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"You have one new message."

Message received today at 4:34pm

Are you okay? It would be nice to not have to worry about you all the time. I can't know that you're okay if you won't speak to me. A text would suffice...literally anything at this point, Lottie. Please, just ease my mind.

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𝙎𝙊𝙈𝙀𝙃𝙊𝙒, 𝙆𝙄𝘼𝙍𝘼 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀 smelled worse than that dead thing down in the sewer. That much was obvious as they sat in Shoupe's office, the gun on the table in front of them.

"Where'd you get this?" Shoupe questioned, eyes dancing between the gun and the four kids. Clear mistrust was evident on his features as he leaned forward slightly. 

Kie rose her brows, "I'll let you take a guess."

Letting out a deep breath through his nose, Shoupe glanced down at the gun. "So y'all are telling me this is the firearm that Rafe Cameron used to kill Sheriff Peterkin?"

Charlotte pulled at the dead skin around her nails, an unsettling feeling of dread washing over her as he spoke. 

"That's exactly what we're tellin' you!" JJ exclaimed. 

"And it's the exact same firearm that Ward just used to kill Gavin." Pope added, urgency in his voice. 

Shoupe's mouth opened, but words didn't come out right away. Instead, he shook his head before speaking again. "And where's that corpse again?"

"Didn't you look?" Kiara demanded as if it were obvious. Quite frankly, it was. This was Shoupe's literal job, not theirs. 

The interim-Sheriff shifted his gaze toward the youngest Carrera. "I checked the hospital. I went by his house. He was out." His voice was teetering on calmness, but it was as if he was anticipating the backlash he was about to receive. 

And receive it he did. 

"He was out?" Kiara gawked, in disbelief that the sheriff could be so naive.

"No shit!" JJ snapped. "It's because he's dead!"

Kiara was getting worked up, her hands flailing around as she spoke. "It makes perfect sense!" She exclaimed. "Listen to yourself!"

Shoupe sat up a bit straighter, "Just because he was not in his damn home does not mean he was a victim of homicide."

"This is bullshit." JJ muttered, pulling off his hat in frustration. "Come on, Shoupe!"

Ignoring JJ, Shoupe looked to the only person who had not said a word since they had arrived. "Charlotte, what do you think about all this?"

The girl looked up, her heavy eyes dragged up slowly to meet his own. Clearing her throat, she spoke. "What do you mean?"

He motioned out in front of him. "About all this? Do you believe Ward Cameron killed Gavin Barnstead last night using this gun? Do you believe Rafe Cameron killed Sheriff Peterkin that day on the tarmac?"

A lump had formed in her throat. "I believe it enough to have crawled through the sewers to retrieve the gun."

Shoupe kept his gaze locked on her. "You weren't there last night." It wasn't a question or an accusation, more of an observation. "And you weren't there that day on the tarmac. You really believe that these kids are telling the truth?"

JJ scoffed from behind as Charlotte raised her chin slightly. "Obviously." She answered, her voice more steady this time. "I think it's time you stop trying to determine if we're the ones lying and look a little closer at your old pal, Ward."

Shoupe pushed his lips together, displeased at her pushback. "Thank you for the suggestion, Charlotte. I'll take that into consideration." His words were full of sarcasm.

Kiara let out a frustrated breath. "Are you going to at least going to send it in for ballistics and shit or are you just going to sit on your ass?"

"He'll sit there are wax that damn moustache." JJ accused, a hurried hand running through his hair. "Is that even real?"

That seemed to be the last straw for Shoupe. Shooting up from his seat, he leaned toward JJ. "I'll wax this─"

"Come on!" Charlotte interceded, standing up in between JJ and the Sheriff. "Really?"

"Shut up, JJ!" Pope snapped through gritted teeth, upset over JJ's stray from the approach they had agreed to take before coming in here. 

The plan was to be calm and collected. To be mature and believe-worthy...that plan was gone now. 

"It's not fair!" Kiara cried as Shoupe marched toward the door. 

"Oh, I'm sorry." JJ mocked. "Did I hurt his feeling?"

"Shut up." Charlotte ordered, shooting him a withering stare. "Seriously."

Opening the door, Shoupe was silent for a moment before motioning toward the lobby. "Get out. I got work to do."

"Are you serious?" JJ balked, shaking his head in disbelief. 

Charlotte brought a hand to her forehead, upset at the direction this had gone. 

Shoupe wasn't willing to negotiate. "Y'all are smelling up my damn office." 

