Chapter 9
Veronica's POV
When I woke up again, I was still in the hospital. John B was still beside me, Kie was on the couch, JJ was propped up in the chair, and Pope was laying on the floor beside Kie. I groaned as I tried to sit up. I jumped when the door swung open.
"Ah. Miss Routledge. You're awake." The doctor said walking in. Everyone woke up when he spoke.
"Which doctor are you?" I asked.
"I'm Dr. Arnold. I was your Doctor when you had amnesia." He said opening my chart.
"Vitals look good, blood work is a little abnormal, But I do want to keep you one more night just to be safe. You were unresponsive at the scene of the explosion?" He said.
"Yes sir, she was." John B answered.
"Have you been taking your medications?" He asked.
"Yes. And the sleeping medicine you prescribed seemed to help as well." I said nodding. He sat down his pen and looked at me.
"I didn't prescribe you any medication for sleep. Did you actually see the prescription label?" He said.
"No. No, just the pill bottle." I said shaking my head.
"Okay. I will alert the authorities and have them find the pill bottle. I'm going to take some more blood and run a tox screen on it and see what we can get back." He said nodding.
"How long will that take?" Kie asked.
"Few hours." He said nodding. I nodded and they took my blood.
"Okay. I'd also like for you to continue the liquid diet for a couple more weeks, until your next checkup. Your stomach is still healing but when you hit the water, it opened a few stitches." He explained.
"Thank you, Ward Cameron." I grumbled. I sighed and sat back in the bed.
"Don't worry. As soon as those stitches heal you can go back to your regular routine." He said nodding.
"Wonderful." I mumbled.
"We'll make sure she stays on schedule." John B told him. He nodded.
"Now as for your already filled prescriptions at the Cameron household." He started.
"I can call Rafe or Topper and." I started.
"Can we just get a refill on those? We really don't want to go back to that house ever." John B said interrupting me. He looked at me and nodded.
"Of course." Dr. Arnold said. Someone else knocked on the door. Shoupe and the SBI guy walked in and smiled softly.
"Sorry to interrupt but we need a statement, Veronica." Shoupe said nodding. I nodded. I spent another two days in the hospital. I laid on the porch of the Chateau the night after I was freed from the hospital. John B drove us home. It felt good being home, finally. But also, terrifying. When I walked in through the door and looked around, I got flashbacks from Barry's attack. I tried to sleep but all I heard was my screams in the hallway. The door opened to the Chateau and John B walked out. He came over and draped a blanket around me.
"What're you doing up still?" He asked yawning. He sat down beside me.
"Can't sleep. You?" I said looking at him.
"Same." He said looking at his hands.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Why didn't you ever tell me about the scholarship?" He asked. I blinked and leaned back against the couch.
"It wasn't important anymore." I told him.
"You had a way out. A way out of the OBX." He scoffed. I looked at my hands, shook my head, and thought back to our fight.
"JB. When I got the offer, dad had just left us. I wasn't gonna leave my brother alone, despite how he feels about family crap. We were under and if someone didn't jump in, we would've automatically been in the system." I said.
"Yeah.. About that family crap stuff… I'm sorry." He said. I just shrugged.
"It's over with. We can move past it." I said shaking my head. It was silent a few minutes. I tossed the cover off and pushed myself to stand. I groaned. He jumped up and wrapped his arm around me.
"Hey. Come on." He said helping me inside. JJ had taken my room per my request and demand and I was on the couch. He helped me get propped up and settled.
"John B?" I said looking at him.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"We're here till the end, right?" I said holding my pinky out. He laughed and took my pinky with his.
"Till the end, baby sis." He said nodding. He kissed my head and walked to his room. I relaxed back into the couch and fell asleep. I jumped awake from a nightmare hours later. I ran my hand through my hair and got out off the couch. I grabbed a water and drank it.
"What're you doing up and walking around?" JJ asked walking in.
"Nightmare and I was thirsty." I said sighing.
"You're not suppose to be moving much." He said. I leaned against the sink.
"JJ, I'm." I started. My hand slipped and knocked a plate onto the floor. It shattered at our feet. I heard Barry and me fighting, yelling, the screaming again. Then I saw the two guys that broke in. I couldn't breathe. I was suffocating in my own house.
