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//chapter fifty-six • stop manhandling toddlers.
BACK AT THE HOUSE, the atmosphere amongst the Pogues was thick with disappointment and frustration. The group gathered outside the house, the remnants of their hopes lying heavily in the air. Especially now that Pope knew, and was less than thrilled that JJ went behind all their backs, and now they were all exponentially screwed.
"I said it." Pope started his lecture, "I said it again and again. I said don't touch the last of our nugget. That was it. That was the last of our savings. Do you not care?"
"Pope!" JJ stood up off his bike and whipped around to yell. "You saw what happened, man. He stole it, okay? He cheated and he stole it. That's not my fault, Pope."
"Do you know how selfish you sound?"
"I sound selfish?" JJ demanded, "I was trying to help us out."
"You helped us?" Pope scoffed. Shouting back at JJ wasn't something he normally did, normally he was calm. Right now, in their time of financial crisis, he was not calm. "You just cost us everything. Thank you."
"JJ, why are you making it sound like you had nothing to do with it?" Kie asked, sat next to Spencer while Andrew did first aid on the blonde. He'd already on John B's, leaving JJ's for last as punishment.
"Okay, Kie-" JJ turned to her. "You know me. Okay? I was gonna bet it all. That's who I am."
"You should've talked to us first." Spencer mumbled, covered in dirt and bruises, not particularly happy with JJ at the moment.
Kie shook her head. "It was too risky this time."
"Okay, right. Well maybe if Spencer hadn't crashed into me-"
"Don't blame this on her!" The Carrera girl snapped when JJ turned on Spencer. Andrew tossed her an annoyed look when she bumped into him and knocked a bandage out of his hand. Kie bent down to pick it up.
Pope turned his temper on John B when it wasn't effecting JJ anymore. "And what were you doing? You knew he had it and you just let him race?"
"He told me last minute." John B defended.
"John B, look, man, you were supposed to cover-"
"I did cover!"
"What you were supposed to do was not take our savings!" Pope shouted at JJ.
Sarah shook her head as she watched them fight but it was Cleo who sat forward and shouted. "Hey! Enough!" The boys closed their mouths. John B yanked a hand through his hair as Cleo looked at her boyfriend. "How bad is it, Pope?"
"How bad is it?" The Heyward boy echoed before he turned to shout at JJ again. "We have a thirteen thousand dollar property tax payment due in seven days. And we have zero working capital. There's nothing. And you took the last of our savings. So thank you."
