GLITCH.
036 | crazy craine

" OH THANK GOD YOU'RE ALIVE." Renee grumbled as she looped her hands over JohnB's shirt and hugged him with her chin sitting in the crook of his neck, her footsteps rapid the second she noticed his mop of brown hair from outside the restaurant as he hovered around the bar area.

As much as she so desperately wanted to be angry at him for supposedly 'macking' with Sarah Cameron— she was overpowered by relief that he was okay , minus a broken arm and still slightly dazed from his concussion.

" it's nice to see you too Ren." John B seemed amused by her amount of affection that was rare for anyone that wasn't Kiara and now JJ.

" shut up." she scolded him " you scared the shit out of me last night asshole." Temporarily sliding off of him and wacking the palm of her open hand on his shoulder.

" don't!" she began to scold as John B winced dramatically at her actions.

"ever!" she hit him again,

" do!" another whack,

" that!" she continued ,

" again!" she finished slightly breathless as she lowered her hand and let out a heavy breath. Lifting her head to an amused Pope and JJ but her best friend still had a frown on her lips.

" ow, recovering patient here." John B rubbed his shoulder as Renee rolled her eyes.

" oh stop being a big baby, you're fine." her concern for her friend turned back into a slight bitterness for the events that happened last night. Sliding around the counter and towards JJ.

it was obvious she was intruding on something awkward at the pouty silence Kiara seemed to be stropping in as she walked around the restaurant.

" I feel like I arrived at a very awkward time." Renee said, slipping under JJ's arm that now was sat over the ridge of her back and falling off of her right shoulder.

" I was just about to tell everyone." John B started, "I'm now living at Tanny Hill."

Renee's eyes widened as Kiara came back behind the counter one hand balancing a tray whilst she furrowed her eyebrows.

" I'm sorry, you're staying where?" she asked, hoping that she had mistook John B's words. Which unfortunately for Kiara , she hadn't.

" Tanny Hill." John B emphasised,

" so you're living with Sarah Cameron ?" she grumbled, beginning to walk away with the trays with five cups of water intended to sit on the table the remainder of the pogues hovered awkwardly around. " I mean, I'm glad we're now neighbours but-"

John B rubbed his temples, knowing quite obviously that he had pissed off both Renee and Kiara.

"Okay, look the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right?" Renee rolled her eyes at his statement that she could just tell he was using to cover up his true feeling for sarah.

" and it's way better than foster care, which by the way is where I was about to go if Ward didn't-"

" why didn't you call me? I'm from a rich kook family too you know?" Renee mumbled " as much as my mum well..doesn't like you she wouldn't watch you go into the system purely for being a self-destructive orphan!"

John B ignored her comment as Renee took the cup that JJ handed to her. Taking her frustration out on the straw of the cup as she practically glared at John B.

" Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?" Pope asked, earning a small laugh from Renee .

" I don't know Pope." John B sighed, as he stumbled over to the table — gently sitting himself down as he winced.

" what about those golf carts they drive around?" JJ began " You get one of them?"

" If you don't you can always just borrow mine." Renee imputed, earning a chuckle from JJ beside her.

" Does it come with a sweater-vest or do you have to buy one on your own?" the laughter between, Pope, JJ and Renee who were making fun of John B's new 'kookness' faltered as Kiara started speaking.

" look you promised." Kiara told him "you said you weren't with her." the hurt in her usually uptune tone was evident— Renee felt the same way as consequence to John B's choices but she just had a more effective way of hiding it.

John B didn't know what to say, instead shrugged his shoulders.

" Bro, just own it." JJ sighed " she got you."

Renee shuffled in her position, " okay John B I'm just going to lay it out real thick for you."

" If you decide you want to hang out with her that's fine by me." Renee told him firmly.

" but just letting you know right now, that I'm not doing anything and I mean anything with Sarah Cameron." She finished, earning a nod and hum from Kiara who pointed towards the blonde.

" I second that." Renee nodded at Kiara as they both looked back at John B.

" do you see her here?" His question rhetorical and obviously sarcastic.

" No, right. Okay," he said cockily " a little focus would be fantastic."

Using his hand to take away his friends focus on his love life to gesture to the map sat as the main focus of attention in the middle of the table.

" we've got the map, right?"

" well it's all out of whack cause' the guy was ganja'd when he drew it." Kiara scrunched up her face at his statement, flickering her eyes up to the two blondes that were still huddled next to each other.

" it's cause the coast has changed." Kiara said blankly, almost stunned by JJ's words who gave her a look. Renee kept a tight lipped smile at the their sibling like interactions that they occasionally had.

" so we just have to look for landmarks that haven't changed." Pope told them.

Renee scanned her eyes over the map, but it didn't last long until she flickered her gaze up at John B to look at him as he spoke.

