Chapter 6
Rafe's POV
Topper and I walked down the hallway and went into the room the doctor told us about. She was lying on the bed, with machines beeping and two bags hanging from a stand.
"You two just going to stand there or come in?" She asked hoarsely. We walked over and sat down on the bed. I looked her over.
"What happened to you?" I asked. Her eye twitched as she looked up at the ceiling.
"Ronnie, we can't help you if we don't know who done this." Topper told her. She sniffled, then grunted as she tried sit up. She gasped and grabbed her stomach.
"Hey, easy. Take it easy." I told her. She groaned and huffed.
"A warning. He said I was a warning." She said panting. I looked at Topper and he knew who it was too.
"Barry? Barry done this?" I asked.
"John B and you. I was the warning. John B, where's." She said slurring her words. Her eyes closed then her monitors started ringing.
"Ronnie? Ronnie? Top! Go get someone!" I said jumping up. He ran out the door. They pushed us out and the doctor came out to the waiting room a while later. He took off the cap he was wearing.
"Doctor?" Dad asked standing.
"Veronica's heart stopped for a moment, but we were able to restart it. But she has slipped into a coma at this time. Also, a rib had punctured a lung, which we repaired, and she is on a breathing machine right now. She'll be in the ICU for a few days. Mr. Cameron, as her guardian, you may have to make the decision, if it comes to it, you may have to make a difficult decision, a father nor guardian should have to make." He said. I tensed up.
"No. She's tough, she can pull through this. She can't." Topper said tearing up. I looked down as the doctor walked away.
"Sarah, go wait in the car. You and I are going to go find John B. Give him the update on Veronica." Dad told her. I glanced at her as she stood up and left.
"Rafe." He started. I looked up at him.
"I'm not leaving her. I won't leave her." I told him. He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Then stay with her son. Be by her side." He said softly. Then he left with Sarah. When they showed us her room, I sat by her side and held her hand. Just a few days ago it was just about using her to get the Pogue's back on their side of the island. But now, I didn't want to lose her for other reasons.
John B's POV
I sat on the HMS Pogue looking down at the last picture she and I took together. This was the last night she hung out with us before dad left. Before she started working multiple jobs. We were both smiling or laughing at JJ. He had pushed Kie in the mud and took off running. The he tripped and fell face first into the mudhole we had. Pope must've took the picture of us laughing.
"John B?" I heard. I looked up and saw Ward. He came over and sat on the boat with me. I handed him the picture.
"JJ had pushed Kie into the mud, got his karma as he tried to run. That was the last time we actually didn't fight." I told him. He looked at it.
"John B." He started.
"We had a fight yesterday. That's why she acted the way she did at breakfast. I gave up on my family. She never gave up on me. She asked for one thing from me, and that was not to lie to her. My lying got her hurt multiple times now." I said sniffling.
"This is not your fault." He told me.
"Yes, it is. She only asked for one thing. One thing, and I couldn't give it to her." I said shaking my head. I looked down and crossed my arms.
"Son, do you know why your sister was always working?" He asked me.
"For us to keep our house." I said.
"For you and her. She had to quite school in order to make up for all the missed payments your father had left. If she hadn't, you'd be out on the streets. She gave up an early admissions scholarship to NCS, to take care of the two of you. She was working with a broken leg and a wrist at one point to make sure she didn't miss any payments. She made sure you had food, water, " He told me.
"She never told me that." I said.
"She didn't want you to worry." He said nodding. He looked at the photo again and cleared his throat. He sniffled.
"John B, there's something you should know." He started.
"What?" I asked.
"Veronica took a turn. Her heart stopped, they got her back, but she's slipped into a coma. A rib also punctured a lung. Which the surgeons were able to repair, and she is on a machine to breathe right now in the ICU. As the legal guardian of the two of you, if anything were to happen to her or if she got worse, if it came to it, I would, after talking with you, I would have to make a decision." He said.
"Decision? What decision? Wither my sister keeps living or she dies?" I asked standing up. I got up on the dock. He followed after me. He grabbed me by the shoulders.
"Yes. But she won't, okay? Your sister is a fighter, John B. She's tough as nails and she will wake up." He told me.
"I messed up. I can't lose my sister." I told him.
"And you won't." He said. We walked up to the house and went to bed. The next morning was supposed to be the trip with Ward but with Veronica in the hospital, it put a bunch of things on hold. JJ, Pope, Kie and I were in Heyward's looking for something for Veronica.
"John B, I'm sorry to hear about your sister. She's a good, hard working, kid. She doesn't deserve this." Mr. Heyward told me.
"Thank you, sir." I said nodding. He nodded and walked off.
"How about flowers? We can stop by the flower store on the way." Kie said looking at me.
"Would she like flowers?" I asked.
"Maybe. Is there a flower she's allergic too?" She asked.
"I don't think so." I said shaking my head.
"I'll just pick something out." She said nodding. I nodded and walked around. I picked up a teddy bear and looked at it. I remember the day we had our first fight. I was 7 and she was 6.