"Hey! Hey! Look at me! Shit! Come on!" JJ said. He guided me outside and to the shed. I groaned as I sat down. I looked at the house and shook my head.
"This needs to stop. When does it stop!" I cried to JJ. A sob left my body then his arms were around me tightly.
"It will, cupcake. It will. I promise. We'll get through this." He told me. He and I just sat there as I cried. I hated crying. And lately I felt like that's all I done.
John B's POV
I sat at the kitchen table watching her as she slept on the couch. She was curled into JJ's side. He was asleep too. Did I like it that my best friend thought my baby sister was hot? No. But I knew he'd protect her in anyway possible if it came down to it and she'd be the same way. It had been a week now. You could tell sleep wasn't a fan of hers but she was pulling through. She started twitching in her sleep.
"No. Ward. Ward. No! Let me go!" She mumbled. I got up and walked over. I shook JJ awake and he looked over. She jumped up awake then jumped when she saw us. She looked around and outside.
"He was. He was here. He had." She started. I grabbed her head and made her look at me.
"Hey. He's not here. We are. No one's gonna hurt you again. I promise." I told her. She nodded and sniffled. I helped her out of bed and to the bathroom.
"Dude. These nightmares man." JJ said.
"She's been traumatized, JJ. Being attacked here twice, being thrown off a boat and drowning, all her memories coming back to her. Doctor said it would be normal until they go away." I said going to the sink. I washed out the blender and started making her smoothie.
"Maybe bringing her here was to soon." He said. I looked at him.
"I'm just saying man. I wouldn't want to be in the house I was nearly killed in twice either." He said throwing his hands up. I put ice, the fruit and milk into the blender.
"We have no other choice." I said.
"Kie's, Popes. I would say mine, but you know how that is." He said shrugging. I nodded and looked at the bathroom door as it opened.
"Kie should be here soon to help you change." I told her.
"I can manage." She said limping to her room. Her hand almost connected with the wall, but she pulled it away quickly and kept on.
"Why does she have to be so stubborn?" JJ asked.
"She's a Routledge. We're all stubborn." I said sighing. I looked outside and saw Kie and Toppers car pull up.
"What does he want?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Keep an ear out for her." I said walking to the door. I walked out and crossed my arms as Topper got out.
"Why are you here Top?" I asked him.
"Came to take Ronnie to her appointment." He said. Shit, I forgot.
"I can take my sister to her own appointment." I said nodding. I nodded to Kie as she walked inside.
"Dude come on. She was my friend too." He scoffed.
"But she's my sister. So, I'll be taking her to the appointment, thanks." I said waving him off.
"She wasn't your sister a month ago. After I picked her up and took her to Rafe's, she told me about the fight. Seemed you were done with family crap." He said air quoting.
"Stay away from my sister, Topper." I told him.
"I'll stay away when she tells me to stay away." He said.
"Topper." I heard. I looked behind me and saw JJ and Ronnie. He was helping her down the steps. They walked over.
"Hi." She said limping up to Topper.
"Hey. Ready for your appointment?" He said hugging her. He smirked at JJ and me. JJ stepped forward but I stopped him.
"I told you I was taking my sister to her appointment." I corrected.
"I'm taking her." He argued.
"Dude, she's my sister." I argued back.
"She wasn't a month ago!" He came back.
"I can take myself!" Ronnie yelled at us.
"No!" We both snapped at her.
"I'm a big girl. I can drive myself." She scoffed.
"How? You got a sprained wrist and a broken leg." I said looking at her.
"I'll take JJ's bike." She said shrugging.
"Sorry cupcake. You're not laying down my bike." JJ told her. She glared at him.
"Kie! Kie! Can you take me to my appointment?" She yelled out. I sighed.
"I'm your brother, I'm taking you. Go get in the Twinkie." I told her. She went to argue.
"So what? Baby sister isn't aloud any friends? Oh wait. She didn't have many before because she was too busy busting her ass to keep y'all in your house." Topper said. I stepped closer to him. Ronnie shoved me back.
"Enough! Both of you! Kie is taking me to my appointment and that's it! Topper I'm sorry you had to come out here and I'm sorry for my brother being a dick. But that's on both of you right now! Get it together or I'm not coming home." She snapped. JJ helped her to Kie's car and put her in. Kie got in and they left. Topper got in his Jeep and left too.
