've been avoided if their mom didn't only care about one of her three children.

So, when John B called to tell them to get their asses back to the Crain House of Horrors, the twins didn't hesitate before stalking through the night, careful to avoid the screams and destruction of Leroy Quinn, who was still roughly searching the island for Thomas - to kill him. Another thing that could've been avoided if their mother gave a shit.

"Finally," sighed Tatum as the Twinkie pulled up on the road beside the mansion.

"Took you long enough," Thomas agreed, his arms crossed.

John B nodded at the twins in acknowledgement, his whole body shaking with nerves and adrenaline. He slid the door of the van open, but before anybody could get out, he paused. "I wanna say thank you guys," he said, looking around at his extended group. He was beyond grateful for every single one of them. He couldn't have done it without them. Pope Heyward - the brains. JJ Maybank - the golden retriever. Kiara Carrera - the overprotective mom. Sarah Cameron - the badass with the connections. Thomas Quinn - the one forces you into the real world. And Tatum Quinn - the candy. They were wrong before, she wasn't the firey crazy one (though she could get a little out of hand at times) Tatum was the sweet one, who made them see light in every situation. Like candy. He nodded. "Seriously. It means a lot to me that you're here tonight."

Tatum wrapped her hands around his waist and swung her head on his shoulder playfully, wearing that same grin every single pouge adored. "Always."

Kiara Carrera met her eye, and she felt the whole world slow down. All the boys, and Sarah, blurred into the distance, and it was just Tate and Kie there, trapped in this very moment. Their wacky grins softened into sleepy smiles, and the two girls blinked slowly. Wrapped up in baggy hoodies, their hairs down and wild, their faces moisturised from nothing but the rain, not a single blob of concealer left, they couldn't have found each other more beautiful. The cold air was washed away and a thick coat of warmth blanketed itself around their boxes at the mere sight of each other. Because that was how the girls felt around each other. Warm. Comfortable. Loved.

"Of course, man," Pope Heyward spoke up, snapping the girls back into the world.

The group of seven looked around with appreciative smiles. Except Thomas and JJ, who were getting pretty bored now. And Tatum, who had found a sudden interest in the moon.

"All right, we done with this circle jerk?" asked JJ, a thick, long rope over his shoulder. "Can we go do this?"

"Yeah," said Kiara, jumping out of the van, her flashlight turned on as she admired the way Tatum glew under to moonlight.

"Let's go get that wheat in the water," agreed Pope as Thomas held out his hand to get out the packed vehicle.

"Weed?" asked JJ.

Tatum's head snapped towards them. She giggled. "I'm up for some weed," she announced, getting thrown into the air by JJ, who let her rest on his shoulders. She dangled her left on his chest, her hands gripping his sandy hair gently, allowing her to balance so high in the air, sitting on the lanky boy.

"You've had too much weed," her brother grunted, hiding any emotion as he helped Pope out. He wasn't sure why he did it. His body moved before his brain could, and it made him want to scream. Thomas didn't do things by feelings, he planned out everything he did with logic first. Until he stupidly joined the pouges. Or as he liked to call them, 'the pussy gang'...and not because they got any pussy.

"Wheat," corrected Pope, looking up at the two idiots. "I said wheat."

"Still want some weed though," muttered Tatum, giggling as JJ swung the two of them into a tree.

"She comes out with a graze, you're dead, Maybank!"

"Sorry, Tom."

"What the fuck did you just call me?!"

"Not this again."

A/n: im sorry i haven't been updating like 3/4 times a day like i used to. im really busy with school and stuff so im trying to post as much as i can, but i am definitely still going to update at least once a day :) hopefully i can post more too