No one says anything, complete silence engulfing me as I read my arm into a crack in the wall. My fingers clasp around the white package, pulling it from the dark confinements and inspecting the front of the package. The most obvious sign is something on the front written in black marker; FOR BIRD.

    Bird. Dad's nickname for John B. 

    "JB," I mutter, turning and holding the package out of the crack John B's arm is through. He retreats, grabbing the package and inspecting it the same way I did.

    "That's not gold," Pope sighs.

    "Holy shit, this is from my Dad," John B gapes, his bruised face covered in disbelief. 

    I eye the hole in the wall in front of me, deciding that I could squeeze through with a little trouble. Lifting my leg, I push myself through one limb at a time, grabbing onto Pope's shoulder to steady myself.

    "Code Red, Code Red," JJ repeats himself the second my feet hit the ground. I whip my head in his direction just as he turns quickly, "Square groupers! Square groupers!"

    His words barely have time to register before my body turns and I take off running, the group close on my heel as we sprint to hide.

    "It's the guys that robbed your house!" I hear JJ declare through the gushing wind.

    A small section hidden behind a wall catches my eye. I blindly turn and latch onto Kiara's wrist, yanking her with me until we're both squatting behind the stone, the boys soon joining us. I point to the bright beams coming from each person, my heart pounding, "Lights! Turn them off!"

    The three boys scramble to cover their lights, John B struggling the most as he attempts to use his shirt to cover the bright torch. I yank it off him as everyone whispers at him to turn it off. Turning the light and covering it with my hand, I stuff the bright end into the leaves and dirt around me.

    John B takes the light from me, holding it and allowing me to move to the corner where I can peek at the small car pulling up. JJ's body joins mine, his head above my own as he peers out with me.

    "I see something," I hear the distant voice of a man calling out.

    "Do you think it's them?" Kie whispers from behind me.

    "Homie's got a gun," JJ replies in fear.

    I watch as the men climb out of what looks like a golf cart, their torches moving across the environment in search of us. 

    "Screw this," Kie announces, pushing to her feet and taking off in the direction of the Twinkie. We quickly follow her lead, torches swinging as we run to the fence guarding the graveyard. 

     Kie climbs the fence first, me right after her followed by JJ and John B. Pope climbs over last, his legs not hitting the ground as he hangs in the air, his voice wobbling, "Guys, guys. I'm stuck,"

    "Pope! Come on, man!" JJ exclaims as John B and Kie run to their friend. To my surprise, JJ pulls the gun out of his waistband and closes one eye, attempting to line his sight. "Pope! Don't move okay?"

    "JJ, what the fuck?" I curse, jolting my arms out to snatch the weapon from his irresponsible hands. "Something didn't develop properly in the womb,"

    "You're right," He replies, holding his hands up in surrender.

    "You're gonna rip me, you're gonna rip me," Pope chants as John B and Kie pull him, the material of his pants ripping until he's free from the gate. His feet finally hit the ground, my teeth finding my bottom lip in an attempt to stop myself from laughing at Pope in his white underwear.

    Kie's giggle fills my ears as we all turn, Pope covering his privates with his hands as we run towards the van.

    "It's a little tootsie roll," JJ laughs, sending a big grin towards his friend.

    "Nice tighty whiteys, Heyward," I grin, pushing myself into the passenger seat of the van. Kie slides the back door closed, her laughter contagious as John B pulls away from the graveyard in the nick of time.

    We make it back to John B's house quickly, all of us piling inside in excitement over what we--or I found in the Routledge family monument. I'm the last one inside behind Pope, a small part of my brain still nagging at me that I've forgotten something important.

    That thought is quickly pushed aside when Pope's voice pushes through my thoughts, "That bread had mold on it three days ago,"

    I turn to the direction of Pope's words, JJ crouches over the bench as he spreads what looks like jam over a slice of bread, "I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism,"

    "How have you lived this long?" I screw my face up in disgust, walking away from him and to where John B sits in front of a candle, the package in hand.

    "Pure luck, Baby!" He announces like a rock and roll star about to start their next hit song at a concert. 

    "JJ!" Kie scolds him, gesturing him over to where the rest of us are huddled around my brother.

    "Yep, yep, yep!" He agrees, jogging over to stand in the crown, "Hot damn! Let's do it,"

    John B does as instructed, grabbing the corner of the FedEx package and ripping across the top. A sound to the side of me steals my attention from the reveal. Turning, I watch as JJ gags and spits his mouthful of moldy sandwich into the bin. 

    "You're so gross," I almost whisper, causing him to turn and blow air into my face. I lift my hand, wafting away his moldy breath in disgust. 

    "Oh, shit," John B's voice brings me back to the topic. I turn to the desk, watching as John B spreads a piece of paper out in front of him. On the paper, a blank map that I immediately recognise as the very island we're on now.

    "It's blank," Kie points out. 

    "Wait," I mumble, stepping closer to the map and inspecting the continents. "I know what this is. Dad used to always draw this map for me. I have thousands of copies of it in my room,"

    I inspect it closely, noticing a little symbol at the top with a rough drawing of a bird and a swan. The bird I recognise as John B's nickname but the swan?

