TIDES OF FATE - JJ Maybank

XIV. So... the weather?

:･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･.:

Lily's POV

AFTER THE ISSUE at Heywards, I went straight back to my house and did absolutely nothing. I spent the first half of it constantly checking my phone, waiting for an update on JJ or at least John B who has been MIA since yesterday,  but I didn't get anything, so in the end I just gave up.

One thing that helps me out when Im stressed, is cleaning. I wasn't sure why, but in a way it was just a distraction and made me focus on other things. Normally I'd go out for a surf or something, but at the moment it just didn't feel right as the rest of the Pogues weren't there to do it with me.

I sigh as I pick up my washing basket and throw the clean clothes on my freshly made bed and start to sort them out. I groan at how large the pile is, mentally slapping myself for not being home much this past week to do anything. As i pull out on of my large sweatshirts- which is without a doubt belongs to one of the boys, I notice that one of the towels accidentally got thrown in with my basket. I pick it up and shrug, moving into my bathroom to handful in on the rack.

I walk out of the bathroom and head straight back to the pile of clothes, only to stop when I notice the opened window and the head of blonde hair standing next to it, tears falling from his eyes and large cuts and bruises all over his face.

„JJ." I whisper, horrified at the sight of him.

„I'm sorry," he struggles to get out. „I had no where else to go."

I shake my head and walk up to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. His head falls onto the crook of my neck as he lets out Strangled sobs, holding onto me tighter than he ever has before.

Im not sure how long the two of us stood there for, but I know it was or a while. Sure, I had seen the boy pretty battered up before, but I've never seen him this emotional about it. It didn't take me a second to know the damage was due to Luke Maybank, his father, and that only made my blood boil even more.

„Hey," I whisper, moving my head away from his. „Come into the bathroom, yeah? We need to clean you up."

He nods and doesn't say a word, holding onto my hand as I lead him into the bathroom. I gesture for him to sit on the toilet seat as I grab the first aid kit out from below the sink.

I quickly run a cloth under the tap and pass it to the boy. „Wipe this over your face while I get what I need out of here, please."

He nods and does as he's told, leaving the cloth in the sink once he's finished.

„Okay," I sigh, placing the kit on the bench beside me. I turn around to face him, my face immediately softening at the states he's in. „Jayj," I hesitantly Mutter. „What happened?"

The boy sniffs and looks down at his shoes. „I have to pay 30k in restitution," he starts, making my eyes widen as I pull out an alcohol wipe, „and I guess my dad didn't like that. He um... hit me. A lot." he briefly explains.

I crouch down to his level and frown, hating the fact that he has to go through things like this. „I'm so sorry, JJ."

He shakes his head. „Don't be, it's nothing I'm not used to."

I carefully run the alcohol wipe over his many cuts, taking it off whenever the boy flinches. „But you shouldn't be used to it, that's the thing."

He shrugs. „I've done it to myself. I'd rather go through all of this then have Pope lose his one Chance at success."

I slightly smile at his kindness. „Who knew that JJ Maybank had a soft side." I try to lighten the mood, knowing that serious conversations were something neither of us were good at.