𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 ➺ 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄「𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄」

𝐎𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

"Okay, maybe we can walk from here" Pope suggests as we all stand knee deep in swamp water.

"What? And leave the Twinkie?" John B asks in disbelief "The- the tide's coming in"

"We can't leave the Twinkie" I agree with my brother.

"So then what are we supposed to do?" Sarah questions.

"Not stay here" JJ answers simply.

"I can take my dad's truck" Kiara blurts out and we all look at her in surprise.

"Kie, are you sure?" John B asks in concern.

"How much worse can it get, you know?" The Carrera girl shrugs.

"Kie, no" I tell the girl firmly before looking at the others "I'll get Alek's truck"

"We need something to pull her out with" JJ adds, changing the subject "There's the winch at the Chateau. That's, like, two miles"

"Yeah, that's a good idea" Sarah agrees.

"If you're gonna do it, let's go, okay?" John B declares.

"All right" Kiara nods.

"Tide's coming in. Twinkie's going underwater" John B adds.

"Double time, princess. We gotta move" JJ tells me, holding out his hand to me and I take a hold of the boy's hand, heading in the direction of the cut.

It takes us a good twenty minutes to trek all the way to my house and when we arrive I spot Aleksander's truck in the driveway next to Ophelia's beaten up car.

"He's not going to just let you take his truck, O" JJ reminds me as we near the door.

"I know. I'll figure it out" I wave him off, pushing the door open.

JJ and I sneak into the kitchen and I find both sets of keys in a glass bowl on the counter. I take Aleksander's set out the bowl and quickly shove them into the front pocket of my jeans.

"What are you two little schemers up to now?" I hear my sister's voice and we both yelp in fright, spinning around to face her.

"Nothing" I lie simply.

"Okay" She laughs, not looking convinced at all as she starts pulling ingredients out the fridge "Are you two gonna be here for dinner?"

"Probably not. We're heading back out" I tell her.

"Do you want some cash to grab something while you're out?" She asks, looking between us.

"Yes, please" I answer and JJ nods.

She fishes two ten dollar bills out of her bra and hands one to each of us before going back to making dinner.

"Behave yourselves and don't get arrested" She warns us as we shuffle to the door.

"We'll try our best, Lia" JJ chirps with a charming grin.

She chuckles and rolls her eyes, allowing us to dash out the door and straight outside. I immediately shove the cash into my own bra and pull the keys out my pocket as we climb into the truck.

I start up the engine with a grimace, hoping to hell that my sister and her fiancé assume the noise is simply a neighbour's car and they don't come running outside so I guess they do just that.

Within five minutes in the vehicle I pull up around the back of the chateau and put it into park as JJ unbuckles his seatbelt.

"This'll only take a sec. I think it's in the surf shack" JJ tells me "Yeah. It's in the surf shack. I'll be right back. Got it"

"Be right out!" He hollers as he exits the car.

The blonde boy jumps to avoid branches but doesn't quite stick the landing, falling flat on his face in the dirt and scrambling back up to his feet before running again.

"I'm okay!" He yells at me and I let out a howl of laughter.

I wait patiently for my boyfriend to get what he needs to get but my patience runs thin pretty quickly when he's not right back like he said he'd be. I lean forward and honk the horn loudly but there is no answer, causing me to groan in annoyance.

"JJ!" I holler, honking the horn again.

JJ abruptly appears, pushing his father along with him and my heart skips a beat in fear as I practically throw myself out of the truck.

"What the fuck, J? No, absolutely not" I snap at him.

"Just get in the truck" JJ orders his dad as I quickly check him over for any injuries.

His father climbs into the back seat and JJ throws his stuff into the bed of the truck.

"J, the Twinkie is drowning right now. We don't have time for this shit" I declare in disbelief "What is your plan? What is going on?"

"Listen to me. Listen to me, okay?" JJ pleads, grabbing my arms and shaking me until I go quiet "I need to get into the marina at the Island Club. There's a boat there he can take. You got the sticker on your truck"

"Twenty minutes, that's all I need" He adds, walking around the truck.

"The Twinkie's gonna be a fucking submarine in twenty minutes and John B is going to kill us!" I protest.

"I know, O" JJ huffs, leaning on the hood.

"Just leave him, J!" I beg.

"The cops are after him!" JJ yells at me "If I do this now, maybe I will never have to do it again"

He looks at me with pleading eyes and I feel my defences crumbling under his gaze, causing me to let out a defeated sigh.

"Okay" I agree and he nods at me gratefully.

We climb into the truck and I glance back at the older man in the rearview mirror to see him staring right at me.

"Don't fucking look at me or I'll leave your sorry ass here" I snap at him in disgust.