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— • — • — • — ꧁꧂ — • — • — • —
𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐢𝐱 — 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚, 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝐼𝐼
THE HURRICANE WAS almost there, the thunder and lightning consuming the headquarters set up for John B was evidence enough. The four Pogues got out of the police cars they had traveled in and followed an officer to one of the tents. "Sit down. Don't move. We got a lot to talk about. Leilani, we'll send someone in to look at that wrist. Keep an eye on these kids." Shoupe instructed, walking away when they were all seated.
Leilani was between Kie and JJ, her right hand being held tightly by her boyfriend's, his thumb rubbing her skin softly. It was getting even worse than it was before, and Leilani, JJ, Pope and Kiara were so worried for John B. It would take a miracle for him to outrun all of that. They sat for a while in silence, until an officer came and took Leilani to another tent.
It was obvious that her wrist was broken, so after a doctor used a portable x-ray machine on her arm, it was casted from the middle of her forearm to her fingers in black wrappings. Leilani felt better now that it wasn't moving all around, and she held her arm up to her friends when she rejoined them in the uncomfortable chairs.
They didn't know what was happening all around them until Shoupe and other officers came back into their tent, removing their hoods from their heads, dripping with rain water. Immediately, JJ and Kie stood up, Pope and Leilani right behind them. "Did you find them?" Pope asked as the four stopped in front of Shoupe.
Shoupe shook his head. "No."
JJ and Leilani glanced at Pope. "So, they got away?" Kie asked hopefully. Hope. Just a little bit of hope left.
But Shoupe didn't say anything right away. "We, uh...we lost them. I'm sorry." Shoupe revealed.
Leilani's expression flickered to confusion. "You lost them? What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone? What are you talking about?" Pope stepped closer to Shoupe as he spoke.
"They took an open boat into a tropical despression, Pope." Shoupe didn't know what else to say, what else he even could say.
"Did you look for the boat? They could still be there, you just have to look—" Leilani tried, speaking quickly.
"Leilani." Shoupe sighed. She needed to understand what was truly happening.
"So, they're dead?" Kiara asked, tears in her eyes.
Shoupe frowned. "We don't know." Leilani looked at Kie, blinking tears away. She was so done with crying, with being sad, with losing everyone she cared about.
JJ spoke up from Leilani's right. "You drove them straight through the storm, man! Are you kidding me? Come here!" JJ yelled angrily, lunging at Shoupe and the officers.
His friends shouted for him. "JJ! JJ, stop!" Leilani yelled to him as he wrangled with the officers, tears now freely falling down her face.
Pope then yelled in Shoupe's face, and Kiara cried, begging him to stop, and he did. The officers released JJ, and he fixed his hat, moving over to Leilani and wrapping her body up in his arms, her tears staining his shirt. Kie's parents came into the tent, and she rushed to them, sobbing. Pope's mom and dad quickly found them and he clutched his mother's shirt, crying.
JJ wiped his eyes, looking over Leilani's shoulder. "Hey." he picked her head up and nodded to where Bryce, Caitlin, Rachel and Scout stood, raincoats covering their bodies.
Scout broke off of the leash Bryce held and sprinted to Leilani, barking and whining. She moved to him, petting her beloved dog before she stood up, tears rolling down her cheeks. "He's gone, right? He really didn't make it?" Leilani cried, looking at Rachel. She had to be sure, she had to know.
Rachel shook her head. "No, honey, I'm sorry." she was crying too. Leilani had never seen her express emotion.
And Leilani moved to her step-mother, crying with her, Bryce and Caitlin joining their hug. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, it's all my fault." Leilani sobbed. JJ's heart clenched at hearing her words from where he was held by Pope and his parents.
Leilani cried, and she cried, and she cried. She didn't focus on the hug exchanged between Pope and Kie, and she didn't even feel JJ holding her hand in the car as they drove to the morgue. Leilani sobbed when she went in the cold room with Rachel to see Kai's body. He was so dark, so empty, so frigid. Because he was dead. And John B was dead. And Rafe and Ward Cameron were still alive.
And Rachel, the woman who was behind it all, was pretending to be there for Leilani, when she was just waiting for the opportunity to finish what she started.
