ᴵ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ʷʰᵃᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵈᵒ
ᴵ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵇᵉ ᵈᵒⁿᵉ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖˡᵃᶜᵉ

【 ♪ 】

ᵏᵃᵈᵉᵇᵒˢᵗᵃⁿʸ
ᶜᵃˢᵗˡᵉ ⁱⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ˢⁿᵒʷ

⭑━━𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨━━⭑

Isis stood up and helped her mother do the same. Her legs were shaking, so she had to lean on the sink. They both tried to calm down. Only their deep breath could be heard.

A few minutes later, Isis looked at her mother. The latter seemed still disturbed.

"What is wrong with this compass?" she asked.

"I don't know, I don't know anything! I don't want them to come back!" said Lana.

Isis understood that she was talking about these two scary guys.

"Why were they looking for it anyway?" she asked. "Does it has any value or something?"

"I don't know, I don't wanna know..."

"I do. And I will," replied Isis. "Mom, you can't stay here... Go to Amy's, and ask if you can stay for the night, or even more."

"Where are you going??" inquired Lana.

"To find some answers. I don't want to stay in here anyway, it's fucking oppressive... Mom, please, do as I say. Don't stay here on your own, okay?"

Lana nodded. Isis kissed her forehead. She tied her jacket around her waist and went out the house.

Her heart was pounding as she got on her bike. She rode to John B's house where she was sure to find her friends.

She left her bike in the dry grass in front of the Chateau and walked to the door. But they saw her before she could enter. JJ ran forthwith to hug her. She winced.

"Aouch..."

"Fuck, I- I'm sorry, Iz..." he said examining her from every angle. "A-are you okay?? Shit, they really went all the way..." he hissed.

Isis saw his hands shaking. But she couldn't tell if it was from anger or fear.

JJ kicked in a tree, swearing.

Okay, definitly anger.

"Dude, calm down," said Pope. "I know you're mad, but..."

"Have you seen what they did to her??" he cried out. "Look! Just look at her face! Of course I'm mad!!"

"Hey, honey..." Isis then said with composure. "It's okay. I'm here, and I'm in one piece."

She looked deep into the blonde boy's eyes. His jaw was tense. She smiled despite the pain on her features.

"I came here because I need answers," she resumed laying her eyes on John B. "And I know you've got some, right?"

He nodded with a tense face.

"Come inside. We'll tell you everything."

They settled in the porch. Kie brought some ice to Isis, so she could ease the pain on her face. She had a nice black eye, and her lips were cut and swollen. Moreover, she hadn't shown them the bruises on her body.

"What the hell is this?!"

Too late.

Kie gave her a startled look, lifting her t-shirt.

"What the fuck, Iz, why didn't you say anything??" inquired JJ.

"It's okay, I swear!" she assured. "Don't make a big deal out of it, okay? I'm fine, I'm totally fine!"

"Iz, they just beat the hell out of you! It's not fucking fine!"

"Stop screaming, JJ!" she snapped back.

"Then stop saying everything's fine when you look like this!!" he bellowed lifting her t-shirt.

"We don't have time to complain about it, okay??" she shouted stepping back. "I didn't ride this fucking bike all this way to be pitied by some improvised nurses!! I came to talk, and that's what we're going to do! Now, put your fucking ass down and STAY QUIET! Alright??"

They all sat down without saying a word. It was rare to see Isis flying off the handle. Her face was red with anger. She tried to calm her breathing down.

"My father's dead, then two bastards sack my house searching for a damn compass that you, John B, have in your possession," she resumed, shaking. "You better tell me what is going on, or I beat all of your asses up. Understood?"

They nodded in agreement. Isis put the ice back on her black eye and sat down. She had a big lump in her throat.

John B cleared his own.

"Okay, so... The day after the storm, we found a wreck in the marsh. It was a Grady-White, like a really expensive boat."

"I know what it is. Some Kooks boat."

"We wanted to report it to the coast guards, but they were too busy because of the hurricane."

"Did you dive in?"

"... yeah."

"We found a motel key," explained Pope. "So we went to the Summer Winds. It was closed, obviously, but John B went inside with JJ."

"And did you find anything?"

"Some pretty good stuff," said JJ with a mirthless chuckle. "There was a safe, with about ten bundles of cash, and a gun."

"A gun??"

"Yes, a freaking gun."

"...don't tell me you took it with you."

Kie scoffed.

"In your opinion?" she jeered.

"Honey, no...!" Isis sighed.

"What did you want me to do?"

"Leave it in the fucking safe, JJ! It could be dangerous!!"

"It's okay. Better us than the sheriff, no?"

Isis heaved a deep sigh.

"Then, the same evening, we threw a party on the beach. The Kooks were there too, and it escalated into a fight," explained John B.

"You and...?" asked Isis designating his black eye.

"Topper."

"This asshole" she hissed.

"He was going to drown me, so JJ shot in the air."

Isis look at the concerned in disbelief, her mouth wide open.

"You did WHAT?!" she gasped.

"Don't be mad at him, Iz, he just wanted to rescue John B. It scared everyone away..."

"Yeah, no kidding?! JJ, this was literally the last thing to do!"

"He was killing him!" he replied.

"You know he wouldn't have!"

"How could you tell, you weren't there!!" he snapped back.

She scoffed.

"I'm sorry I was mourning my father!?"

"Guys, stop!!" John B interrupted. "Please, stop. Now, Iz, listen until the end, okay?"

She frowned but she nodded nonetheless. JJ grabbed her hand holding the ice and put it back on her eye. She let him do.

"Okay, so yesterday we came back to the wreck, but with a diving equipment."

"And where did you steal it?"

"Hush," said JJ.

"Don't hush me," she replied narrowing her eyes at him.

"Iz, I asked you to stay quiet until the end!" said John B.

She crossed her arms on her chest, upset.

"For the record, I didn't steal it. I borrowed it."

She shrugged, meaning it was all the same to her.

"It's not the same! I returned it! Anyway... I dived for real this time. And, after some twists and turns, we came back with something."

"Your father's compass," understood Isis.

"Exactly. And it seems like the Grady-White was your father's."

"...What?"

He nodded.

"That's impossible. Dad would never have been able to afford such a boat..."

John B sighed.

"Listen, I... I don't know why, I don't know how, but I feel like your father and mine were linked by something. Something big. And this compass is a clue."

Isis looked at him for a long time, openly confused. They could notice through her eyes that she was thinking hard.

"You have to believe me, Iz," said John B, pleading.

"I believe you," she nodded with a soft voice. "I just... don't know what to say."

Everything had happened so fast.

"What are we doing now?" asked Kie.

John B shrugged sadly.

"Iz, you saw these guys," said Pope. "How did they look?"

"I-"

"I don't think it's the right time for this," hissed JJ.

"We need to get informations! We have to bring something to a police report!"

"She just got beaten up, man! Surely we can wait!"

"Guys! Don't talk about it like I'm not here!" she rebuked tough.

John B suddenly stood. They all jumped.

"Chill out, dude! What's going on??" inquired Isis.

He looked down at her.

"We may have a lead. I mean, I know where we could find one."

They shared a look.

⭑━━━━⭑

I hope you liked it!!

now the real work begins

send you all my love

☀️💓