𝑨𝑫𝑹𝑰𝑭𝑻, jj maybank

TWENTY-FIVE - the airstrip

TWENTY-FIVE —— the airstrip

The next morning, Bee awoke to the sound of the van's engine sputtering to life. She climbed out of bed and peered out the window to see John B driving away. He must have arrived back at the Château late last night, but she wasn't sure where he was going without telling anyone. She brushed it off and yawned, stretching as she kept looking out of the window, watching branches sway in the breeze.

Kiara groaned from the bed and complained that it was too bright, so Bee opened the curtains even more just to bug her. In turn, she got a pillow chucked at her head. Bee dodged the pillow, then threw it back at Kie. She shut the curtains before changing into new clothes, using the same denim shorts as yesterday and one of John B's many Hawaiian shirts, only a few of the buttons fastened on top of her bikini.

She padded out of the small room and into the living area, where JJ was sleeping on the pull-out bed. He had pretty much claimed it as his own a few years back, when he first started spending most nights at the Château. The sunlight shone through the sliver between the curtains, painting a bright stripe across his cheeks. Bee felt a small smile tease her lips and she turned away in search of something to eat.

"John B's shirt?" Bee heard from behind her.

She glanced down at what she was wearing, then turned back around and playfully rolled her eyes at JJ, who sat up in bed. "I wear his shirts all the time, JJ. I needed to change and this was the first clean one I saw."

"You should borrow one of my shirts next time," JJ said, smirking.

"You should do your laundry more often, then," Bee joked, waving her hand in front of her nose to tease him.

JJ scoffed. "Damn, shooting me down again, Bee?"

"Ooh, cold. I wouldn't be opposed to wearing one of your shirts, though," she said, allowing a coy smile to tug at her mouth before she turned away.

Eventually, once everyone was awake and lounging around the property, occupying themselves, John B returned. Bee glanced up when he slammed the car door, the pen in her hand hovering above a fresh page in a notebook she found laying around the living room. John B's eyes were ablaze and his hands and knees were covered in dirt.

"Hey," Bee greeted, nervous that he actually had done something stupid last night. "What's up?"

John B ignored her and marched right down to the end of the dock. Bee sighed, then abandoned her drawing and followed him. JJ, who had been kicking at a Hacky sack, glanced at Bee as she walked past him.

"Can you grab Kie?" Bee asked. "I'm gonna go see what's up, but you guys should come, too."

JJ nodded and caught the small ball in his hand before going to find Kiara, wherever she was, hidden away and practising her ukulele. Bee walked down the long dock to where John B was sprawled across the planks of wood, a vacant look in his eyes and a frown turning down his face.

Bee nudged his thigh with her foot, but when he didn't respond, she sat next to him. "You gonna talk? Because all I've heard from you lately is radio silence. What's up?"

John B slowly turned his face to her, his eyes still vacant. He sighed. "So much has happened. My dad going missing, DCS on my ass, I broke my fucking arm, and then I find out Ward killed my dad, and..." John B trailed off, as though he caught himself before he could say something. He clenched his jaw and focused his eyes somewhere in the distance. "It just feels like so much. I miss him, Bee."

Bee nodded, her heart aching for her friend. Big John wasn't the perfect parent, but who was? He was a friendly man who cared deeply for his son and even his son's friends. He was like a dad to JJ and strong figure in Bee and Pope's lives, too, and then one day, he was just gone. It hurt to know that John B had been holding out hope for so long, when in actuality, Big John died all those months ago. It hurt even more knowing that she could relate to John B in a way that none of their other friends could.