*UNDER EDITING*
"I'm punching him in the face the next time I see him."
"No, you're not."
"What if I just break his nose a little?" "Izzy, you'd end up breaking your hand instead of his face."
"Shut up JJ."
Meet Isabelle Rutledge, John B's not so l...
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"Izzy, please let me," JJ begs as he reaches for my hair again. "No, JJ," I laugh as I slap his hand away from my hair.
"Why not?" He pouts as the van picks up speed. "Because everytime you try to braid my hair, you end up knotting it."
"Or it just looks bad," Kie adds from the passenger seat.
"Why do I have to sit back here and listen to their flirting?" Pope whines from where he sat across from me and JJ.
"We don't flirt," JJ and I say at the same time.
"Guys listen, it's obvious right?" John B says from the drivers seat of the van. "What?" Kie ask from beside him.
"A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to Izzy and I right?" John B says, making JJ sigh.
"Yeah, it's possible," Kie says after hesitating. "It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels," Pope says, glancing at me.
"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it," JJ smirks from beside me.
"JJ, I thought you were gonna quit with that stuff," I say and JJ just shrugs, avoiding my eyes.
"I'm not concocting, okay? Our dad's trying to give us a message," John B says as he glances in the review mirror at me. I nod at him, giving a small smile of reassurance.
"If It helps you believe, John B," Kie says in a soft voice as I become agitated. Our father was alive and they didn't think so.
"Look, he doesn't need a therapy session okay? Our dad's alive and he's missing, not dead," I say as JJ tries to grab my hand comfortingly but I move my hand away. "You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish, and then have no idea what happened. To just wake up every morning wondering."
"It's been almost a year, Izzy," Kie says quietly as she looks back at me. "Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility," JJ says as he nudges my shoulder lightly.
"Yeah, he could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere," Pope offers making me dig my nails into my palm to control myself from snapping at him.
"Absolutely. Or...uh, Atlantis," JJ snickers.
"Kie switch me spots," I say suddenly. "Izzy c'mon, I'm kidding," JJ says as Kie looks at me in surprise, "Right now?" she ask.