"Dude. Over-protective much?" JJ asked.
"I just got her back, bro! What am I suppose to do!" I snapped.
"She can't breathe as it is being here! Let her go and see, man! You can't keep her on lockdown and away from everyone." He told me. Then he walked inside the Chateau. I sighed and tossed my hat down.
Veronica's POV
After my checkup, Kie and I just rode around town. My checkup went as expected. I was able to eat solid foods finally and drink what I wanted. I was finally happy about that. But I still had a cast on my leg and arm. I leaned against the door and looked over at her.
"Kie?" I asked her.
"You want to go get your things from the Cameron's, don't you?" She asked me.
"Please." I said giving her a pouty look. She sighed but nodded. We drove over and I eased out. I walked to the door and knocked. I don't know why but I was nervous. Rose answered the door.
"Veronica." She said softly.
"Hello, Rose. I'm sorry to bother you, but I just stopped by to grab some things if that's okay?" I said biting my lip.
"Of course. Come on in." She said motioning me inside. I limped in and she shut the door. I looked at her as saw her bloodshot eyes.
"I'm terribly sorry, Rose." I told her. She sniffled.
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault at all." She said shaking her head. I reached out and touched her hand.
"No matter what has been done, I'm still thankful for you and Ward for taking me and John B in. Honestly." I told her. She squeezed my hand and nodded. I dropped my hand and walked to the bedroom that they had set up for me. I grabbed the bag from the closet and started packing. I felt someone come into the room.
"Coming to get your things?" I heard. I turned around and saw Rafe.
"Yeah. Umm I was around town with Kie, and I asked her if we could stop by and grab it. Rose said it was okay if I did." I said swallowing. He nodded and came in further.
"I thought Topper was taking you to your appointment today?" He asked.
"Him and JB got into an argument about who was taking me, so I made the decision to get Kie to take me." I said shrugging. I picked up a shirt. It was the one I wore the first night I spent here.
"Do you want this back?" I asked him. He looked at it then up at me.
"You keep it. It looks better on you." He said smirking. I bit my lip and nodded. I folded it and placed in my bag. I zipped it up and placed my bear on top. I looked at Rafe again. I went over and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Rafe." I told him. He stood up and shook his head. He started pacing the room.
"You're sorry? You're sorry? My dad tried to kill you! And you're standing here telling me, you're sorry!" He snapped at me.
"Rafe." I tried.
"He threw you off the boat! He drugged you! I was drugging you!" He snapped.
"You didn't know, Rafe! You and I both didn't know!" I argued. He threw a lamp making me jump.
"Then you didn't want me around at the docks." He said throwing his hands out.
"I almost drowned! I had just gotten my memories back, seen my brothers face as my brother! I wanted to hug my brother and be by him!" I snapped at him.
"I thought he wasn't your brother?" He asked.
"You go through what I just did with Sarah or Wheezie and see if you don't make up with your sibling." I scoffed. He shook his head and turned to the doors. I went over and placed my hand on his arm. He turned to me. I leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you for everything though. I won't forget it." I told him. I stepped away but he grabbed my arm and turned me back around. His lips crashed on mine. I was shocked at first, but I kissed him back. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer. We pulled away for a minute.
"You're welcome." He said panting. I hummed and placed my good hand on his cheek. He smiled then leaned down and kissed me again. This time it was softer. I kissed him back.
"Come on. Kie doesn't have patience and you shouldn't be on your leg long." He said pulling away. I sighed and went to my bag. He moved my hands away and picked it up for me. We walked outside and he placed my bag in Kie's car. He opened my door and helped me in.
"Kie." He acknowledged her. She nodded to him.
"Call me, baby." He said kissing my cheek.
"I will." I said biting my lip. He smiled and walked off. She pulled away from the house.
"What on Earth was that?" She snapped at me.
"He and I kissed. And it was good! God. Rafe and I kissed." I said groaning. I buried my face in my hands.
"John B will have a field day with this, if he ever finds out." She said. My head shot up to look at her.
"If you say anything Kie." I started.
"Trust me, I won't. You and John B, are back on terms and I'm not about to throw that for another loop." She scoffed. I nodded and leaned back in the seat.
John B POV
I woke up the next morning to the smell of food. I groaned and got out of bed. I peeked into the kitchen and saw Ronnie making breakfast.
