𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐏𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 jet ski, getting closer and closer to the outer banks. coby had wrapped her shirt around her stomach to stop the bleeding from the wound. she had her arms wrapped around john b's waist as they sped through the water. she would look back every few minutes to make sure that ward hadn't appeared out of thin air to finish what he had started. she really couldn't believe that just happened. ward cameron just tried to fucking kill them. and now they know that he had something to do with both big john and taylor's disappearances. who the fuck was gonna believe them if they told anyone what just happened? coby was pulled out of her thoughts when they started to slow down. she looked around to see that they had just entered the marsh.

"we're out of gas." john b announced, looking around to see how close they were to kildare. they were on the outskirts of the marsh, but still in it. "and we've got a long fucking way to go."

"we can't wait here. i mean. . . what if he suddenly appears?" coby pointed out.

"so what? you wanna swim?" john b quizzed, looking back at the curly haired girl. "do you think that's a good idea with your stomach and everything?"

"it's not that deep." coby reminded.

"yeah, but you can still bleed out." john b shot back.

"i wrapped it, extremely fucking tight, okay? i should be fine. hopefully." coby shrugged as she stood up from her seat. she sucked in a breath before she jumped into the water. she pushed her way back to the surface, looking at john b with raise eyebrows.

the routledge boy rolled his eyes but followed pursuit, jumping into the water with a big splash. he broke the surface before he started to swim. "we're going to the grubbs'." he told her as he led the way. "we're gonna find out what really happened to my dad and taylor." he finished. coby didn't say anything, following the boy through the water.

it had taken them at least an hour to get to lana grubbs' house, john b helping coby through the table grass that had grown in front of lana's house. the duo walked onto the porch, john b gently setting coby down on one of the chairs. lana grubbs heard this, looking through the door as she held a cup of tea in her hands. john b met her gaze, "we need to know."

lana wasted no time in bringing the two pogues inside, drying them off and giving them new clothes. lana had cleaned and patched up the wound on coby's stomach before she fixed the both of them a cup of tea. "the night your father and taylor disappeared. . . i came home early from work to find scooter talking to ward. . ."

𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐎

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃, 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐉𝐎𝐇𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 on big john's old boat. the boat was basically falling apart, but taylor still loved it. the rust and grime that covered most of the boat, and the duct tape that was holding the windshield together, it all added character to it. big john had promised that once they had found the gold, he would give taylor the boat, knowing how much the young man loved it. he had mentioned to taylor before that he could just buy a brand new boat with his split of the gold, but taylor just told him that he would rather keep that one. the trio was all on the boat because big john wanted to tell ward that him and taylor had found the gold and the fact that big john didn't want to split it evenly with ward. big john wanted to give ward twenty percent while him and taylor got forty percent each. taylor was the one that helped big john with the research, and with the work to getting the gold. not ward.

"john, you brought me and taylor out here to talk, man, so let's talk." ward said, breaking the silence that had fallen between the three. "i figured that it'd be good news." big john slowly turned to look at ward, sending a glance over to taylor who was in the cockpit. "you found it? you found it. you found it!" ward concluded when big john stayed silent. he started to laugh out of excitement, going to embrace the routledge man, but big john pulled away.

"no. no. i need some assurances." big john told him as he pulled ward's hands away from his face.

"what are you talking about? yes, okay! you have assurances. yes." ward nodded, not even caring about what else big john needed.

"i need legal assurances." big john elaborated.

"what legal assurances, john? we're partners." ward questioned, turning to look at taylor before he looked back at big john. "it's a fifty-fifty thing, and -"

"it's not fifty-fifty. i never agreed to that." big john interrupted. "i spent 20 years on this. ward you just got involved."

"don't do this." ward chuckled, shaking his head.

"twenty percent." big john repeated.

"twenty percent, my ass! no!" ward yelled. "you took my money, and you used my boats, and you used everything that i was giving you. that's when you found it."

"twenty percent is reasonable." big john said, going to walk towards the cockpit so that they could make their way back to kildare.

ward grabbed his arm, turning him back to face him. taylor stood up from where he was sitting, a small glare in his eyes as he looked at ward. "i don't give a shit what's reasonable. you promised me! it was my money!"

"it's taylor and mine's research!" the long haired man shouted back.

"you know what? forget about what taylor found. in twenty years, you didn't find a goddamn thing." ward spat.

"i knew you would do this. you've always been greedy, ward." big john told the shorter man.

"i'm not doing it!" ward snapped.

