ix. getaway car

There was this time, she couldn't remember when, but her mom was still living, that her parents had taken her and her brother to a 4dx movie theater. The room was dark. Pitch black except for the illumination of the screen before them. They were watching Jurassic Park, she thought. Her memory was from that time was hazy. But what she did remember was fear. Because for those two hours of the movie, she felt like she was living it. With each tilt of the seat or blast of air in her face. It felt real. Something she couldn't escape. Even though in the deepest pits of her mind, past the fear and anxiety, she knew it was all fake.

This moment felt like that.

It felt like a movie experience. Because something like this couldn't be real. Things like this didn't happen to Nova.

This was a movie. A dark, twisted movie. One that she couldn't escape. She'd been tied down to the chair. Forced to watch through to the end. The heavy, humid air was not real. The blood soaking through the tan police uniform was only corn syrup. And the words of panic were all written in a script.

This. Wasn't. Real.

She watched, unable to move as John B. fell to his knees. His hands were placed firmly over the bleeding wound in her abdomen. Blood coated the calloused hands. Whispers came from his lips, head pointed downward, urging the officer to live. Pleading with her to stay with him.

Sarah stayed, standing beside Nova. Heaving so heavily that it made her gag. Tears streamed down her cheeks, streaking the foundation on her face. Black smeared beneath her eyes. Nova realized, just then, that she hadn't cried yet. No tears stung her eyes.

"You have ─" Sarah stopped shaking for a moment, leaning in to whisper into Nova's ears. Her sobs were cutting through her voice. "You have to run."

She didn't understand. Sarah was telling her to run. Run where? Nova had nowhere to go. Not without John B. and her best friend. She wasn't going to leave them. She wasn't going anywhere.

Nova turned, only slightly, shaking her head. Eyes wide in panic. She wasn't going to ─ she couldn't leave them.

"Someone needs to get help, Nova," she pleaded with her. Still, though, Nova shook her head, but Sarah kept urging her. "I'll be fine, okay. They're not going to hurt me."

She swallowed. Her heart raced. Chest ached. How could she run? How could she leave them? Her head turned, Ward and Rafe were lost in their own argument. John B. still with blood-soaked hands. Sarah was right, they wouldn't hurt her. Despite everything, Ward at least loved his daughter. And if she could do it ─ if not could run... she could get help. People would listen to her. Nova Scott, the island's little rich girl. They'd come running at her plea.

She could do it. She could go.

"Go! Please!" Sarah whispered, pushing her.

Nova tripped over her feet. And then she ran. Feet moving fast beneath her. The wind stung her cheeks. The air refused to be brought back into her lungs. Her chest heaved, aching. Her sides burned. She was still running. Faster than she ever had before. The weeds and thorns cut the skin on her legs. Knees bleeding. The arm, from where Ward grabbed her was red, already bruising.

She'd never run like this before. Not even during her middle school track meets. Not in her tennis lessons. Not ever.

She didn't look. Never glanced over her shoulder. Too afraid that she'd see Rafe coming after her with a gun. She didn't want that to be the last thing she ever saw. So instead, she looked at the sky. The blue, cloudless sky. If there was someone behind her with a gun raised, wanting her dead. The sky would be the last thing she'd look at.

And then she heard him call after her.

Nova didn't ignore it. It was an instinct to turn. To look over her shoulder, needing to find him. He was there. Running after her. Having gotten away from Rafe and Ward. She could still see the airport. She could see them seize Sarah, dragging her away. Nova stopped. But John B. yelled at her again. He wasn't telling her to stop. Not even at the beginning. He was telling her to keep moving. To run faster. He was waving, telling her to keep going.

She didn't. She couldn't. So, when John B. was close enough, he reached out, taking her wrist, and pulling her along with him. Forcing her to keep going.

Together, they ran to the ends of the field. They crossed over a dirt road. The dirt kicked up by their shoes stung her eyes. They stopped, finally at the entrance to the woods. Nova was breathing heavily. Bent over, hands on her knees, gasping. Her body ached for air. Her eyes stung with dirt and unshed tears. And her body shook from fear and adrenaline, both.

She stood, still gasping for air. Now panting, on the verge of crying. She needed to feel it. She knew that. She needed to allow herself to feel pain, anger, hurt, and fear.