"Ronnie?" I asked yawning. She looked back at me.
"Morning." She said smiling. I grunted and sat down at the table. She hobbled over and handed me a plate.
"How long have you been up?" I asked her.
"A while." She said biting her lip.
"Maybe we should talk to your doctor about some sleep medicine." I offered.
"No. It makes me groggy. I don't know what's happening around me and I don't like it." She said turning back to the counter. She went over to her bedroom door.
"JJ! JJ! Wake up! Breakfast!" She yelled. She went back to the stove.
"Ronnie." I said looking at my plate.
"Yeah?" She asked. I looked at her.
"Are you okay being here? I mean after everything?" I asked. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"The two guys, Barry, here." I said. She crossed her arms tightly. She was shutting down on me.
"Who told you that it was Barry?" She asked.
"Shoupe told me when you were talking with the SBI guy. You fought back, fought like how dad and I taught you." I said. She nodded and jumped when JJ slammed the door open.
"Morning." He grumbled.
"Morning." We said. She made him a plate and brought it to him.
"Thanks cupcake." He told her. She nodded and went back to the counter. She started cleaning up, then she sighed and walked out the front door. JJ looked at it then back at me.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I asked her if she was okay here, and Barry." I said putting food in my mouth.
"Dude." He scoffed.
"She's my sister!" I argued.
"Really? I wouldn't have guessed." He smarted off. I just looked at him. The door opened and Pope walked in.
"Awesome food. You two ready yet?" He said going to the stove.
"For what?" We asked.
"We have a calculus test this morning. We got to go." He said make shifting a plate.
"I can't leave Ronnie." I said shaking my head.
"Yeah, and I got something else to do." JJ said shrugging.
"You're going to school, even if Pope has to drag you." Ronnie said walking in with Kie. Kie sat her down on the couch.
"I'm not leaving you here alone." I argued.
"I'll be fine. You go to school." She huffed at me.
"No." JJ and I both said.
"Why not?" She asked. I stood up and walked over to them.
"What if you fall? Huh? You just going to lay here till we get back? What if something happens again and no one is here?" I said crossing my arms.
"Well, then I'm just going to accept my fate." She snapped at me.
"Ronnie." I said warning. She groaned.
"What John B? I'll be okay. I promise. Look, my phone is fully charged, I'll text you every hour to let you know I'm okay. If I start going to nuts, I'll call." She offered. She gave me those puppy eyes.
"Fine. Every hour, every hour. If you feel any pain or anything, or start going stir crazy call, okay?" I told her. She nodded. I went and got ready.
"Kie, can I talk to you?" Ronnie asked her. She nodded and sat down beside her. Ronnie looked at us and raised her eyebrow.
"What?" She asked us.
"Don't we get to know?" I asked.
"You really want to know about "girl" talk?" She asked air quoting girl.
"Nope! Uh ugh. Gross. Let's go." JJ said shaking his head. He basically ran out the door.
"I'm serious. Call." I told Ronnie. She nodded and I kissed her head. I followed after JJ and Pope.
Veronica's POV
After the guys left in the Twinkie, I reached under the couch and pulled out my bag. I was thankful that all my money from before was still there. Not that I didn't trust the Cameron's, just after what's happened, I was surprised.
"So, what's up?" Kie asked.
"JJ's restitution fee." I said opening my bag. I handed her four Ziplock bags.
"Ronnie." She said sighing. I shrugged and tossed the bag down on the floor.
"I see what he's done with Barry's money, and I don't even trust his dad with a penny. So, please take this and go pay it off for him. If he doesn't then it will end badly." I told her.
"You are too good for any of us." She said hugging me. I laughed and hugged her back.
"Thank you, Kie." I told her. She pulled away and got up.
"You sure you're going to be okay alone?" She asked. I nodded. She nodded and left. I sighed and got up. I cleaned up what I could and sat down at the table. I texted John B every 30 minutes, like I promised. After about 4 hours, that's when it kicked in. The house started to close in. I sat down on the steps of the porch and eased down one at a time. I could only make it to the fire pit. I sat down in one of seats and sighed.
"Ronnie?" I heard. I jumped and looked behind me. It was Rafe.
"Hi. What are you doing here?" I said as he walked over.
"Came to check on you." He said sitting on the arm of the chair.
