𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 - kiara carrera¹

𝒍𝒙. 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒔

"JOHN B, WHAT ARE WE DOING AT THE POLICE STATION?"

At the accusing voice of JJ Maybank, Tatum rose from her nap, spread across the backseats of the Carreras' volvo, or rather, the legs of JJ and Kiara. The moment she opened her eyes, she was already staring into Kie's, who was currently massaging her scalp the way she did whenever Tatum fell asleep.

"Somebody's gotta tell them what happened," John B said, his voice raspy, still uncertain and uneasy about his next move as the last  pawn on Ward Cameron's chest board.

So, apparently, Tatum was wrong.

John B did not kill his girlfriend's dad. Which was rather unfortunate if you asked his friends.

No. The blood was actually Sheriff Peterkin's. Because Rafe Cameron killed her.

Beside John B at the passenger seat, Pope began to cough. Since he took his very first hit of the blunt earlier that day, he hadn't stopped. While JJ and Tatum continued to egg him on, Kiara continued to scold them, watching their friend change into a completely unrecognisable, reckless person. Immature. Like the other three. And there was no way Kie was going to be the only responsible one; there was no way she could handle all four of them on her own. She seriously wished Sarah was here right now, but then again, she would probably giggle along with the stoned idiots.

"Easy there, chief," croaked JJ, also high as shit, but nowhere near as bad as Pope, considering he'd been doing it since he was eleven. "Damn."

"What's going on?" groaned Tatum tiredly, lifting her head up to see all her friends.

"Nothing," Kiara whispered softy, brushing the girl's hair back with her fingers. "Get some sleep; we've got a long couple of days ahead of us."

Tatum nodded, and shut her eyes. She understood why Kie wanted her to get some sleep. Tomorrow was her last day as a free human. The day after, she'd be locked up for the rest of her life. If only she knew then exactly how she'd be locked up, because what happened in the end was certainly not what she expected. But that was another day's worry. And right now, Tatum wasn't tired in the slightest. But Kie told her to go back to sleep. So, like the true child she was, Tatum shut her eyes and listened to the conversation going on around her.

"All right," said JJ, shifting forward to speak to John B face-to-face, while having Tate's legs dangled over his. "I'm just gonna be real with you right now." He paused for a moment, looking back at the 'sleeping' girl with a frown, because she made this exact mistake when she had a breakdown - and it only made the mood in the vehicle go down even more when all the pouges were reminded that the breakdown in question was caused because of them. With all the stress and worry going on with Tatum's upcoming trial, they couldn't go through the exact same with John B just because he wasn't thinking straight. "You might end up in the lion's den, but you don't go there on purpose." He shook his head, getting rid of the emotion in his voice. "It's fundamental. Just like Leroy always told me, you should never ever trust cops, no matter what the circumstance is."

"Leroy's a sociopathic serial killer," stated Kiara dryly, who agreed with John B about going to the police. But of course she would think that - she was raised by the kooks. Tatum held back a frown, trying to keep up her fantastic performance of sleep, at the mention of her older brother. Obviously, JJ would bring her family up every now and then - he was family; she called his dad 'Uncle Luke', despite her hatrid for him - but she didn't like it when other people commented on her family. Even her girlfriend. Even when it was the truth. Because even though Leroy was pure evil, he was still her big brother.

"I agree with JJ." And that was the very first time those words had ever come out of Pope Heyward's mouth. The last thing 'Sober Pope' would ever do, is agree with JJ. Tatum almost grinned. Almost. She was still pretending to be asleep. "Fuck the police."

"You goin' to the dark side now?" asked Kiara sarcastically, still gently running her fingers through her girlfriend's hair, bored of Pope's new personality.

"When's the last time the police helped us?" he snapped harshly, annoyed at all the nagging the girl had done today. Now he understood what it was to be in JJ and Tatum's place, and he was suddenly questioning why Tate was still in love with her. And friends with him. God, he and Kie really never stopped shouting at the two of them.

"Peterkin looked out for me, all right?" John B spoke up, deciding it was his time to have a say in what he was going to do, causing his three friends to shut up. "Tried to, at least."

Nobody spoke for a moment. Because he was right. That sheriff was always there to fix his problems, with the DCS, with his friends' arrests, she warned him about the merchant before he even started looking for it - that woman was the only mother figure he had ever had (other than Kiara, of course).

"They need to know," he stubbornly decided with a sad whisper, undoing his seat belt as his friends nodded, letting him do this on his own.

When he left the car, everyone turned around to face the back, looking at the 'resting' girl. Kiara chuckled lightly and shook her head. "We all know you're awake, Tate."

Her eyes still closed, finding a weird comfort in the feeling of it, the girl smiled, lifting her hand and opening her mouth. Knowing exactly what she meant, JJ placed a pre-made joint in between her lips and lit it for her.

And sitting outside the station, waiting for John B, the friends were all once again reminded of the single day they had left with Tatum Quinn. One of the best people they'd ever met.

It was true. Tomorrow was the last day they had left with her before she was locked up. But maybe not in the way they thought...

A/n: i can't help with all the hints this chapter