𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃─𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

one hundred twenty eight.

─☼☼☼─

CHARLOTTE HAD NEVER heard silence quite so loud. 

No one really knew what to say as the Outer Banks grew further and further away. The island where they'd spent their entire lives becoming a place that may never be safe for them to return to. 

And it was Rafe Cameron who had given them the escape they needed. 

He was at the helm, away from the Pogues who still seemed perplexed and perhaps in shock as they sat on the deck, trying to figure out what the hell they had just gotten themselves into. 

In the middle of it all was Charlotte Carrera, who still hadn't figured out if she was relieved or absolutely terrified that her ex boyfriend and best friends were all on the same ship, headed toward the same place. For once, she didn't have to pick between leaving Rafe behind or abandoning her friends...but she still feared it wasn't going to be painless. 

"I think we should discuss this," she finally announced, nervously chewing at the skin around her fingernail. "Before anyone does anything, let's just talk about it." 

All eyes turned to her, each of them staring back at her. Some of their expressions were incredulous, most were anticipatory.

"What's there to discuss?" Pope questioned. "We know what he did to the cross. And now we're just supposed to go after the crown with him? That makes zero sense."

Cleo nodded. "Doesn't take Pope to figure that one out."

Charlotte exhaled, that damn cross always biting her in the ass. She wished that thing never existed. "I guarantee he doesn't even know about the crown," she argued. 

John B met her gaze. "So how do you propose we deal with him? You and Sarah know him better than any of us. So what do we do?"

"We don't deal with him," Charlotte fired back, suddenly more defensive than she had intended. Taking a moment to compose herself, she continued. "Look, I know none of you want to work with him, and I get that one hundred percent. We've had this conversation a million times, what he's done to all of you is so beyond fucked up. But he's helping us right now, whether you like it or not. Without Rafe, all seven of us would probably be sitting in freaking jail cells right now. So, let's just, for once, work together, okay? Once we get to Morocco, he can go his way and you can all go yours." 

JJ, who somehow already had a bottle of liquor in his hand, looked up at Charlotte. "And what way are you going, Charlotte?"

He was trying to antagonize her, and Charlotte really was not in the mood. 

"Charley's right," John B agreed, much to his own chagrin. "We need to at least talk to Rafe and figure out where we all stand."

"Talk to Rafe?" JJ balked. 

John B's eyebrows shot up. "Well you're definitely not talking to him."

JJ scoffed. "Oh, I'm not doing that. Alright, cool. What the hell did I do now?"

"It might just be easier if we handle it, alright?" Kiara reasoned. "You might, like, trigger him and that's the last thing we need."