Perfect Storm | JJ Maybank [3]

eleven

WHY DO PEOPLE do the things they do? Why do they say the things they say or push away the ones they love? It was a complicated conundrum that Jo couldn't even begin to understand. Her, John B, and JJ's defense mechanism was deflecting their problems and picking fights when all they really wanted was to be loved and cherished. It was what landed her here, curled up against her bedroom door, crying into her arms.

Maybe if she just explained things to JJ they wouldn't be fighting. She'd have at least one person to turn to when John B blamed her for the possibility of their father's death.

But she hadn't just explained things, and now two of her most important relationships were twisted and muddled beyond recognition.

A light knock on her door reached her ears. "Jo, I'm sorry," John B sighed. "I - I didn't mean it, okay?"

But she knew that he did. At least some part of him did mean it, or he wouldn't have said it. He wouldn't have even thought it.

Jo leaned her head against the door and wiped her eyes. She bit back her tears and pushed her despair down, mentally collecting herself before she stood up and unlocked her door.

John B's eyes widened and he stepped back, his lips parted and hand raised to knock again.

"If you're gonna find dad, I'm in," Jo stated, keeping her expression scarily blank. "I'm not helping you. I'm doing it for him. Because, contrary to your belief, I actually do still love and care about him. I'm allowed to pull myself out of his incessant treasure hunt because I don't want to get arrested for murder again, and still love him."

John B closed his mouth and cleared his throat. He glanced down the hall at JJ, who was leant against the counter, and the blonde boy awkwardly looked down at his feet to avoid Jo's gaze. When neither boy said anything, she grabbed her backpack off her bed and shoved past her brother.

"I'm riding shotgun."

Jo paid the boys no mind, marching straight outside and sliding into the passenger seat. She pulled out her dab pen and took a long hit while she waited for them to follow suit, letting the weed calm her nerves. If she wasn't high, she'd probably kill one of them.

The drive was ridiculously awkward. No one said anything for the longest time, and Jo was more than content with the silence. She would rather no one talk than have to argue with the boys.

"So, walk me through it one more time," JJ finally spoke up. He leaned forward between the seats holding a map and Jo stiffened, but there wasn't much she could do otherwise.

"Okay, that's where they're taking him," John B said, indicating a location on the map. "That's the site of the idol."

John B finally came clean to JJ about everything that happened with him and their dad, and Jo did her best to quiet her cries so she could hear, too. She'd gathered that they found the missing piece of whatever figurine Big John had and when put in the right place, it would tell them where El Dorado is.