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Chapter Twenty Five ✯¸.•'*¨'*•✿✿•*'¨*'•.¸✯
Avery cursed out loud at the sight of the police surrounding her father's truck.
"Good evening, Officer" John B causally greeted Shoupe, being corrected on the term. He pursed his lips into a thin smile.
"I pulled the tags, and I know whose truck that is," Shoupe stated. Avery squinted at the sudden torch light shining in her face. "You got anything to say?"
"Sheriff, I just wanna say that is all my fault. She had nothing to do with this. I take one hundred percent responsibility" Pope butted in. Even though it was truthful, Avery cringed, hating that he spoke up and admitted to it.
"Nothing to do with it? Huh, you wanna try that again?" Shoupe looked back at the blonde, making her squirm as his continued to shine his light at her. "Your father has already been contacted. You either come with me now, or I can pull you all in for leaving the scene of an accident"
"Sure, fine," She bitterly said. "Just hit me up later, or something, all right?"
"Sir, what's going to happen? Will she be, you know, okay?" JJ attempted to question, getting fidgety. He despised the fact he couldn't do anything to help her. Shoupe ignored him.
•✿•✿•
"Okay, I'll go double shifts for the next six months. I'll even do triple some weeks. And I'll do extra chores around the house. I'll put every dime into savings to pay off the truck–" Avery immediately started to babble. Her words almost emerging together at the speed she was speaking. Her eyes were welling up with tears and her hands frantically gestured around.
"Avery, that's enough," Noah raised his voice, silencing her. She haltered in her pacing and reluctantly turned to him. He surprisingly didn't look as angry as she had pictured him to be. He sighed, "did you know your mother's maiden name? Before she took mine through marriage"
"Uh, no?" It came out more as a question than an answer. Avery slowly wandered over to the kitchen table, noticing the heaps of books sprawled across the surface. "You got married while pregnant with me"
Noah sighed, staring down at the papers. His hand hovered over them until reaching down for a certain slip of paper. It seemed like an official document, one Avery couldn't identify but it looked important and possibly medical. Her father didn't met her eyes, "her maiden name was Limbrey"
Her mouth fell agape. Avery's eyes flickered around the piece of paper, confirming what he had said for herself as she saw Lindsay Limbrey signed in her mother's italic handwriting. "What– does that mean, wait, I don't understand. Well, I mean I do but– what the hell?"
"I didn't know, I don't know how I didn't realise it sooner. She told me that she didn't have a lot of family. And I– so, Carla Limbrey is your mother's cousin. Meaning she's also your family too" Noah explained. The last thing he expected that this treasure the kids were chasing to expose more about their history too. He glanced over at Avery, expecting some reaction but nothing happened. She was processing everything that he was telling her, connecting all the dots.
"Oh my god," She whispered, her doe eyes looking up at her father. Avery fumbled to fish her phone out her pocket. Her fingers wildly tapped at the screen and she shoved it to her ear as soon as she clicked on the wanted contact. "Pick up, pick up. Come on, J, please–"
"Avery! Hey, hey. We are chasing down Rose, she's got Sarah, and- and Wheezie. We think they have something to do– wait, hold on, are you okay? Hello? Are you safe? What happened?" JJ rambled, startling her a little. She blinked cluelessly, not knowing if she would get a single word in.
"Where are you?" All she managed to get out.
"Uh, I don't know. You didn't answer anything I just asked you–"
"Share your location with me. I'll find you" She told him, hoping he caught what she said before she hung up.
"How are you thinking of doing that then?" Noah raised his eyebrows at her. He was referring to her stealing, then crashing, his truck and she was fully aware of that. "If you don't remember, you crashed my truck"
"Mom's old car. It's in the garage still. I'll use that" The idea popped into her mind, making a wide, mischievous smile spread across her face.
As Avery whizzed out the kitchen, she heard her father call out behind her, "if it will start!"
For once, Avery was grateful of the chatty, obnoxiously blue Beetle car. The engine took some time to splutter to life after it's long, demi-decade snooze. Her screen lit up, reflection on her face as she located her way to where JJ and John B were, unable to cipher where they were heading. She didn't have time to question it, she had to get there as soon as possible.
The sun had rose by the time Avery arrived at the pin where JJ's location was last updated at. He hadn't moved yet, the thought made her skin prickle. A sigh slipped through her lips at the sight of the Twinkie, left parked on the side of the gravelly road.
"Hey" Avery appeared. The two flinched and abruptly turned to face her. Their expressions softened at the sight of their best friend, relieved it was only her.
"Whoa," JJ mumbled, gesturing with his hand. "I was about to stab your eyes out"
"Wussies," She smiled, highly amused by their reaction. With her back turned, Avery wasn't aware of Kie and Pope sneaking over to them. The sound of Kie's voice made her jump, stumbling back in fear. "Okay, yeah, I deserved that"
"Wussy" John B turned her words against her, making her roll her eyes.
"How'd you guys find us?" JJ asked Kie and Pope, already knowing how Avery did.
"Geo-located your phone" The Carrera girl simply replied. Avery was impressed, smart idea.
"You okay? What happened?" John B softly asked Pope, resting a hand on his shoulder.
"Rafe, round three" He replied simply. That aggravated JJ. Avery would usually have asked more questions but something about being around Pope had changed, now she knew her real history and how it clashed with his family. "Is that the cross?"
