𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒, 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

FIFTY-THREE| across the sand flamingo

EDEN sat in the back of the Twinkie, listening to Pope Heyward explain more about the cross.

"Guys, listen to this." Pope gains the attention of all his friends. He'd been searching through the diary to find more information, a certain piece catching his eye. "The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior."

Kiara's brows furrow as she tries to more simply explain what she'd been told, "So wait, he's saying there's a holy garment inside the cross?"

"Yeah." Pope nods, almost in disbelief himself, "It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady."

JJ suddenly perks up, "Mmm, yeah. 'If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well'."  The boy recited the line so well that the rest of the Pogues can't help but stare at him with raised brows and confused looks. "What? I went to Sunday school." 

Kiara lightly scoffs, "Sure." 

"Moving on from JJ's Sunday school experience, that makes more sense as to why Limbrey wants it so bad." Eden states, thinking about the crutches around the woman's wrists; the weak and frailness of her. "She thinks whatever's inside that cross is gonna heal her." 

Kiara looks blankly at Eden before nudging Pope, "What else does it say?"

The Heyward boy looks back at the diary before reading off, "'Many feel that we have sinned to steal such a sacred thing, and God will strike his vengeance on us.' "

"Thing is, God did have his vengeance." 

"He sent a hurricane to sink the ship." Pope states in agreement with Kie, "Only Denmark survived."

Eden let out a sigh, looking out the window as they pulled up to Tannyhill, "We really should have stayed in Sunday school." 

John B. halts the van in front of the Cameron estate, the six Pogues filing out. Eden is quick to notice that there are no other cars parked in the driveway—she wonders if her mother is with Rose; she wonders what they could be doing.

"Is no one home?" Eden comes forward to enter the house with Sarah—the blonde leading the way, given it was her house.  

"No one was home when I left." Sarah shrugs merely—personally, she didn't care where anyone was. She assumed Rose was out trying to finalize things financially and Rafe was snorting a new line of coke. "I don't know where they are, though."

Eden nods, though her eyes narrow ever so slightly. There was something that didn't sit right with Rose and Rafe being gone, Limbrey having the key, and—according to her dad— her mother being out and about with the Cameron woman recently. "Hm."

As they enter the halls of Tannyhill, JJ let's out a small whistle and the Routledge boy mutters, "This place still freaks me out."

JJ nods, "Yeah, same."

Eden looks back at the two boys, whose eyes are darting all around the mansion—John B. had lived here for a few days, but JJ had never stepped inside the place. Eden can see why it was slightly freaky; big house, no one home. 

"Imagine living in one of these." the Bexley snips—she'd spent her entire life in the Bexley house, and she still doesn't qualify it her home; not the way she does the Chateau. It was just a place she happened to return to every once in a while.

Sarah opens one of the doors to enter a spare room, "Pope, look."

Pope moves ahead of the Bexley and enters the room with wide eyes, "Woah! You've got to be kidding me."