"yes, you are! you -" big john started, but was interrupted when ward started to shove him. taylor quickly stepped forward to intervene, but ward pushed him back. the two men continued to wrestle one another, ward pushing big john back. the routledge man tripped over the door of a hatch, causing him to fall back and hit the back of his head on a cleat. ward fell next to him, a grunt escaping his lips.

"damn it, john." ward cursed, picking himself up from the floor. "where is it? where's the gold?"

"you'll never find it." big john told him before he brought his hand to the back of his head. taylor's heart sunk when he saw the crimson that was staining big john's fingers.

"john?" the 18-year old called, causing the older man to look up at him with fear in his eyes. taylor moved towards him, crouching down.

"jesus, john. what happened?" ward questioned, moving closer to the long haired man.

"taylor." big john mumbled, looking at the blood on his fingers.

"i'm here, john. i'm here. it's okay." taylor muttered as he quickly pulled his shirt over his head. he placed it to the back of big john's head, trying to apply pressure to the wound.

"okay, all right. hang on, buddy." ward soothed as he got closer, going to move taylor's shirt away from the back of big john's head. "let me see, taylor. we gotta see how bad it is."

"how about we stopped the bleeding first?" taylor recommended, his tone bitter as he glared at the cameron man in front of him. his eyes then dropped down to big john, seeing how he was starting to go limp. "big john?"

"i'm gonna call somebody, okay?" ward told taylor and big john. "okay, john? john? god!" he mumbled as he got up from the floor.

"john? john?" taylor tried, shaking the older man in an attempt to wake him up. "you gotta wake up, sir. you gotta wake up. you - you can't leave john b by himself, right? yeah, you can't. so - so you gotta wake up, sir." he basically pleaded, feeling his eyes start to sting as tears formed. big john had become like a father to him over the years. taylor looked to where ward was in the cockpit, realizing how he hadn't heard the man speak at all since he got up. "ward, did you call for help?"

"no." ward mumbled as he left the cockpit, bending down in front of taylor. he gently reached into one of big john's pockets, pulling out a folded map. "help me with the body, taylor."

"what?" the sawyer boy questioned, looking at the man like he was crazy. "why didn't you call for help, ward?"

"just - just help me with the body!" ward shouted, his eyes wide with anger as he tried to pick big john up. he sighed when he noticed that taylor wasn't gonna move. "what do you think the police are gonna do when they see him on the floor like that? what are you gonna tell them?"

"that you killed him." taylor mumbled, tears rolling down his cheeks as he glared at ward.

"i did this?" ward repeated.

"you pushed him and made him hit his on the cleat. so yes, you did this, ward!" taylor nodded, pointing a finger at ward.

"come on. think of this as an opportunity, taylor. we can get even more now. if - if you help me get rid of the body and we find the gold, it'll be an even split. what do you say, huh? you'll have enough money to get you and your sister out of that shit show of a home. yeah? just you and me." ward tried, forcing a smile onto his lips.

"fuck off, ward. i'm calling for help." taylor spat, getting up from the floor and making his way over to the cockpit. he had somehow gotten blood all over his hands and stomach, making him want to throw up. it was big john's blood.

"taylor." ward called, his voice calm as he looked at the curly haired boy. "don't call for help."

"or what? you're gonna kill me too?" taylor muttered as he grabbed the little walkie from the radio, bringing it up to his mouth as he pushed the button. "mayday. mayday. mayday. we need medical help. there is someone bleeding, he hit his head and -" taylor was cut off by his head being pushed forward into the radio. he dropped the small walkie as he brought his hands up to his nose.

"repeat. did you say that someone was bleeding? over." a male's voice appeared through the radio, taylor reaching for the walkie to reply. but ward reached over and turned the radio off, a hard glare in his eyes as he looked at taylor. the sawyer boy wiped his nose, feeling how much it was leaking from it colliding with the radio.

"you should've just left it alone." ward mumbled as he quickly hit something over taylor's head, making everything go black.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓

❝𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏 𝐓𝐎 find the gold. and he showed him the map that he had taken from big john." lana finished explaining, watching the two teens closely.

"so he stole my father's map then he tossed his body into the sea?" john b questioned, his jaw clenched as he looked at lana.

