This is Me Trying ⭑ Rafe Cameron

thirty nine

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
[39]
song: raspberry jam by allah-las

Cassie slammed her foot on the breaks as she caught sight of JJ and Kiara running through the woods, and towards the van. She didn't have time to acknowledge their smiles, or the fact that they were holding hands, because she had to lean over to the passenger seat, and scream at them through the open window. "Get in!"

JJ slid the back door open, Kiara falling in first, JJ right behind her. Cassie didn't even let the door shut before she was on the move again.

JJ, confused by her urgency and still on the floor of the van, sat up with his arms flailed out. "What's going—"

The headlights of the golf cart behind them shined in through the back windows, and all three of them turned around to look at it, eyes wide.

"Cassie, drive!" JJ yelled.

Usually, a golf cart would be easy to shake off. But The Twinkie was on its last leg, and it didn't move like it used to.

"I am!" Cassie yelled back.

"This is insane!" Kiara got out, exasperated. "I got your message— gate!"

Everyone took cover, preparing for impact as Cassie drove the van right through the wooden security gate, snapping it in half, sending pieces of it flying back behind them.

"Holy shit!" JJ yelled excitedly.

Cassie wondered if she'd blinked this entire time, panting quickly and heavily. "I think we just lost a headlight." She says, in shock.

"Turn there! Turn there!" JJ waved her in the other direction frantically. "We can shake 'em."

Kiara tried to situate herself in the backseat, sitting up and glancing out the back window to keep watch. She took a breath, still recovering from the running. "Have they left?! John B and Sarah, the plane?"

JJ and Cassie exchange glances, and Cassie nods. "Yes, but—"

"Shit!" JJ raises his voice frustratedly.

"But, I can get us to South America, you just have to trust me." Cassie says, forcing a confidence in her voice for her own sake.

"The hell does that mean?" JJ says.

Cassie kept her eyes on the road, glancing in the mirrors every other second. "I think we're in the clear." She says, trying to keep them off the subject until the last minute. She then quickly shakes her head, like she'd just suddenly remembered something. "Kie! Are you okay?!"

Kiara nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I mean— holy shit, you guys. I literally didn't think I'd ever see you again."

JJ leans against the backseat, where he sat across from Kiara. He let his head fall against the window, getting out a deep, relieved sigh.

"It's awful, Cassie. How did you—" Kiara starts, struggling to find words. "It was awful." That was all she could get out.

After driving for a while, Cassie eventually pulled The Twinkie onto 17th Street. Where the trees started to become less and less the closer they got to the water. You could see the light coming from the docks. And when she brought the van away from the fishing boat section, and closer to the yachts, JJ sat up, hesitant.