─☼☼☼─

The first part of their plan to get John B the hell out of Kildare County was enlisting Sarah's help. She was the only person who could clear John B's name. 

Unlike Ward had told Charlotte, Sarah had never been with the Pogues after Peterkin's murder...she had been at Tannyhill the entire time, likely locked away in her room. Of course he had lied to her, what else should she have expected?

Sitting in the backseat with JJ, Charlotte kept her eyes focused on the road that was flying by as Kiara sped toward Tannyhill. The youngest Carrera was in the middle of cussing Pope out for his reckless driving, but despite her yelling, Charlotte was doing her best to tune her out. 

Her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only─Rafe. 

No matter how hard she tried, she could not fight the lump that had formed in her throat at the thought of him..at what he had done. 

She wished more than anything that she could believe there was no way he could have done such a thing, but she simply could not lie to herself like that. 

The hard truth was that Rafe had always had an anger beyond control sometimes. Factor in drugs and insecurities and there was no telling where that could lead him. 

It wasn't that Charlotte had ever expected he would kill someone, but looking back now, she could see it. And it made her absolutely sick. 

She had seen one too many times the way he snapped, it was as if he'd blackout. He managed to control it when it came to Charlotte, but he had lost it one too many times on Sarah, or Rose, or kids at school. 

He was sick in the head, and she had sat by idly as he got worse and worse.

But the weaker side in her felt sorry for Rafe Cameron. All that he had become was at the hand of his father. Ward had ruined his son, had pushed him to the horrible place he was in. In the eyes of Charlotte Carrera, Ward Cameron was the real villain here. 

And she didn't want to admit that out loud. She didn't want her friends to know that despite it all, her heart still bled for the Cameron boy. 

For the tenth time since she had left Tannyhill, he phone vibrated in her hands. She knew who it was without looking. He had been calling and texting her since she left his house unannounced. 

Charlotte couldn't bring herself to look down at her phone as his name and contact photo lit up the screen. She couldn't bring herself to even move as her phone continued vibrating. 

"Charls?" JJ wondered softly, leaning closer to the girl. "You know you can just decline the call, right?"

Without looking at him, Charlotte handed her phone to JJ, unable to handle it any longer. "Just get rid of him." She pleaded,

Kiara glanced back at her sister through the rearview mirror as JJ took the phone. "I─are you sure?"

A simple nod of the head came from Charlotte as she leaned against the window, listening as JJ finally accepted the call. 

"Stop calling her." he ordered, short and quick. "She doesn't want to talk to you." It was evident that he wanted to say more, but he managed to restrain it. 

Rafe didn't even have the chance to utter a single response before JJ had hung up the phone, setting it on the seat between them. 

Even without looking, Charlotte could tell her was watching her with gentle eyes. She felt utterly foolish and ashamed that they all felt bad for her. She was not the victim here, and she refused to let that go on any longer. 

"None of you should feel bad for me." She finally announced, lifting her head from the window. "I've known for years what kind of person Rafe is, yet I didn't have the mind to stay away. That's on me. The only people we should care about right now are John B and Sarah."

"That's not entirely true." Pope argued, turning to look at her with a pointed expression. "We all do crazy things for love."

Charlotte screwed up her face, the first smile coming to her face in hours. It was small, but it was there. "How high are you right now, Pope?"

This day was full of chaos, and Pope's use of drugs was one of the many. 

"Oh, he's blasted." JJ chuckled as Kiara rolled her eyes. 

"Was now really the time for all of this?" She demanded as they entered the Figure 8. "Like we have more important things on our hands than getting Pope high."

Pope grinned at her as he leaned toward her. "There's no time like the present, baby."

"Hey, are we sure this is a good idea?" JJ wondered, switching the topic back to the more pressing issue. "What if Ward and Rafe catch us and decide we're next on their hit-list?"

Charlotte's stomach flipped as she looked down at her hand, trying to hide the emotions on her face. 

"She is the only person who can clear John B." Kiara answered, stopping outside the gates of Tannyhill. "So yes, this is our only option."

She turned to look at the two in the backseat as she turned off the car. "You two stay here and keep watch. Pope and I will get to Sarah."

Charlotte wasn't going to argue. She didn't want to be anywhere near where Rafe might have been at the moment. 

"No one's ever going to look here because of how stupid it is." JJ argued. "They'd have to think that we're total idiots to show up here."

Shrugging, Charlotte leaned forward to watch Kiara and Pope as they made their way toward the wall. "Maybe we are total idiots."

JJ grinned at her as he leaned back in his seat, the two others disappearing over the wall a few seconds later. "Think they're going to get caught?"

"No." the older girl answered as her eyes flickered toward the house she had once regarded as he second home. "Ward's too busy worrying about himself right now."

Grin slowly faltering, JJ studied Charlotte's face for a moment before letting out a sigh. "You were going to get back together with him, weren't you?"

