Summer night (discontinued)

The Lucky Compass, Chapter five ── ✿

𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼

Mr. Thompson helped her into his truck and drove her to the Cut, making their way to John B's place. As they drove, Coraline couldn't help but replay what had just happened. She had a few scrapes down her legs, and her body ached from the fall. She told herself not to cry and to be tough, and she did. She held everything together, determined to put up an act for the Pogues.

When they arrived, Mr. Thompson gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Take care, Coraline. Remember, you're stronger than you think."

"Thank you, Mr. Thompson," Coraline said, her voice steadier now. She stepped out of the truck and made her way to John B's place, ready to face her friends and put on a brave face despite the turmoil inside.

Coraline walked inside John B's house, wondering to herself why the door wasn't locked. It was unusual for John B to leave it open, but she shrugged it off, assuming everyone had shown up a little earlier. She looked around and didn't see anyone in sight but could hear voices and laughter coming from outside.

Before heading out to join them, she decided to go to the bathroom to clean herself up. She closed the bathroom door and examined herself in the mirror.

The bruises were starting to show up lightly on her arms and legs, and she had a few scrapes down her legs. Her body was sore from the fall, and she could feel the emotional weight pressing down on her.

She rummaged through her bag and found some makeup. She tried her best to cover the bruises, but it wasn't very effective. She washed her face with warm water, but of course, John B didn't have any clean face cloths. She sighed, feeling a mix of frustration and sadness, before looking at herself in the mirror. She forced a smile, trying to gather the strength to face her friends.

As she left the bathroom, she heard JJ talking in a shaken tone. Curious and concerned, she made her way towards the back door, where the voices were coming from. She could see the Pogues gathered outside, their faces serious and worried.

"What happened?" Coraline asked, noticing the serious expressions on everyone's faces.

"The guys from yesterday..." John B said, putting his head down. "We went to check out Lana, Scooter's wife. And those same guys who were chasing us were destroying her house and looking for answers."

Coraline's face dropped in shock, and she sat down next to Pope. "What? How?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Maybe because they wanted the same answers we want?" Kiara interjected, glancing at Coraline.

"Hey, Coraline is new to this. Let's be nice," John B said, trying to keep the peace. "The boat we explored was Scooter's."

Coraline sat there, thinking about it. She remembered what Sarah had mentioned earlier, and her heart shattered. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together, but it only made things more complicated and dangerous.

"I wanna hear what JJ has to say. It looks like he has a lot to say," Kiara said, looking at him with concern.

JJ stopped pacing and took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. "Lana was terrified. Those guys were tearing her place apart, demanding to know where Scooter hid something. She kept saying she didn't know, but they didn't believe her. They trashed everything."

"And all we hear was just, BAM! BAM!" JJ started punching the air. "Knocking the paint of the wall. G! From inside." He point out. "All right. And I'm just -looking at him, like—" He paused before walking over in the middle of everyone. "Wait, first of all, look at this shit." He put his hands in shaking his hair and a lot of paint dust came off.