"I was fine until a few minutes ago. How about you?" I said squinting in the sun.
"I'm good." He said nodding. He looked at the house then back at me.
"How did you get out here?" He asked.
"I sat down and bumped myself down the steps. I only made it this far." I said sighing. He stood up and crossed his arms.
"Are you home alone? Your brother couldn't stay?" He asked getting angry. I held out my good hand and he grabbed it. I pulled him down to sit beside my legs.
"I told him to go to school. He needs his education. Him and JJ wanted to stay but I told them to go." I said shrugging.
"You need someone with you." He said.
"Not really. I got food, bathroom, water, my phone. I'm set." I said shaking my head.
"Uh huh. So, how do you plan on getting back inside when you're ready?" He asked nodding to the house.
"Same way I got out." I said smiling. He shook his head laughing.
"So, instead of asking for help, you rather suffer?" He asked. I nodded and looked at my hand in his. I ran my fingers over his.
"You held my hand a lot." I said staring at it.
"What?" He asked. I looked up at him.
"In the hospital. While I was out. You held my hand a lot. I feel the familiarity of it." I said biting my lip. It was quiet between us. I looked out at the docks.
"How long do you plan on being out here?" He asked.
"A while. Not real sure." I said shrugging. He nodded and stood up.
"Come on. I'll take you to grab a smoothie." He said helping me up.
"How about a juicy burger with bacon? Doc said I could go back to a normal diet." I said smiling. He laughed and nodded.
"Normal diet? So, water and granola bars?" He teased. I hit him with my good hand in the chest. He pulled me against him. I looked up and bit my lip. He leaned down and kissed me. I kissed him back.
"That's a bit better." He said pulling away. I shook my head and kissed him again. This one was deeper and heavier.
"Nope. That was." I said panting. He groaned and leaned his forehead against mine. His phone rung. He pulled it out of his pocket and sighed.
"Hey, Rose. Yeah? I kind of have plans. Fine! Yeah, I'll be there." He said huffing. He hung up and looked at me.
"It's okay. Go. Your family needs you." I said nodding. He grabbed my head in his hands.
"I'll make it up to you. I promise." He told me. He kissed me again then he left. I sighed and looked up at the house. How was I going to get back in there?
John B's POV
We arrived at the Chateau after school. JJ, Pope, and I had a talk with our history teacher, and he gave us some things to help us with Denmark Tanny.
"Ronnie!" I called out.
"In here!" She called out from the bathroom. I dropped my bag and went to the bathroom. She was bandaging her hand up. I rushed in and grabbed her head.
"What happened? Did someone do this?" I asked looking her over.
"Yeah, I did. I fell." She grunted.
"Why didn't you call me?" I asked huffing.
"It literally just happened. Chill." She said sighing. I sighed and looked at her again.
"Where did you fall?" I asked her.
"Steps. I was trying to come back inside." She said huffing. I sighed and took the kit from her. I sat on our tub and grab the alcohol and some gauze.
"Why were you outside?" I asked grabbing her hand.
"The house started closing in, the porch wasn't enough, so I made it to the pit and sat there for a while. Then I decided to come in." She said hissing.
"And you fell?" I asked.
"At the top. I lost my balance trying to get up." She said sighing.
"You should've waited for us." I told her. She shrugged. I finished up and we got up. She laid down on the couch and sighed with relief. I saw her looking at the bear I got her.
"Where did you get that?" I asked her.
"It was at my hand when I woke up from the coma. No one will tell me where it came from." She said sighing. I went over and sat beside her. I reached over and took it from her. I looked over at her. She was staring at me with tears in her eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"You. You? You gave me the bear?" She asked sniffling. I nodded and looked at the bear.
"To replace the bear, I threw off the dock when we were kids. You carried that bear everywhere you went." I said shaking my head. She got off the bed and limped her way to her bedroom. She came back a few minutes later and handed me a picture. I took it as she sat beside me. It was her and I by the Christmas tree.
"It was a gift from you to me one Christmas. It was one of the best gifts ever." She told me. I looked at it then at her.
"I love you, sis." I told her. She leaned over and hugged me.
"I love you too, big brother." She said. I put my arm around her and kissed her head. JJ, Pope, and Kie walked in.
