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chapter forty four
NO FAMILY CLUB
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The next morning, Athena and JJ ran towards the dock, Sarah and John B behind them as they shouted at Kie and Pope, who had just returned.

"Guys, don't tie up. Stop it!" JJ called, the two turning to them confused.

"What?" Kie asked.

"We're dipping." JJ told them, holding onto Athena's hand.

"Wait why?" Pope looked at them.

"What? What are you guys talking about?" Kie looked over each of them. "Thena what happened to your arm?"

"What happened last night?" John B questioned them.

"We slept on the break. What's up." Pope informed.

"Slept, yeah right." JJ laughed slightly, Athena giggling behind him.

"I wish we slept on the break." Athena whispered to him.

"Me too, princess."

"We were up all night." John B told the two.

"We gotta get the hell out of here."

"Rafe knows we're here, so we have to leave like now." Sarah sighed, getting on the boat.

"He shot me." Athena informed them. Pope turned to her concerned. "Accidently but he shot me nonetheless."

"Look if Rafe and Barry know, it's only a matter of time before everyone knows." Sarah stated. JJ scoffing before turning to John B.

"I told you." He exclaimed. "We should've gone south, man."

JJ and John B bickered for a moment, Sarah and Athena sat on one off the logs. Athena sighed, leaning forward slightly as she grabbed Sarah's hand feeling slightly light headed.

"I have an idea." Sarah announced. "With me back, my dad's going to have to choose between me and Rafe."

"Sarah, Sarah -" John B tried to interrupt.

"He's gonna choose me." Sarah spoke firmly. "He'll choose us, Athena and I."

"Just please listen. Ward keeps lying to you, Sarah." John B told her.

"He won't agree after all that's happened." Kie tried to explain.

"No. I I know it sounds crazy." Sarah defended.

"Yeah, it does."

"I know!" She exclaimed. "But he's my dad. And I know him, and I know he loves me. He loves us, I know it. I'm just asking for two hours."

When no one answered, Sarah stood up, walking towards the boat.

"I'll come with you." Athena spoke.

"What!" JJ exclaimed. "No you won't."

"JJ, I need to go to the hospital." Athena stumbled forward slightly. "I'll be fine."

John B ran after Sarah as JJ held onto Athena.

"I'll come with you."

"JJ, my dad will end up coming to the hospital, okay and you can't be there when he does." Athena explained to him. "I'll be okay and I'll come right back after. I promise."

"Be safe." JJ told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Athena walked over to Sarah, the two linking arms as they walked towards the HSM Pogue.

"You ready Sar?" Athena asked her quietly.

"As I'll ever be."

Athena and Sarah made their way towards the hospital, Sarah had agreed to stay outside and out of sight as Athena went in, the two going to their house after Athena had been checked out.

"What can I do you for?" The receptionist asked the girl.

"Um, I was shot and I tried to stitch it up..." Athena trailed off, the receptionist looking up at her pale face before calling a doctor over.

Athena sat on a hospital bed, the white in the room making her head hurt. The nurse was getting her some pain relief. The blonde stared at the wall in front of her when the door opened. She looked over to see her dad standing in the doorway.

"What happened Athena?" He questioned, sitting on the bed next to her.

"I was shot." Athena stated, shrugging.

"By who? I told you those pogues were dangerous." Ward shook his head.

"It was one of the pogues, dad!" Athena scoffed. "Rafe shot me. He practically raided the chateau."

"Rafe did this?" Ward asked her.

"Yes!"

"No he didn't." Ward told her firmly.

"Yes he did." Athena's eyebrows furrowed. 

"Athena, you need to stop blaming everything that happens on your brother." Ward told her.

"I haven't."

"So why haven't you come home? And why did you call him a monster?" Ward raised his eyebrows.

Athena scoffed once more. "I did not call him a monster. And I didn't come home because my house is full of murderers."

"We are not murderers." Ward stated.

