Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

xxvix. unwritten

As Ashtyn Hughes watched the morning sun peak over the horizon, she questioned what choices led her to that exact moment. Being a scholar, she believed that every positive or negative outcome occurred after a multitude of decision-making processes within a given amount of time, so what did she do in the past to end up on Kildare Island watching the sunrise off the coast?

While the scenery may have been beautiful, the teen felt like the complete opposite. Her sweaty palms unconsciously rubbed against her jean shorts, attempting to rid her body of the anxiety that prevented her from sleeping. She didn't know how it came about, but something in the brunette's gut told her that things were about to go south rather quickly for their small group.

Her tired blue eyes watched the channel entrance, waiting for any sign that their rescue squad was returning to join the party, but it was still too early. John B and JJ wouldn't even roll out of bed until nine, at the earliest.

"Ash?" A tired voice caught the youngest Pogue off guard, causing her to flinch before turning around. Kiara stared back at her with big, curious brown eyes, pushing her body up to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "What are you doing up there?"

The Hughes girl had decidedly moved to the bow sometime in the middle of the night, not wanting to wake her friends with her nervous fidgeting. She couldn't find it in herself to sit still, so the next best option was putting some distance between her body and theirs. "Just uh... getting some fresh air. Watching the sunrise."

"Y'know..." Kie sighed, throwing her blanket off her legs and stretching a bit. "You're almost as bad at lying as John B. The two of you would never make it as smugglers."

Ashtyn watched the curly haired girl tiptoe around Sarah and Emerson to sit next to her. "Good thing we have nothing to lie about..."

"What's wrong dude? We may be mending our friendship right now, but there's obviously something bothering you if you didn't sleep." Kiara asked, leaning forward. "The bags under your eyes are almost as bad as they were at the hospital."

The blue eyed girl felt the words tug on her heartstrings, a reminder of how she almost lost her boyfriend two days ago. After that fall, he should've died, so maybe that's why she was having such bad anxiety. Karma helped them, so now it was time to repay the kindness...

"Just can't seem to turn my brain off. Everything just kind of hit me last night and now I'm trying to deal with the side effects." Ashtyn lied through her teeth, somehow managing to convince Kie with her bullshit excuse.

Her friend pursed her lips in wonder as she leaned back against the side of the boat. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here Ash. I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said the terrible things I did and I feel awful. You shouldn't forgive me, but if you do, I swear I'll make it up to you."

"Kiara there's no need to make it up to me," Ashtyn sighed, "You were worried about your friends and their well being because as soon as I set foot on Kildare it was like all hell broke loose with this treasure hunt. It's one of those things where you automatically assume two events are related because they occur so closely together, so I get it. You're a great friend. You care about those four boys so much and I'm so grateful that you were here to pick up the broken pieces I left behind. It was the worst thing I've ever done and to this day I wish I would've defected earlier. Maybe things would be different now..."