─☼☼☼─

GOING HOME THAT night was the last thing Charlotte wanted to do. She couldn't handle the smug looks on her friends as they tried to gauge wether or not she'd broken down and slept with her ex. It was none of their business if she did or didn't. Especially because she didn't and she was still pissed at herself.

She wasn't sure if she was more angry that she almost slept with Rafe or that she didn't actually sleep with him. Either was she was pissed off.

Charlotte's night had been spent driving around, trying to tell herself that she'd done all she could when it came to Rafe and the Goat Island deal. She wasn't going to argue with him, wasn't going to force him to back out of the deal. He was an adult, and he was right in saying he knew more than her when it came to real estate. But he was making his bed, Charlotte had to let him lay in it.

It was early dawn when she finally returned to Pogulandia 2.0. She'd figured she'd be able to sneak in unscathed at this time. No one should still be awake from the night before, nor waking for the new day. It was the perfect time.

As she stepped into the house it was silent ─ thankfully. Tossing her keys on the sideboard, Charlotte quietly walked toward the kitchen, desperately in need of some coffee. There was no point sleeping now, she knew they'd have a full day ahead of them trying to decipher the scroll. She figured they'd gotten no where last night, considering all but one were high the entire time.

After almost dozing off three times while she waited for the coffee to brew, Charlotte finally had the steaming cup of goodness in her hands. She took her first sip as he made her way toward the living room, not caring if it was still scalding hot. Maybe that would help wake her up.

She was seconds from lowering herself onto the couch when someone spoke from the porch outside, their voice travelling through the window. "Mornin', Charls."

Charlotte jumped, spilling some of the coffee down her arm which resulted in a stiff curse flying from her lips. Flying back into the kitchen, she shoved her arm under cold water, scowling at the laughter that was coming from outside. At least he thought this was funny. When she'd subdued her minor burn enough, she begrudgingly filled a second cup of coffee and carried the two outside. For a moment she'd considered just locking herself in her room─she wasn't exactly in the mood to speak with him. But then again, there was too much to leave unsaid.

JJ was leaned back in one of the chairs, feet propped up on the table as Charlotte joined him. She wordlessly passed him his cup of coffee, taking a seat on the outdoor sofa across from him. "Good night?" JJ wondered, raising his brows in what Charlotte couldn't decipher as mockery or judgement.

She took a sip of her coffee, keeping eye contact with him. "Not really any of your business, is it?"

"Isn't it?" JJ fired back. "Thought that's what friends did...told each other everything."

"Hm," Charlotte hummed, finding this whole conversation ironic. "That's rich coming from you."

JJ narrowed his eyes on her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Just that you disappeared for a full twelve hours without giving any of us a hint as to where you were. Speaking as your friend...I was scared shitless."

He didn't respond right away, just stared back at her as if considering how to approach his response. Charlotte knew why JJ was so upset, why he'd gone off the deep-end, but she couldn't sit there and excuse his actions. None of them were ever going to get anywhere if they kept splitting up and taking matter into their own hands.

"You're right," he finally admitted. "That was wrong of me to do."

Not expecting it to be so easy, Charlotte was slightly taken aback. She'd been prepared to argue with him, to repeat the same thing again and again until she got it through his mind that she─they all─cared about him too much to watch him self-destruct like that. But apparently none of that was necessary at the moment.

Taking another sip of her coffee, Charlotte watched the sunrise. "What are you doing up so early, anyway?" She wondered, changing the topic of conversation. "Did you even get any sleep?"

JJ shot her a look. "Probably got more than you."

Charlotte knew he was prodding, trying every angle to get her to admit that she'd slept with Rafe. A part of her just wanted to tell him she did just to force him to come to terms with it. The other part of her wanted him to know the truth.

"I was out driving most of the night," she admitted. "Trying to clear my mind I guess."

JJ watched her for a moment. "By yourself?"

An exasperated sigh fell from Charlotte's lips. "Yes, JJ. By myself. No Rafe."

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, JJ responded to her earlier question. "Guess I had a lot on my mind too." He muttered, something hidden within his words. Charlotte caught it instantly.

"What happened?" She questioned, knowing something must have happened after she left the night before.

Something shifted in JJ's expression slightly as he stared down at his cup of coffee. "Groff came by. Told us he knows how to read that scroll. That he'll help us."

Ice flowed through Charlotte's veins at the mention of the man she could not come to trust. "Of course he did," she muttered. "What else did he tell you?"

JJ still wouldn't look at her. "He said we need some special eye piece...and that it's buried with Larissa Genrette."

"Awesome," Charlotte bit out sarcastically. She'd just warned Rafe not to trust that man and now the Pogues were apparently about to do the same thing.

Finally looking up, JJ's expression was pained. "I think he really is my dad, Charls." His admission was almost sheepish, as if that was the most embarrassing news he could have shared. And while Charlotte didn't think he needed to be embarrassed, she did think he needed to be careful.

She didn't respond right away, trying to make sure whatever she said to him was equal parts truth and what he wanted to hear. "It doesn't change anything about you, you know. You're still JJ. You're still a Pogue."

"But I'm not," he argued. "Not technically." Charlotte could tell that that was what JJ was struggling with the most. The fact that he'd been born a Kook.

Charlotte gave him a small smile. "Kie, Sarah, me...we were all raised Kooks, but look at us now. Just because you were born with a different last name in a different tax bracket doesn't make you any less Pogue. J, you might be the biggest Pogue I've ever met, and that'll never change, okay?"

JJ dipped his head slightly, his shoulder subconsciously sagging in relief. He'd heard what he'd needed to all along.