They both knew the him in reference was no longer Ward Cameron, but that of his son.

Charlotte's attention shifted to JJ, her eyes meeting his as guilt overwhelmed her features. She was ashamed at what she had done with Rafe last night, but there was no point lying. If he had never killed Peterkin, or if she had never found out, she had no doubt in her mind that they would have gotten back together. 

He had finally pushed her to the point where she realized she loved him more than she hated him. She had given up all of her morals, all of her common sense. 

"Yeah." She finally answered, her voice almost a whisper. "I did something stupid last night─something I wished I never would have done."

JJ bit down on his lip. "You slept with him." His voice wasn't harsh, or accusing, rather it was sympathetic, sad. 

With the feeling of nausea washing over her again, Charlotte gave a small nod. "Yeah. I did."

"That doesn't mean anything." JJ assured, moving so Charlotte was forced to look at him. "He manipulated you, Charley."

"I'm not as innocent as you think, J." She argued, fed up with the sympathy. "Even before I knew Rafe was a murderer, I knew he wasn't a good person. I knew and I still decided to spend five years of my life loving him. This─" she paused to motion around them, to the situation they were in. "This is on me."

"Char─"

He was cut off by the vibrating of Charlotte's phone once again. Groaning, Charlotte dropped her head into her hands. "Just turn it off. He's never going to stop."

Picking up the phone from where it had remained between the two of them, JJ furrowed his brow. "It's not him. It's Willa."

It felt almost as if Willa and Kensington no longer existed in this world. There was so much they didn't know, so much they would never know. 

Pulling her head out of her hands, Charlotte took the phone from her friend. "Wills." She answered, placing the phone on speaker, a small smile coming to her face. "Now is not the best time. Can I─"

"Charlotte, you're never going to believe what's happening right now!" Willa all but yelled through the phone. Charlotte could hear shuffling from the other end, as if Willa was running somewhere. 

Stealing a nervous glance at JJ, Charlotte responded. "What? Are you okay?"

The shuffling stopped for a moment, followed by the sound of voices in the background. "There's cops everywhere! They think they found the Routledge kid in Kelce's laundry room! Can you believe it?"

No. 

Charlotte's heart plummeted as JJ's eyes grew wide. If John B got caught...then this was all over. There would be nothing they could do.

"Willa, I'm coming."

Willa let out an excited laugh from the other end. "Char, this is so crazy.  You won't believe how─"

Charlotte hung up before Willa could finish. With a shaky breath, she turned to JJ. "Stay here." She ordered, already throwing open the car door. 

"No!" JJ argued. "Charley, let me come."

The sadness and guilt that she had been feeling had quickly turned to determination. She needed to make sure John B was okay. She had to be there for him.

Stepping out of the car, Charlotte shook her head at him. "Absolutely not. From what you guys told me, the cops are probably looking for all of you who were in this car today. I wasn't one of them. Let me handle this one, okay?"

JJ pursed his lips, not looking convinces as he threw his head back. 

Taking that as his sign of compliance, Charlotte slammed the car door before taking off toward Willa's street. 

It wasn't far from Tannyhill, but by the time Charlotte turned onto the street it was swarmed with police cars and people alike. 

Letting out a laboured breath, she scoured the crowd for Willa. People were craning their necks, trying to get the best view of what was about to go down. 

There were so many people gathered around, it was difficult for her to spot her friend amongst the chaos. 

As Charlotte went to move closer to the scene, a hand reached out from behind one of the bushes, yanking her down to the ground. 

The scream that was about to leave her mouth was quickly stifled by a hand, and when Charlotte looked up with wild, panicked eyes, she was met with the equally as wild eyes of John B. 

Slowly removing his hand, her held up a shaky finger to his lips, signalling for her to be quiet. 

Charlotte pulled herself up into a crouch, looking at John B incredulously. "What are you doing?" She demanded, her voice barely above a whisper, drowned out by the rest of the noise around them. "Get out of here!"

John B placed his hands on either side of her arms, giving her a quick look before glancing toward the crowd that had formed to see his capture. 

"Are you guys good?" He wondered when his eyes refocused on her. "Did Kie fill you in? Is everything going according to plan?"

"Are we good?" Charlotte challenged. "Are you?"

Giving her a tight smile, John B shrugged. "Can't complain."

Charlotte couldn't imagine what he was going through right now. He must have felt like it was him against the world. Even with the support of his friends, he was truly alone in this endeavour. 

A sad smile came to her face as she studied his expression. He looked exhausted. "Everything's going according to plan." She assured, knowing that's what he needed to hear right now. "We're working on getting Sarah out of Tannyhill, and then we'll get the boat."

A visible sigh of relief flew from John B lips as he relaxed slightly. "If you see her, tell Sarah to meet me at our place. I need to talk to her."

"Your place?"

He gave a small nod. "She'll know."

