𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

one hundred twelve.

─☼☼☼─

"OH, GOD," CHARLOTTE breathed, pressing the heels of her hand into her eyes, "Oh, God."

JJ stood in front of her, watching her with an axious expression. "Charls, please relax. You're stressin' me out!"

She spun on him, utter shock on her features. "I'm stressin' you out!?" She balked, flinging an arm out toward the couch. "JJ, you just told me that there's a dead body behind our couch right now. The same couch we were just sittin' on while we got interrogated by the sheriff!"

Apparently, Cleo had never been catching bait like her text that morning had said. She'd been taken by the same people who were out by Blackbeard's wreck a few nights prior. Somehow, Terrance had been with them, and when Cleo's life was threatened, he had sacrificed himself to save her. 

Whoever these people were had killed Terrance and then taken off with the amulet once Pope returned to the house. Another person was dead, and they had lost the one thing that guaranteed them some sort of financial security. 

"Okay," JJ conceded, "It sounds bad when you say it like that."

"How else am I supposed to say it!?" Charlotte argued, her stress bubbling over. "This is bad, J. Like really bad."

JJ sighed. "I know. I know." He agreed. "It's just that─if we had have told Shoupe, he wouldn't have believed our actual story. He would have spun this to make it look like we did it, just like he's trying to do with Genrette."

Charlotte hated to think that way, but JJ was right. As much as she just wanted them to tell Shoupe the whole truth, to clear their consciouses, she knew it was nothing but a shot in the foot to all of them. Shoupe didn't trust them, no one did. 

"Okay," Charlotte nodded, eyes straying toward the couch. "Okay, yeah. You're right." She felt her eyes straying toward the floor where she swore she could see traces of blood. She didn't even know where he was actually killed, but it was like she could sense the death in the room. She needed to get out of there. 

"Where's Cleo now?" She asked, tearing her eyes from the floor to look up at her best friend. 

JJ nodded his head toward the stairs. "Upstairs I think. She's pretty shook up."

Letting out a deep breath, Charlotte pushed her hair behind her ears. "Okay," she nodded again. "I'll go talk to her. You head out and let the others know what Shoupe wanted. I'm sure they're all freaking out."

"Okay," JJ agreed. "Good plan." He started toward the back door, pausing before he reached it. "It's gonna be okay, Charls. I promise."

She gave him as much of a smile she could muster in her anxious state. "Hope you're right, J."

He dipped his head before heading out to speak to the others, leaving Charlotte alone in the living room. She felt her eyes stray toward the couch again, a part of her was tempted to look behind it. The other part of her knew she'd never be able to unsee what was back there. 

"Get it together," she muttered to herself as she gave her head a small shake. Cleo needed someone, and Charlotte standing down there in an eternal battle with herself was no help.