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CHAPTER TEN: MIDSUMMERS
Emma lay in Pope's room on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The other three Pogues were down inside Heyward's Seafood. She didn't want to go. She was scared that something might happen. The girl's fear of getting sent to jail for running away and lying to a cop was increasing by the minute. She couldn't go back to the Chatéau; the DCS was probably raiding the place.
She needed her brother. She needed him to be there for her, to tell her what to do in this unnerving situation. Even though Emma was older than him, she always relied on him in tough circumstances. But he wasn't here and she was desperate to know where he went.
Emma couldn't get the previous night's fight out of her head either. Maybe it wasn't the fight, though. She was worried about something else. The threat Rafe made her was even worse.
"If you don't want to get in trouble, stay out of it."
The girl's mind was nothing but a ball of anxiety. She didn't know how to sit still or what to do. She stood up and started pacing the room, evaluating everything in her head. She couldn't stop overthinking. She was losing her sanity just pacing around and thinking about what's going to happen.
That's when suddenly, the door swung open and she could've jumped. She saw Pope enter, a frantic expression on his face and Kiara was right after him, trying to keep him calm.
"Pope!" Kiara called out after him as she closed the door.
Emma's heart dropped to her stomach, worried because Pope's worried. His energy was rubbing off on her and she was genuinely freaking out. She noticed JJ's absence and she couldn't help but feel more agitated.
"What happened?! Where's JJ?" She asked, looking between Pope and Kiara. Pope was now the one to pace the room. When Emma asked her question, the boy let out a perturbed shout and gripped his head tightly.
The girls both flinched and the Routledge girl looked at Kiara, confused.
"They got JJ. Shoupe arrested him." Pope told Emma, finally looking at her.
Her eyes went wide. She looked so shocked. Her best friend was arrested? Surely it was bound to happen one day because JJ was JJ, but she didn't think it would happen now.
"Arrested?" She repeated, her tone appalled. She couldn't believe it. "Is this because of the bo—"
"Yes." Pope cut her off immediately.
"Shit, shit, shit." If Emma's panic level was high then, imagine now. She was genuinely losing her mind—now more than ever.
She was so afraid. Not even for herself, but for JJ. He didn't have the best father growing up. He was abusive and negligent towards him, and Emma wondered if he'd actually bail him out or just leave him to rot in there until he was free to go. That, she didn't know.