"Okay." Charlotte breathed, glancing back toward the flash lights of the police cars. "You've gotta go. I'll try to distract the mob. But you need to get the hell out of here."

John B nodded, glancing over his shoulder once more before pulling Charlotte into a tight hug. "Thank you, Charley. I'll see you soon."

"Be careful." She pleaded, giving his hand a quick squeeze. "Please."

A small grin cracked across his face as he moved into the shadows. "I will."

Taking in a deep breath, Charlotte turned back toward the chaotic scene and stepped back into sight. With a final glance over her shoulder at John B, she began to move toward the centre of the crowd. 

"Are you guys looking for John B?" She asked a group of suburban mothers who had nothing better to do than cheer on the arrest of a teenage boy. 

They turned to look at her, their faces almost lighting up in excitement. "They thought he was in there, but the little bastard got away." One of them exclaimed, as if she was giving the rundown of the latest soap opera. 

Charlotte's brows flew up as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder in the opposite direction to which John B had just gone. "I saw someone running behind some houses over there. Looked like they were headed toward Shem Creek." She explained. "Totally coulda been him."

The women's eyes widened as they all looked in the direction in which Charlotte was pointing. One of them was rushing off to tell the police before the words had barely left Charlotte's mouth. 

Mission accomplished. 

Soon enough, the crowd has dissipated, everyone following in the direction of where the latest John B sighting had been.

All but a few. One of the few was a certain blonde girl on a bike, her eyes sad and her attention focused. 

"Sarah!" Pushing through the last few people who remained, Charlotte reached the younger girl who's eyes had lit up at the sight. 

"Char." She breathed, her face wavering for a moment as she pulled her into a hug. "Have you talked to Kie...do you know everything that's going on?"

Glancing around to ensure no one was listening too closely, Charlotte nodded. "Yeah." She said quietly. "I know everything."

Sarah's face pulled in sadness as she looked around at the police cars. "He didn't do this, Char."

"I know." Charlotte sympathized, nervously looking around once again. "Sar, you've gotta listen to me, okay?" She checked their surroundings again. "I just saw John B─"

"Is he okay?" Sarah's face had illuminated with a mixture of worry and anxiety. 

"Yes." Charlotte rushed out, ever fearful of listening ears. "He wants you to meet him at your spot...he says you'll know what that means."

This time, the look that covered Sarah's face was one of recognition...one of love. "Yeah." She affirmed, letting out a deep breath. "I know exactly what that means."

"Good." Charlotte nodded, her eyes catching on a truck that was parked behind Sarah...it was Ward's. "You need to go now." She ordered, urgency in her voice. "Before anyone else sees you, okay?"

There was no argument from Sarah, she was just as eager to get on her way to seeing John B. "Stay safe, Char. I'll see you soon."

Charlotte nodded, giving Sarah a small smile. "Find him, Sarah. Find him and keep him safe."

"I will."

And then she was gone, pedalling as hard as she could to get herself out of view before she could catch someone's attention. 

With her heart still in her chest, Charlotte turned back toward the scene, her eyes falling on the few that still remained. Most had headed toward Shem Creek following her announcement...most, but not all.

"Lottie."

He was directly behind her when she turned, leaving her no option to escape. She had to face him. 

Adverting her eyes elsewhere, Charlotte shook her head. "Now is not a good time, Rafe. I gotta get home."

He stepped into her path as she tried to duck around him. "Charlotte, just hold on. What's going on with you?"

With her gaze still locked on the ground, Charlotte bit down on her lip. "Nothing."

"Hey, hey. Look at me." Rafe demanded, hooking his two fingers underneath her chin to lift her gaze to meet his. "Are you okay?" He questioned, genuinely concerned. "You left this morning without saying anything and then have a Pogue answering your phone...is this about last night?"

Charlotte shoved his hand away from his face. "No." She answered quickly, which followed her thinking about it for a moment and changing her answer. She didn't want to tell him what it was actually about. This wasn't the place for that. "Maybe." She lied, watching as his face fell slightly. 

Running a hand over his mouth, Rafe stepped back. "You regret it?"

"It was too fast." Charlotte argued, setting her jaw as she watched him. She had to push him away. She had to say the right things that would get him to finally leave her alone, at least for a while. 

"Lottie, come ─"

"Charlotte, oh my God!" Came a shriek from behind her. 

Charlotte had never been so thankful to see Willa Connors in her entire life. Well, there might have been a few other times, but this was pretty close to the top. 

When she looked back toward where Rafe had been standing, he was gone. 

"He got away!" Willa announced the minute she reached Charlotte. "Damn bastard escaped! Kelce said he had him locked in there but somehow he got out."

Her mind was still hung up on the blonde hair Cameron boy, but she smiled at her best friend nonetheless. "That's insane. Tell me all about it."

This was a summer that Charlotte Carrera would not soon forget. That was for sure. 

─☼☼☼─