Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

twenty seven

KIARA DROVE them over to Figure Eight, parking her car just off the side of the road. They had found an old and abandoned cabin- which happened to be falling into disrepair- and stopped there for the night, hidden away under the cover of the trees. No one had spoken since the police station as none of them knew what to say. The plan had been to take Scarlett to the hospital to get her injuries properly attended to, but having to go on the run had obviously stopped this. Eventually, after an hour or so of quiet, Kiara spoke. She swivelled in her seat, turning to face John B and Scarlett. "What the hell happened back there?" She asked the pair.

Scarlett bit the inside of her cheek, unsure how to explain. A lot had happened in the last few hours. "Well, as usual, none of our plans have worked out." She huffed, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, we went in there to report Ward for Peterkin's murder but... it kinda backfired."

Pope raised an eyebrow at her. "How could that backfire on you?"

"Because Ward blamed John B for Peterkin's murder. Told Shoupe the wrong story so his precious son could stay out of jail." Scarlett spoke, her voice full of anger and annoyance. "And apparently I'm an accomplice, despite the fact that his own son shot me!" She threw her arms up in the air before crossing the over her chest and sitting back in her seat. "It's fucking ridiculous." She sighed.

JJ wrapped his arm around her, gently pulling her into his chest. "So, you two are fugitives now?"

"I guess so." Scarlett answered. She curled up into JJ's side, closing her eyes.

There was quiet for a moment before Kiara spoke again. "What do you propose we do now?" She asked, looking between each of her friends.

John B shrugged, leaning his seat back. "There's not much we really can do right now. I mean, the whole island's probably looking for me." He paused for a moment, his eyes fluttering shut. "And Lottie too, probably." He added.

"I say, let's sleep and come up with a plan in the morning." JJ suggested. "I mean, we're not gonna get shit done if we're all tired."

From the front of the car, Kiara nodded. "That's actually a pretty good idea."

"Should we take shifts or just chance it?" Pope asked.

❤❤❤

Scarlett found herself drifting in and out of sleep. She kept turning, which wasn't easy to do considering she was engulfed by JJ's arms in the back of Kiara's car. Eventually, she gave up on sleep and slowly sat up. As quietly as she could, she pushed open the door and pulled herself from JJ's grip. Scarlett jumped onto the grass, silently closing the door behind her. Something was plaguing her mind, and she knew it had to be connected to those pictures her mother had left her. Sighing, she walked round to the back of Kiara's car, pulling the trunk open. Before they had left on their adventure to the airstrip, Scarlett had taken to placing the folder in the back of Kiara's car- just in case something happened to John B's van.

She took them out of the bag she had hidden them in. Closing the trunk quietly, she moved over to a small clearing, taking a seat on the grass. Though it was dark out, she could still see the photographs- not much, but just enough- using the moonlight from above. Something familiar struck her as she looked at one picture in particular. The older woman, who Kiara had told her was Olivia Fields, looked extremely familiar to her.

"What're you looking at?" A voice whispered from behind her.

Scarlett jumped slightly, but calmed herself once she saw it was JJ. "Don't scare me like that." She scolded him. A frown fell over her face. "What are you doing up? I thought you were asleep?"