Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

thirty one

JJ laid himself down next to her, pulling her back against his chest. "We'll figure it out, Red." He brushed his fingers gently through her hair. "I promise you, we will. That's what Pogues do. We figure shit out." They fell into a silence, broken only by Scarlett's sniffs. JJ continued to trail his fingers through her hair, the two of them eventually falling into a grief ridden sleep.

Images of John B and Sarah swirled in Scarlett's mind. Her dreams were a mix of what could've been and what she actually witnessed. John B was gone, she knew that. But she couldn't help but hope that he was still out there somewhere, laying in waiting until his name could be cleared.

❤❤❤

Scarlett awoke the next morning, finding herself still curled up in JJ's arms. His grip was tight, even though he was asleep. It was as if he was scared that by letting Scarlett go, he would lose her too. And it was a feeling that Scarlett understood completely.

She laid there for a while longer, unable to fall back to sleep. She nestled her face into the crook of JJ's neck, taking in the soft smell of weed mixed with whatever the blonde used as a cologne- Scarlett was yet to find out. But it was a pleasant scent. At least, it was to the brunette. She found it comforting and it never failed to make her feel at home.

Eventually, she felt JJ shift as he woke up. They exchanged "good mornings" before laying in a peaceful silence for a while longer. The events of the previous day were still fresh in their minds- not that they would be able to forget it, even if they wanted to.

"How you feeling this morning?" JJ asked, his voice still groggy with sleep.

Scarlett shrugged. "Angry, heartbroken. The usual grief emotions." She answered, turning to lay on her back and staring up at John B's ceiling. "What about you? I mean, I know its a stupid question. John B was your best friend too."

JJ nodded. "Yeah, feeling similar to how you are, Red." He paused, running his fingers through the ends of her brown hair. "How'd you get through this when it was your mom?" He asked. He didn't mean to bring up the subject of Charlotte Woods, knowing it was still a touchy subject for Scarlett. But he knew that Scarlett had dealt with these feelings before through that particular situation and he wondered how she had managed to process it all.

Scarlett sighed. "Well, I had you guys who I could spend time with and distract me from feeling the feelings. And then, I had John B who was going through the same thing. We could talk about our feelings together because we both were going through it together." She paused, taking a breath. "I guess, it's good in a way to know someone else is going through what you are. You know?"

JJ nodded his head slightly. "Yeah. I get what you mean."

"I think," Scarlett continued. "I think we need to stick together. You and I, Kie and Pope. Because that's the only way we're gonna get through this."

Nodding his head again, JJ leaned down and placed a kiss on Scarlett's forehead. "Don't worry, we'll stick together." They fell into another silence for a few minutes until JJ broke it. "Red, can you promise me something?"

Scarlett hummed, shifting so she could look up at his freckled face. "What do you want me to promise?" She asked.

"Promise me that you'll at least see your dad? Apart from each other, family's all we got right now." He told her. "And I know that neither of us have great family lives. But now you've got a chance to change that."

"JJ-" Scarlett started.

"I know you don't want to see them." JJ cut her off. "I get that, I really do. But you deserve an explanation, and they want to give that to you."