𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

fourteen.

─☼☼☼─

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙏 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 that Charlotte had been to the Crain house was the summer going into ninth grade.

Her, Rafe, and a few others in their grade had gathered at the house late one night to engage in a testy game of truth or dare. Most of the dares included running as close as they could to the house without setting off the motion detector that was linked to the light.

As it so happened, Charlotte and Rafe were assigned one of these dares together. And as the two fourteen year olds ran for their lives with fears of being caught by crazy Mrs. Crain, Charlotte realized that she liked him way more than just as a friend.

The two started dating two months later.

Now, quietly traipsing through the overgrown yard with her little sister and three friends, the house seemed equally as scary as it did to her fourteen year-old self.

As JJ rambled on about how he knew Hollis Crain and how she told him the story of Mr. Crain's murder, Charlotte did her best to feign bravery. She pretended that she wasn't hanging onto JJ's every word...but she was.

"God, you are so full of shit!" John B exclaimed, breaking Pope, Kiara and Charlotte from the trance they had been in while listening to JJ's recount.

"Dude, I swear to God, man."

Pope quirked a curious brow. "Did she call the police?"

"She didn't have time, bro."

John B wore a disapproving look as he shook his head before pushing past JJ, who instantly reached out to stop him. "Dude, wait! Are you sure you want to do this?" He looked toward the house for a fleeting moment. "She's an axe murderer, bro. You've got a cast on."

"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer!"

"You might when she cuts your head off." Charlotte muttered, earning a warning glare from John B to which she simply raised her hands in surrender.

"I got nothin' to lose." He maintained, eyes flickering back to JJ. "You comin' or what?"

Charlotte and Pope shared an uneasy look before they both shrugged. What else were they going to do if not risk their lives in front of the Crain house?

"Hey." John B instructed quietly from where he was crouched behind a pile of brush. "Come here."

The other did as he said, crouching low as they arrived next to him. "Here's what's going to happen," he began, voice in a low whisper. "We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."

The letter of Denmark Tanny's that John B had found in the Chapel Hill Archives was what led the five of them here in the first place.

Pope wore an unsure look. "Okay. Like what kind of water? Like, pond water?"

"Bong water?" JJ offered, which caused all of the other four to turn to him with disapproving looks.

"No." John B argued in a fluster. "It just said 'look for water', okay?"

Kiara scowled. "That's the shittiest secret message ever."