Together

148. Why did you leave?

Uh yeah, and you lift my whole mind
But I had to kick the habit and get rid of my old life
Must of caught a second wind though
I'm like an addict and I'm itching for a fix, yo
-Jared Evan

The way back to where Shoupe is set up is somewhat longer than JJ was expecting. Or maybe it just felt like it. As they follow Janet through the hall ways and past numerous open doors and other stations where nurses and practitioners are typing up their documentation, he tries to keep his head down, forward, anywhere but where he could accidentally run into Clair again.

Kie wasn't wrong. Part of him, a bigger part than he would have liked to admit, wants to talk to her. It was like the more she comes up the more used to it he gets. The more it feels like he should talk to her.

It's just not right now. As much as he wants answers, and in a lot of ways, needs them. What he really needs right now is to see Shoupe.

Thinking back to how he once considered the man an enemy, he never would have thought that he would actually be worried about the guy. He is though.

Janet opens the door, and JJ and Kie take her outstretched arm as indication that they can be let in. He's surprised when he walks in and sees that the person he was avoiding is standing at his guardian's bedside.

He's thrown into a moment of dejavu, back to the time Luke came into the Wreck drunk and demanding more money from Kie. How he and Shoupe stood practically toe to toe. How Luke sneered and acted like a total asshole. How Shoupe remained calm, but firm until his dad tried to attack him.

This is nothing like that situation though. Aside from Shoupe not exactly looking the pillar of brute force he was when he dragged Luke's sorry ass out of the Wreck, he's not looking at Clair like she's a threat. He's looking at her like he looks at JJ. Like he understands.

And even more different, Clair doesn't look like Luke. At all. She's startled by their sudden appearance, and the once soft face she was giving Shoupe is instantly replaced with unease. She steps away from the bed, giving them some space to approach.

Shoupe draws his attention immediately. "Hey, kid."

Whatever Clair was doing or not doing, whatever they were talking about, he doesn't know. It doesn't matter, and he's not gonna overthink it right now.

Kie follows him as he approaches the bed. "You good?" he asks, looking at the monitors and wires. Shoupe is in a gown, almost exactly like the one JJ was in when he got taken out by that wave at the last surf competition.

Shoupe pouts his lip a bit, nodding, as he lifts an arm to indicate that it's alright if JJ hugs him. Would never tell anyone how much of a sap he felt like being relieved by that. He doesn't think twice about it though.

Kie stands back a little, letting JJ and Shoupe connect. Her eyes are more drawn to the woman that is pretending to observe the chart in her hands. Kie doesn't miss how her eyes can't help but be drawn to the pair before her.

Looking at them with a soft expression. There was some hurt in her gaze as well. No doubt it was painful to watch yourself be replaced. Still, Kie knows complicated moms. She couldn't say that her own wasn't at times more difficult than any other person in her life. Kicked her out of the house at one point, even.

Of course they weren't the same, and JJ's hurt was obviously deeper than a screaming match that ended in laundry poured over the lawn, but Clair was still a person. And like Anna, she appeared to be trying to right her wrongs. At least she looks like she regrets them.

Before JJ can pull away from Shoupe, Clair is leaving. She meets Kie's eye as she passes her, and it has her eyes following the woman out of the room. When she turns back to Shoupe and JJ neither of them make an acknowledgement of Clair's departure. Kie knows Shoupe knows who the nurse was that was at his side. She catches his eye briefly, long enough to silently communicate an understanding. A truth that everyone knows but isn't acknowledging.