*Flashback*
I was running around the yard with Ronnie's favorite teddy bear, while she chased me. A rain storm was coming soon. You could tell by the waves and wind. I ran down our dock to the boat.
"John B! Give it back!" She yelled at me. I laughed and launched it into water.
"Go get it!" I told her. She growled and shoved me. I stumbled and hit the floor. For her age she was pretty strong.
"Jerk." She said running away. I ran after her and shoved her into the dirt.
"Brat." I said. She got up and shoved me again. We went back and forth until we were both rolling around in the dirt until dad had to separate us.
*End flashback*
I laughed and sniffled. Someone clapped me on the shoulder making me jump. I looked up and saw JJ. He grabbed me bear and looked at it.
"A bear?" He asked confused.
"Yeah. When we were little and I threw hers into the ocean and it was our first sibling wrestling match." I told him.
"That brown thing was a bear?" He scoffed.
"She loved it for some reason. Took it everywhere she went until that day." I said taking the bear back from him. We got our things, stopped at the flower shop, and went to the hospital. Everyone was in the waiting room when we got there.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"No. Doctors are just examining her, checking her vitals." Ward told me. I sighed with relief. Sarah came over and hugged me. I relaxed slightly and hugged her back. The doctor came out a few minutes later.
"Good morning, everyone. We just finished our morning check-up on Veronica. Her vitals are up, in about two hours we'll see if she is breathing on her own. If she is, then we will take her off the ventilator and mover her out of the ICU. There is no sign of infection in any of her wounds, that is also a good sign." He told us.
"When will she be out of the coma?" I asked.
"That's completely up to her. It could be days, weeks, or even months before she wakes up. For coma patients we encourage friends and family to talk with her, read things that she liked, tell stories." He told me. I swallowed. Months?
"Months?" Pope asked shocked.
"Like I said, it's totally up to her when she wakes up." He said nodding. He walked off. JJ and I walked to the ICU room she was in. I froze at the sight of her. The tubes sticking out of her, a machine breathing for her, bruised and broken. I cleared my throat and went over to her side. I put the bear by her side and put her fingers on the feet.
"To replace the bear I threw in the ocean when we were little. It was our first wrestling match." I said chuckling. The knot in my throat got tighter.
"Uh, Ronnie, JJ here. I, uh, I'm sorry. This, uh. Yeah. Kie, she picked out some flowers for you. The old batch at the store said the purple flowers were your favorite." He told her. She and JJ were always fighting but she always cared. She knew what his dad was like, so she always took care of him, too. He took her other hand and squeeze it.
"Why is she cold?" He asked. A lady in scrubs walked in.
"It's the room. It's to keep the germs away and infection down. Hi, I'm Shana, Veronica's nurse." She said smiling.
"John B and JJ. I'm her brother, and he's my friend." I told her. She changed out a fluid bag and checked a machine.
"My brother was in a coma, years ago. I would sit by his side every chance I could get and talk to him. He's my best friend." She told us.
"Did he wake up?" I asked her.
"A few days later. He heard everything I told him. I had never been so happy to see my brother again. She'll wake up, I have faith." She said before walking out. I nodded and looked at Veronica.
"She'll wake up. She has too, man." JJ said. We walked out and headed out. We gathered the things to extract the gold from under the Crain house. I had to do this for us. All of us. Including Veronica.
Rafe's POV
I sat in her room and watched the machines beeping. Barry was going to pay. Those Pogue's would pay too. She didn't deserve this. Dad walked in and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Anything new?" He asked.
"Not yet." I said.
"Any idea who would do this to her?" He asked sitting down beside me. I shook my head and looked at my hands.
"No. No I don't. But I'll find out." I said nodding.
"Just don't do anything to end up in the bed next door. Okay? Listen, I'm going to take John B out fishing like I was supposed to the other day, do you think you can hold it down here until we get back?" He said. I looked at him.
"What if she goes south?" I asked.
"She won't. She's tough and strong." He said.
"Sometimes to strong." I said scoffing. He nodded and sighed. He stayed a few minutes then got up and left. She was breathing on her own. So, while they moved her, Topper, Kelce, and I went to pay Barry a little visit. We pulled up to Barry's and went around back.
"Ay! What's up country club? You got my money?" He asked standing up from the chair.
"Nice shiner. Who gave it to you?" I said looking around. He had a black eye, scratches up and down his arms, neck and face. His right hand was busted up too.
"Just some island rat that owes me. Tiny but tough." He said chuckling. I nodded and swung on him. He fought back but Kelce and Topper held him as I swung.
"You messed with her! You weren't supposed to touch her!" I yelled at him. He grunted as they let him drop to his knees.
"I warned you! She was the warning! If I could get my hands on her, I could get my hands on anyone." He said chuckling. Topper kicked him in the face. I grabbed Barry up and got in his face.
"You touch her or even look at her again, it will be the last time that you look at anyone else. You got me?" I told him. He grunted. I let him go and we left. I got cleaned up at Topper's and we headed back to the hospital.