"Aww. Special brother, sister moment." JJ mocked. I rolled my eyes at him and Ronnie moved away. Pope looked at me then at Ronnie then at his papers that the teacher gave us, then back at me. I shook my head and he put it away. I knew it was wrong to keep it a secret from her still, but I couldn't tell her yet.
"So, bonfire? We all down?" JJ asked.
"Hell yeah." We all said.
"Ya'll have fun." Ronnie said.
"You're going to." I told her. She looked up at me and scoffed.
"I fell trying to get inside our house, JB. How am I going to get around the base?" She asked.
"Easy. We'll help." Pope told her. Kie nodded and hyped her up. Kie got her up and dragged her to get ready. Someone knocked on our door. I got up and saw Shoupe. I opened the door and he walked in.
"Evening. I just came by to give Mr. Maybank his restitution receipt. It's been paid in full." He said holding it out. JJ grabbed it and looked at it.
"Who paid?" He asked. Kie and Ronnie walked out.
"Shoupe? What's wrong now?" Ronnie asked nervously.
"Nothing. Just came by to give Mr. Maybank his receipt. How are you holding up?" He said looking at her.
"Just fine. Receipt for what?" She asked.
"Restitution." He said nodding.
"Oh." She said. He nodded again and left. I went and changed. Then we went to the base for the party. I actually saw Ronnie smiling. We pulled up and got out. JJ and I helped Ronnie. We got her set up on a step and JJ and I went to get drinks. I looked over to check on Ronnie and saw people surrounding her.
"Look, man." I said nudging JJ. He looked over and saw her laughing and drinking with other people.
"See? All our girl needed was to breathe, a break from the house." He said smirking. Someone threw a cup at us. It was Stephanie.
"That's my cue to leave. Have fun." JJ told me.
"Yup. Just keep an eye out for Ronnie." I told him. He nodded and walked off. I sighed and looked at Stephanie.
Veronica's POV
I sat on the steps of the base and looked around at everyone. It felt good to be back here. I hadn't been here in months. I saw John B talking to Stephanie then he went walking around. JJ and Pope were off to the side and Kie was talking to another group. I nudged Peter to help me up, so I could get me a drink. I eased around the fire to the keg.
"Hey Tyler. Hit me again." I said smiling at him. He nodded and handed me a cup. I thanked him and limped over to the steps again.
"Veronica. Surprised you are here." I heard behind me. I turned around and saw Sarah Cameron.
"Hey, Sarah." I said nodding.
"Why are you here?" She asked stepping closer.
"I'm here with my brother and his friends." I said nodding around to them. She looked too but mostly at John B.
"Ah. The same brother who broke up with me because of you." She scoffed.
"Why did he break up with you again?" I asked her.
"You. For everything that you done for him. Where were you when he was getting arrested? Where were you when he was running from the cops? Where were you when my dad tried to kill him?" She snapped.
"I was in a coma after someone attacked me. Want to know why? Because someone decided to take a junky dealer's money. I couldn't remember my own brother. Let alone be on his side, defending him." I told her.
"And there goes the sob story. Is that what you're telling everyone?" She scoffed.
"And your sob story? Daddy lost his end and decided to take a cops life, tried to kill your boyfriend, our dads too might I add, then said boyfriends sister, multiple times?" I asked her. She threw her cup on me. I gasped and everyone around us got quiet. I nodded and threw my drink on her. Then she slapped me. That's when I punched her. People started pushing and shoving then Sarah and I started fighting. We were separated and I got shoved down. I gasped and grabbed my side.
"Ronnie!" I heard someone yell. I was helped up and carried off. The smell of leather hit my nose. I looked around and saw I was in Topper's Jeep. Topper jumped in and took off.
"Top." I said panting.
"I'm sorry. She shouldn't had done that." He said panting. He drove us to the Cut. Then he parked in front of my house.
"Hold on. I'll come to you." He told me. I nodded and he got out and came to my side. He helped me out of the car and over to the pit.
"You want me to wait until your brother gets here?" He asked.
"Please." I said sighing. He nodded and sat down beside me. I texted John B to let him know where I was. The Twinkie pulled up a few minutes later. Top helped me stand up as they got out.
"Ronnie!" John B yelled. He ran over and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and pulled back.
"I'm okay. Topper helped me out." I said nodding to him. John B and I turned to Topper. I pinched JB's side as he just stared. He grunted but held out his hand.
