Hell or High Water | JJ Maybank [2]

fifteen

"Basically," Amelia hummed. "Only seems fair after you punched me."

"I'm about to punch you again," Jo growled.

"Careful," Amelia tisked. "You didn't think I came here without backup, did you?"

Renfield emerged from the trees nearby and grabbed Jo's arms, holding them behind her back as she struggled. She felt her heart rate spike as he pressed his head close to her ear. "Easy, now," he chuckled breathily. "Don't wanna do somethin' you'll regret."

"Hey!" Pope bellowed. "Let her go!" He ran down the dock with the rest of the friends in tow. Renfield sighed and pushed her forward. Jo stumbled as she watched Amelia and her father push past the group, Renfield with his hands up to show he wasn't going to try anything else.

"Thanks again, Pope," he called smugly.

"Bitch!" Jo yelled after Amelia as she walked away. She turned towards her friends with a confused look. "What the fuck just happened?"

"He took the key," Pope explained angrily. "Showed up with a whole damn archery squad."

"Hey, are you okay?" JJ asked worriedly. He knew Jo didn't want to talk to him but he still couldn't help but express his concern. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"I'm fine," Jo replied coldly.

"Who was the girl?" John B queried, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. He remembered her flirting with him at the bonfire but was confused how she played into everything that just happened.

"Amelia," Jo huffed. "Renfield's daughter."

"You're kidding, right?" Pope deadpanned. "You were best friends with a Limbrey?"

"I didn't know they were lying thieves at the time!" Jo shouted in frustration. She groaned and ran a hand over her face. "Whatever. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, losers."

Jo rubbed her arms as she trudged back up to the chateau. She sighed heavily as her drunkenness wore off and her adrenaline from the bonfire was replaced with loneliness and anxiety. Just when she felt like she was getting back to her old self, something had to happen to ruin it.

"Hey." Jo turned around to see John B leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her. "You okay?"

The girl sighed and plopped down on her bed. "I wish everyone would stop asking me that."

John B chuckled and pushed off the frame, slowly walking into the room. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked around before taking a silent next to her. "Why didn't you tell me about what happened?" He asked quietly.

Jo knew that question would come eventually. Looking back, she did feel bad about not telling her brother, but she had been terrified and humiliated so she kept it to herself. She knew nothing would have been done about the situation and John B and JJ would've just made matters worse by going after him.

"I didn't tell anyone," she admitted. "Not until before we left on the Phantom."

"But why?" John B pressed. "I could've helped you."

Jo sighed and shook her head. She gave him a sad smile as he stared at her. "No, you couldn't have. Look, I know that you'll always be there for me. I just didn't want to talk about it, so I tried to bury it. When they moved away, I thought that was it. That I could finally get on with my life and never have to see him again."

She chuckled bitterly at the way the universe continually seemed to torture her. She wondered if she would ever be really, truly happy.

"I'm sorry," John B sighed. "And I'm sorry about JJ, too. That wasn't cool."

Jo pressed her lips into a thin line. "Yeah, that definitely won't be listed in my top ten moments," she joked halfheartedly. "What about you and Sarah? What's going on with that?"

John B frowned and ran a hand through his hair. "She thought I was overreacting about her and Topper. And then Ward died, and I wasn't there for her. God, I feel like such an ass."

Jo shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, you had every right to be relieved," she reasoned. "Ward was awful to us."

John B groaned as he fell back on the bed. "How did we get here, Jo?" He sighed. "I thought things were going so well."

Jo chuckled as she fell back beside him and they stared at the ceiling. "I know, right," she murmured. "We'll be okay." She didn't know if she was reassuring John B or herself, but she didn't really care at the moment. "We're gonna be just fine."

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A/N - I'm sorry for the shorter chapters but it just felt like this was a good place to end before I start writing the next episode. Also felt like Jo and John B haven't really interacted in awhile so we have a nice little brother sister moment :')