Pooks

Chapter 7

You haven't slept a wink. You've just been staring at Sarah's ceiling, then at the text, then back at ceiling. You must've read the text 100 times by now.
'Lying to pogues about kooks and kooks about pogues. Where does that leave you Yn?'
Who could it be? The pogues don't know you grew up on Figure 8. John B knows you're friends with Sarah but you played it down so much to him he's barely bothered. And Rafe and Sarah know you made friends on the cut but they don't know with who specifically.
None of that matters though because none of them would ever send you a text like this. You may not have known the pogues long but with everything they have done for you since you met them there's no way they sent this text. Rafe and Sarah are out of the question too, Rafe has always dealt with anyone who's ever so much as looked at you the wrong way and well, Sarah is next to you fully unconscious- not that she'd ever send you a message like this either.
Barry pops into your head. He's the only one who knows everything. He knows you grew up on Figure 8 and he knows how close you are to Rafe and Sarah. He also knows what friends you made since moving to the south side from the party on the beach and the video of the fight. He'll know what to do. You pull up his contact and message him:
R u awake?
You stare at your screen hoping he'll reply soon, your legs still frozen to Sarah's mattress. Your eyes flicker to the time at the top of your screen, it's 1:52 am. You've been lying here silently freaking out for over an hour. He starts typing
Yeah
You reply instantly:
Can u pick me up?
He replies:
Yh where r u?
He can't come here. First off his bike engine is way too loud he'll wake up the whole of Figure 8. Second you wouldn't do that to Rafe, he and Barry have never got on Rafe wouldn't want him here. You reply:
The shake shack? 5 mins
He thumbs up the message. You find enough feeling in your legs and sliver out of Sarah's bed gently fall onto her carpet. You're careful not to wake her, how would you explain if she asked why you're leaving?  You grab your shoes and slip out her door, you'll put them on when you're outside it'll be quieter if you're just in socks as you know by now.
You're now stood in the hallway, you look down to Rafe's room. You want to go in and tell him about the text but you don't, that would mean you'd have to tell him about the pogues. The truth is Rafe wouldn't care as much as the pogues would, I don't think so anyway. It's more so avoiding drama and confrontation with Rafe, whereas with the pogues its practically betrayal. Plus you don't know what happened with Rafe and JJ last summer, maybe Rafe would lose his shit?
You turn your head down the other end of the hallway where the staircase is but your eyes drift towards Ward's study. The light is off this time but the door's open, you don't think you've ever seen that room left unlocked. There's no time, Barry will be here soon. You walk to the top of the stairs but something stops you... I'll be really quick.
You walk over to the study and stop at the door. "Mr Cameron?" You say in a soft voice, just incase he's nearby but quiet enough so that if he's not no one else will hear you. There's no reply. You repeat "Mr Cameron?" As you push open the unlocked door and go inside.
It's a big study; three big windows, a desk bigger than your room, a brown leather sofa and one wall is practically a library. You turn the torch on your phone on and shine it around. You've only been in here a few times, you and Sarah used to sneak whiskey from here. Ward never noticed, Sarah used to say it was only used for guests in business meetings which is why we always got away with it. This is also the room you walked into when Ward was shouting at Rafe. That thought sends shivers down your spine. The fact that Ward has probably hurt Rafe in here, maybe even every room.
But it's just a study, the same old study that it's always been. You turn back to the door about to leave as your torch brushes over the desk. The room is spotless, the whole house is spotless thanks to Mrs Sue but the desk is absolutely covered in paperwork. It's unlike Mr Cameron to leave it in such a mess. You walk over to the desk and read some of the papers, careful not to touch any or leave a trace that you've been in here.
It's the insurance work Rafe was talking about the other day. That explains the mess and why the door was left unlocked. 'Routledge boat downed during storm' one paper reads. There's that word again, Routledge. You read the fine print, it's basically saying the insurance won't cover half the expenses as the boat was taken out during a threat level storm. There's a note underneath in Rafe's handwriting saying 'storm not picked up on weather detectors.'  You scan across the rest of the papers, there's printed out emails between Mr Cameron and the insurance company, business deals and confirmation papers. You stare back at the piece about the boat with Rafes note. You don't think twice, you grab it and fold it so it fits in the back pocket of your shorts.
Okay, time to go.
You sneak out of the study and close the door so Ward doesn't shout at Rafe tomorrow morning for leaving it open. Although he should've thought about that when he left the desk in such a mess. You sneak down the stairs and out the back door which is usually left unlocked. Once you're out you put your shoes on and jog down to the shake shack. Barry is already there sat against his bike. "Hey" you say as you jog up to him.