John B's POV
I sat there in my room at Tannyhill looking down at the picture of Veronica and dad. I had done lost dad, now I was facing of losing my sister too. I sighed and placed it on my nightstand. Someone knocked on my door. I looked at it as it opened.
"Hey, kid. How're you holding up?" Ward asked walking in.
"As much as I can. What's up?" I said standing.
"That fishing trip we planned. Let's do it tomorrow. Get your mind off things, have a day to clear it all." He said shrugging.
"What about my sister?" I asked.
"Rafe will be with her. She's strong, they pulled the tube earlier since she's breathing on her own now. She'd want you to go, John B." He said nodding.
"if I was sitting beside her and she was awake, she'd be telling me to go, she'd be fine until we got back." I said nodding.
"See? I know you don't want to leave her, but she'd want you to go out on the boat. Huh? What do you say?" He said.
"Yeah, sure. Yes, sir." I said nodding. He nodded.
"Great. Bright and early in the morning. Say 3." He said smiling. I got a feeling. A feeling I didn't like when he smiled. I nodded and he walked out. I sighed, set my alarm, and went to bed. When it went off, I got up, got dressed and snuck into Sarah's room. I crawled into her bed and hugged her from behind.
"Hi." I whispered.
"Hi." She said sleepily. I kissed her head.
"Bye." I said.
"Bye." She chuckled. I jumped out of bed and went downstairs to the Druthers. I was preparing the lines when Ward walked up.
"Morning boss." I told him.
"Yes, it is. Look at you, already hard at work. I like it." He said dropping a bag off. He and I lifted the cooler onto the boat.
"Guffy said he got into it pretty good just north of Big Rock." I told him.
"Guffy, huh? With the mouth on him, there'll be 15 boats up there already. I say, let's go south. Swansboro Hole. It'll be just you and me down there. Sound good?" He said boarding the boat. I got that uneasy feeling again.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's do it." I said nodding. We drove for a while and anchored the boat. We went down and casted out. There was nothing out there.
"I like being out here, you know? Quiet, you can think of everything." He said staring off into the water.
"That's what our dad use to say." I said. He nodded.
"So John B. We trust each other right?" He asked me. I nodded and looked at him. He nodded again, then sighed.
"Then tell me about the gold you and the others found? Where is it?" He said looking at me.
"What?" I asked.
"I know about the Royal Merchant, the compass, the maps you asked Sarah to get. I know about everything." He told me.
"How did?" I asked. Then it hit me.
"The compass. Did you send those two guys to my house?" I asked.
"They were supposed to find the compass, not harass anyone." He said holding up his hands.
"They attacked my sister! They hurt her!" I yelled at him.
"They weren't supposed to do that either. Listen, there are a lot of people out there that have been searching years for this gold. Just tell me where it is, and everything will be okay." He said.
"No. We're going back and talking to Peterkin." I said walking away. I went up deck and pushed the throttle to move the boat. That's when he started his attack. I defended myself against him. I escaped on the Jet Ski and got away from him. I made it to Ms. Lana's where she gave me hot tea and clothes to wear. She explained that she overheard Ward and Scooter talking the night he went missing and what really happened. Now, I was out for blood. I tried to talk to Sarah, but she wasn't believing a word I was saying about her dad. I went to my house. It was still a crime scene from Ronnie, but I snuck in anyways. I grabbed my picture of dad and went out onto the dock. I made a little boat out of limbs and set it on fire and dropped it into the water. The next day, I went to the Crain house. I slipped into the hole and saw that all the gold was gone. He had been here. I yelled then I ran. I snuck in at the hospital to see my sister.
"Hey, baby sis. Listen I may be gone for a while, okay? But I need you to know, I'm going to be okay. I will come back and you will be awake and we'll be set. Remember the gold dad was trying to find? Well, we found it. Yeah, we did. We're going to take it back though. Don't trust Ward when you come too. Okay? You don't trust no one." I whispered to her. I leaned down and kissed her head then I left.
Veronica's POV (Inside her head)
Everything was cold. Except a few things. There were a few light warm touches to my hand, something soft was under my fingers, but everything else was cold. I heard someone talking at some point, he sounded worried and scared. Then another person talking, they ranted on about some girl they use to be with, then the last one sounded a bit more concerned and worried than the first one. I wanted to wake up, but my brain said it wasn't time too. We needed the rest. I heard someone sigh. This person was different, their cologne was stronger than anyone else's that visited.
"I know that you can't hear me, but I need to tell you this before someone else does. There really isn't a way to tell you. Honey, I was the one that took your father away from you and your brother. It was an accident, but I didn't know what else to do. He didn't want to share the gold that he was on the way to find and I got angry. Now everything has hit the fan, again. I killed a cop because she wanted to arrest me for his murder. She knew too much about it all. I'm sorry but I blamed it on your brother and he is gone too." They explained. Who was this? I had a brother? Where was he at? Why was he gone too?