Slipping Through My Fingers | John B Little Sister

Chapter 1

"Found her making castles and shit on the floor of the shed," JJ continued, adding a skip to his step every now and again trying to give the kid a scare, "There must be something in that Routledge blood that really whacks out the brain."

John B shook his head in amusement.

"You make it through the night okay kiddo?" He asked his sister, inspecting her features intently as the two got closer and closer.

Lu had always been a smaller sort of kid, all knobbly knees and pointy elbows. Her skin was tanned and scabbed like most kids on the cut. And something about the way her eyes, cheekbones and mouth were placed gave her a very solemn, serious look.

"Yeah," She nodded, tapping JJ on the head as a signal to let her down (he didn't), "It was really loud though."

"You can say that again," John B agreed, recalling the sheer volume of the wind and the rain the night before. How it was so loud that he wasn't even sure if the noise was real, or if it had just been his brain screaming at him, "Did you spend the whole night in the shed?"

"No," She said, fidgeting from her spot upon JJ's shoulders, the two siblings were now only a couple of feet away from each other, "I just had to do something this morning. J, can you let me down?"

"Right cause building a super glued model of the White House out of dry twigs is a really pressing matter the morning after a fucking hurricane" JJ scoffed playfully, ignoring her request and starting to spin back and forth in erratic circles, like a bull trying to toss off its rider.

"JJ!" She squealed out, her spindly arms littered with swollen mosquito bites wrapped around his forehead for security, as she was swerved back and forth.

"Sorry, what was that?" JJ teased, his arms supporting her back from behind as he spun, "I don't speak nerd-"

John B chuckled at the two. He was glad JJ was here, say what you will about him, but the guy knew how to have fun. And try as he might, John B just couldn't give Lu that kind of thrill. He just wasn't that sort of guy, y'know?

He noted his sister's heavy breathing. Lu was asthmatic and they couldn't get her a Ventolin refill without their dad to sign off, so she had to be super careful these days not to over exert herself. She was onto her last inhaler.

Not that it mattered really, dad would be back in no time. There was no need to worry.

"Enough," John B ordered, "Come on, cut it out JJ."

The blonde boy staggered to a stop. His hair was messy, his cheeks flushed, and a grin was etched into his features. Lu looked much the same way. She rested her chin on JJ's head, her shoulders rising and falling unsteadily with each breath she took.

John B raised his eyebrows at her in a 'You good?' sort of way.

Lu nodded as JJ knelt down so that she could hop off him.

"We were just having a little fun." JJ grinned, flashing his dimples and ruffling the girls' already atrocious hair.

"I'll tell you what's fun," John B felt a smile creeping up onto his own face, as his entire being began to itch for the open water, "I'm thinkin' that storm surge pushed all the crabs out of the marsh maze."

JJ looked confused, and dragged Lu closer to his side, his hand on the back of her neck.

"All those drum are gonna chase the crab," John B went on, clearing out the last of the debris.

"What about the DCS? Wasn't that today?" JJ asked, Lu started to shake her head before John B voiced her thoughts.

"Nah, they ain't getting on a ferry," He shrugged off dismissively, "Come on think about it, it's God telling us to fish."