    "That's what he used to call you," John B tells me, noticing my intent stare on the figures, "The fancy version of a bird but, to him, a bird nonetheless," 

    A sad smile pushes itself onto my features, a sense of comfort overcoming me at the thought of my Dad still considering me one of them despite how different I was when he was alive. 

    A memory flicks over my head like a lightbulb. A particular map from my Dad with a pop of colour. The drawing stuck out to me for a number of reasons, one of the most significant being that it was the last map I ever received from him. The map was also incomplete as if it's one half of something I need the other half of to understand. The last notable thing? It's the only map I have with any colour.

    A red field.

    "I know what this map means, I have the other half," I announce, my fingers tracing the paper with the ghost of my memories, my Father slowly piecing it all together even in death. 

    "There's something else in here," John B adds, sticking his hand in and pulling a device out of the packet. In his hand, an old-style tape recorder sits.

    "What's that?" JJ asks.

    "It's a tape recorder, dumbass," Kiara states the obvious. 

    John B looks at me, the sadness suffocating in his eyes before he presses the button, our Father's voice filling the air. "Dear Bird. I hate to say 'I told you so' but, I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either,"

    His words somehow knock the air out of the room, all of us shifting our eyes to each person in the room. My Dad's voice stops, something clattering in the background in the small lapse of silence. But, the tape begs for our attention as it continues.

    "You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the decade, just ask your sister. Hopefully, she's with us while we're listening to this in our brand new sugar shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for,"

    The tears in my eyes from hearing his voice spill over, my hand jolting up quickly to swipe the water away before anyone can notice. For some reason, I never stopped to think maybe Dad was missing me as much as I was missing him.

     "Now, kid, I know it doesn't look like much on it's own. Couldn't make it easy for you, could I? Your sister has the other half of the puzzle, I want you kids to do this together if you have to do it at all. I know you can convince her, Bird. But, once you do, there she is! The wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, Kid. I love you kids, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you both on the other side,"

    Static cuts the tape short, my chest yearning for it to go longer, for my father's voice to stretch over the distance between us and leave a bridge for me to cross to him. 

    John B stands, his face like a stone as he turns and almost falls against the doorframe, sobs wrecking his body.

     "Holy shit, he did it!" JJ exclaims in disbelief. 

    "I'm gonna-" I cut myself off, holding my arms close to myself as I turn away from the group. "I'm gonna go find the other half,"

    "Go with her, please," I hear Kie instruct in concern as he wraps her arms around John B's shoulder. I don't take much notice of who she threw the demand towards, my legs moving me out of the house in the blink of an eye.

    "Wow, wow, wow, hey! Hang on, there," I hear JJ's voice as well as the door swinging shut behind me. I don't slow down at his request but he catches up to me rather quickly. 

    "You don't have to escort me, JJ. I'll be right back," I tell him, leaning to pick up my bike from the grass where I left it hours ago. 

    "It's cool. Besides," He jumps around as I stand up straight, digging in his pockets aggressively until he pulls out a set of keys. He holds them up beside his face, smiling from ear to ear, "I got the keys to your luxury escort,"

    He turns before I have a chance to reply, reaching the Twinkie and sliding the back door open. He holds his hand out, waiting until I pass my bicycle to him and then shoving it into the back. 

    He slides the door closed, opening the passenger door and bowing, "Your chariot awaits, Ma'am,"

    "Is this another Kook joke?" I smile, climbing into the van without protest. He winds the window down before shutting the door behind me, holding the doorframe as he grins.

    "How'd you guess?"

    I don't answer his obviously rhetorical question, only laughing as he climbs into the driver's seat and drives away from the Chateau. 

    I lean my arm on the window seal, my chin resting on my arm as the wind twirls my hair around, "I didn't think you'd be caught dead on Figure Eight again,"

    "Are you kidding me? We found the jackpot, I am going full Kook," He replies. I sit up straight, turning to him with a smile as my hair sticks to my lip balm. "I mean it. I'm buying a big mansion, a marble statue of myself right in the middle and a koi pond,"

    "Oh, a koi pond?" I grin at his attempt to cheer me up, knowing there is truth to his statement.

    "Hell yeah, a koi pond!" He confirms, keeping his eyes on the road as he crosses the border from The Cut to Figure Eight. He glances at me quickly before returning to the road, "What? You don't have one? Maybe you're not as rich as you think,"

    "Shit, I guess you're right," I agree sarcastically. We make it to my side of the island, my street coming into view as I instruct JJ to pull up on the street instead of pulling into the driveway where the cameras can see. 

    A sudden sense of boldness and rebellion overcomes me, possibly my surge of grief and adrenaline, but the feeling is there nonetheless. 

    Knowing I'll regret this later, I turn to JJ with a cheeky grin on my face, "Wanna come in? Everyone's asleep we'll just have to sneak around the back past the cameras,"

     "Don't have to ask me twice," He agrees instantly, jumping out of the van and swinging the door shut behind him. 

    "Okay, follow me," I instruct, grabbing his wrist to lead him in the right direction through the bushes surrounding the house. We both stay crouching, running up the small hill towards the house.

