𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐲𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 ~ 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠

He turned and walked away, his fists clenched and his expression numb.

"Pope!" Cleo called. "Pope, where are you going?"

He didn't reply, and soon enough, he was gone.

"Where...where's he going?" JJ stammered.

"He's going to find my brother and I'm sure as hell not gonna stop him," I said.

"Aspyn, he'll fuck Rafe up,"

"Good. Maybe that's what Rafe needs," I shrugged. He and Cleo just stared at me for a moment. "Well, am I wrong?"

"Guess not," Cleo replied.

"No. Not at all," JJ said.

-

A little while later, Mrs. Heyward began cooking on the grill while JJ, Cleo, and I lent some help.

"Well, I appreciate the help, kids," She said, as Cleo and I brought out a few plates.

"You know I ain't missing Mrs. Heyward's cooking," JJ replied as he finished wiping down the table.

"Unlike my derelict son," She said. "He's usually here by now,"

"I'm sure he'll be back any second," Cleo reassured her.

"Hey, did any of you kids move the pistol from in there?" Heyward questioned, coming out of the store. "The one I keep under the register?"

My stomach dropped. I thought Pope was just gonna beat the shit out of Rafe, which frankly he deserved. But clearly, he had other ideas on how to handle my brother.

"JJ?" Heyward accused.

JJ held up his hands in defense. "Woah, I didn't touch it, okay?"

"Yeah, well, somebody did, 'cause it's gone!"

"Wasn't me," JJ promised.

Heyward ran his hands over his face. "Dang it! I gotta find it!"

His wife followed him as he stormed back inside. "Alright, I'm sure it's somewhere, Heyward," She told him.

Cleo turned to JJ and I once they were out of earshot. "It's him,"

"Yeah, he's going after Rafe," JJ sighed. "I'll check Barry's"

"I'll take Tannyhill," Cleo said.

I ran my hands through my hair. "I'll check the marina,"

-

It was dark by the time I got there. At first, I didn't see Pope, but then I spotted him. He was sitting alone on the dock clutching the pistol. His back was to me. He slowly raised the gun and cocked it, aiming at my brother who was on his boat.

"You sure you wanna do that?" I questioned. "It's gonna feel good, but only for a second,"

"I don't care," His voice was flat.

"You care about your mom and your dad," I pointed out. "What would they think?"

He choked back a sob. "I think they would understand how I feel. For once, he would lose like we always do. It doesn't matter anyway. I've lost everything,"

I took a seat beside him. He kept the gun trained on Rafe, who couldn't have been more oblivious to what was going on.

"You have a family and a home. That's more than I've got," I told him. "And you have friends who would take a bullet for you. I'd give anything to have the things you have. You've got a lot to lose before you have nothing,"

I wrapped one arm around his shoulders and gently lowered the gun with the other. "Just let it go,"

He let out a deep breath and broke down into sobs, dropping the gun to the ground. With both arms now free, I wrapped him in an embrace. He held onto me tight.

"Just breathe," I told him as he cried into my shoulder. "I'm here. I've got you,"

We sat there for a while. I'm not sure how long. He held onto me tight, soaking in the comfort I was providing. Being in his arms made me realize how much I missed it.

I walked him home a little while later. It was silent the whole way there. "You're gonna be okay," I told him once we reached the Heywards, finally speaking.

He nodded. "Thank you,"

"Goodnight," I said, turning to walk away.

"Night," He replied, smiling softly.

As I walked away, I realized that I still didn't have anywhere to go. Taking my chances, I went back to JJ's, hoping he would be there. Thankfully, he was asleep on a makeshift bed on the porch.

"Hey, J," I whispered, lightly shaking him. "JJ,"

His eyes fluttered open. "A?"

"Yeah, hey..." I said. "Um, do you mind if I crash here tonight? I don't have anywhere to go,"

He pushed himself up. "Nah, it's cool. You can take my sorry ass excuse for a bed, I'll sleep on the floor,"

I looked at him wide-eyed. "You sure?"

"Positive," He assured.

"So, uh, about the other day..." He trailed off. "We never really got the chance to talk about it, but uh- it was nothing. Let's just forget about it, alright?"

"J, I saw something in your eyes," I countered, thinking back to they way he had looked at me. "It sure as hell wasn't nothing,"

"Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. I don't fucking know anymore," He sighed. "Ever since the island, things have just been-"

"Different?" I questioned.

"Different, complicated, depressing," He said. "Everything except normal.

"I couldn't agree more," I sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry about what happened on the ferry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just, like you said, things are so complicated and-"

"Hey, it's okay," He assured. "I get it,"

"I would understand if you didn't,"

"Well, I do. So don't worry about it, alright?"

"Yeah, alright," I nodded. "Goodnight,"

He grabbed one of the blankets off the makeshift bed and laid on the floor. "Night, Cameron,"

As I laid down and closed my eyes, I couldn't help but think about everything that had happened in the span of a few days. The moment we had left the island things changed, and once we got back to OBX the normalcy we thought would return only ended up farther away from us. Everything was fucked up.

Part of me felt like it was my fault. Maybe it was.

Maybe Big John had something to do with it. There was something off about him.

Maybe we were just falling apart. No, we couldn't be. We're Pogues.

As my thoughts consumed me, I drifted to sleep, trying to make sense of everything.