"FUCK!"

Her voice cracked. Echoing off the tall trees. The winds carried to the shore. And she cried. She stomped, kicked, and cried. She screamed and yelled out her frustrations. She felt it all. Everything. Every piece of hurt and anger she'd felt this summer. All the tears that should've been shed in her pillow. All the anger that should've been taken out. She felt it all now. And it overwhelmed her.

She hung her head. The sobs become quiet. Reserved for only herself. Finally, she sucked in a deep and unsteady breath, and she looked up. Her face was red from crying.

"I'm sorry," her voice was low, quiet. "I'm sorry. I'm okay ─ I'm good now..." she repeated, though she convinced no one, not even herself. "We should ─ we should keep going."

John B. stepped to her. His hands cupping his face. Leaving the imprint of blood, staining her cheeks. She could smell it, the iron. She already felt it drying to her skin.

"Go home," he told her.

Her eyebrows furrowed, "What?" Nova met his gaze. "No!"

"If you stay with me, they're going to find you. They'll think you're guilty too."

"If you think I'm leaving you, you're crazy!"

John B. pulled her face to his. Their lips touched. Slowly at first. Then she leaned into him, pressing herself to him. She melted into him. Suddenly, the screaming in her head stopped. The world went still. And it was okay. She was with him. She was with John B, he held her, and nothing else mattered.

Until he pulled away...

"I love you, Nova," he whispered, his forehead resting on hers. "I love you so fucking much..." he repeated, but she didn't care. She loved hearing it. "And I promise ─ I promise that I'll find my back to you."

He took another step back, taking her in. Her eyes glass and bottom lip trembled. She reached for his hand again. More blood on her skin.

"I love you."

She had to say it. Nova couldn't keep it in. Though she wanted to protect her heart, she knew, there was a chance ─ there was a chance that John B. wouldn't find her again. And if he didn't, she wanted him to know. He needed to know how she felt about him.

Nova needed John B. to know that she's been in love with him from the moment they first talked this summer.

It wasn't perfect. Far from it. They were on the run, the fear of being framed for murder looming over them. The setting was terrible. But neither cared.

John B's tense shoulders fell. His mouth lay agape. Eyes soft as he looked into the green ones across from him. He wanted to say something ─ anything, but words failed him.

But Nova knew. She knew what he felt for her. He didn't have to say it. And so, she closed the distance between them, kissing him one last time.

"You have to go, Nova," he whispered.

"I know."

No-one stopped her. A bloodied girl running down a crowded sidewalk, and no one even asked if she was alright. She pushed past the crowd. Feet aching more with each hit her heel took against the concrete. There were looks and glares pointed at her as she would push past or be heard sobbing. But Nova Scott was not once stopped.

She fell into her front door. The cool blast of the house sent Nova to her knees. She gasped and panted. Her entire body ached. She sat, back to the wall, waiting for the burning in her sides to ease. When it did, just in the slightest, she limped to her stairwell where she again, nearly collapsed. She would've too if it weren't for the railing.

Her head rests against the cool wood. Nova couldn't see. Her vision blurred, spotting black. She raised her head, looking up, wondering how she was going to pull herself up the winding staircase.

"Nova?" her brother's voice echoed throughout the empty house.

She closed her eyes, cursing. He wasn't supposed to have been home. She looked back up the steps, knowing that there was no way she had the energy to escape him. And just as she accepted her fate, Nolan appeared from around the corner.

His eyes widened at the sight of his little sister.

Nova smiled the best she could, waving, "Hey..."

She stood the best she could. Leaning most of her weight on the railing behind her. Her knees wobbled, and still, everything was blurry. But she could see Nolan. She could see his widened eyes and she watched his mouth fall open. She was covered in dirt and blood. Dried blood on her cheeks, clothes, and hands. Tears stained her cheeks.

"Nova, what the fuck?" he stepped for her, taking her chin into his hands and moving her face around, looking at the smeared blood. She bit into her lip as he continued to inspect her. "Seriously, what the hell is this? Is that your blood?"

She just shook her head.

"No?" his eyebrows raised. "Then whose blood in all of you? Jesus Nova!"

"The uhm ─ the Sheriff's..." she whispered, slowly dropping to the steps to sit, her head raised, to meet her brother's gaze. "Sheriff Peterkin, I think."

