ruthless; jj m.

41

After a couple of minutes, Kie came back with her dad's keys in hand. 

JJ ran to the driver's seat and I sat shotgun. Kie ran to the backseat. The car quickly started and we sped off towards John B's place. 

The drive was short, mostly due to the speed JJ was driving. JJ parked the car and hopped out. "This'll only take a sec. I think it's over in the surf shack. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's in the surf shack. I'll be right back. I got it. Be right out." He rambled before quickly running towards the surf shack and falling to the ground face first. 

Kie and I shared a quiet laugh so that he didn't hear us. "I'm okay!" He shouted at us before entering the surf shack. Out laughter simmered down and I spoke. "So, did you see your parents?" I asked her. 

The smile on her face slowly faded before answering. "Yeah. They looked... happy." She said with a saddened tone. "Happy without me." She mumbled. "Kie, you know they love you and you know they miss you. Don't let your head lie to you." I said as I held her hand for comfort. 

She nodded with a forced smile, and I knew to drop the subject. I wondered what was taking JJ so long, and I guess Kie had the same thought. She honked the horn and called his name. "We were supposed to be on our way there by now," I said. 

"What the fuck is taking him so long?" She asked as she got out of the car and moved over to the driver's seat for a quick exit when he came back. 

After a brief moment, we saw JJ and his father exiting the surf shack and heading towards the car. "What the frick? No. Immediately, no." Kie said as we both got out of the car. "You're fucking kidding me, right?" I asked. 

"What is this?" Kie asked. "J, what the fuck are you doing?" I asked. "Just get in the truck." He demanded all of us as he put the wench in the trunk. "I'm sorry. The Twinkie's drowning right now, JJ." Kie said. 

"What is the plan? What is this?" I asked him. "Just listen to me! Listen to me, okay?" He shouted as he put his hands on my arms to hold me in place. "I need to get into the marina at the Island Club." He said to me.

I shook my head. "No," I said to him. "There's a boat there that he can take. Kie's got the sticker on her truck and you've got the pass on your keychain Scar, I've seen it." He said to me. "JJ, I am not helping him," I said sternly.

"Twenty minutes, that's all I need." He said. "You expect us to help him after all the shit he's done to you? Are you serious?" I asked him. "I'm not asking you to help him. I'm asking you to help me." He said.

I scoffed. "This benefits him. We're helping him, not you!" I raised my voice. "The Twinkie's gonna be a submarine in twenty minutes!" Kie also raised her voice at JJ. "I know, guys!" He said. 

"Leave him, and we can come back!" Kie suggested. "The cops are after him!" JJ shouted as he hit his hands on the hood of the car. Kie and I go silent for a moment. "If I do this now, maybe I will never have to do it again." He said as he got into the passenger's seat and Kie got in the driver's seat, leaving me in the backseat with Luke. 

Kie starts the car and we begin driving toward the Island Club. "Hey, pull up to Home Food here. I'm gonna need provisions." He said and Kie did. JJ got out of the car after Luke told him what to get. 

Luke starts tapping on the seats to the beat of the music coming from the store, clearly trying to get some kind of reaction out of me and Kie. "You're a terrible father, did you know that?" Kie said to him. "Yeah, preach it to me. Set me straight." Luke said very nonchalantly. 

"Do you have any idea how special your son is? Like, even a clue?" I asked him. "He's a thief is what he is," Luke responded. I laughed, "Then what the hell does that make you?" I asked him. "You're just a wasted local salt who never did shit but get messed up and hustle people. Not exactly impressive." Kie said.