Haunted ~ j.m²

Chapter Forty: Confessions of a Grace

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"She doesn't want a fucking bodyguard, JJ — she just wants you!"

- John Booker Routledge

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[present day]

Abigail waited until she heard the old Volkswagen van pull away from the curb before she moved from the door. She tosses her bag onto the dining table, pulling it open to look at the object she saw in there when she was looking for her keys.

She sniffles, tears still falling down her face, as she spots the item, or items, in question, a sob slipping past her lips.

Four pictures...of her and JJ.

All of the pictures were taken at different times and places. One of them was from the other night, when her and JJ were kissing and she thought she saw something outside her window. One from yesterday, when they were arguing on her porch. The other two were from summer, before they started searching for gold.

Her heart starts to race again as another sob escapes her lips. All of these pictures were taken over the last four months, without her or JJ's knowledge. They look ridiculously happy in most of the pictures, besides the one from yesterday.

She picks up one picture from summer, JJ carrying Abigail on his back as they exit Heyward's shop. She remembers this day so perfectly, it was one of their last normal days before she found out about her mom, before the gold and before Ward Cameron. JJ had shown up at the surf shop, waiting for her shift to end, before they took off to go bother Pope at work.

Abigail's breath catches in her throat when she notices writing on the back of the picture. She flips it over, squinting to read through her teary eyes, but it's only part of a message.

Abby quickly grabs all the pictures, flipping them to the back side, and moving them around to figure out what it says. She freezes when she has them in the right order, bracing her hands on the table as she reads the message to herself.

"One week to find the journal, or he dies."

Abigail squeezes her eyes shut, allowing herself to just stand there and cry, unknowing that Kiara was crawling through her window.

The brunette was knocking on the front door, but Abby was too preoccupied to hear it, so she took it upon herself to try the side doors, but they were both locked. Kiara remembers when she came by this morning, she climbed through Abigail's window, so she exits the porch and moves to the side of the house.

She's not sure whether she's relieved or disappointed that the window is always unlocked, because it benefited her in this moment, and this morning, but it doesn't comfort her now that they know she was being followed. So, Kiara makes sure to lock it once she steps into the room.