"Yes you are, dad! You killed John B's dad, Rafe killed Peterkin, that's murder." Athena stared at his wide eyed as her father shook his head.

"We are your family -"

"No you're not!" Athena exclaimed. "The pogues are. JB is my family, Pope and Kie are my family, JJ is my family you are not!"

"We are, me, Rafe, Sarah, Wheezie and Rose are your family Athena, not them. And you need to realise that you need your family, you do not need your friends. And Rafe does not need to go to jail." Ward explained to her.

"I never said Rafe needed to go to jail, okay? There is something mentally wrong with Rafe. He needs help, dad. You need to get him help. He needs like therapy or something because jail isn't going to do anything for him." Athena's eyes filled with tears. "And I do not need you."

Athena took a deep breathe as she stepped away from her father, the two having had stood up in the midst of their arguing.

"I don't need you. I've never needed you. I didn't need you when I was five and I was bullied, I didn't need you when I was seven and I broke my ankle, I didn't need you when I was eleven and I started my period, I didn't need you when was thirteen and I was sexually assaulted, I didn't need you to take a bribe after I was sexually assaulted so I wouldn't go to the police. I didn't need you when I was failing maths and then suddenly I wasn't because guess what Pope helped me with that, yeah a pogue." Athena wiped her face to rid of her tears.

"I didn't need you when I only had two friends, one of which is now gone. I didn't need you when me and the pogues found the gold, which we did on our own and before you. I didn't need you when Sarah 'died' and I sure as hell don't need you now. I don't need you and I don't need the Cameron name."

Ward stepped forward. "Athena -"

"No! It's true." The blonde wiped her face once more, taking another deep breath. "Quite frankly, I am the worst person to be a Cameron. I'm like the worst kook ever. I don't spend my money, I give most of it away to the cut. I was tutored by a Pogue, who became my first real friend my age after Sage and then I completely ditched figure eight to hang out with them. The only thing tying me to the Cameron name is Wheezie and she will be the only reason I ever come home again because it's not really my home anymore. I'm done."

"You're done?" Ward questioned, stepping forward once more, the two now not that far apart. "You're done. You know what, I'm done. You don't need the Cameron name then fine, don't be a Cameron. You're just Athena now. Have fun with your little pogues and when everything goes wrong, you can come back and tell me how much you actually do need your family and then I might consider making you a Cameron again."

"So you're disowning me?" Athena asked him as he walked to the door again.

"That's what you wanted isn't it." Ward shrugged. "Your goodbye present is me paying for your medical bill as you're so sure that my son did it."

Ward walked out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him. Athena stare at the door wide eyed for a few seconds, her lips trembling as she took a few shaky breaths. Athena shook her head as she broke down, tears streaming down her face as she tried to get air into her lungs. A few moments later, the door opened once more, a pair of arms wrapping around the blonde.

"It's okay, At." Sarah soothed, rubbing a hand up and down her back. "It's okay."

Sarah and Athena walked up the dock towards the Cameron household, Sarah holding Athena's hand tightly as she did. When they got towards the house, Sarah noticed their dad. As Ward called over to Sarah, Athena let go off her hand and headed to the house as her twin spoke to Ward.

Athena walked through the back door, heading up the stairs until she reached the room she was looking for. Athena took a deep breathe before knocking. A few moments passed before the door swung open.

"Athena!" Wheezie exclaimed, hugging her sister. Athena let out a sigh of relief as she wrapped her arms around her. "You're okay?"

"I'm alright, Wheeze." Athena smiled slightly.

"Are you coming back?" Wheezie asked her.

"Um Wheeze, we need to talk." Athena stated. Wheezie stepped back, staring at her sister confused.

"What's going on?" Wheezie asked her.

"I'm not going to be back for a while Wheeze and I'm so sorry because I know I promised that we would stay together." Athena explained. "This is for the best and I will keep in contact with you, that I can promise and keep true to my word."