" the old forts?" He asked, Renee nodded, using one of her hands to brush her hair behind her ear as she pointed to the small drawing of it on the map.

" battery Jasper." she announced " I went there on a school trip once in like the fifth grade-"

"boring as fuck but I remember it."

" YOU'RE GOING TO FALL OFF THERE."
Renee told JJ who's initial reaction to being at the their new location (battery Jasper) was to instantly run and jump on hundred year old blocks of stone that were degrading from underneath his feet.

He grinned at the girl who was approaching the rest of them from the van — slightly smug as he spoke.

" you're hot when you worry about me." he smirked, Renee rolled her eyes and walked closer.

" I'm your girlfriend, it's what I do." She told him,

" I just don't won't to be nursing you back to safety for the rest of the summer when you fall off there and break something."

" nurse me huh?" JJ asked, ignoring the other words that left her mouth after that " will you wear of those hot nurse halloween costumes?"

Deciding to ignore her boyfriend's crude comments , Renee hovered around the others, peering over Pope's shoulder to take another look at the map.

" we're in battery, right here." he pointed to the map which currently plotted their location.

" so if this is parcel nine, then it's somewhere northeast of here."

Renee lifted her finger pointed in the forward direction, " P, over there?"

" right." Pope confirmed.

"Over there? Guys that's not Tanny Hill that's a subdivision." JJ told them as John B looked over to him to interject.

" TannyHill plantation used to be  the entire island." He corrected JJ " It got sold into smaller pieces over time."

Both Pope and Renee continued scanning over the map, mumbling to each other when renee pointed to a small sketch on the map.

" so I guess we're just looking for a old stone wall?" she said, looking at Pope for reassure that was she was saying was accurate.

Once earning an approval in the form of a nod, the five of them set back to the van. After a small bit of childish bickering between Renee and Pope, Pope was coined the navigator whilst the blonde pouted in the back of the van.

" okay, so the road should split up here." Pope pointed towards the direction they were driving, earning an ' okay' from John B as he continued to drive whilst following Pope's instructions.

" all right, you're gonna take a left." Pope further communicated.

After a sharp turn, the van halted outside the exact stone wall they were searching for.

" that looks like a stone wall to me." JJ told them, Renee grabbed ahold of the hand he was lending her as they both got out of the van.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the infamous Crain house that was Lennon's fuel for creating nightmares for his little sister in their younger years.

" oh no, no, no." Renee subconsciously began stepping back until JJ's arm tugged and he looked back at her and instantly recognised her scared expression.

" are you kidding me?" Kiara spoke in the same amount of shock, yet evidently more annoyance than Renee had.

Approaching where Kiara stood, Renee gripped onto her boyfriends hand as he began to speak.

" worst case scenario." he said, pushing his lips together in a line whilst John B and Pope approached.

" why'd it have to be here." Pope said breathlessly "of all places?"

JJ turned to his friends on his left hand side,
" I heard Mrs Crain buried her husband's head on the property."

Renee felt a swirl of nausea in her stomach, a desperate need for water to hose down the burning and dry feeling in her throat.

" blondie, that's really not helping." she commented, keeping her eyes looking to the floor knowing the nausea would only get worse if she continued to look at the house.

" let's go look." John B said, If it were possible Renee's eyes would have gone wider as she began to shake her head.

" maybe I should be lookout, you know just in case Crain comes out with an axe and you need a fast getaway." Renee blurted out.

Kiara stepped forward pulling at her friends hand, breaking the contact between renee and JJ as Kiara began to drag her towards the grounds of the property.

" always so dramatic." Kiara commented, as the group followed behind her and Renee.

Emerging through the untamed and feral plants, the teenagers began to talk again.

" look, you guys know whose house this is right?" Renee asked, turning her head to look at the boys who all nodded.

" oh yeah, no I do." JJ's voice was uncharacteristically shaken up, him too obviously having a slight fear of being here.

" honestly." John B began " I don't believe the stories of this place."

Instantly being shushed by Pope who lifted his finger to his lips.

" what?" The brunette furrowed his eyebrows at his friend actions.

JJ approached the two girls, leaning into the space between Renee and Kiara,

" which stories did you hear?" he asked,

" the one where she killed her husband with an axe." Kiara said as if JJ was dumb or a person who had never heard of the tales.

" and that she's been holed up ever since." she continued, " and on certain nights, when the moon is full." she turned to look at her friends who were intrigued,

" you can see her in the window." wiggling her fingers infront of JJ and Renee's faces as they both shuddered.

" that's not funny Kie!" Renee swatted her best friends with the palm of her hand.

" No it's not funny cause it's all true." JJ proclaimed " I swear to god guys, this is all real I knew Hollis."

" you knew Hollis Crain?" Pope asked, his tone confused and slight disbelief at JJ's words.