"What the hell's going on?" He says as he hands you his helmet. You take it knowing he won't ride if you don't and look at him. You called Barry for a reason, you need his help. It's been pretty awkward since moving in with him and you have only seen him a handful of times meaning you've barely spoken to him. He's looking at you waiting for a reply.
Barry chose to sign the papers letting you live with him. He helped you clean out your room because he didn't want you there when dodgy men showed up at the house. He gave you money for food and even checked up on you earlier. So why are you finding it hard to trust him? "I-"
"What is it kid?" You remember John B calling you kid too earlier today. They say it the same way, like they've known you forever or you're their little sibling and they're looking out for you. Of course with Barry that's actually the case. You think of all the unlikely people in your life; kooks and pogues you love them both. You take a deep breath, just trust him.
"I need your help"
-
"Read it again" Barry asks. You're sat on his sofa watching him pace around the living room. You read the text out for the 100th time and he listens, still pacing back and forth. Finally he sits down in a chair opposite you. "It has to be those pogues" he states. "As much as I don't like the guy I know Rafe wouldn't do this and you said Sarah was asleep when the text came through. It has to be those pogues"
"No. You don't understand Barry" you rub your eyes, you're shattered but you know it would be useless trying to sleep you'd just end up staring at the ceiling again. "I spent the whole day with them, they gave me my own surf board. It's not them, trust me on this" Barry looks at you like he's trying to read you, see if you know the pogues as well as you think you do. "Plus there's no way they know anything. John B knows I'm friends with Sarah but he doesn't know how close or that I grew up on Figure 8. He also promised not to say anything to the others" Barry rests his head on the chair, now he's the one staring at the ceiling. 
"I don't know then kid" he closes his eyes like he's trying to think. You lie down on the sofa and cover your eyes with your arm. "What I do know though is there's probably more texts coming. Whoever sent it has a plan and my guess it's going to get worse before it gets better" you move your arm to look at him.
"Not helping"
"Sorry" he says standing up. "You wanted my help and I'm going to give it to you. But I'm not going to sugar coat it, we need to be realistic." He's right, I need to be prepared for anything. "You should reply" he says.
"What? No!" He looks at you like you're a scared baby, you hate that. You sit back up on the sofa and try your best to remain calm. "If I don't reply they might think they have the wrong number or something"
"No" Barry shakes his head and sits back down opposite you this time holding eye contact. "They can probably see you've read it, plus you don't know what other information they have" he looks at you, again he's right.
"What would I even say?" You whisper. The thought of replying to that text makes you feel sick. I wish Rafe was here he'd know what to say.
"I mean they know you have no idea who it is. You might as well try and ask." That's true, not that they're going to tell me. You get your phone up and start replying to the unknown number.
"Who is this?" Send. You look back up at Barry once you've sent it and he leans back in his chair.
"Now we wait."
Eventually you fell asleep on the sofa. You couldn't have slept more than a couple hours though, your mind was racing all night. Your sleep was broken, you kept waking up and checking your phone. You open your eyes and see Barry asleep in the chair opposite you. You grab your phone, still no text from the number but there is one from Sarah. You sit up and that's when you realise how hot it is. Sarah's text reads:
Where did u go? Everything ok?? xxx
You tell her everything's fine and that you felt a little sick so decided to come home. There's nothing from Rafe, he's probably not awake yet. That reminds you of the paper you took from Ward's study. You fell asleep in your clothes so you still have your shorts on. You pull the paper out from your pocket and unfold it. You don't really know why you took it, it's just insurance claims about a random boat. Right?
You read it again like maybe the words changed while you were asleep. But it's exactly the same. "Routledge boat sinks at sea during storm" then there's Rafe's note about how the storm wasn't detected. You remember John B telling you about the storm his dad went missing in, that one wasn't detected either. You feel like there's something you're missing, you read it over and over but you just can't put your finger on it.
It's too early for any of this. You put the paper down next to your phone and go over to the kitchen sink. You splash your face with water which wakes Barry up. "Morning kid" he stretches in the chair. "Anything?" He asks referring to the text. You shake your head. He stands up and picks up the packet of cigarettes from the table before walking over to you. "Look it's gonna be okay" he says. You must look as tired as you feel because why else would he say that. You look up at him "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you" he says. You give him a little smile and for the first time in a long time you start to feel like siblings again. You know he's telling the truth, you may not be as close as you once were but Barry wouldn't let anything happen to you. Even if you turned up here before you moved he wouldn't have turned you away. You feel guilty, did I turn my back on him?