"Thanks man. For helping my sister." He said clearing his throat. Topper looked at his hand then at me. I nodded. He took John B's hand and shook it.
"It's no problem. Sarah shouldn't have started it." He said nodding. John's arm tightened on me and he let Topper's hand go.
"I'll call you later, Ronnie." Topper said nodding.
"Thanks again, Topper." I said. He nodded and walked to his Jeep and left. I sighed and leaned my head against John B's shoulder.
"You okay, V?" Pope asked touching my shoulder. I nodded. He sighed and him and JJ went to build a fire in the Pit. We all sat down and started roasting marshmallows.
"I've had to many black eyes in the last month than I ever had." Pope said laughing. I laughed and leaned adjusted on the stump I was on. Kie and JJ walked over with plates.
"Here." JJ said handing me a plate. It had two slices of pizza on it.
"Thanks." I said picking up a slice. John B leaned over and took a bite.
"Hey! No, it's mine." I said laughing. He and I fought over the slice till it flew out of our hands. I gasped and looked at him.
"You dropped it." I said faking hurt. He rolled his eyes and went to get it.
"I'm taking your marshmallow." I told John B.
"That's not even a fair trade." Kie scoffed.
"It is for me. Smoothies the last month and a half. Very fair trade." I said nodding.
"Hey, hey. Shh. Someone's here." John B told us. I looked behind me and he was staring towards the chicken coop. I got up and eased around beside him.
"You don't think it's Topper?" Kie asked.
"I wouldn't put it past him." JJ scoffed. I looked at them.
"He wouldn't come back." I scoffed.
"Do you have the gun?" Kie asked him.
"Oh, now she wants the gun." JJ said rolling his eyes.
"You have a gun? When did you get a gun?" I asked him. He cleared his throat and grabbed a rod from the ground.
"Shut up." John B snapped at us. We all started easing forward.
"Hey, who's out there?" He called out.
"You Kooks better not try anything." Kie yelled out.
"Who's there?" JJ asked.
"Hello? Topper if that's you this isn't funny." I called out. I saw a man walked out.
"It's this piece of shit." JJ mumbled.
"How y'all doing?" He asked coming closer to us.
"You got to be kidding me." Kie said sighing. I looked at them then back at the guy.
"Lovely evening we're having. Look, I, uh. I don't hold a grudge with any of y'all all right? But this can go hard, or this can go easy." He said throwing his jacket out. He did a spin around.
"What do you want?" I asked him. He looked at me and smiled. John B pulled me around him.
"Your buddies know what I am here for, sweetheart. Let me give you all a little demonstration. You see that swing there?" He said pointing to it.
"I got the best bow hunters in the Army Rangers with me." He said smirking.
"Yeah?" JJ asked him.
"Mm-hmm. Hidden." He said. Then he whistled. Something flew by my head. I jumped when it hit the tree behind us. He walked towards Pope.
"Now they're out there. They'll stick you just as soon as I say so." He said getting closer to Pope. JJ went up behind the guy. The guy whistled and another arrow hit by their feet. I grabbed JJ's arm and brought him back a step.
"Uh, uh, uh. We clear? Now, I'm not going to give you a countdown or any bull shit like that. I'm just going to whistle." He said. He whistled again. I slid to the ground as the arrow hit by my foot.
"Ronnie." JJ and John B gasped. Another arrow shot next to me as they reached for me. They jumped back. I looked at Pope as he reached into his pocket. He brought something out.
"No." He whispered.
"Oh." The guy said sighing.
"This key belongs to my family." Pope said. The man turned and looked at us and laughed.
"I'm losing my patience with you, Pope." He said. He went to whistle again but Pope handed him the key.
"You did the right thing, kid. Knowing when you don't have a choice is an underappreciated talent. You be safe." He said.
"Easy there, blondie." He said walking towards us. He yanked me up and shoved me to John B. His arms wrapped around me.
"You have a good night." The man said walking off. We all looked at Pope.
"I'm so sick of this shit." Pope said shakily. He walked off to the pit. Kie followed him.
"What the hell is going to on, John B? And please. Please. No lies." I said looking up at him. He sighed and cleared his throat.
"You're going to want to sit down for this." He said nodding. I nodded and we walked over to the pit.