" yeah dude." JJ said casually, soon feeling Pope's hand push against his chest as he continued to ask him questions.

" Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?"

Flickering his eyes to the whole group that looked at him with curiosity as they had never heard this story despite knowing JJ for years.

" she was my babysitter man." he began,

" she told me all about it, told me the truth about her mother."

" and what happened in this house."

Renee looked at the building and felt a harsher sense of eeriness, " which was what exactly?"

"So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father and that she was a murderer and all." He told them, " Hollis didn't believe it."

After leaving a sense of suspension for a few mere moments he began to speak again, "until that night."

John B look at his best friend which a confused expression " what night?"

" it all came back to her." Pope grew more and more scared as the words spilled from JJ's lips.

Turning to look at the house, JJ continued retelling his story " When Hollis was six years old she heard her parents arguing downstairs."

" so she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in a sink, full of blood."

Renee could feel the goosebumps rise on the skin that the cropped vest top she was wearing failed to hide from the others.

" Her mother just says she cut her finger." He continued " the next morning she says her and her father split up."

" I forget how fucking creepy this story is." Renee mumbled to Kiara who noticed her agitated state, grabbing Renee's hand with her own and intertwining their fingers.

" But then Hollis noticed something." He said " her mother going into the parlour constantly, in and out, in and out with plastic bags."

" weeks pass and Hollis decides to use the outhouse." Renee let out a heavy breath and diverted her eyeline to anywhere but the Crain house.

" And as she's using it, she looks down and there in the outhouse."

" Is her fathers head looking straight back at her."

John B rolled his head back, obviously not finding truth in the blondes story.

" God, you are so full of shit." He cursed whilst JJ shook his head adamantly.

" Dude, I swear to God man." It was clear that John B was the only one who found fault in JJ as Pope turned to ask the boy questions.

" did she call the police?" he asked,

" she didn't have time." John B moved inbetween the two of the boys, grunting and mumbling under his breath as he did so.

" Wait! Dude!" JJ called, grabbing John B's shoulder to rail him in to talk to him.

" What?" John B snapped back, taking the girls aback whilst they all hovered around.

" Are you sure you wanna do this?" JJ asked "She's an axe murderer man, you've got a cast on."

" I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer okay?"

Renee's eyes widened along side Pope, the girl scoffed.

" I got nothing to lose right?" he told JJ in a confidence whilst Renee interjected,

" yes well John B I do." She spoke up " I don't want Crain murdering me to haunt you all for the rest of your lives."

Once again having ignored Renee's comment John B looked at the group " you comin' or what?"

Beginning to watch everyone walk away the two blondes looked at each other — neither really wanting to go.

Lending her hand out for JJ to grab, Renee sighed.

" well." Renee huffed " we're just going to look like assholes if we don't go now."

Taking her hand, the couple followed behind their friends as they crept behind until John B ushered them around for a small meeting.

" so here's the plan, we need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."

" Okay, like what kind of water." He asked " like Pond water?"

A small amount of chuckling emerged from the two blondes as they turned to look at Pope, leaving the others in confusion.

"Bong water?" JJ asked on behalf of them both who were still giggling slightly. Kiara and Pope looked at the two of them with an expression of concern and confusion.

" it just said look for the water okay?" John B told the others, ignoring JJ's question.

Kiara frowned as she let out small agitated groan "that's the shittiest secret message ever."

She began to creep past, her seemingly new attitude infuriating John B as he stood up properly.

" you wanna complain a little more,Kie?" he scoffed "Nobody said it was gonna be easy."

Whilst the tension was thickening with the two quarrelling best friends — Pope looked over to Renee and JJ.

" I'll search the northeast quadrant, you guys search the northwest." He told e, glancing to Renee to assure that he was addressing her as well.

" the decapitation quadrant?" He called out, although his comments were ignored by Pope who had already set off to search for a way into the house.

Renee smiled at her boyfriend and taken ahold of his wrist, slowly pulling in the direction Pope had told them to go — noticing his reluctancy fuelled by the fear of the old lady.

" come on blondie, if I have to I'll fight off crazy Crain for you!"

JJ couldn't help but work up a small smile at the sight of Renee imitating a kung fu master as she swatted the air with her flat palms and occasional high kicks from a distance in front of him.

" oh god...I'm so in love with you." he mumbled in the midst of a breath making it almost inaudible , soon catching up to her. Intertwining their fingers as he did so.

AUTHORS NOTE
JJ's a simp for Renee and I'm living for it 🤪✌️

also ...thank you so much for 200k reads on this book, I honestly didn't think this many people would like it when I published it at first but I'm so grateful and love each and everyone of you !!

please don't forget to vote & comment I love hearing your input  on what you want to happen in this book
(Pms are always open if you ever need to chat/rant )

-elle :)