Pinky Promise / JJ Maybank

27

The Pogues had gone to find John b, not wanting him to do anything stupid, but Liv stayed back. She didn't want to go looking for her brother, not after the news she had received.

JJ was hesitant to leave her alone, knowing what she had in her bedroom, but she assured him that she wouldn't go near it, and he trusted her

She didn't know if he should have. She felt a strong force pull her towards the wardrobe, there was a voice in her head that was telling her to do it, telling her it would make her feel better. It was taunting her

But she couldn't, she wouldn't. She promised

She was laying in her bed for a few hours and by now it was dark outside, when she heard the front door open

"Pope, Kie!" she heard her brother shout "Hello?"

She got out of bed and walked into the living room where she saw John b stood with a flash light "John b"

He turned around when he heard his name and saw his sister standing at the end of the hall with one of JJ's hoodies on and tear stains on her cheeks "Liv" he whispered, walking up to her and putting his arms around her neck, pulling her into a hug

She wrapped her arms around his waist as he sobbed into her shoulder "Where did you go, John b"

He doesn't answer, instead he says "She doesn't believe me"

"Who doesn't?"

"Sarah" he let out another sob "She doesn't believe me"

Liv tighten her grip on her brother and let him cry in her arms, letting a few tears on her own fall

After a few minutes John b pulled out of her grip and walked into his rooms, tearing rolling down his cheeks

Liv followed him and found sitting on his bed, holding a picture of their father in his hand. She sat beside him on the bed and put her head on his shoulder "We need to let him go"

John b knew his sister was right. For months he had been holding out hope that their father would return to them and everything would go back to the way that it was. When they were happy. When they could sit at the table and drink a beer and play card games because they had no cable because they simply couldn't pay for it that month

He missed that. He missed his dad. But he knew he had to move on. It's what he would've wanted

John b nodded "I know"

Liv got an idea. She stood up, holding out a hand for her brother "Come on" he grabbed her hand and she pulled him outside "Get as many sticks as you can"

He looked at her confused but still did as she said, picking up as many sticks as he could find. Once he had all the sticks he could he gave them to her and she lead them to the end of the dock, sat down and started making a small boat with the sticks

Liv told him to go inside and get a photo of their father and a blow torch so he did as she said and then walked back outside to where Liv was waiting for him

He sat beside her and put the picture in the small stick boat them set in on fire then put it in the water, and watched it float away

Tears rolled down both their cheeks as Liv put her head on her brothers shoulder and he put his head on hers, as they said on final goodbye to their father

"At least we have each other, right" Liv quietly spoke

She was so grateful for her brother. If she didn't have him she wouldn't have made it this far in life and she means that shit. He brought he back from the darkness. Of course JJ played a bigger part in helping her hen she needed it, but John b was there as well, maybe just as much

"Yeah" John b agreed "We have each other"

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JJ pulled up the the dock after leaving both Pope and Kiera at their houses, what he wasn't expecting to see was his girlfriend and best friend asleep beside each other on the wooden dock

He turned off the engine of the boat and stepped out, walking quietly up to his girlfriend and kneeled down beside her, putting a strand of hair out of her face

"Liv" he whispered gently, rubbing her arm "Come on, baby. You gotta get up" she groaned and shook her head, refusing to open her eyes

JJ sighed, knowing she wasn't going to wake up. He put his arm under her legs and the other around her back, carrying her bridal style. When he got to her room he gently set her down on the bed then put the covers over her, kissing her head, whisper a quiet goodnight

He went to walk away but was stopped by a hand on his wrist "Stay" Liv whispered and the sight on her broke JJ's heart, with tear stains on her cheeks, her eyes puffy and her cheeks pink

He hated it. He would give his arm just so he wouldn't have to see her in such a state. He always hated when Liv was upset, even when they were kids. One time when they about 10 years old, Liv had developed her first crush on son boy that was a couple grades above them, Jacob Patterson. Him and Liv talked all the time, at lunch, after school, on the phone, he had even been over to her house on multiple occasions when she knew neither John b nor JJ was home

But what she didn't know was they he was leading her on the whole time. Liv had been out with Kie at the beach as they developed their surfing skills when she saw him walking down the beach hand in hand with Marley Gilmore. God, how she hated Marley Gilmore. She was always such a bitch to Liv for no reasons whatsoever, she had told Jacob this. So when she seen the two of them walking down the beach, it was as if she had got her heart ripped out of her chest

When she asked him about it a few days later at school, he told her how he had always like Marley more than her, the only reason he had even begun talking to her in the first place was because Marley wanted to fuck with her, and said that if he did it then he could take her out on a date

Liv ran straight out of the school and hid behind a wall as her breathing became uneven and tears cascaded down her cheeks. JJ had seen her run out of the school and immediately followed, knowing that something was wrong. When he found her she was a crying mess, with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried in her arms

Once he had gotten her to calm down and stop crying, Liv told him everything. That was the first time in his life that JJ Maybank ever felt the want to kill someone. After that day he made a promise to himself, he promised that he would protect her no matter what just so he wouldn't have to see her in that state ever again. That was easier said than done, because a couple years later her dad went missing and then everything with Rafe, but JJ still tried to make her smile, even if it was only small

He didn't know how much he helped her in those months following the disappearance of her father

JJ smiled sadly "I'm getting changed, okay?" she nodded and turned so she was laying on her side

JJ got changed quickly then got into bed with her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and put her head on his chest "I am so deeply in love with you Olivia Routledge" he stated as he stared at her sleeping form "And I know you're asleep, so I'll tell you again in the morning" he kissed the crown of her head as he closed his eyes

"I love you, JJ. So much" she whispered, making him smile as sleep took over him