─☼☼☼─

"You have three new messages"

Message received today at 9:08am

I saw your car at the house last night...were you here? Wheezie said she didn't see you, but she lies sometimes. Are you okay? Can you please just─please call me, Charlotte.

Message received today at 10:45am 

You know I love you, right? I'm not sure what your sister and her friends are saying...but you can trust me. I hope you know that. 

Message received today at 1:13 pm

We need to talk.

─☼☼☼─

A day after her visit to Tannyhill, Charlotte was at The Wreck helping her parents prepare for the dinner rush. According to Anna, the fact that Charlotte managed to leave the house yesterday was a sign that she was completely fine to come back to work. 

Charlotte didn't necessarily agree, but she figured keeping her mind busy would maybe be a good thing. 

Kiara and the boys had started back at school, and Anna and Mike refused to let Charlotte wallow any longer. It was time for real life. 

"Hey, Char?" Anna called from behind the counter. "Your phone's been buzzing like crazy."

Her mission of pretending her life wasn't a shit show was ruined by that announcement. No doubt, it was Rafe calling her...again, and again. 

"I'll get it in a sec, mom!" She answered, sorting the pile of cutlery in her hand. She didn't need to see his name flash across her screen for the umpteenth time, it was just a brutal reminder. 

"Here." Her father said, passing the device to her with a small smile. "It's kind of annoying."

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte grabbed it, preparing to shove it into the pocket of her apron. But as it buzzed again, she caught sight of the notification. 

It wasn't a call from Rafe this time, but a text message. 

Ignoring the curious look given to her by her father, Charlotte unlocked the phone, moving toward the privacy of the balcony. 

She clicked on the message from the unknown number, noting that whoever this was had put her into into a group chat with her sister, JJ, and Pope. 

The message thread popped up, and Charlotte felt her heart beginning to hammer in her chest as her wide eyes scanned the few messages that had been sent back and forth. 

The initial message was a picture... a single picture. 

But the people in the picture are what caused a mixture of relief, excitement, skepticism, and panic flooding through Charlotte's body. 

It was John B and Sarah. 

Her eyes skimmed the responses from Kie and JJ, and the subsequent one sent back from the unknown number. It was him...it was John B. 

Charlotte's hands danced across her screen. 

Charlotte: no fucking way

Her face lit up at the response that came instantly, tears of excitement coming to her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. 

Unknown: Hey Charley. Nice of you to join the convo.

Kie: Dude, where are you??

Unknown: Laying super low in Nassau 

Unknown: Can you clear my name? Wanna come home. 

Unknown: Be in touch. P4L.

Charlotte leaned back against the railing, letting out a laugh as she threw her head back in excitement. 

Their mission had just begun. 

─☼☼☼─

She was still in a state of shock thirty minutes later when the rest of the Pogues came rushing into The Wreck in search of her.

"Did you see it?" JJ demanded, bypassing any formal greetings. A laugh fell from his lips as he picked her up in an excited embrace, twirling her around. "Did you fucking see it?"

A laugh fell from her lips as she wrapped her arms around him, feeling the first bit of hope in two weeks. "Yeah, I saw it, J."

"They're alive." He whispered, his voice low enough so no one else could hear as he set her back on her own two feet. "They're fucking alive."

"Come on." Kie encouraged in anxious excitement, nodding toward the dock out front. "We need to talk this through."

"Hey!" Anna called after her two daughters as they rushed from the restaurant. "I do need those set ups done before five!"

Kiara spun to look at her mother. "You know other people work here besides us, right?"

Anna grinned. "Yeah, but ain't none of them my own children."

"I've been helping them all day." Charlotte muttered, dismissing her mother's orders. "They'll survive without us."

"I heard that!" Anna called after the kids as they made their way down the pier. 

"So, we goin' to the Bahamas?" JJ wondered, swivelling the conversation toward the real issue at hand. 

"How the hell are we getting there?" Charlotte challenged, flopping down onto the bench. "You got money for airfare? Cause I don't."

Pope nodded. "Charley's right, dude. There's no way we're getting to the Bahamas."

"John B is gonna get nabbed sooner or later." Kiara declared. "So if we're going to clear his name, we need to have done it, like, yesterday."

JJ stood up, pacing in a small circle. "I'll tell you how we do it."

"Oh, so you have it all planned out?" Pope inquired. 

