AN: HI ALL! Hope you all enjoyed this story just as much as I have! I only own Veronica, not anything else involving Outer Banks!
Great news! This story is not done yet! With season 4 out, I will continue…. I'm not sure how to handle that last episode though...
Endgame for Ronnie... Topper or Rafe?
Also, there is mentioning of miscarriage. If that alarms you, I am truly sorry, I'm just writing to throw curve balls here. But I will say this… I am throwing in some OLD Topper style into the story line.
CHAPTER 15
Ronnie's POV
We were headed home. We caught a ride back to America on another ship of cargo, where we SLEPT. Sleep was so good for once. Once we hit Outer Banks and got to our homes it was on from there. John B and I were standing in front of the chateau. Which was burned to the ground now. Everything was gone.
"So. What do we do now?" I asked.
"It's just us now. Welcome home." He said putting his arm around my shoulders. He kissed my head and hugged me tighter to him.
"You did it. You and dad did it." I said hugging his arms.
"No. We did it. All of us. Including you." He said. I shrugged and looked back at the chateau.
"How do you think this place burned down?" He asked. I sighed and shook my head.
"Either we pissed someone off or lightening hit it. But given our track record recently, I'm going to with someone burnt it down." I said huffing.
"Not going to argue with that." He said. I looked up at him. I slid my arms around him and hugged him to me.
"We'll figure out something. I promise." I said. He rubbed my shoulder. We went to the impound lot and got the truck and Twinkie out. Only place we had to go to was Popes. Kie's parents didn't want us around, JJ's placed was foreclosed on, and the Chateau was burnt. We showered and were given clothes. Mr. Heyward surprised us all by hugging all of us. We sat outside at Heyward's at the table with sandwiches and drinks.
"So, what's the game plan?" JJ asked.
"We call the Pelican Gold Trust. Set a meeting, get them to weigh and scan how much the gold is worth. More the weight, more money you get. Plus, you got the bars too." I told them.
"Dad has those locked up in the safe." Pope said nodding.
"Good. You take those, the nuggets and go get your money's worth." I said smiling.
"Our money's worth. All of ours. Not just us." John B said motioning to him and his friends. I shook my head and leaned forward on the table in front of me.
"I appreciate it, but this was yours from the beginning. I just flirted with the enemy and got held at gun point." I told him.
"It's ours. Okay? You're a part of this. You still helped us." Pope told me. I looked at JJ, Kie and Cleo. They nodded.
"Give my part to all of you. Honestly. Use it wisely." I said standing. I walked inside Heyward's and looked around.
"Hey. You okay?" John B asked coming in. I nodded and picked up a bag of chips.
"Yeah. Why?" I said.
"You don't want any of money that we're about to get." He said.
"I'll be fine without it. Seriously, John B. This was your thing from the beginning. It'll be okay." I told him. He sighed and rubbed his face.
"Hey. Just promise me a couple of things." I said putting the chips down.
"What's that?" He asked.
"Make good decisions with the money. Two don't go Kook on me. Cause if you do, I'll kick your ass." I said smirking. He pretended to think about it then he laughed.
"You got a deal baby sis." He said hugging me. I laughed and hugged him back. We pulled away and I looked back at the sweets and chips.
"So, you going to call him?" He asked.
"Who is this him you are referring too?" I asked raising an eyebrow. He scoffed and shook his head.
"Topper. You going to call Topper?" He asked. I bit my lip and looked down.
"I messaged him earlier telling him we were home and headed to Heyward's. I haven't heard anything back, so. Maybe he forgot what he said at the strip." I said shrugging.
"If he did, he's an idiot." He said kissing my head. I nodded and grabbed a candy bar. I paid Mr. Heyward and walked back outside.
"Ronnie!" I heard. I looked up when I heard my name. It was Topper. I smiled and ran towards him. I jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"You're home. Oh, thank God. Thank God, you're home." He said hugging me back. I sighed and held onto him.
"I'm home. I'm home." I said in his neck. We pulled back and he pushed the hair behind my ear.
"Topper." John B said walking up.
"John B. Welcome home, man." Topper said holding out his hand. John B shook it and nodded.
"Thanks." He said.
"Mind if I steal your sister away? I'll bring her back later." Topper said holding my waist tighter.
"Go for it. I'm tired of her anyways." He said smirking. I rolled my eyes and shoved him. As the weeks went on, I went back and forth between JJ's and Topper's house. John B and the others bought back the Maybank home and started fixing it up. They were also building their empire that they all dreamed of. I helped them out when I could. I didn't go one morning. I stayed at Toppers mostly in bed that day. I was throwing up mostly with a fever and stomach pains.
"Do you want me to call John B?" Topper asked sitting beside me.
"No. He's too busy." I mumbled.
"You're his sister. He's never too busy for you. I'm going to go out and get you some soup." He said kissing my head. I groaned as he left. What felt like hours, someone started banging on the door. I got out of bed and sighed. I was dizzy, too. I got up and went to the stairs.
"Topper! Ronnie!" I heard Rafe yell.
"Rafe?" I asked going down the stairs. He turned from the living room and walked up.
"You didn't tell me! Why didn't you tell me?" He yelled at me.
"Ow. Can you not yell? And tell you what?" I asked covering my ears.
"About my dad! You just left him on that mountain side! You didn't tell me about him!" He snapped. I sighed and sat on the stairs.
"I made arrangements for him to be picked up, Rafe. I was going to tell you and go with you to get him back here, but Topper and I couldn't find you." I said rubbing my stomach. He scoffed.
"Sure you were. You were too busy being wrapped around Topper and those Pogue's to care about me!" He yelled. I stood up.