Barry pulls a cigarette from the pack tossing it back onto the table once he's done with it, thats when he sees the piece of paper. "What's this?" He says picking it up and reading it.
"Oh, I'm not sure. Just some insurance thing about a boat. I accidentally took it from Rafe's" you lie.
"The Routledge boat" Barry says. "One of Outer Banks' many mysteries" he says as he lights up and goes out onto the porch. You follow him
"What do you mean?" Barry's smoking his cigarette looking out onto the patch of grass you call a front yard.
"The Routledge boat, the one that your boys dad drowned on" Barry says as he sits down onto the chair.
"What boy? Who?" You ask. Barry looks at you like he thinks you're joking. When he can see you have no idea what he's saying he lets out a laugh.
"I forgot, you were a kook when it all went down" he takes another drag. "Routledge's dad drowned at sea last summer. It was all anyone spoke about on the south side for the whole year"
"Routledge you keep saying that word"
"John Booker Routledge?" Barry says.
You're suddenly freezing even though it's hot out. Goosebumps cover your skin and the hairs on your arm and neck stand up.
"You mean John B?" You whisper.
"Yes" Barry says as if you're the dumbest person alive. Suddenly Jb's instagram username pops into your head. 'Johnbr' John Booker Routledge. You then think about how Barry mentioned "the Routledge kid" when he saw the video of the fight from the beach. Everything is adding up, the boat on the piece of paper, the storm that was undetected. It's John B's dad.
"Why would Ward be paying John B's dads boat insurance?" You ask. Barry shrugs his shoulders and flicks his already finished cigarette onto the grass. "That doesn't make any sense?!" You sound worried which shocks Barry. He stands up like he's concerned now.
"Look kid, one crisis at a time okay? John B's dad isn't any of our business, don't be getting involved in stuff that doesn't concern you. You're not on Figure 8 anymore people get hurt sticking their noses where they don't belong around here." You look at the floor, Barry's probably right. He's lived here his whole life, he also runs these streets. If you should take anyone's advice about this stuff it's him.
But what about John B? You remember how you feel like you've known him forever. How he punched Topper for you even though he had only known you a few hours. He basically gave you his board and JJ said he doesn't let just anyone over his house. John B, leader of the pogues, welcomed you with open arms and even knows you're friends with Sarah and promised to keep quiet about it.
If I tell him this though he'll ask where I got it. He might believe me if I say I was over Sarah's house but he doesn't know her like I do. He doesn't know she's nothing like her dad and I can't let him think bad of Sarah, they already hate Rafe I doubt it'll take much for them to change their mind on her too.
But then you remember the sadness in Jb's eyes when he told you about his dad missing at sea. How he refused to sign the papers and how he hung his head and blames the whole thing on himself even though the storm was never detected.
Maybe Ward just owned the boat? He owns everything else on this island adding another boat to that list wouldn't be so surprising. I don't want to blow my cover and upset John B if it's something as innocent as Ward simply owning the boat.
But what if it's not? What if Ward did something? What if him and John B's dad were involved in something no one knew about? Something that got John B's dad killed? What if Ward knows about his disappearance? What if he's alive and Ward knows where he is? Or at least be able to confirm he's dead, then John B could start to move on. You remember hearing Ward's phone call, he mentioned the boat. What if he was referring to John B's dad?
But what if it's none of that? You shake your head, too many thoughts at once. You sit down in the chair Barry was in but can't help but think
What if it's all of those things?
Before you know what you're doing you're walking across the yard towards the road so you can go to John B's from the front. "Yn!" Barry calls as you're walking away. You turn around "don't do it!" Barry yells from the porch steps. Before you let him change your mind you turn and run out onto the road and round to John B's.
It's his dad. You have to tell him.
You walk around to the house, it's quiet. The twinkie's not parked up and the fire has long since been put out. No one's home.
You walk over to the barley standing shelter in Jb's yard and look at your board that's stood in between all the others. It makes you smile, you still can't believe it's yours. You look at the board then down at the piece of paper in your hand, you don't want to lose these guys. If I show them this paper and tell them how I got it it's over. Not only do I lose the pogues but the south side will know about the ex kook living on the cut and no one will speak to me again.
"Yn?" You spin around shoving the paper into your back pocket as fast as you can. Pope is stood there carrying two backs of groceries.
