Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Ninety

When we were kids, my father was always talking about the epic quests. Lewis and Clark, Cabeza de Vaca, Magellan, Marco Polo. He told us about their triumphs, their discoveries. But there was something about those adventures he didn't tell me. Treasure hunting, exploring... It's not all victory parades and gold loot. On every great quest, even the famous ones. There comes a time where all roads lead to disaster. And every step seems a misstep. And every choice, a trap.
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The drive home was mostly quiet even though they had a long way to go. It took them into the morning to get back to the Outer Banks, and none of them got a wink of shuteye. And when they pulled into the chateau, they saw the Twinkie.

Everleigh rushed everyone out of the front door and she looked around. But when JJ and Pope took off, that's when she saw him. JJ was on her fathers back. He truly was alive and she was in plain disbelief. She slowly approached him after JJ had gotten off and that's when he spun around.

"Ev... Everleigh." He stutters quietly, towering over her daughter who stood and looked at him.

At first, she was angry and wanted to yell at him. She wanted to push him and scream at him for leaving for so long without a single clue as to where he was. Then, the sadness hit her and the tears filled her eyes, never falling. "Dad?" Was all she could mumble.

Big John took her into his arms, holding the back of her head and shutting his eyes. He knew that Everleigh had always felt left out of the family, and that he truly never showed her the love that he showed John B. Everleigh was never really into the treasure stuff, she'd rather watch sharks breaching from water. She didn't care for fishing, she'd rather clean up a beach with Kiara. They never seemed to have anything in common with him, which is why she formed such a close relationship with John B.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbles again as she pulls away. She just nods her head because she honestly didn't forgive him, regardless of whether or not he was her father. She didn't find it okay that he bailed and chose money over his two kids.

Then she looked through Big John's arm and saw John B standing in the doorway with a slight smile. When he notices that he was spotted and that his twin sister was sprinting towards him, he put the beer cans down and opened his arms for her to jump into.

She stood on her tippy toes as she hugged him and again, he held her tighter than he ever had before. She pulled away and put her hands on the sides of his face. "You're okay?" She smiles. "John B you're okay." She exclaims, examining her brother's face which looked tired and still somewhat dirty.

"Yeah, yeah, uh." He starts to talk tugging his sister's hair. "It's been an interesting while, but are you okay? Did you miss me?"

"In your dreams." She jokes, messing up his hair so that it fell into his face. "Beer? For me? Aw, you just know me so well, sweetheart." She teases him, taking a beer and heading to her room to change.

She took a cropped t-shirt from a local surf shop and ripped denim shorts. She brushed her hair and smiled at the promise ring on her finger. She made her way outside, taking a swig of beer and joining the other Pogues.

"Yeah, yeah, so we, uhm, we went to the archives in Charleston, and, uh..." John B hesitates which makes Everleigh look at him suspiciously. She spots her dad watching John B closely and she immediately notices that something was up. "It was... it was a dead end. A dry hole."

Everleigh looked over at JJ who was looking at John B with just as much suspicion. And when he turned to look at Everleigh, they shared the same curious look. Then, Pope talks, bringing everyone's attention to himself. "So that's the gold, the cross, and now El Dorado. We're three for three guys." He throws a can and laughs because he didn't know what else to do. They truly did lose everything. "The streak continues." And Pope leaves, not saying another word.

"See you, John B." Kiara mumbles as well.

JJ stands up next. "I'm going fishing. Thanks for the beer." He turns towards Everleigh and she stands up too, taking his hand. She looks at her father who looks at them in confusion. But Everleigh didn't owe him an explanation. She walked away with him, hand in hand and she felt her dads, John B's, and Sarah's eyes all over them, making them smirk.

"Something's up." Everleigh mumbles.

JJ looks down at her, "Yeah probably. They're acting off, like they know something that we don't." He explains to her. "Not to mention the looks your dad gave us on the way out, nothing like a little bit of support."

She smiles and tucks her hair behind her ear. "He'll get over it. He doesn't get to just come back after pulling a houdini and complain about who I love."

"Aw, you love me?" JJ jokes, pulling her hand to his mouth and planting a kiss on the top of her hand.

She looks up at him and smiles, "You have no idea."

"Yeah, well we gotta figure shit out around here." JJ mentions.

"So what's the plan, slick?" She asks JJ as they get off the property.

"Well, princess. Since every single other thing failed. We gotta get our shit back together. Go back to being regular teenagers with, I don't know, jobs and maybe school." JJ suggests, looking around at their hometown as they walked.

"And this is coming from you?" Everleigh giggles, looking up at him as the breeze brushed across her face. "The infamous JJ Maybank, getting his life together... and with school?" She emphasizes the word 'school' making him smile. The smile that was as bright as the sunshine. "How about surfing when we get home. Hit the break, and pray that there is surf." She suggests.

He smirks before his response, "Do you even remember how to surf? Or more importantly, do you really want to get shown up?"

"In your dreams blondie." She replies as they get to the spot he wanted to work.

He lets go of her hand and they share a quick kiss. He nods to her before headed inside, and she finds a bench to sit on while she waits, taking in the fresh air of the OBX. They place she so comfortably called home.