More tears fell as she stormed home, but she ignored them. Instead, she let herself feel the anger she had always been taught to shove down. JJ was being an asshole. No one defended her. Her brother and best friends all thought she was a whore. Her dad didn't know anything about her. Her little sister and stepmother knew a selective amount - only positives. She was nothing more than a pretty face and a nice body.
'Fuck!' she screamed. She was on the beach, at least. That was something. There were houses somewhat nearby. She could only assume she was nearing her own.
'There you are!'
She turned and saw John B running towards her. She frowned at him and crossed her arms over her chest. 'What do you want?'
'For you to be safe...?' he said in confusion. 'What do you mean?'
'I mean that it's not like you cared all that much when JJ told me I was unhelpful. If you wanted me to be safe so bad, why did you let me leave? Huh?'
He shook his head at her. 'You and your sister are both incredibly stubborn, Maelynn. Would you have even listened if I'd told you to get in the van and I'd take you home?'
'If you begged nicely.'
'Too bad I wasn't gonna do that. So yeah, I let you walk here. Big fucking deal.'
'How are you so calm about this?' she demanded, her voice rising into a yell. 'I almost got shot back there! And guess what? No one did a fucking thing!'
'What the fuck did you want us to do? He had a gun!'
'I don't know, maybe not let him grab at me and be a fucking creep!'
'He had a gun, Maelynn! It's not like one person could take him on and still have a life left!'
'No one tried! Oh, and then as the cherry on the fucking sundae, you went and robbed him! Are you all fucking dense? He has a gun! He deals drugs! He was fully ready to take an actual person as payment for a debt!' Angry tears streamed down her face again. 'And you let me walk home from somewhere I'd never been before! And now you're all, oh Maelynn, I'm so glad you're safe, blah blah blah blah blah!'
'Maelynn-'
'Which direction is my house?' she demanded. John B pointed behind himself and she stormed off again without another word.
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sarah beara
m
pls respond
look im sorry
we shouldnt have left
mei-mei
no u shouldnt have.
look s
i dont wanna talk rn
pls leave me alone
sarah beara
pls m
im rlly sorry
mei-mei
ill block u
pls stop messaging me.
sarah beara
love u
mei-mei
k.
ミ⛧ ミ⛧ ミ⛧
kie
maelynn
maelynn
maelynn
look kiara
i dont wanna talk
im tired and angry and sad
pls leave me alone.
kie
look im sorry
letting jj go was stupid
and we shouldve helped u
and listened
maelynn
i told s the same thing: ill block u
pls leave me alone.
ill talk when i wanna talk
respect my space until then.
kie
k
im sorry
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jombee
why r u being so rude to everyone
maelynn
why cant u leave me alone
srsly
ive told all of u
stop messaging me
i dont wanna talk 2 yall
im not in a good headspace rn
leave me alone pls.
jombee
u do realize we ALL almost got shot td
ur not the only person in the world maelynn.
maelynn
k
pls leave me alone.
jombee
why r u being so selfish maelynn
we all almost died
ur sister almost died
ur bf almost died
our friends almost died
it wasnt just u
maelynn
I FUCKING GET IT JOHN B
i asked nicely twice
so now heres the rude version:
fuck off.
i dont wanna talk 2 u
i dont wanna talk at all
PLS STOP MESSAGING ME.
thanks.
jombee
whatever.
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pope
ik u dont wanna talk but im sorry
i knew it was idiotic and i still went w them
so i shouldve just listened to u
sorry maelynn
maelynn
thank u for the nice apology
but as ive told everyone else
i dont want to talk
at all
to anyone.
pope
ik
sorry tho
maelynn
k.
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Just to add to the obviously fantastic day she was already having, Rafe decided to pay her a visit while she was moping in her room.
'Get the fuck out.'
He sat on the edge of her bed. 'Did you rob Barry? Did you? Did you fucking do it, Maelynn?'
'No, fuckass. I didn't rob anyone. He jumped us and pointed a gun at me and scared the shit out of me, but no, I didn't. Get out of my room.'
'But he said-'
She stood up and walked out, heading to the beach and getting in the water fully clothed. It was hard to swim in her nice dress. She realized belatedly that she was still wearing her necklace. Whatever - she used to never take it off, even for showers. It was fine in water.
