𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ∽ 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘍𝘐𝘝𝘌

｡･:*˚:✧｡
▏INVISIBLE STRING ▕
➫ ———— act one. gold rush
CHAPTER FIVE ─── the world is cruel, i won't be
to listen to ➺ bad taste by van dyke brown

i looked at you, and i just love you, and it terrifies me. it terrifies me what i would do for you.

— alexandra bracken, never fade

☼

JOHN B, JOSIE, AND JJ CROUCHED OUTSIDE THE BUSH-COVERED FENCE OF JOSIE'S HOUSE. The teens watched as her mother sternly fussed at someone on the porch, arms waving around animatedly as she sternly berated the poor clean-up employee. Josie had already witnessed her mother's unassuming demeanor that morning, and she would do everything she could to avoid encountering it again.

Petunia Shoupe's hair was neatly pinned up, red hair so slicked back that not one strand was misplaced. Her attire of a black pencil skirt and the blouse-blazer combo concluded that she had, at some point, finished a meeting with a client. Which meant that her wrath would be a hundred times more cruel if Josie was to be caught.

"Can't believe we're doing this," JJ hissed excitedly. His voice drifted against the shell of her ear, accompanied by a slight breeze, and Josie rolled her eyes through a scoff.

Her gaze drifted around the house for any sign of something she could use as a distraction. Cory was nowhere to be found, thankfully, and most of the crew wandering about the house didn't seem to take notice of the teens. Or maybe they didn't care.

Either way, Josie was grateful that none of them drew attention to her.

"God, your mom's hot when she's mad," John B mumbled, and JJ hummed in agreement. The statement earned another scoff from Josie's lips, and she smacked both boys' shoulders as she shivered with disgust.

Her eyes surveyed the yard, and she noticed her younger sister spinning on the tire swing, her face flat with boredom. The teen smirked and motioned for the two boys to follow as she moved further down along the fence. Once she found a spot close enough to the younger girl, she bent down to grab a stray pinecone and peeked over the fence.

Gently, she gave it her best toss in her sister's direction and hissed out a quick, "Naomi."

Naomi stopped her twisting to stare at her sister across the bush, obviously weirded out by her strange behavior. "What the hell are you doing?"

Josie quickly pressed her index finger to her lips, her eyes dancing back and forth between Petunia on the porch and her sister in front of her. Silently, she motioned with her finger to instruct Naomi to come outside the gate, before she ducked out of sight.

"So?" John B raised his brow in question, and Josie gave a nod of confirmation.

Within moments, Naomi made her way through the opening of the fence, head swiveling around to find where her sister had disappeared to. Her eyes widened as she took in the state of her sister and the boys accompanying her, and she smugly smirked as she approached them with her arms crossed.