Carson Keller used to think her biggest problem was their rivalry against the Kooks, but that was until buried secrets rose to the surface. Now her biggest problems included a dangerous treasure hunt and a hot-headed teenage boy.
✰ season 1-3 ✰
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IT TOOK A WHILE for Carson to actually decide whether or not it was worth talking to JJ about the worries that had been going on in her head. She didn't want to cause issues if there was no need to, but Sarah was right that if she didn't talk to him then she would just keep wondering and that would probably drive her mad. At least if she just asked for the truth it would be behind them one way or the other. She just was a bit terrified of the truth because if it wasn't what she wanted to hear then she didn't know what she was going to do.
She finally decided that it was JJ, and that she should be able to ask him anything, even if it was completely in her head and completely untrue. He wasn't going to judge her for being honest about how she was feeling. So, that's why she was headed up to the top deck to look for him. Unfortunately, just as she happened to approach, she saw JJ and Kiara standing a little too close for comfort with her hand placed on his back. All she could do was let out a humorless laugh at the sight because if she didn't laugh, she was afraid she was going to cry. Their heads whipped over when they realized she was there, but before either of them could say anything, Carson turned to walk back towards her spot at the front of the boat.
"Car, wait!" JJ called after her, but she just ignored him as she kept walking. "Carson, c'mon, that wasn't what it looked like."
"Yeah 'cause that line has never been used before?" she said sarcastically. "Just leave me alone, JJ." She leaned forward as her hands gripped the front railing of the boat, her grip so tight her knuckles were becoming white.
"Will you please just look at me?" he pleaded. He leaned forward to try to get her attention but she just turned her head the other way. She knew that if she looked at him, the tears that were burning her eyes were going to break free. "Car, don't do this." Hearing him say that -- as if it was her fault that this was happening -- was what set her over.
"I'm not the one doing anything," she snapped as she finally looked over at him. If she wasn't so angry and upset, she probably would have laughed at the way he almost took a step back from the piercing look that she was giving him. "Is there something going on between you and Kiara? Don't fucking lie to me."
"No, of course not! The boat rocked and I stumbled into her, that's it," JJ insisted. She just stared at him blankly, clearly not believing that was what had happened. "I would never lie to you, and I most definitely would never cheat on you."
"How do I know that's true?" she said. This time, he was the one to let out a laugh of disbelief.
"You're kidding me, right? Now you suddenly don't trust me? Because of what, something that you convinced yourself is happening when it never has and never will?" he said. She knew the best thing to do was to just have them both step away to cool down because at this point it was getting to a point of escalation that was bound to end poorly, but the two of them were driven by their emotions and both too hot-headed for their own good.
"I don't know, it's not like you have the best track record for being super honest. Maybe you got that from your dad, but, well, look at him," Carson said. JJ's face dropped when she brought up his dad, and she knew it was a low blow that she couldn't take back but the words just came out of her mouth before she could even realize she was saying them. Her defense mechanism was to try to hurt him before he could hurt her, and that clearly worked. It was too bad that his was the same.
"Yeah, maybe I did," he said. "And it seems that you got your selfishness from your dad. Guess it's true when they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now, huh?" On that, he turned around and began walking away which worked in Carson's favor because she couldn't hold her tears in any longer. She knelt down and rested her head against the cold metal railing, just embracing the salt water that splashed up onto her face from the sea below. JJ and her had had plenty of fights before, but this one they really went for each other's weak spots -- both of which, coincidentally, happened to be their fathers.