"What the hell happened?"

Nova shrugged, "She was just ─ she was shot. Right in front of me," tears streamed down her cheeks and her voice cracked. She could erase the image of the gasping woman from her memory, or Rafe walking up behind her, the sun glistening off the silver gun in his hand. "There was so much blood. It wouldn't stop pouring out of her."

"She was ─ She was shot?" Nolan yelled. "Holy shit! Is John B. behind any of this? Did he do this?"

Nova didn't say anything this time. The image of the blood flooding around Sheriff Peterkin stained her memory.

"C'mon, Nova, you have to say something," her brother pleaded. He needed to know. She knew that he needed to know. "What are you into?"

"I just ─ I just wanted to go on a treasure hunt."

Nolan looked; his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

And Nova spilled. Everything that'd been bubbling inside her spilled over the edges. All her secrets were told. She told Nolan everything. From meeting John B. to just a few hours ago. And everything in-between.

He knew about scuba gear being taken. Nova told him about the house full of gold and the crazy old lady chasing them with a shotgun. She recounted the events of them being pulled over and tricked by a drug dealer that later JJ would go to steal from. Everything from the moment she ran into John B. at the party in Boneyard to today.

They spent hours sitting on the stairwell. Talking and listening. Nova cried. She got angry. And Nolan listened. He heard every word. He nodded, understanding some. He was confused at other parts. But he never stopped her. Nolan never interrupted.

"Really? A fucking treasure hunt?"

It was the first thing he said when Nova finished her stories. She nodded, finding it hard to not smile as her brother looked at her, completely confused.

"Yeah," she told him, almost laughing. "A fucking treasure hunt."

"And you just ─ you just jumped right in with them?" asked Nolan.

Again, Nova nodded, "I did."

He shook his head, sighing. Nolan didn't know what to think. None of this sounded real. But it did explain Nova's behavior lately. And her prolonged absences made more sense now. He just had a hard time imagining his little sister burying herself in these messes.

Nolan looked at her, "So what now?" he asked. "What do you do now? Go to the cops?"

She was quick to shake her head, "No," she stood up. "No, I have to find John B."

Nolan reached up, catching his sister's bloody wrist before she had the chance to run off. She turned to him, eyes wide, "You need a second, Nova," he told her, voice stern. "You need to catch your breath. You need a shower. You just need to stop... for a second."

Nova nodded. She knew that he was right. Blood still stained her skin. She'd barely slept. Nolan was right, she needed to just breathe.

"You good?" Nolan asked.

He stood up, meeting Nova. She shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"He's everywhere!"

While Nova slept through the morning and some afternoon, Nolan stepped out of the house, taking a stroll through town. Just so he could find out what everyone was saying. Surely the news of the dead sheriff had broken. And of course, they'd have to have found someone to blame.

He walked through the foyer and into the kitchen. A stack of paper slammed onto the island in front of Nova. She set her tea aside, picking one from the stack. They're wanted posters. And the face printed in the center belonged to the boy she loved.

Her swollen eyes studied the picture. It looked like it'd been printed from a yearbook. The school had to have provided it. It was a nice photo. He was smiling. Nova wished they wouldn't have tainted that moment by using it now.

In big, bold lettering, John B's name was printed at the top. The paper described him as dangerous and armed. Bystanders should not approach, instead, call authorities.

Nova's name was nowhere. She searched, expecting to see it printed somewhere, maybe in the small subtext. But nothing about her was there. John B. was right. They didn't suspect her. Not even used as a witness. It was as if she was never there. Which she should feel great about. The weight on her shoulder should've lifted. But it did not.

"At least he hasn't been caught," said Nova.

If posters were hung everywhere across the island, it meant that John B. was still expected to be in hiding. They hadn't found him yet.

Just then, Nolan's phone rang from his pocket. It was short... a text. He pulled it out, reading. Nova watched, curious as Nolan's eyebrows furrowed in distaste.

"Yeah, well, don't start counting your blessings just yet," he sighed, locking his phone.

Nova stood, heart racing, "What is it?"

She knew something was wrong by the tone of her brother's voice.

"Zander just texted," he told her. "Apparently, Kelce has John B. locked in his laundry room. Police have been called. It's a whole mess over there."