Kiara shot up from her chair, tears in her eyes as she walked toward the Sheriff. "Did Ward bribe you?" She questioned, seemingly genuinely confused. "This doesn't make any sense."

Shoupe kept his gaze steady as she walked past him, but his face gave way slightly. 

Charlotte was next out, looking to the Sheriff as she went. "I hope you know what you're doing." She said quietly. "Who the real villain is here."

His eyes flickered toward her, but he remained silent. Only did he speak when JJ walked by, and all he did then was yell at him to get out. 

If this was the man responsible for justice in Kildare County...Charlotte was kind of terrified. 

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-RAFE-

He didn't know...he didn't fucking know.

He hadn't heard her voice until it was too late. 

It was only supposed to be the others down there. He didn't even know Charlotte was with them at all. 

It was only when the water had begun to rush in that he had heard Charlotte's screams. By then, it was too late to do anything. Even if he had turned it off, it wouldn't have done a fucking thing. 

The second he had heard her voice it felt like everything within him had frozen. His stomach lurched as her and her sister's screams tore through the tunnels. 

What the fuck did he just do?

There was nothing left for him to do but pray to God that he didn't just kill the love of his life. 

That was hours ago, and he still had absolutely no idea if she was alive. It literally felt like his heart was being squeezed out of his chest at the prospect at what he might have done.

"What's the matter with you?" Wheezie questioned, standing across the kitchen island from him. "You look disgusting."

Rafe looked up at her as she poured herself a glass of lemonade. "Have you talked to Charlotte today?" He wondered, his voice teetering.

Wheezie ceased her pouring for a moment. "No." She seemed apprehensive, as if she were afraid to give a real answer. 

"Look, Wheeze, I don't give a shit if you did or not. I just need you to tell me the truth." His voice was growing more desperate by the second.

Wheezie took a sip of her lemonade before shrugging. "Fine. We were texting this morning."

His heart surged for a moment. "When was the last time you spoke to her?"

"I don't know." Wheezie answered, turning back to the fridge. 

Without thinking, he rounded the corner of the island, grabbing a hold of her arm. "Wheezie, when did she text you last?"

"Ow!" Wheezie snapped, pulling out of his grasp. "What's wrong with you?" 

Rafe stepped back slightly, his nostrils flaring as he stared at his sister, awaiting her answer. 

When she noted the desperate stare on his face, she spoke again. "Around lunchtime I think...why? What's going on."

"Fuck." He muttered, running a hand through his hair as he turned away from his sister, heart in his throat. 

He needed to know that she was okay. 

Grabbing his keys from the counter, he made for the front door without saying another word to Wheezie. 

"Where are you going?" She called after him, voice full of confusion. 

Unlocking his dad's truck, Rafe pulled himself into the driver's seat, starting the engine before the door was even closed. 

He had to see for himself that she was okay. And if she wasn't going to answer his calls, then he needed to find her.

He didn't care if Kiara and the Pogues hated him right now. Didn't care if Mike Carrera was going to shoot him for showing up at their house. He needed to see her. 

He made it to the Carrera house in record time. The entire drive over, all he could think about was how he would never forgive himself if something happened to her. 

Parking the truck across the street, he mentally prepared himself for the berating he was about to receive.

But before he even had to get out of the truck, a bike pulled in the driveway. 

Leaning forward slightly, Rafe watched as a figure got off the back, pulling the helmet off their head. 

It was Charlotte. 

His entire body relaxed for a moment as he watched her. She was okay. She was alive. 

The driver of the bike turned to look at her, shooting her a wide grin. 

It was the fucking Maybank kid. 

Almost everything within Rafe told him to get out of the truck and go over there. But something stopped him. He wasn't entirely sure what it was. 

Charlotte smiled softly as she handed the helmet over, a certain sadness hidden within her eyes. He could see it even from here. 

Even the way she moved showed that she was hurting in more ways than one. He couldn't help but think that he had caused her that pain .

Rafe Cameron knew he was a fuck up. It didn't take someone else telling him that. 

He let his dad down. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed like sometimes it was never good enough. 

And he let Charlotte down. 

Five years of making sure he was everything she ever wanted. And then he fucked it all up. 

He wasn't sure how to fix it anymore. How to fix himself...how to fix them. 

No matter how hard he tried to get himself straight, he never could. He wanted to be better...to be clean. For himself, but mostly for her. 

He wasn't ever going to give up on her. Ever. 

Charlotte Carrera was literally one of the only things in life that he actually cared about. And he was going to get her back...no matter the cost.

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