Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Ninety-One

While she waited for JJ, she said hello to people who passed by, answering some of their questions about her time being stuck on the island. The Kooks payed her no attention when she'd shoot them dirty looks because they'd just become used to it.

But her attention was quickly drawn away from her when she heard yelling from the boat that she'd stolen from Rafe earlier on. "Damn, Rafe. Come on, Country Club." The voice shouts.

She couldn't really make out who it was, but she heard him say 'Rafe'. Her stomach twisted in a knot as she stood back up onto her feet, inching around the corner and up the dock.

"Bro, how are you gonna have this and not even tell me? You got a whole damn YMCA up on this bitch, dude." She finally can make out who it is. The man who had attacked her and her friends what felt like years ago. It was Barry, the drug dealer JJ robbed.

But when she turned her head for a second, she saw her boyfriend, listening in on the same exact conversation that she was, making her duck and run over to him. She pulled him behind a boat and he looks at her with a confused look.

"Don't let them see you, idiot." She whisper yells at him.

But JJ doesn't respond, instead he peeks his head around the boat and listens again. "Barry! Time to think. Alright, we need to make a move."

"That's all we do, bro. We been makin' moves." Barry replies with a tone of pride in his voice.

Everleigh looks at JJ for answers, "Hey, what's going on?" She asks him.

"I'll be right back." He grunts as he quickly takes his shoes off. But, before she can question him again, he dives into the bay, splashing water up onto the dock.

She grabs the boots and hides herself behind the boat again.

It felt like each second was a minute long as she waited for him, praying that they didn't spot her. She couldn't make out what they were saying no matter how much she'd focus on their voices. But it didn't matter when she was wet by JJ climbing back up onto the dock and flicking his wet hair in her direction.

"Hey, what did they say?" She asks him. But she figured it had to be important when he grabbed his boots with one hand, and her arm with his other. He pulled her back to the street, constantly checking back to make sure no one saw them. "JJ, what's going on?" She asks again, walking at the fast pace he was. He was rushing in the direction of Pope's house.

"Ev, they melted the cross." He deadpans. "They melted it so that they could sell it piece by piece and now we have to be the ones to break the news to Pope." He explains to her.

She wanted to tear her arm from his grip. Turn around and beat the living hell out of Rafe, maybe toss him into the water again. But, they were getting close to Heyward's, and JJ wasn't letting go.

Once the shop gets in view, JJ and Everleigh take off, spotting Pope and Cleo. They run to them and JJ is first to speak up. "Yo! Bombshell." He pants as he catches his breath, his hair nearly dry.

"Wait." Everleigh stops him, noticing the tense vibe in the air. "What's going on? What happened? I'm detecting a real heavy vibe. What's going on?"

"Pope's quitting school." Cleo answers for him. Pope could barely look up at Everleigh who was simply shocked to even hear that sentence.

"Being a coroner's kind of weird anyway, bro." JJ tells him with a poor attempt at lifting the mood.

"Shut up, wrench dick." Pope immediately fires back.

Everleigh audibly gasped and fought of a smile at his quick comeback.

"Right, great." JJ stresses. "So, it's definitely not the time for this. Okay, shit."

"What?" Cleo asks JJ impatiently.

Everleigh nods at Cleo then looks at JJ, "Just tell them, JJ."

"So I was down at Guffy's, alright. I was trying to get my job back. And I see the catty across the way, and on it is Rafe and Barry. I sneak over to hear what they're talking about. Pope, he has the cross. And he melted it down." JJ explains, hesitating to share the final part of his story. "I'm sorry, bro." He apologizes as Pope stands up and paces around. "Alright? I know. I know."

Everleigh looked at JJ, then Cleo, then Pope. He was leaning over the railing and wasn't looking at his friends who were behind him. "Fuck!" He screams at the water as JJ takes a seat on a cooler. "Of course it was Rafe."

"Yeah, I mean, we probably could've guessed that." Everleigh tells him as he paces around the deck they were on.

"The Cross of Santo Domingo, desecrated." Pope was starting to get emotional, but he was only looking at JJ when he spoke. "For money? God."

Pope picked a broom, holding it over his head which made JJ speak up again. "I know, so, I think we need to stay calm to make a plan, but we got to stay..."

He's interrupted by Pope slamming the handle down onto the deck. It broke everywhere, leaving shards on the wood. Everleigh moved out of his way, sitting next to JJ, picking at the skin around her nails.

Everleigh mumbles so Pope can't hear her, "Getting better at that."

"This is messed up, guys." Pope points at the two teens on the cooler as Cleo just watches silently from afar. "Even for them."

"I know." JJ reassures him, trying to keep Pope calm. "We couldn't agree more."

"And they're just gonna keep getting away with it." Pope continues as Cleo just looks at him, waiting for him to stop. "They're gonna keep doing that shit. They're gonna keep winning."

"I mean, Pope, is that news to you?" JJ asks him.

Everleigh puts her hand on JJ's knee, trying to refrain him from asking questions that would rile Pope up.

"No." Pope deadpans as he looks JJ directly in the eye. "But I'm sick of being the good guy."

He walked off the deck. "Pope." Everleigh calls for him, not wanting him to get himself in any trouble after just returning home. "Pope, wait."

"Pope, where are you going?" Cleo calls to him as Pope runs into the garage.

JJ and Everleigh stand up, waiting for Pope to come back out.

But, he never did.

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Okay, okay. Big question here before I keep writing so that I can find a spot. Do we want some smuttttt or do y'all just wanna keep the story clean...