Zander. Nova knew him. He'd been friends with Nolan since they were little. Nova used to have a crush on him. He was tall, with dark hair, and a nice smile. But he'd never make a move, not while being Nolan's best friend.

He also happened to live in the house beside Kelce. They used to be close too. Until Kelce became who he is today.

"How?" asked Nova. "How does that even happen?"

Nolan shrugged. They were already on their way out the front door. Nova climbed into the black jeep that belonged to her brother and braced herself as he sped down the roads, taking turns at dangerous speeds.

Kelce didn't live far. A few roads down. Past the secluded area where their house had been built. It was a nice street. The home of doctors, lawyers, and engineers. Gemma, her dad's girlfriend, grew up on this street.

Pulling into Zander's driveway, Nova cursed. Kelce's house was the center of the entire town's attention. People stood at the end of their driveway. They crossed over to the sidewalk across the street. Porch lights were turned on and shining bright. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of the dangerous, wanted criminal.

Topper was acting guard. Arms crossed and feet planted in front of Topper's door. He was waiting for the police, ready to show them through the house. Ready to give John B. to them. And the smirk plastered on his face was proof enough that he was enjoying this.

Nova jumped out of the jeep, running for the door, "Topper!" she yelled at him. "Get out of my way."

"Not happening," he smiled at Nova.

"Come on, Topper open the fucking door!" Nova trailed behind his little sister.

But Topper shook his head, "Neither of you looks like the cops to me."

"Topper!" Nova was pleading.

"You shouldn't even be here, Nova," Topper told her, talking to her like he owned her again. Like she belonged to him. She hated it. Topper looked past her to Nolan. "Take her home, it's the best thing for her. She doesn't need to be involved."

"I was there, Topper," she told him. "I saw everything. John B. is innocent, okay?"

She was begging, pleading with Topper to believe her.

But he just shook his head.

And then he slammed against the brick lining of the house. Toes scraping the grass. Nolan held him by the collar of his Ralph Lauren shirt. Nova jumped, having not expected Nolan to react in that manner. He looked back and nodded at his little sister. Nova understood and ran into the house.

The living room was empty. Though the television left on filled the empty area. She moved through the house, knowing it well. Having been there enough over the past year and a half to know the layout. She stopped at the top of the hallway, watching as Kelce leaned against the wall, talking to a door at the end of the hall. The laundry room. John B. was here.

"Holy shit... John B?" she called him.

Her voice broke. She didn't mean for it to. Kelce turned, seeing Nova.

"Nova? Oh, thank God, I'm here. I'm in here," she heard him hitting the wooden door, his voice muffled from the barrier between them.

A wave of relief washed over her, and she moved toward the door.

But Kelce crushed it. Stepping in the middle of the hall, blocking Nova from reaching the door that John B. was trapped behind. His body was large, like a wall. He towered over Nova. His shoulders squared and pushed back. His feet spread to keep himself grounded. She couldn't get past him.

"What're you doing here, Nova?" he asked.

But he knew why she was there. And he hated it.

"Kelce, please..." Nova whispered, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "You have to let him out."

"I'm not doing that."

"He's innocent, Kelce," said Nova, hoping that he might be as understanding as her brother was when she told him. "I swear to you... John B's innocent."

Kelce rolled his eyes.

"He's being set up!" Nova kept going.

"Nova, you do understand why I can't trust you, right?" Kelce snapped, and it took Nova back a second. She hadn't been expecting that from him. "You're obviously biased!"

She could understand the hesitation Kelce had in believing her. To him, and everyone else, she was only taking John B's word. They didn't know she'd been there. They didn't know she witnessed everything. She stood, watching Sheriff Peterkin die. She watched John B. sit beside her, trying to keep her alive. But Kelce, or no one else, knew that.

And because of this, she had to play into Kelce's idea of her bias.

"You're right," she admitted. "I do have a bias. I'm in love with him, Kelce," at least she was being honest. And telling Kelce he was right, Nova hoped it would soften him up a little. "But I swear, he is not the person you think he is. He didn't hurt anyone."

Kelce laughed. A deep and dark laugh. It did not meet his eyes. His arms crossed over his chest, and he took a long sigh, before once again meeting Nova's gaze. She bit her lip, unsure of what he was going to say to her. She'd never seen him like this before.