"But I think you should be careful with Groff," Charlotte added, causing JJ to lift his head and look at her again. This was the second time she'd given a warning about Groff in the past twelve hours. She hoped her warnings were unnecessary but she just couldn't shake the feeling she had about him.

"Yeah," JJ agreed. "I'll be careful."

─☼☼☼─

Charlotte pulled her hair away from her face, tying it in a bun on the top of her head as she sorted through the piles of laundry in front of her.

It was later that day, and only her and Kiara remained at home.

JJ had gone with Groff to retrieve the eye piece (much to Charlotte and Kiara's dismay), John B and Sarah had gone to run an "errand." Judging by their giddy mood, Charlotte figured Sarah had told John B about the baby. And judging by the white dress Sarah was donning, she also figured their "errand" involved a visit to town hall. Pope was still on house arrest, and Cleo hadn't shown up at Poguelandia since he was arrested. That left Kiara and Charlotte to do the packing.

As Charlotte was informed earlier that morning, their next destination was Morocco. That's where the scroll would lead them to the crown. Unfortunately, Groff had to be the one to get them there, but Charlotte was hopeful there would come a time where they could part ways with him. She wanted as little to do with him as possible.

She hummed quietly to herself as she folded up one of the boys' shirts before shoving it into the duffle bag. They weren't going for luxury here. Charlotte had taken on the roll of packing all of the clothing and toiletries essentials, while Kiara worked on packing up items from the shop that would come in handy. Essentially, they were trying to make this trek as easy as possible.

The buzzing of her phone caused Charlotte to take pause. She furrowed her brows as she stuffed another pair of pants into the bag in front of her. Rafe's name and contact photo flashed across her screen when Charlotte picked up the phone from the coffee table. She felt her breath catch in her throat, knowing the two hadn't left on the best terms the night before.

Swallowing her hesitation, Charlotte swiped her finger across the screen. "Hello?"

"You were right," Rafe blurted, forgoing any hellos. "Groff's a liar."

Fuck. She'd really hoped she was wrong.

"What happened?" Charlotte questioned, lowering herself onto the sofa. "Are you okay?"

Rafe let out a breath from the other end of the phone. "They read the will today. Goat Island is being designated as a nature preserve. Groff had no right to make a deal...it was never his."

Charlotte felt her heart drop. "Which means..."

"Which means I just had four hundred thousand dollars stolen from me," Rafe gritted out, his anger seeping through his words.

If Charlotte wasn't already sitting she might have fallen over. That was a lot of money, even for someone like Rafe. "God damnit." She breathed. "I didn't want to be right about him."

Rafe was silent for a moment, and Charlotte could picture him pacing back and forth in a rage. "I know," he finally stated. "Look, Lottie, I should have listened to you, and I shouldn't have been such a dick last night. I just─I really wanted this...for us."

She didn't want to discuss their disagreement over the phone. It was the least of either of their worries right now. "What are you going to do?" She questioned, revenge on Groff being the only thing she cared about in the moment.

"I already filed a police report," Rafe answered. "Think Shoupe finally took my concerns seriously for once."

It was in that moment that Charlotte's heat rammed into her ribcage, realization washing over her.

JJ.

"Rafe, I have to go," she rushed out, not waiting for a response before hanging up the phone. Within seconds she was hitting JJ's contact, dialling his number with her heart in her throat. Groff was a liar...which meant he could have been leading JJ into some sort of trap. Panic surged through Charlotte as the line rang and rang. But no answer ever came. 

The front door opened, quietly, but Charlotte was sure she'd heard it. 

"Kiara?" She called, lowering the phone from her ear with shaky hands. "Kie, we have to go find JJ!"

Silence hung in the air, only the sound of Charlotte's heartbeat could be heard in her ear, and somewhere the distant music Kiara was blaring from the shop. "Kie," Charlotte repeated, this time more forcefully as she stood and slowly made her way toward the front door. "Kiara, this really isn't the time."

She rounded the corner into the hallway, heart pounding even louder now. The front door had been left wide open...someone was definitely in here. Slowly, Charlotte unlocked her phone, fingers working their way back toward Rafe's contact. She needed him there. 

One last button to hit. One more and she'd have Rafe here in a matter of time. 

She never got to that button. 

A body came into contact with hers, so harshly that it send Charlotte barrelling toward the ground, her phone smashing against the hardwood before sliding toward the staircase. A scream flew from her lips as she struggled back against the intruder, doing everything she could to escape their grasp. The assailant forced the girl onto the floor, pinning her down so she was rendered almost immobile.

When she looked up, Charlotte was met with the frenzied expression of Chandler Groff staring down at her. Ice plummeted through her veins as she kicked and scratched, looking for real estate on any part of his body. "KIE!" She screamed, her nails coming into contact with Groff's face, leaving deep scratches along his cheek. He let out a hiss of pain, but didn't relent. 

"I'm sorry, Charlotte." He muttered, hands fastening around her neck as he pressed his knees against her arms. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Charlotte's eyes flew open in shock, her breath choking through the little space she had left in her airway. He was going to kill her. He was going to kill her and then her little sister, if he hadn't already. 

With every ounce of energy she had left, she kicked her legs as hard as possible, trying to throw him off of her. She needed to get to Kie. 

But it was no use. He was too big, much stronger than her. 

The last thing Charlotte wanted to see before she died was Chandler Groff's face. But alas, that's all that she was left with. 

In a feeble attempt, Charlotte stretched her arm, trying to free it from the weight of Groff's knees. If she could just get to Rafe she could...

She could what? She actually couldn't remember now. Everything was jumbling in her mind, pockets of black overtaking thoughts she once had. 

Slowly, and then all at once, black rimmed her vision, taking everything from her until it was all that was left. 

─☼☼☼─