Pausing for a moment, JJ looked deep in thought. "As a matter of fact, I do...we kidnap Rafe."

Charlotte faltered slightly as Pope snorted. "I'm sorry, what?"

Looking determined, and quite proud of his plan, JJ elaborated. "We kidnap Rafe, tie him up and stick the gun in his mouth and just wait until he starts squawking."

The excitement that Charlotte had previously been feeling was dwindling. Things were about to get a lot more complicated...and painful. 

Kiara looked at her older sister for a fleeting moment, noting the change in her mood. "You know," She began, switching her gaze to JJ. "Tortures a war crime."

"Yeah." Pope agreed, raising a brow at their blonde friend. "So how exactly do you plan on clearing John B's name from a prison cell? Because that's a felony."

JJ relented, sitting down in the seat next to Charlotte. "All right, well what do you got, Pope? I was just trying to keep it simple. You know, one stop and we're done sorta thing."

Pope shook his head. "Guys, all we need is a material witness. We saw Ward's plane fly over our heads, with the gold inside of it. He didn't fly it. And if somebody else did, they were on that tarmac."

"So we find them and get them to testify." Charlotte finished Pope's thought, liking the sound of what he was suggesting. It beat JJ's plan by a long shot. 

Smiling at her, Pope nodded. "Exactly."

Kiara scrunched up her face. "How do we do that?"

"A little light espionage." Pope was grinning. 

JJ turned his hat around, placing it back on his head. "A little Ghost Recon."

The three out of four of them were grinning excited smile, but one wasn't.

"Char?" Kie prompted gently. "You in?"

Clearing her throat, and shaking out of the distracted trance she was in, Charlotte shook her head. "I should stay here and help mom and dad out."

Truthfully, she couldn't bring herself to find the energy to go on this mission. She wanted to clear John B's name as badly as the rest of them, but there was something else eating at her.

"Psh." JJ dismissed. "They'll be fine without you for the night."

Kiara seemed to notice the look on her sister's face, and understood instantly. "No, Char's right." She agreed. "We both can't disappear, they'll freak."

JJ's face fell slightly. "But we need you."

A small smile cracked across Charlotte's face as she stood, placing a hand on his shoulder. "No you don't. I have full faith in you...well in Pope."

Glaring at her, JJ shook his head. "The lack of trust you have in my abilities is hurtful, Charley."

She grinned, reaching up to lightly pinch his cheek. "Keep me updated. And do not get yourselves into anymore trouble. If you three end up in jail then I'll have five names to clear and that just sounds like a lot of work if you ask me."

Pope crossed his head. "Promise we won't get arrested."

"Good." Charlotte declared, turning on her heel in the direction of the restaurant. "I'll see you guys later. Be safe."

"You sure you don't wanna come?" JJ called as she began down the pier. 

Waving her hand, but not turning around, Charlotte shook her head. "Pass!"

The moment she knew she was far enough away from the younger trio, the smile on Charlotte's face faded. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she looked at the series of voicemails that had been left by Rafe. 

That same feeling of complete and utter defeat washed over Charlotte. It had been what she had been feeling for the past two weeks. There was no way this all could end without heartbreak. 

Selfishly, Charlotte wished she could run away from it all. Part of her thought that maybe she should have gone back to school. Maybe she should have pretended none of this had anything to do with her. 

She knew she couldn't nor wouldn't ever do that. Part of this felt like her mess. She needed to be here to pick up the pieces. 

"Table four."

Glancing up in a startle, Charlotte barely realized she had walked back into the restaurant. 

Her coworker Olivia was looking at her with an expectant look. "You're still on, right?"

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Charlotte nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, sorry."

"Good," Olivia breathed. "Dinner rush is rolling in. Table four," she repeated, nodding in the direction of one of the tables where a single girl sat. 

Charlotte shoved her phone back into her pocket, preparing to plaster the false customer-service smile back onto her face. "God speed, Liv. Nothing like a first day of school dinner rush."

Olivia let out a muffled laugh as Charlotte began toward the table. Tightening her apron, she forced a smile onto her face. "How are you doing tonight? My name is Charlotte and I'll be─"

The words died in her throat as the customer turned to face her. 

Kensington Lewis was never one to look desperate, but that is exactly how she looked right now.

An apprehensive look covered her face as she held her hands out in front of her, wordlessly begging for Charlotte to hear her out. 