The water was cold and it was windy, but she stayed in for an hour and a half before getting out and laying on the sand. It got everywhere. She didn't care. At least she was alone and doing something she enjoyed. The sun warmed her skin up, anyway.
It took her another hour to go back inside, where she hopped into her second shower of the day. She put on sweats and a sportsbra after. There were a few missed texts and calls from her friends and sister, but she only looked at the ones from JJ.
pretty boy jj <3
im sorry mae
i was being stupid
mae pls
u answered everyone else
be rude to me
cuss me out
idc
just say smthn.
i deserve it, ik
im really sorry tho
will u come by tomorrow?
or even later td?
pls say yes
mae
i need u
im so sorry
pls say smthn
maelynn <3
did smthn happen
pretty boy jj <3
yes & no
maelynn <3
is anyone dead
pretty boy jj <3
no
maelynn <3
well why do u need me
im not helpful remember
u said so urself
pretty boy jj <3
i didnt mean that mae
u cant actually think i was fr
i was just mad
maelynn <3
it felt pretty real jj.
pretty boy jj <3
princess pls
i didnt mean it
i love u
im so sorry
maelynn <3
i have to go
ttyl
pretty boy jj <3
okay
im rlly sorry mae.
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Getting through dinner proved to be more difficult than she expected, what with having John B, Sarah and Rafe all at the table with her. The former and latter both glared at her, while her twin kept shooting her apologetic glances. When she wasn't looking at her food, Maelynn stared blankly at the wall behind Wheezie's empty spot. She was having a sleepover with a friend from her class. Good for her. She didn't get out very much during the summer.
Maelynn excused herself as soon as she was done eating and practically bolted back up to her room, where she locked the door behind herself. No more unwanted visitors for her.
For a few hours she held her blankets to her chest and stared at the wall. She knew full well that she was overreacting, but it's not like anyone else had to deal with it, so why not let it out? It's not like the feelings would be better inside.
Kiara called her at around eleven. She ignored the call, but once she got three follow up calls and a couple of texts, she picked up. 'What?'
'I think you need to come to the Chateau.'
She sat up. 'Why? Is someone hurt? What happened?'
'It's JJ. He's..' Kiara sighed on the other end of the line. 'Look, he's all bruised up and now he's drunk and calling out for you. Will you please stop being depressed and come see him?'
'You can fuck off, but yes, I'll be there in a couple of minutes.'
She hung up and climbed out of her window, starting up her truck somewhat quietly and hightailing it out of her driveway. As she said, she was at the Chateau in minutes. She may or may not have sped the entire way there. No one else was awake.
'Where is he?' she demanded upon bursting through the front door. Kiara, who was the only one present, pointed in the direction of his room.
'I put him in there. Do you want me to explain?'
'No. I'm going to go see him. If you need to go, you can. I'll stay the night again.'
'Are you sure?'
Maelynn nodded, and Kiara stood up from her place at the couch. 'I'll come back in the morning and we can talk, okay?'
'Yeah. Drive safe. Sleep well.'
'You too.'
They both left the room at the same time, just in opposite directions. Maelynn opened and shut the door to JJ's room as quietly as she could. He rustled in his sheets and murmured her name.
'J,' she whispered as she sat down next to him. She ran a gentle hand from his hair to his chest. 'I'm here, J.'
He startled awake and started at her, awestruck. 'Mae?'
'Yeah.'
He sat straight up and took her in his arms. 'I'm so, so sorry, princess. I was just mad that I couldn't protect you, and mad that I wouldn't get my money for restitution, and I just wasn't even thinking at all.'
'Shh,' she ran a hand through his hair. 'It's okay, JJ. Everything's going to be okay.'
'And then my dad and I fought cause he's being a selfish piece of shit, and-'
'Did he hurt you?'
He nodded and grabbed her wrist, guiding her hand to where the bruises were. 'But I got him good. And I used the fucking money for the best hot tub I could buy.'
'Not restitution?'
'Nah. I got something nice for all of us.'
She stroked down his back with her nails. 'Thank you, JJ. And I'm sorry for being such a bitch.'
'It's alright.'
She smiled and kissed him softly. 'Let's sleep, shall we? It's been a long day.'
He nodded and pulled her down on top of himself, readjusting the blankets so they covered her as well. She tucked her face into his neck and kissed the bare skin.
'I love you, JJ.'
'I love you more, princess.'
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1689 words.
written august 17/21.