"You fucked him, didn't you?"

Nova's eyes widened. Kelce spoke to her with hatred and venom. He was hurt by her admission. Though Nova hadn't even realized she said it, but she knew it was a mistake, telling Kelce she loved John B, because he loved her. Or so he thought he did. He'd spent the summer trying to get Nova to believe that. And now he knew that while he was trying to win her back, she'd spent her time blowing him off to go and fall in love with a pogue.

"W ─ what?" she asked.

"You are fighting so hard to prove his innocence, and now I know why," he still laughed, but the venomous look remained. "It's because you fucked him," Kelce merely shrugged, but she could see his hurt. "A you don't want to have fucked a murderer."

"Kelce, no ─"

"We haven't, actually," a muffled voice cut Nova off. They both turned to the laundry room door. It was John B. who'd cut in. "We haven't... slept together."

Nova at least appreciated John B's word choice.

"Really?" Kelce's eyes widened, he seemed shocked. "I mean, excuse my surprise but when I told Nova that I loved her for the first time she wasted no time in ─"

"I wanted to take things slow," John B. interjected quickly, not wanting to hear the tales of his girlfriend's past with Kelce. "I fell in love with her," Nova couldn't see him, but she knew he'd shrugged behind the door. "I didn't want to be just another person who hurt her, okay? Not Nova. She's ─ she's too good for that, man."

Nova melted. More perfect words. And more than anything she wanted to kiss him. But she couldn't. Because of the door keeping them apart. She had to get to him.

"Kelce..." she whispered. "Please."

He didn't move. And the sound of wailing sirens grew closer to his house. They didn't have much time. She had to figure something out. A way to get John B. out of the laundry room and out of the house undetected.

And then she remembered. One late night when Kelce had snuck her into the house. His mom had to work late, and Nova was going to spend the night. Until headlights shined through his window. This was before his mom knew about Nova, and so they had to get her out of the house, and fast. They didn't have any time to move her out of the window. And so, he shut her in the laundry room, and showed her a way out.

"John B! Behind the shelf pushed against the back wall, move it," she yelled over Kelce's shoulder in a hurry. "There's a vent... get of here!"

Kelce's eyes widened in realization. He too just remembered Nova having to wiggle her way out of the house using the vent in the laundry room. He turned moving for the door, but Nova caught his wrist, holding him back the best she could. She pleaded with him to stop, and to just let John B. go. But he didn't listen, and eventually, he began pulling Nova along the floor as he walked toward the door.

He shrugged Nova off him and began kicking at the now blocked laundry room door. Nova watched, eyes wide in horror, hoping he didn't get it open.

"Nova!" Nolan appeared from around the corner, running to retrieve her arm, pulling her insisting she follow. "We have to get out of here, now!"

She nodded, following Nolan out of the house while Kelce kept kicking the door. She could see the sirens lighting up the dark street from down the road. Nolan knew Nova couldn't be here when they arrived. Kelce and Topper would be happy to tell them of her interference and connection to the case.

Nova climbed back into the keep, fastening her seatbelt just as Nolan whipped out of his friend's driveway and sped down the road, earning a few choice words from the neighbors he nearly ran over.

"Please tell me John B. wasn't behind that door," said Nolan, looking over at his little sister.

She shook her head, knowing he was fast enough to get through the vent.

"He's out... and I think I knew where he's going."

Dirt blew from the heavy winds brought on by the night. It swirled around the old building. The sky had been wrapped in its night blanket, darkening the sky, sending stars across the sea. The church sat, under the twinkling lights. Still and quiet. Lonely.

Nova sat with Nolan inside the jeep. Watching, waiting for any sign of movement. John B. had to be here. Nova knew this was the place he'd want to run to. It was his place. But nothing happened. No light, no noise, it seemed empty.

"It doesn't look like he's here, sis," Nolan studied the untouched terrain.

Nova shook her head, "He has to be..."

She opened the door, stepping out of the vehicle, Nolan moved to follow, but she put her hand out, stopping him.

"It's fine, I'll be right back," she told him.

He nodded, though he hated it, and he let Nova go off on her own. His eyes remained on his little sister though, until she disappeared behind the church door. Now he was left, alone, waiting for his phone to send him updates on the whereabouts of the police.

