𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝙅𝙊𝙃𝙉 𝘽 ¹.

𝙭𝙭𝙭. 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚

( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔. )
▬▬▬∘◦ ☆ ◦∘▬▬▬

WITH HER FINGERS RUNNING through her damp hair, Jaylene blankly stared at the dark night sky from her balcony. She could hear the police sirens as they sounded throughout the entire land of outer banks, searching for John Booker Routledge as the terrified boy sprinted all over the town, hoping to escape the cops as they chased after him, desperately hoping to captivate the so-called fugitive that was on the run.

It had been an entire day since Jaylene last saw him. She hadn't left her room since her father sent her up there the previous day. She hadn't spoken to anyone. And she refused to eat any food because she felt as if she'd throw it up.

She felt absolutely sick to her stomach knowing that the innocent boy had been falsely accused of committing a crime that he certainly didn't commit. And she hated the fact that there was now a $25,000 reward out there for whoever captures the brunette haired boy and turns him in so that he can be incarcerated.

The only reason she knew that was because Nathaniel had updated her despite the fact that she wouldn't even look her brother in the eye. Not because she was mad at him, but because she still couldn't process everything that had managed to occur within the last forty-eight hours.

"Jay!" The blue-eyed boy harshly shook his sisters shoulder, snapping her out of the trance she'd been placed under. "Just go. I'll cover for you."

"What?" She finally spoke after twenty four hours, whipping her head in the direction of her brother who was stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest with a worried look planted on his face.

"Go, you idiot." He sighed, knowing that they'd both get into huge trouble if their father found out about this. "I don't know what the hell is going on between you and John B, but it's pretty fucking clear that you know something about what actually happened to sheriff Peterkin on that runway, so go."

"I could hug you right now." Jaylene's mood immediately shifted as she rose from her seat, heading into her bedroom to place a pair of shoes onto her feet.

"Well, please don't." His face twisted in disgust as he trailed behind her. "But there's a catch."

"Of course there is." She muttered, keeping her attention focused on her feet as she tied the shoe laces.

"I wanna look for her. I want to find our mom."

Jaylene quickly stopped what she was doing, an unreadable expression plastered on her face as she looked up at her younger brother. "You're kidding."

"No. I'm serious, Jaylene." Nathaniel spoke in a serious tone, taking a seat on Jaylene's bed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "We have the chance to actually get to know her. We can't just throw it away."

"Fine, whatever." Jaylene shrugged her shoulders, standing back up and heading towards her dresser to collect her phone and spare cash. "I'll be back. I promise." She gave him one last thankful look before preparing herself for the long way down from her balcony to the backyard.