"i don't know how, but he somehow got taylor onto his own boat before he sunk big john's where's no one would ever find it." lana began again, big john shooting up from his chair before he walked over to the windows. "when he came back from sinking big john's boat, he, uh. . . he tried to get taylor to tell him where the gold was. but he wouldn't budge, so ward tried to beat it out of him. but it didn't work. scooter didn't want no part of that, so he came back home and told me what ward was doing. he told me that taylor was all bloodied and bruised. but he still wouldn't tell ward where the gold was. but somehow, taylor had been able to run off, which caused ward to panic because he knew taylor would go straight to the police. but he didn't. he went home because he knew that it would be his last opportunity to see you. i - i don't know what happened afterwards, but i know that ward got him." lana continued, a mixture of sympathy and guilt written all over her face as she looked at coby.

the sawyer girl was silently crying, taking in the new found information. ward had killed her brother. she felt her fist ball up at the thought of ward torturing her brother for the gold, her fingernails on her on her right hand wrapped dug themselves into her orange cast.

"ward and scooter began to look for the gold every day for nine months. when agatha built up, there was only one place they hadn't looked. so ward sent my husband out into that storm. i begged him not to go, but he said that ward was worried the storm would wash everything away. but scooter did find something out there. not what he expected. he wasn't dead when ward dumped him. he made it to shore. and the last thing he ever did. . . was for you. i am so sorry, you guys. i should have told you both a long time ago." lana finished. john b looked over at coby, the both of them wearing the same anger/tear covered expression on their face. without another word to lana, the both of them made their way to her door. "but you can't say anything. he's dangerous. he's capable of anything. don't -"

"i don't care, lana!" coby shouted as the both of them walked out of the house. they quickly made their way to the château, coby practically sprinting.

☠︎ ✶ ♡ ✶ ☠︎

𝐂𝐎𝐁𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐀𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 where john b was, a hard glare on her face as she walked towards the château. the pain on her stomach had disappeared a long time ago. she didn't even realize that all of her friends were in front of the château, walking right past them. jj called out for her, but she ignored him. john b on the other hand was snapped out of his fury filled trance, looking at all of his friends before he looked to where coby disappeared to. all of them asked him what happened, and he tried to explain, but he stumbled over his words. the pogues quickly dismissed the disheveled boy, jj dragging him inside so that they could all go see if coby was okay. they all had seen the look on her face -- it was the same look that she wore at barry's trailer, and it was the same look she wore during the first few months after taylor's disappearance. that switch inside of her had been switched on again.

they all went inside the château to see that coby had basically torn the whole place apart, obviously looking for something. "where the fuck is it?" she muttered to herself as she went through the cabinet that held antiques and china.

"you all right, jake? what - what's up?" pope quizzed, from his spot behind her.

"what are you looking for?" kie questioned, her, jj, pope, and john b watching as coby walked over to the couch, throwing the cushions all over the place.

"what's going on, dude?" jj asked. coby didn't answer as she dug her hands between the couch cushions. the corner of her lips twitched upwards slightly when she felt her fingers graze upon what she had been looking for. she quickly pulled it out from the hiding spot, looking down at it. "jake, what do you need the gun for?" jj asked, stepping forward to grab the gun from her. but she simply pushed him aside. "talk to us!"

"jake, chill! what are you doing?" kie scolded as she watched coby walked to the back door. she had hoped that them calling her by jake instead of coby would snap her out like it usually would, but it wasn't working.

"are you going back to your old ways?" pope asked her, holding his arms out so that she wouldn't be able to walk past him. coby simply grabbed him and pushed him into the dining table, a grunt leaving the heyward boy's mouth.

"jake, what the hell are you doing?" she heard kie call after her as she walked through the door, but she ignored. she stopped when john b appeared in front of her, a look on his face that was saying stop. "move." she demanded, her tone calm and low as she glared up at him.

john b had to admit that coby glaring up at him sent chills down his spine. the girl knew how to be intimidating. i mean, it was a defense mechanism. but he had never been on the other side of the glare until that moment. he knew that she was ready to do whatever she needed to do if it meant ward got what he deserved. because when it comes to the people she loved, coby would do anything and everything for them. "no. jake, think this through."

"this is all i've thought about since we left lana's house." coby admitted as she ducked under his arm and towards jj's dirt bike. she swung her leg over it, stuffing the gun in the back of her swim trunks before she pulled her shirt over it. she then turned the dirt bike on, turning the throttle to make the motor run.

"jake, what the hell?" kie shouted as her, jj, and pope all came running out the château.

"you didn't tell them?" coby questioned, looking at john b with raised eyebrows.

"tell us what?" kie asked, looking between the two.

"ward knows about the gold." coby answered as she turned to face the rest of the pogues. "he killed taylor and john b's dad." she finished before she pulled off.

daij speaks!
i hate this chapter too. but i legit don't see the point of rewriting because i know it's only gonna get worse. but we got to see a little bit of taylor and what happened that night. they honestly should've put lana in season two. idk why. i just love her.

i hope u guys enjoyed this chapter 🫶🏼