[rosemary] .jj maybank.

chapter forty-three

rosie trailed behind john b and sarah, struggling to keep up with them until sarah slowed down in front of a big house, "we can hide in here." the couple stopped in front of the sign, however, john b was hesitant about the idea. was hiding in a kook house really their best bet? "you sure this place is empty?" sarah nodded, turning her head to see rosie stop beside them, "yeah, it's rose's listing."

the three teens ran up the driveway and stairs, stopping again, only for sarah to enter the code on the lock that hung around the door handle. rosie could still hear the sirens but she took it as a good sign that she couldn't see any bright blue lights at the moment, returning her attention to sarah to distract her mind from spiraling more than it already has. "zero, two, one, five," sarah mumbled, getting the key out of the small lock box. "my dad's birthday."

"let's check this street. they can't be far," two distant police officers said, making rosie turn around quickly, noticing the bright flashlights coming in their direction. "i hate to rush you but please hurry. there are cops," rosie whispered, absentmindedly scratching her nails against her hands. "shit. come on," sarah said, getting the door open and scurrying inside. they all hid by the door, squishing closely to the wall so they wouldn't be seen through the thin window. "nothin' there. check the porch," an officer advised from closeby. as they heard a man's voice get closer, rosie held her breath, tugging her legs closer to her chest– something she didn't think was possible.

a sudden light inside the house made rosie's breath hitch, watching the flashlight from outside slowly faded away once the police failed to see anything out of the ordinary. "alright, they're probably headed over to the cut," the office said, theorizing, both rosie and sarah letting go of the breath they were holding.

"let's go. come on. let's go upstairs," john b said, helping sarah stand, then rosie. she couldn't help feeling like a bit of a third wheel but she couldn't even be truly bothered at a time like this, it was either this or jail. looking out the windows from upstairs, the three teens watched as rafe and kelce walked by. "i can't believe that's my brother," sarah mumbled sadly, making rosie and john b look over at her silently.

"they're headed to the cut." ... "let's go down banks road." the two kooks said, ignoring the house and continuing down the road. taking a few pillows and blankets from the bed, rosie, john b and sarah decided to hide in the closet until the morning. thankfully, it was big enough for the three of them, even with rosie on the opposite side, wanting to leave the two broken-hearted, and broken-spirited, lovebirds alone.

tuning out their conversation, rosie turned away from them, snuggling closer to the wall. as john b and sarah spoke about the stars, rosie couldn't help but let her thoughts go wild. she wondered how ward was going to narrate the story. afterall, rafe had shot peterkin once. meaning, who would be the shooter in ward's story? her or her cousin?

she tried to think of the bigger picture. jail, escaping, her cousin, her friends... jj. she thought about meeting the crew tomorrow, going to mexico on the getaway boat and each person's plans for a new future– trying to reassure herself that everything was going to be okay. she thought about how she wouldn't be able to sit around the fire with the pogues at the château. she thought about how she wouldn't be able to take care of jj when he got too drunk and told the doors (of their shared room at the château) to be quiet; same going for her when she had too much to drink. and her and her cousin. scared for the manhunt that she would have to face again tomorrow.

rosie was scared that life was never going to be the same... that life was never going to be as good as it was less than two weeks ago. she couldn't help the cynical thoughts that swirled around her head for some time... a single teardrop rolling down her face from the corner of her eye as she fell asleep.