Charlotte immediately regretted not going with her sister and the boys. Anything would have been better than this. 

"I'm sorry." Kensington rushed out. "For bothering you at work. But you won't return any of my calls or texts, and─and Willa said she's barely heard from you. I just need to talk to you. Really talk to you."

Barely looking her ex-best friend in the eye, Charlotte cleared her throat. "We talked the other day at the Island Club. I think I heard everything I needed to hear."

As she turned to leave, Kensington reached out and grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Charlotte, please."

Charlotte Carrera did not owe Kensington Lewis a single damn thing and she knew that...but yet, she relinquished. 

"I only have a few minutes," she replied, voice monotone. "So just say whatever you need to say."

Anxiously brushing a piece of hair from her face, Kensington gave Charlotte a grateful smile. "Do you want to sit?"

Reluctantly, Charlotte lowered herself into one of the spare chairs, her eyes focusing on one of the only Kook girls she ever fully trusted. What a fool she was now. 

"Okay." Kensington breathed, voice shaking slightly. "Here it goes."

Charlotte leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms across her chest, brow quirked in expectation. 

"I'm not going to say sorry again." Kensington finally began. "Because I know it's useless...no matter how sorry I actually am."

The look on Charlotte's face remained neutral as Kensington continued.

"I fucked up so bad, Char. I was high and he was just─he was there. I had never once thought about doing that when you two were together...I just I don't know, I was lonely."

"You were lonely? That's why you tried to sleep with my ex?" The stoic look on Charlotte's face wavered slightly. "Of all the guys on this God forsaken island, you couldn't have picked someone else to fill that void?"

Kensington dropped her head slightly. "I know."

"Tell me this," Charlotte's voice was tightening, her emotions beginning to overwhelm her. "What would have happened if Rafe didn't turn you down? How long would you have lied to my face?"

No answer came from the other girl, but one wasn't really needed. 

"I don't think we can save our friendship." Charlotte finally declared after a few fleeting moments of silence. "I think we both know it's beyond that."

Silence followed as Charlotte stood up. Tears welled in the Lewis girl's eyes as she turned toward her once-best friend.

"We were the only ones." She called, causing Charlotte to pause. "Willa and I were the only ones who liked you for you...not because you were with Rafe."

Charlotte's heart dropped as she did her best to keep her face maintained. That wasn't true...that wasn't true. 

She had to remind herself that. 

Deep down, she feared Kensington was right.

"How can you just erase all those years of friendship, Charlotte? How can you do that to me?"

"I'm not doing anything." Charlotte snapped, slightly more harshly than she had intended. "You're the one who fucked up, Kensington. You're the one who tried to sleep with my boyfr─"

"You were broken up!" Kensington all but yelled, gathering the attention of other restaurant goers. "You broke up with him when you decided you were too good for him...just like you're doing now."

A mixture of confusion and pain flashed across Charlotte's face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Kensington stood, her chair scarping across the ground. "Your boyfriend was fucked up and you left him. Then you had the nerve to whine when he tried to move on. And now, now you're picking your fucking murdering little Pogues over me and Willa."

Her false 'beg-for-forgiveness' act had dropped fast. 

"Rafe, and Willa, and me...we did everything for you, Charlotte. We took you in and we made you who you are. And you've thrown us away like we're nothing. And for what? That Routledge kid? Or is it the Maybank one you're after? Maybe the Heyward kid?"

"Are you fucking insane?" Charlotte snapped, her demeanour shifting.

Reaching for her purse, Kensington threw it over her shoulder. "You're right back where you belong, Charlotte. Have fun with your dirty Pogues. Don't come crawling back to the Figure Eight when you realize what a mistake you're making."

Charlotte was too stunned to speak, but her mother wasn't.

"Get out of my restaurant." Anna snapped, motioning toward the door. "Get out, Kensington, and don't you dare come near here again."

With one final snobby glare at Charlotte, Kensington did as Anna demanded. 

The restaurant had quieted, everyone too enthralled in the drama to even think about talking. 

Letting out a flustered laugh, Anna turned toward the other guests. "Sorry about that, everyone. Please, continue on with your meals."

The conversation slowly resumed, meanwhile Charlotte stood frozen, her eyes stinging and face hot in embarrassment. 

"C'mon, baby," Anna soothed as she wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Let's get you home."

─☼☼☼─