----
"It's gone." The pogues burst into the church and the first thing they notice is the pillows were scattered around the room. There was a massive dent in the middle of the room from where the cross laid.
"Damn it!" JJ shouts, kicking the pillow away, "I knew I didn't hide it well enough!"
Liv crouches down next to the hole in the middle of the floor, head down in defeat.
"We need a plan," JJ groans, "What's the plan?"
"What can we do?" Liv mumbles, "Go steal a 7ft cross back from them without getting noticed?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" JJ exclaims, "All right, here's what we do. We'll grab some kerosene tanks from the Chat, and then we go to my dad's shop and grab some dynamite. And then we drive down to Charleston and tell this lady who she's messing with! Because this is some bullshit, yall!"
"JJ," Liv sighs, standing up slowly, "You know that isn't going to work. We can't just blow shit up, man."
JJ lets out a loud sigh and turns to the boy, "Pope, I'm sorry."
"Denmark would've stood right here... preaching to everyone he set free," Pope calls out, "A slave. The sole survivor of the royal merchant, he got the gold and the cross, and he brought them both to shore and used it to free every person who walked through those doors. He made a church, a family, a congregation... a home. And the Limbreys took everything from him. They sicced dogs on his wife and his kids and when he tried to get her remains, they hung him. Well, I'm done. I'm tired of that shit. That is not how this is going to end. We need to freaking win, guys. I'm going to get my family's cross."
Pope spins on his heels heading towards the door as Liv grins at his speech. She had tried to get this side of Pope out for so long; The side that stood up for himself, the side that made him do what was right for him and only him.
"You guys coming?"
"Well, if you put it like that..." John B jokes.
"Maybe we should think about it, you know?" JJ shrugs, sarcastically.
"Pros and cons?" Liv asks, her grin growing wider.
"Pros and cons list," JJ nods and grabs his bag, "Hell yeah, we're coming with you, Pope!"
----
"Oh shit, they found the truck!" Kie exclaims. Many police cars are blocking the road, surrounding their broken down truck. Liv curses under her breath, leaning further down in her seat.
"Chill, chill, chill. Just relax," John B repeats.
"Well, lookee here," Shoupe scoffs, walking up to the twinkie.
"Good evening, Officer," John B greets then quickly corrects himself, "Sheriff, I mean."
"Sheriff, yeah, that's right."
"Speed kills, huh?" He says, pointing his head towards the truck.
"I pulled the tags, and I know whose truck this is," Shoupe says and looks further into the van. He shines his light onto Kie, who was hiding behind the front seat, and asks, "Hey! Kie, you drop your weed pen back there?"
"Found it," She nods in response.
"Sheriff, I just want to say this is all my fault," Pope calls out, "She had nothing to do with this. I take 100% responsibility."
"Nothing to do with it? Uh-huh," Shoupe says, "You wanna try that again? Your parents reported the truck missing four hours ago, and the keys were missing from the house. I'm taking you back home. Or I can pull you all in for leaving the scene of an accident."
"Okay," Kie agrees and Liv looks down at her with worry.
"Good. Plumb," He points to the door and the officer opens in, ushering the girl out.
"Hey," Liv grabs Kie's hand before she goes.
"Hit me up later and make sure I'm still alive," Kie jokes but there was no joy in her tone. Plumb closes the door and guides Kie around the van and into a police car.
----
They finally arrive at Tannyhill and Liv reluctantly jumps out. Once again, the treasure hunt led her back to her childhood home. They creep along the stone fence and look over it, eyes scanning the garden. Liv watches as Rafe pulls up with the truck. Pope turns to the pogues, saying, "How much do you want to bet Rafe has the cross in the truck right now?"
"There's only one way to find out," Sarah mutters and gives Liv a look. Her sister nods and the pair turn and walks away.
"Hey, hey, wait," John B calls out, grabbing Sarah's hand.
"What?" Sarah snaps.
"Look, before you volunteer on this death mission, I need to know a couple things," John B says and Liv groans.
"Okay, I'm just going to head over there," Liv mutters, awkwardly walking over to JJ and Pope but is stopped by Sarah.
"No need to," She says, pulling Liv back and making her stumble.
"Oh ok."
"I just want to ask some questions," John B says to Sarah.
"About what?" Sarah asks.
"Us."
"You wanna talk about us now?" Sarah scoffs, rolling her eyes slightly.
"Yes. I'm sorry, okay? And I should have said it sooner. I want you to have this back," John B grabs what seems to be a bracelet from his pocket and whispers, "Will you take it?"
A few seconds of silence falls between them and suddenly, Sarah grabs the back of John B's head and kisses him. Liv smiles, whistling at them. They whisper a few words to each other before Sarah grabs Liv hand and they walk away.
They walk towards the truck and Liv tries to open to door but fails.
"What do we do?" Liv whispers as Sarah shrugs at the boys, "We need the keys."
"Come back," The boys order but Sarah shakes her head.
"We're gonna go inside," Sarah hisses, "We'll be fine."
Ignoring the boys shouts of disagreement and bird calls, they enter the house. The two sisters sneak upstairs to Rafe's bedroom, opening the door slightly.
"He's in the shower," Liv whispers and they enter the room.
"Okay, spread out," Sarah says and the girls head to different corners of the room. Liv heads toward the bed side table and spots the keys on the side. She goes to pick them up but Sarah quickly places a hand on her shoulder. The door knob to the bathroom turns and Liv's heart races. They run out of the room and down the corridor.
Sarah leads Liv through the house and pauses when she reaches Wheezie's room. "Hey," She greets softly, watching as the little girl's face rises up.
"Sarah, Liv," She exclaims, "Rose was looking for you two. She said we're going on a trip or something."
"We're not going anywhere with her," Sarah scoffs.
"Not according to her. By the way, where have you been?"
"Trapped in the weirdest three days of my life. I have so much to tell you," Sarah sighs, sitting on to the bed. Liv stands awkwardly in the corner of the room.
"We have to ask you for a favour," Liv says.
"Again?"
"I'm sorry but right now, we need your help," Sarah says.
"On one condition, no more leaving me," Wheezie turns towards Sarah then towards Liv, "Both of you."
"Promise," The two twins answer at the same time.
----
YOU ARE READING
❛Pinky Promise❜ - Kiara Carrera
Fanfiction❛You know when you're drowning, you don't actually inhale until right before you black out. It's like no matter how much you're freaking out, the instinct to not let any water in is so strong that you won't open your mouth until you feel like your h...