The old floors creaked beneath her feet. It was cool. The winds chilled her, coming in through the open windows. Glass crunched beneath her feet. The only light she had was from the screen on her phone. She walked to the front, standing before the ladder that led to the attic. Shoving her phone in her back pocket, Nova began to climb. The latch had been shut, so holding herself steady with one hand, she reached up, pushing open the piece of ceiling.

Above her, John B. was waiting, a golden candlestick reared back, ready to be swung at her head.

Nova ducked, "Jesus, John B. it's me, it's me, alright?" she told him, raising her head through the ceiling floor. "Would you put that thing down?"

John B. sighed, dropping the candlestick to the floor. It thudded along with his moving feet as he stepped over to help pull her the rest of the way up. Once she was standing on her own two feet again, he pulled her into a hug. His entire body was shaking.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair, and Nova knew he wasn't apologizing for the candlestick. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you get involved with all of this. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, don't do that," Nova pulled away from him, her eyes wide as she brought her hands up to cup his face, thumbs softly grazing his cheeks. "I made my own choices. And I chose to follow you, okay?" He nodded. "I chose you, John B."

John B's head fell, his forehead meeting her own. It was not cool like usual. Instead, his sweat stuck to her, and his skin was hot against her own. She could feel the beating of his heart, and her hands fell to his shirt, resting against his chest, hoping to calm him. She felt his knees bend, dropping him to her height. And gently, he brought his lips to her.

She let him kiss her. Parting her own lips to kiss back. His hands trailed up her bare arms and stopped to rest at her neck. His thumbs caressed her jawline ever-so-gently. He was soft with her. Careful. As if she'd break under his touch.

"I love you," his hot breath tingled against her lips.

She nodded, his shirt clenched in her fists, she didn't want to let him go, "I love you..."

The sound of the creaking floor drew them apart. Their gazes fell to the unlocked latch beside them. Someone found them. Nova stood tall, moving to stand in front of John B, hoping he could remain unseen in the shadows, but he refused to let Nova stand alone. His hand wrapped around her wrist, readying to pull her back if needed.

The latch door opened, and then Nolan's head appeared from the floor, Nova sighed, her shoulders dropping.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, looking between his sister and John B, "But we have to get the hell out of here... like now!"

Then Nova smelt it and she knew Nolan was right. Burning wood. And right then black smoke began to rise at their feet. The church was burning right under them. Quickly they made their way down the ladder and back through the church, where the smoke was heavy and thickening with every second. Nolan led them toward the back, motioning them to an opened window that he must've used to get in. Because the growing crowd outside would've kept him from walking in the front doors.

When they were in Nolan's jeep that luckily blended in with the night, she saw all of it. The side of the church was up in flames. Orange, red, and yellow shone over the night. Black smoke rose above the crowd. Her stomach turned; Nova felt sick. Whoever did this was willing to burn John B. inside there.

"Rafe Cameron's a dead man," Nolan seethed.

Of course, it was him. He must've seen John B. or Nova run inside. And he was planning to kill them too.

"Where are we supposed to go now?" Nova turned to her brother.

"Gemma's house," said Nolan surely. But Nova furrowed her eyebrows. Would Gemma really be alright with harboring a suspected murderer? "Don't worry," he added quickly, noticing the concerned look on Nova's face. "It's being renovated and she's been staying with her mom."

Nova nodded, now she remembered.

"And the others ─ the rest of the treasure hunt crew..." said Nolan, looking back at John B. then back to Nova. "They'll need Nova's help," he tossed her his phone, he'd been messaging Sarah, keeping her updated and the others. Nova didn't even know. "But John B. has to stay hidden. No one can see him."

Both John B. and Nova nodded, not having it in them to question the authoritative tone that Nolan put on. It surprised Nova most of all that it was her brother, Nolan, coming up with these plans. He'd only known about everything for a day, and here he was now, buried in the same trouble as his little sister.

Now being the driver of the getaway car.

☼

an://

truly, Nolan is the MVP of this chapter. I mean, try to prove me wrong.

I like involving Nolan. Do we think he deserves more scenes? Or do we just like him randomly popping up to save the day, and his little sister.

One more chapter to go until we wrap up part 1. Let me know your theories!

edited: 1/14/22