𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞〚𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 〛

Chapter 7

Pope sighed, making sure the delivery bags were placed properly in the boat. 

This time, he hadn't been able to escape his father. 

The boy knew he shouldn't complain. His father was wearing himself down by working like a maniac in order to get him to college. 

Pope didn't want to stay here, on the Cut. Not that there was anything wrong with it. He just wanted to make something out of his life. Do something he loved. Something he wanted to do. Not delivering groceries under the burning sun! 

Pope shot JJ a grateful glance. At least he had company. Things were never dull when the blond was around, and although his acts were sometimes questionable enough to make Pope wonder if he was risking his scholarship, he enjoyed having him around.

"I'll take the first stop and then we can split," he said, eying the first mansion in sight.

"Sounds good," replied JJ, kicking his feet up on the dash as Pope tied the boat to the dock, grabbing a few bags as he went.

The path leading to the house was well kept and the lawn was cut evenly to the nearest millimeter. It certainly did not seem like a property that was recently hit by a hurricane. 

The boy cursed under his breath as the bottom of one of the bags threatened to rip.

"Need a little help?" asked a girl, watching him from under a tree.

Pope smiled politely and was about to refuse her help when she stood, pushing her short hair out of her eyes.

"I think you guys forgot to inform me of your discoveries," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Pope gulped, recognizing the girl that had so calmly ripped an armed weapon out of JJ's hands. 

He suddenly felt vulnerable in front of this petite creature. "Yeah.... maybe."

"Yeah, definitely," she countered, pulling a bag out of his loose hold. "Were these for my aunt and uncle?"

He grimaced. So she was a Kook.

"For Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, yeah."

She shot him a teasing smile, her eyes twinkling. "Relax, I'm not a stuck up rich kid. Just the niece of people who are filthy rich."

He smiled slightly, carefully watching her as she walked ahead. 

She didn't act like a Kook, he would give her that much. Yet something bothered him. A tenseness that hadn't been there before, a darkness under her eyes that contradicted her easygoing attitude.

"Come in," she told him, pushing open the door with her foot and disappearing inside.

After hesitating, Pope sighed, before following her and dropping the bags onto the counter. He was watchful not to dirty the place.

"No one's home?" he asked, brown eyes trailing Delilah as she emptied the bags.

"My uncle's at the police station, getting information on some guys who have been threatening us," she said nonchalantly, catching his reaction as he shivered. "From what I've heard, they've been after John B too."

She looked up from what she had been doing, studying him, and he felt the need to look away.

"Did they hurt you or your family?" God knows they could have killed John B if the sheriff hadn't been there. "Have you reported them?"

"They're dead, Pope."

He stiffened. She knew more than the entire gang had thought she knew.

"I'm neck deep in this, whether you guys like it or not," she said firmly, taking a step closer. Her hand found his jaw, her skin cool against his, and she barely had to force him to turn and look at her. "And I'm not planning on turning my back to it."

Up close, he realized exactly how serious she was. And how well determination suited her. 

His cheeks heated.

"Okay. I'll help you," he breathed, backing away.

She smirked. "Good. Now, don't you have other groceries to deliver?"

When she had said it that way, Pope had thought it was his dismissal. She wanted him to leave. It was a Kook move, and he should have expected it. 

What he did not expect was for her to walk him back to his boat and ask to come along. 

How was he supposed to refuse that? 

Especially after JJ had seen her. The blond haired boy had been wanting to go shooting with her for days now, after seeing how she had handled the handgun.

"My father owns a gun stand," she explained. "And he taught me how to shoot."

JJ nodded, impressed. "Nice. You think you'd be good enough to compete against me?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Against someone that has found a gun barely three days ago and doesn't know how to shoot?"

The boy wiggled his eyebrows. "You'd be surprised."

"Game on."

Pope exhaled a laugh, glad that JJ hadn't looked down on her because her family had money. She must have made quite an impression on him. 

The dark skinned boy frowned, realizing she had made an impression on all of them, himself included.

"Last stops," he announced, pulling closer to the dock. "JJ and I will take care of these ones."

"You sure?" she asked, eying the bags. "I haven't done a lot to help."

That was false. She had carried as many bags as both of them, up and down hills with an endurance that made him jealous. His father would want a daughter like her.

"Nah," said JJ. "There's only a few bags, you can stay here and watch the boat."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

Out of all the things she could do, Pope had discovered that driving a boat was not one. She was not steady on a boat, although you had to watch her closely in order to discover so. 

Not that he had been discreetly staring at her, of course. 

The boys grabbed the remaining bags and jumped out of the boat.

"That girl is something," he muttered to JJ.

"Yeah," his friend smiled. "It'll be good to have another smart-ass on board."

Pope raised an eyebrow, wondering why he wanted to know this. "She's smart?"

"Yah know, your kind of smart. She knows the percentage of death by firearms per whatever. I damn well hope she didn't learn this by experience."

A/N Hey people, so I'm doing my best to keep the characters' personalities but let me know if they do something that's entirely out of character. An author does his best and feedback help them improve. 

Thank you guys for reading and voting!

 -Aella