    We round the corner of the house, reaching the back end of the home where a wooden structure covered in vines and flowers leads up to the balcony in my room. 

    "Damn, Pheebs. You've already gone full kook," JJ grins, looking around my house to the pool and hot tub as well as the sheer size of it, He points to the built-in hot tub all while beaming, "I am getting one of those-"

    "Shh," I remind him, pressing a finger to my lips. He responds by pretending to zip his mouth shut. I turn back to the wooden structure, getting a sturdy grip before pulling myself up the criss-crossed planks of wood. Turning, I make sure JJ is following me before going further.

     I've climbed up and down this structure so many times that it's almost muscle memory when I reach the edge of my balcony, throwing my leg over the railing before pulling the rest of my body over. 

    JJ climbs up close behind me, almost tripping over himself as he does. He latches onto me to catch his footing, almost pulling me down with him.

    "Klutz," I tease him, pushing him up before turning to the glass doors of my room and pushing them open quietly. 

    We enter the room, leaving the door open on the balcony. I immediately turn to my desk, pulling the drawer open where I keep all my letters. In my peripheral, I see JJ swan dive onto my bed, messing up my sheets and causing some of my pillows to hit the ground. 

    "So soft," He whispers into the fabric.

     "Try not to make a mess, please," I whisper, shuffling through my things for the correct map. Towards the bottom, a flash of red catches my eye, my hand reaching for it and yanking the paper out of the pile. 

    I hold the paper up, JJ rising from my bed and joining my side with a grin on his face. I can almost see the dollar signs in his eyes. 

    Suddenly, I hear a noise in the hallway followed by footsteps towards my bedroom. I freeze, turning JJ around and shoving him into my closet faster than he can even register something happening. I have just enough time to shove the folded paper into the back of my shorts before the door to my room swings open. Linus strolls in, his face turning to anger as he takes in my appearance.

    "Where the hell have you been?" He seethes in anger, "Why are you tracking dirt through my house?"

    "Oh, I was under the impression this was my home too," I snap back, pushing my hair out of my face. He steps closer to me, his face a bright red and his knuckles turning white.

    "You will show me respect, Phoebe. You've misplaced your manners lately," He demands, getting even closer to me, "Ward told me you ditched plans you made for dinner with the Camerons,"

    My heart sinks, realisation hitting me like a tsunami and sweeping my legs out from under me. That's what I've forgotten this whole time.

    "This is the last time you will embarrass me in front of-"

     "Oh please!" I exclaim, growing tired of how he uses me as a pet to further his own image. I see the way his face changes and turns to stone, but I continue anyway, "You parade me around Kildare and offer me on a silver platter to Rafe just to get in their good graces. You embarrass me and yourself constantly. I'm not even your daughter, something you and I both know all too well,"

     "What did I say," He seethes, lunging forward to grab my jaw tightly, his spit almost flying in my face from his rage, "Show me some respect in my home, Phoebe. You are lucky your mother cares about you,"

     "Or what? You're gonna hit me some more?" I bite back, feeling his fingers tighten on my jaw almost immediately, his other hand digging into my bicep as he holds me in place. 

     He opens his mouth to reply, a snarky smirk on his face before something catches his eye. He turns to my bed as I turn to the closet and make eye contact with JJ. I shake my head at him, sensing how angry he is and how much he wants to step in. 

    Linus turns back to me just as I look away from the closet, a look of disgust on his face as he takes in my unmade bed and my glance to the wardrobe. "Do you have a boy in here?"

    "What? No!" I panic, chasing after him as he bee-lines for the wardrobe. Before he can latch his hands around the handle, JJ bursts out of the closet in surprise. Linus stumbles back, allowing JJ to grab onto me and yank me out of the room. 

    "Phoebe!" I hear Linus scream in rage. 

    "Go, go, go," I chant quietly, helping to guide JJ through the house until we reach the front door. I swing it wide open, the handle hitting the other side and not bothering to close it as we barrel down the driveway. I turn to JJ, noticing the big grin on his face as he books it towards the Twinkie. 

    "Don't you come back here!" I hear Linus's distant voice as I fling myself over the gate. I pause on the other side, watching as he stands in the open doorway, his red face contrasting his silk blue Pj's in just the right way.

    A smile overcomes my face, my middle finger lifting in the air for a solid few seconds. If Linus were a cartoon, I'm sure steam would be blasting from his ears like a train whistle. 

     "Nice jammies, you Kook!" JJ shouts back, jumping over the fence in one big jump before ripping his keys out of his pocket and climbing into the van. I follow his lead, jumping into the passenger seconds before JJ rips out of the street like a maniac.

     "I'm so screwed," I breathe with a dumb smile on my face, a sense of freedom mingling with impending doom. I reach into my back pocket, pulling my half of the map out and holding it up, "But so worth it,"

    JJ cheers, leaning out of the car to slam one hand on the outside body of the van, the other hand steering the car all over the road in his adrenaline-filled state. 

     I join him in his celebration, laughter escaping me despite the knot in my stomach. I can't help but pray that JJ doesn't think too much about what he saw and heard in the darkness of my bedroom.