Sunflower || JJ Maybank/Cassandra Routledge

13. Unspoken Words Reveal The Truth

The Forbidden Zone 3.02

Normally, she wouldn't make a move, or do anything to purposely get JJ's attention, but right now, she can't help it. For the first time ever, she wants to be the one to instigate something.

          As afternoon sun begins to creep in through the windows, Casey walks around the messy Château. She stands in the middle of the house, her eyes bouncing between the empty bottles of beer, half smoke joints, and dirty clothes littered around the room. She knows she needs to clean up before the Pogues come over for a typical late night fellowship, but every bone in her body is telling her to do it later. Hell, she still has at least twelve hours before Kiara shows up for some girl time before the boys come. So, instead of getting a jump start on the messy house, Casey lets her professional procrastinative side kick in and plops down onto the couch, pulling out her phone when she gets comfortable.

          After scrolling through countless boring Pogue's and Kook's instagrams, seeing nothing but fake portrayals of shitty lives, Casey opens her messages app and clicks on JJ's name.

Jayj:

wanna catch some waves 2 nite.

hell yeah! Meet you at the beach in 10!

Be ready to crown me queen of the sea!

Jayj:

In your dreams Case

DON'T CALL ME THAT! Don't be late!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hey wyd?

         As the girl stares at her phone, waiting for JJ to reply, a banging outside catches her attention. At first she doesn't acknowledge it, but the longer it continues, the harder it is for her to ignore it. Not wanting to get up, she pushes up on the back of the couch and tries to peek her head out the back door to see where the sound is coming from. But, as she scans the backyard, she can't see anyone.

          After a few seconds of finding no one in the yard, the banging stops and Casey lets it go, choosing to believe it's one of the neighbors, John B on the side of the house, or some animal. But, when she sits normally again, the banging continues, this time louder.

          Instead of ignoring it, Casey decides to get up and make her way out of the backdoor, leaving her phone on the couch. She stands on the empty porch for a few minutes, listening to the banging once again and after a few seconds, it stops.

          She furrows her eyebrows as she takes a few steps to stand on the stairs leading into the yard, and scans her eyes around the back yard. She knows what she's hearing and after it has happened twice, she will find out what it is. And not surprisingly, after a few moments, the banging echoes through the yard again, telling Casey it's coming from the side of the house. She makes her way through the porch and as soon as her eyes land on the surf shack further into the yard, she knows that has to be where it is coming from.

          As the girl makes her way down the porch steps, toward the rundown building, her eyes catch an empty driveway to her right, meaning John B is not home. Where he went, she has no idea, but it means her brother is not in the shack making the noise. As she comes to the realization that she doesn't know who is currently at her house, she starts to slow, cautiously rounding the only structural wall. The girl takes a second to ready herself, preparing for the possibility of it being a stranger trying to rob them, but she practically freezes in place when she sees a man facing away from her. She doesn't need to see his face to know her father is standing in front of her. She can tell by his messy brown hair, his hunched over back, and the 1980's glasses he still wears sitting on the table next to him. "Dad?"