"Oh hey Pope" you point at the boards. "Still can't believe it's mine" you smile but inside you're praying he didn't see you holding the the paper. Pope laughs and puts the bags on the floor. "What's all that?"
"I bring John B any spare food from the shop when I can." Pope's such a good guy, you could tell that even before you met the pogues. He was patient and kind when showing you around the school and he's the first person who made you feel okay when you first moved to the south side. "John B's not here, he and JJ left this morning" Pope says picking the bags up and starts walking up to the house. You follow him inside
"Where did they go?" You ask as you sit on the sofa that you slept on after the beach party.
"Not sure" Pope starts putting things in the fridge. "John B and JJ are always off doing their own thing" Pope laughs but something about the way he said it makes you feel uneasy. "What are you doing here anyways?" You remember the paper, the boat, Ward, John B's dad.
"Uh just popping by, JJ said come by anytime" Pope laughs and leans on the fridge door to look at you
"Yeah if he's ever too much just tell him to shut up" Pope comes over and sits down on the other sofa. "JJ may be south sides best surfer but he's south sides best flirt too" you smile. You're not surprised, with his blonde hair and baby blue eyes he probably gets all the girls he wants. "You wanna come by the shop? I'm heading over there now" Pope stands up and swings his keys around on his finger.
"Sure" you have nothing else to do seeing as John B's not here. You stand up and he follows you out this time. You get in his car and drive to the infamous Heyward's Seafood.
You jump out and follow Pope inside. "Hey dad, all done with deliveries" Pope says. A man turns to him
"You're late again" he doesn't sound impressed. The man is slightly shorter than Pope. He has curly black hair that's going grey and a goatee. He smiles at you and you smile back. He has a kind face, he's definitely Pope's dad they have the same kind way about them.
"Dad this is Yn" Pope says without looking at either of you. Instead he's putting money from the deliveries into the cash register that's in the middle of the shop.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you!" You hold out your hand and walk over. He shakes it still smiling at you
"Pleasure's all mine" you let go, Pope isn't paying any attention to us anymore, instead he's talking to a customer. "Do I know your folks?" He asks.
You've heard of Heyward, you've never been here or met him but 'Heyward' is a big name on the island. He's a legend, anything you want on the island, Heyward could get it for you.
"Uh no, I don't think so" you say and look away. You're praying he doesn't ask for your last name, the name 'Cirillo' is as big as Heyward on the island but for entirely different reasons. I'll avoid telling people about that until the last possible second. But Heyward just nods at you, he can tell you don't want to talk about you parents.
"You went on deliveries with my son the other day?" He asks you. Delighted with the change of topic you smile
"Yes! Pope was giving me a ride I just helped out where I could" you say. You look over at Pope, he's up a ladder trying to reach a bucket of bait from the top shelf for a customer. You notice a bucket that's already on the floor and run over. "Here" you pick up the bucket and hand it to the customer. "It's okay Pope, don't break your neck!" He jumps down and pats your back.
"Thanks Tiv" he says. You both walk back over to his dad who's looking at you both. "What dad?" Pope says.
"You got a job Yn?" He asks you. You look at Pope who looks at you, he looks just as confused as you
"Uh no sir"
"Do you want one?" He smiles. You look at Pope again, who just has a blank look on his face. You look back at his dad unable to read his sons facial expressions. "Pope's slow on deliveries and I need help in the shop too. He constantly needs to be in two places at one time. It would only be part time when we need the extra help"
"I uh don't have a car sir" you say.
"When one's on deliveries one can stay here at the shop with me" he suggests. You look back at Pope who has the same blank expression. Helpful Pope.
"I mean if Pope doesn't mind..."
"I don't mind" he smiles. "My dad's right we could do with the help" you look back at Heyward and smile.
"All because there's people out there ordering a single jar of pickles?" they both laugh
"I like her Pope" Heyward says wagging his finger at you. "So is that a yes?"
You probably don't need the money, Barry handed you £50 like it was nothing days ago that is still in the back of your phone case untouched. But it would be nice to not rely on him and have a bit of income no matter how small.
"Yes! Thank you!" You say. Heyward holds up his arms like he's just won a prize and pats you on the back just as Pope did.
"That's great kid! I'll let Pope know when we need your help!" He smiles and walks out the shop. You turn back to Pope
"You sure you don't mind?" Pope shakes his head
"Not at all. Plus it'll be nice working with someone that's not my dad for once" he makes you laugh. "Come on, I'll show you how the register works."