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The drive to Barry's house was suffocatingly quiet. JJ held the wheel so tightly his knuckles whitened and his arms flexed while the rest of the group sent sneaking glances Annabelle's way. But no one said anything, leaving them to choke on the thick silence as they drove through the suspicious neighborhoods.

When JJ finally brought the van to a stop in front of Barry's trailer, it looked every bit the cliché of a crumbling meth den—discarded electronics littered the yard, vines, and overgrowth threatening to reclaim the last remnants of manmade structure. Annabelle bit the inside of her lip. It wasn't her first time being here. She had been going in and out of Barry's home over the years. Sometimes to pick up her own shit and sometimes to pick up the things Rafe commanded. But over the years, it had turned into more of a wreckage than Annabelle remembered it being.

Without a word, JJ threw the door open and stepped out, flicking Barry's stolen ID between his fingers as he rounded the car. "This'll only take a second." He muttered, pacing inside the trailer.

The rest of the friends sat slumped and silent in the van, watching him shove the door open.

Kiara finally tore through the agonizing stillness, clearing her throat before speaking. "Someone should probably-"

"Yeah, I got it." John B groaned and stepped outside to follow his best friend.

Annabelle sat stiff and tense in her seat. Several moments of silence passed. Through the cracked windows, they heard the sudden crash of objects being tossed and the low hum of John B's voice attempting to talk JJ down.

Annabelle didn't move. Her spine was rigid, her hands clenched in her lap. Her heart thudded in her chest as the sounds of the scuffle inside grew louder—muffled arguing, a heavy object knocked over. She stared straight ahead until she felt Kiara's gaze burning into her skin. A few seconds passed of just her staring at her as if chewing on the words that rested on her tongue.

"Rafe Cameron? Really?" She finally bit out.

Annabelle's throat closed. Pope and Sarah turned slowly toward her, expressions unreadable but undeniably cold. Her fingers twisted in the frayed edges of her shirt sleeve as she fought to steady her breath, unsure what to day to defend herself.

"I-" She mumbled before Kiara cut her off again.

"So you just weren't gonna tell us?"

Annabelle looked up at them, letting her gaze flicker between their faces. She breathed in, looking completely defenseless. "There hasn't been time. It all happened so fast.."

"Annabelle, you're living with him. Do you know how messed up that is? After everything he's done to us. To you, even." Kiara shook her head. "I don't even know what to say."

"He's not all bad. He's... different." Annabelle choked out, unable to put it in words in a better way.

Sarah let out a laugh devoid of humor. "Oh, please. I've lived with that thing all my life. He's nothing but a jerk."

"You're defending him," Kiara said, glaring over at Annabelle.

"I'm not defending all he's done but he-"

"Did you tell him about the gold?" The Carrera girl asked.

"No," She answered quickly. "Of course not."

The four friends spun around at the sound of the front door being shoved open. JJ bolted through it with a bag in his hands and a stupid smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes... "All right, so we're looking at five grand each--" The friends inside the van climbed out and walked up to him, Annabelle following silently behind. "for reparations for putting us through that bullshit."

The James girl let her gaze wander over the money stocked inside the bag, doing everything to avoid meeting JJ's gaze.

"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers?" Kiara questioned.

"Thi Barry guy's gonna find out and he's gonna come after us," Sarah spoke up and Annabelle's mind traveled back to the threats that Barry had thrown her way about Rafe.

"Yes, he will." Pope agreed and stepped toward JJ.

"I'm sure Annabelle's boyfriend here can talk some sense into him." JJ retorted and suddenly, every pair of burning eyes were directed her way.

The girl felt her throat and mouth go dry, leaving her to mumble out something briefly before JJ spoke up again.

"Because, Barry wasn't lying, right?" JJ's voice was laced with something that made Annabelle's stomach twist. The girl didn't dare to look up at him and face the angry expression that had inhabited her best friend's face. Her silence said enough, making JJ scoff.

"That's right." He muttered, his fingers wrapping tighter around the straps of the bag. "How long?"

Annabelle swallowed hard. She was buried in lies and adding more to the pile would do her no good. "A few weeks. Since the day at Kiara's parent's restaurant."

Their expressions faltered, twisting into something much more disappointed and shocked maybe even betrayed.