Wheezie smiled sadly, quickly wrapping her arms around Athena once more. "Promise me that you'll keep in touch."

"I promise, Wheeze. I swear." Athena kissed the top of her head. "I have to go."

Athena gave Wheezie a squeeze before letting her go, turning and making her way out of the house. Athena caught up with Sarah as the two made their way back to the boat.

"Didn't go well, did it?" Athena asked, hugging Sarah slightly.

"No. How's Wheezie?" Sarah questioned.

"She'll be okay." Athena stated.

"And so will we." Sarah nodded her head.

"Yeah, we will." Athena confirmed.

As Sarah and Athena approached where the pogues were, the group running over to them. Athena jumped off the boat as JJ tied it up.

"You made it." Pope called.

"What happened?" John B asked.

"Are you okay?" JJ questioned Athena.

"Well JJ." The group turned to her as she spoke. "I am officially no longer apart of the no mum's club. I am now part of a new club called the no family club, current members are me and John B."

The group stared at Athena as she smiled, John B putting an arm around the girl.

"I'm sorry." John B whispered. "How'd it go?"

Sarah sighed before explaining what happened, the others explaining what they needed to do. Athena heard a noise, turning to face the direction it came in as Kie commented on it.

"Guys I think it's too late." Kie told them.

"They followed you here?" John B asked the two.

"Must've been your father." Pope stated. "We have to find another way out of here."

A police man spoke through a megaphone as the group panicked, all running across the beach and into the woods that were there. They each urged each other to run, JJ holding onto Athena's hand so she kept up.  They crossed the river.

"Athena, come on." JJ urged her as she fell behind.

"Okay, I'm trying." She huffed. "I was shot, my aerodynamics are not working."

The group got out of the water, running to hide behind a tree. Sarah stood next to Athena, the two clutching onto each other's hand.

"How did you almost die from being shot and still run faster than me?" Athena asked aloud as they looked at the police surrounding them.

"We're trapped. They surrounded us." Pope observed.

"Freeze!"

"Don't move!"

"There's no getting out of this, we gotta make a stand." JJ stated. The four watched as John B stopped JJ, taking the gun out of his hand and dropping it on the floor, JJ quickly covering with dirt.

John B stepped forward, holding his hands up into the air as the group held their own hands up. One of the policemen, Thomas, walked forward, grabbing John B before throwing him on the ground.

"Stop!" Athena shouted.

Thomas began to kick John B in the gut, the stomping on his chest. Every part of the policeman collided with John B. Athena placed a hand over her mouth as she gasped. She wanted to step forward as the pogues shouted for him to stop as just when she was going to, JJ's arms wrapped around her waist pulling her into him.

"Are you really gonna let him do that Shoupe?" JJ shouted with fury.

A female officer held her gun up to the couple. "Don't move!"

"Let him go!" Athena shouted, her voice getting lost in the others' pleads.

JJ stiffened, holding Athena tighter as Thomas grabbed John B by the shirt and lifted him to his feet. Officer Shoupe tried to stop Thomas this time, but failed miserably when the man shoved him away, His attention turned to John B, fist raised.

"This is for Peterkin." He said lowly.

His final punch, the heaviest of them all, smashed into the side of John B's face. The momentum and force slammed the boy to the ground like a rag doll, the boy falling unconscious. Shrieks rose from the group once more. Athena stared at the boy now on the floor, her hand raising to her mouth in shock once again as JJ hugged her. Athena reached out gently, linking her hand with Sarah and pulling her closer.

"Oh my god."

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𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗟 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗦
the way athena says 'i wish we slept on the break' and everyone is probably like 'to sleep so she wouldn't have got shot' or 'to have sex'

athena and wheezie are my favourite siblings ever and anyone who says anything about them

also i know like wards whole thing is about keeping their family together but let's be honest he'd let wheezie and athena fry to save rafe and sarah