"Bullshit. I wanted to help you bring Ward back, but you weren't around town. I'm sorry your dad died. But he died protecting me and the others! I had a gun on me, and he tackled one of Singhs men off the cliff. I'm sorry it happened Rafe!" I snapped back.
"Whatever. You stay on your Pogue side." He scoffed again. Then he walked out of the house slamming the door. I groaned and rubbed my face. I made it back upstairs but only to the bedroom door. The pain got worse and I passed out.
John Bs POV
I stood at the counter of our bait and tackle shop. Cleo was making pogies, JJ was fishing off the dock with Kie by him, and Pope was doing math work for the shop. My phone buzzed on the counter beside me. I picked it up and saw Topper's name.
"Yo, Top." I said sighing.
"Come to St. Olive. I had to bring Ronnie in. They won't tell me anything." He said nervously.
"Bring her in? What do you mean, bring her in?" I asked him.
"She's been sick these last few days. She didn't want to bother you. But I went out to get her some soup and when I came home, she was passed out upstairs." He said sniffling.
"Okay, were on our way." I told him.
"JJ, Kie! We got to go. Pope, Cleo. It's Ronnie." I said running off. We all ran to the Twinkie and hopped in. We headed to the hospital and ran into the building and to the desk.
"Veronica Routledge." I said panting.
"John B." I heard. I looked over at Topper. He motioned me down the hall and we followed him.
"Where is she?" I asked.
"Over there in that room. But the doctor wants to talk to you first." He said nodding to him. A doctor walked over to us.
"Mr. Routledge. I'm Dr. Brennon, your sister's doctor." He said holding out his hand. I nodded and shook his hand.
"What's wrong with her? Did she catch a virus or something?" I asked.
"Mr. Routledge, I'm sorry to tell you this but your sister has suffered from a miscarriage. She was about 8 weeks along." He told me. I looked down and over at Topper. He was shocked just as we were. JJ kicked and hit the wall.
"How?" Kie asked sniffling.
"We're not entirely sure. With it being this early on, there are a number of reasons these things could have happened." He told us.
"Have you told her yet?" I asked.
"Yes. We told her. I'm so very sorry. I know you all have been through a lot recently. We want to keep her overnight just to make sure she gets enough fluids." He said nodding.
"Can we see her?" JJ asked.
"Of course." He said nodding to the room.
"John B, you should go in first." Cleo said. I handed JJ my hat and walked into the room. She was curled up on her side, sobbing. She was holding her stomach.
"Ron." I whispered.
"I screwed up. I screwed up. It's all my fault." She sobbed. I got in bed beside her and held her to me.
"Hey. Shh. No. No, you didn't. You didn't do anything wrong." I told her. I kissed her head and held her tighter to me. She soon fell asleep against me. The others walked in and sat with us.
"Was it yours?" I asked Topper.
"No. No, we haven't." He said shaking his head. I nodded.
"Rafe's then. Does he know she's here?" I asked.
"No. I haven't told him." He said shaking his head. I nodded to him then he and I switched spots. I walked into the hall and leaned against the wall.
"John B." Kie said coming out. I cried for her, I cried for my sister. Kie and JJ held me as I cried. I hugged them. We slid down to the floor and that's where we cried together. That next morning, we took her home to the Cut. She mostly stayed up top on the hang out spot of Poguelandia. I walked up and she was curled up on the couch we had up there.
"Ron." I whispered.
"What if I had, had the baby? Would I be like mom?" She asked sniffling. I sat beside her.
"No. You would never abandon your kid. You didn't abandon me and you're the baby sister." I told her.
"A baby is different. They don't know how to take care of themselves. You did." She scoffed.
"But you didn't abandon me. Even when I was an ass." I said putting my arm around her. She leaned against me and sighed.
"I was an idiot." She mumbled.
"No you weren't." I said rubbing her arm. I felt her relax. I looked down and saw she had fallen asleep. I sighed. One night lightening hit the electric line. We went out the next morning to check the boxes.
"What's the damage Pope?" JJ asked him.
"Fuse box is fried. Without the live bait, fishermen won't come and there goes majority of our business. We have enough to cover it, but barely. Just barely." He said walking around the counter.
"This is the last of our AU." He said pulling out a nugget.
"Our what?" We all asked. Ronnie walked up with her arms crossed. She stood beside me.
"Gold. Periodic symbol for gold." He said.
"Why not say gold?" Kie asked him.
"Doesn't matter. This is all we have left and it is off limits. This is for our property taxes. No more expensive things anymore. Import seeds, peppers, gas trips." He started. We all started arguing on the things we didn't want to give up. Ronnie whistled, making my ears ring. We all looked at her.
"Let me make a phone call. I know a guy at the electric company, he owes me a favor." She said shrugging.
"No. Ronnie." Pope said shaking his head.
"I'm doing it. If you guys start to go under, then the land sharks start circling and I'm not going to let that happen. You guys deserve this place. Okay? Just let me make my call and you will be back up and running in no time." She argued with him. Before he could argue with her, she was walking off.
"She still has connections?" Cleo asked.
"I guess so." I said shrugging. Tommy came out two hours later and fixed our power to the shop. We shook hands and he left.
"How do you know Tommy?" I asked as we walked down to the shop.
"You don't work all over this island and not know everyone, John B. I babysat his kids a few times. How do you think we use to have power majority of the time?" She said shrugging. I nodded and we walked back in.
"Well?" Pope asked.
"Should be up and going." She said. He started checking everything and sighed with relief. He nodded and hugged her.
"I'm sorry. I am real sorry." He said. She nodded and pulled away. The next day was the Enduro. It was a new thing between Kooks and Pogue's. It was pretty much a dirt bike race.