𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 | RAFE CAMERON

Ten | D E P T H S

The salty air whipped my hair around my face as we cruised on John B's boat toward the coordinates. Kie and John B were already in the water, testing the murky depths, while JJ, Pope, and I kept watch on the camera feed on the dock.

"Hey look, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to the lawyer in town," John B announced, surfacing from the water. "We'll follow up on the plan."

JJ interjected, "Well, there are some barriers on salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean and scoop a bunch of stuff up."

"No, I know," John B replied, his voice laced with discontent.

"It's just lawyers ain't cheap bruh." JJ mentioned.

"Well, as soon as they see the footage, their work for a comp." John B said confidently.

"How do you know all that?" Pope questioned.

"My dad said it about a million times," John B mumbled, looking away.

Kie nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that's fair."

"The tether is like really long," Pope pointed out, "And if it goes the wrong way, this thing can get pushed around."

"Then we'll go back home," John B shrugged, his eyes scanning the horizon.

"Flat tide," Kie stated, her gaze fixed on the water.

Pope, the cautious one, added, "Just gotta wait around for the right weather, and today is not that day."

John B and Kie clambered back onto the dock, shaking off the water. "Wanna see where me and my dad lives and check out the footage on the camera?" John B asked, approaching me.

I shrugged, "Sure," my curiosity outweighing my reluctance.

We dropped off Kie, JJ, and Pope at their houses and drove to a house John B called "the Chateau."

He showed me around, and I tried to take it all in. It was way smaller than my house, and I couldn't help but feel gratitude that my mom had kept me away from this kind of life. But I was still upset that she never told me about the missing pieces of my past.

John B and I sat outside, watching the footage. Nothing but water and the blurry figures of John B and Kie swimming around.

"Maybe we'll find something tomorrow," John B said, his voice laced with hope. "I mean, it has to be there, I'm sure of it."

"Yeah," I agreed, trying to sound more optimistic than I felt. "Whether we find the gold and your dad or not, I'm still glad I met you."

John B smiled at me solemnly, "Yeah, me too sis."

Suddenly, a blonde girl appeared, dressed in red shorts and a crop top. She stood in front of us, her hair flipping carelessly over her shoulder. "It's your turn." was all she said.

"Um, for what?" John B asked, confused.

I finally recognized her as Sarah, Rafe's sister from the party. "To ask me what I'm doing here," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What are you doing here?"

She sighed dramatically, "I realize I didn't get a chance to respond the other day after you spat on my face and yelled at me and stormed off like a child." She paused, letting the words hang in the air. "So, first of all, I'm not a liar. I don't know how Ward found out about the scuba gear, but I swear it wasn't me. I'm not the reason you got fired."

John B considered her words, trying to gauge her sincerity. "Okay," he finally said.

"That's all," she said dismissively, turning to leave. "Oh!" she stopped in her tracks and threw a bag of chips at him. "Your favorite."