"Wait, the night you showed up high out of your mind, you were with-" John B breathed out.

"You told me you got those damn drugs from this scumbag right here." JJ bit out. "You lied to us. And you lied to us about living at Peterkin's." He shook his head, his face a mask of disappointment. Then, a scoff spilled from his lip and he poked the side of his mouth with his tongue. "So, you're just a fucking liar then?"

Annabelle felt her chest tighten at his words.

"Dude.." John B said under his breath but JJ ignored him.

"Have you told him about the gold?"

"No," Annabelle was quick to answer again. "No, I wouldn't betray you guys like that."

"So screwing the guy that is practically our public enemy isn't betraying us?" He took a sharp step back making the girl flinch just slightly.

Annabelle swallowed hard. Her heart was racing in her chest and every breath she took burned through her whole body. She was trying to keep it together but every burning glare her way made her slip further.

"Are you really that fucking desperate?" JJ huffed and the girl's fingernails dug into her calm, carving them with small C- formed cuts. "I mean Rafe Fucking Cameron....Are you really that desperate or are you just fucking pathetic?"

"JJ-" Kiara huffed.

Tears threatened to crawl their way into her vision and she clenched her fists harder to prevent them from falling. She was suffocating on the million words she wanted to tell them. The million apoogoizes, excuses, defenses and sobs. Her breaths came out ragged and strained as every muscle in her body fought to keep her from shattering in front of them. It was as if the heaviness of the lies and the emotions that she had supressed over the last few weeks had latched itself on her shoulders, trying to crush every bone in her body.

"I-I..." She stammered, trying weakly to get a word past the lump that restricted her breathing.

"You still gonna be with him, is that right?" JJ bit out.

Annabelle swallowed hard.

"Because in that case, it's him or us."

The world tilted ever so slightly. He couldn't be serious. Her heart clenched and her throat closed, restricting her from breathing evenly. She couldn't think or even breathe. The silence stretched long and suddenly it was broken by JJ's scoff.

"Guess that's your answer. Go be with him." JJ shook his head before anger twitched his expression.

"JJ, calm down-" John B attempted.

"Don't tell me what to do, man!"

Pope had stepped closer to Annabelle, placing himself between them. Not in forgiveness, but in quiet protest of JJ's escalating rage."JJ now is not the time to be wildin' out. We need to get out of here,"

"We've got to go get the gold, okay?" John B spoke up again. "We'll discuss this later just give me that shit,"

He reached for the duffle bag that was tightly held by JJ. The moment the blonde released what he was doing he shoved him back, pushing John B against the side of the van making the boy grunt.

"You feel like a tough guy? Huh?" The brunette lowered his voice, his tone still laced with anger. "What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"

"Ask Annabelle. It's her boyfriend's friend." JJ muttered.

"This isn't about her," John B growled. "It's about you pulling your usual bullshit."

"My bullshit?" JJ scoffed and finally stepped away from the boy.

"Yes, your shit," Kiara spoke up. "Your 'pulling guns on people shit."

"You acting like a maniac-" Pope said.

"Okay, I took the fall for you man!" JJ lunched toward the boy, stopping in front of him but his drastic step made Annabelle flinch back. "Know how much money I owe because of you, Pope?!"

"I'm gonna pay you back and I didn't ask you to do that!" Pope barked back, the rare occurrence of him raising his voice, making the group slightly shocked.

"I just did!" JJ spat back, clearly unimpressed by his tone. "Pay it back. Right here, right now, by myself."

A beat of silence passed, everyone staring at JJ as if they barely recognized him. The blonde scoffed at the look on his friend's face before his eyes met Annabelle's. The girl tried to speak up or at least send him a glance laced with unspoken words but she couldn't push away the stabbing guilt that seemed to be freezing her in place.

JJ's expression twisted as he stared at her, burning with something he wouldn't say aloud. Something sharp and raw and bruised. He then flung the duffle bag over his shoulder and let his eyes trail between the pouges's faces. "You know what? That's exactly what I'm gonna do. Go off by myself."

The boy stormed off, Pope instantly marching after him but he didn't make it more than a few steps before John B held him back. "Just let him go."

𝟏𝟓𝟒𝟎 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
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𝐀/𝐍
y'all don't be mad at for the fight with JJ and Annabelle they'll make up trust