𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

twenty three.

─☼☼☼─

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙍𝙀𝙍𝘼 𝙃𝙊𝙐𝙎𝙀 was dark and empty when Charlotte returned from Tannyhill. 

Sarah had wanted her to stay, but she couldn't stay in that house with Ward Cameron. She wasn't sure exactly what he had done, but she knew it wasn't good. 

Kicking off her shoes, Charlotte entered the dark house and let out a frustrated sigh. She had come home this summer hoping to refresh. Instead, she was having arguably the most chaotic couple of months of her life. 

She never, in a million years, could have expected this is what her life would have come to. Maybe she should have stuck to the Kook life...it seemed less dangerous. 

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway met Charlotte's ears as headlights lit up the front of the house. 

Tentatively peeking out the front window, Charlotte watched as her sister and JJ got out of the car. There was no sign of John B...or Pope for that matter. 

It didn't really matter who was here, she was going to give them all hell one way or another. 

The front door slowly creaked open as if Kiara was attempting to be quiet. JJ was whispering something to her as she attempted to shush him. 

"Give it up." Charlotte instructed from the kitchen. "I'm awake."

"Fuck."

When the two of them entered the kitchen, they both looked fearful of the wrath they were about to be met with. So, Charlotte gave it to them. "Where the hell have you been? Can none of you pick up a fucking phone?"

JJ was the first to speak. "Listen, Charls, we get that you're mad, and you have every right to be. But shit went down tonight...like for real."

With her hands on her hips, Charlotte looked between the two of them. She could either continue giving them hell, or discuss the shit-storm they had on their hands right now. She decided that the latter was more important. "I know." She answered. "I went to Tannyhill tonight."

Kiara looked like she had just been told that Charlotte jumped into shark-infested water. "What!?"

"I didn't know where any of you were! So I went to talk to Sarah." She let out a breath. "I heard her and Ward arguing...he was saying that John B accused him of murder and─"

"That's because he is a murderer!" Kiara exclaimed. "He killed Big John."

Running her hands over her face, Charlotte shook her head at the situation. She really didn't want to say this next part out loud, because when she did, she'd be admitting that her ex-boyfriend's father was not the man she thought he was.  "Sarah also told me that...she told me that John B accused Ward of trying to kill him this morning on the boat."

JJ's face paled. "What?"

"And he knows about the gold." Kiara muttered, throwing her hands up in frustration. "That's why he tried to kill John B. Fucking psychopath!"

"So where is he?" Charlotte demanded, still trying to register the news. "Where's John B? Is he safe?"

Kiara and JJ shared a nervous look. "We don't know exactly."