CHAPTER FOUR
Surfboard
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(THREE MONTHS AGO)
The Pogue's weren't the only ones feeling the side effects of losing Avery.
Noah Creed flipped the sign, closing the store half hour earlier since there wasn't any costumers and he needed a break from the day. The man had dedicated himself obsessively to working, discovering that it kept him distracted from everything else, from thinking about his missing daughter.
Walking through the store, he flicked off the light switches as he passed them. After checking the store was safe to leave for the night, he glanced turned around and saw light coming through the breaded curtain. Ironically, he wasn't phased by it and made his way over to the curtain, pushing it out of his way as he stepped into the room.
"I wondered when you would sneak in," Noah chuckled softly, his lips tugging into a smile as his eyes landed on the head of blond, messy hair. "It's good to see you, J"
JJ peered up and met his eyes, straighten up his posture, "You too"
"What are you doing?" Noah asked the teen. He gestured with a curt nod towards the board JJ was hovering over.
"I thought to continue the board, if that's okay, of course. I just- I need to focus on something else before I go shit crazy" He sighed, leaning on his palms against the worktop surface.
"I get it, and you know it's fine. I was planning on doing some errands around here anyways. Some company would be good for me" The hazel eyed man offered a smile.
For a while the two got on with their own thing. JJ was sanding down the nose of the board, a small cloud of dust floated around him. Since Noah opened the surf shack, JJ had observed him craft boards and Avery taught him everything he knew. She followed in her father's steps when it came to chasing waves, it was pretty much a given when it came to the Creed bloodline, they were always destined for the waves.
Before Avery went missing, she was working on a board. There was no particular reason to the board, not that JJ knew of. Recently he had picked up where she left off, determined to craft the board for her. She had a whole blueprint noted down which made it a lot easier for him.
"Did she ever tell you why she was making this board?" JJ voiced, peering up at the man briefly, who was sorting through the disorganised shelves.
Noah pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked over at the blond, "She didn't tell you?"
The teenager glanced up, noting Noah's saddened features and slowly shook his head. The former father sighed and shrugged slightly, "It was for you"
"For me?" JJ's eyebrows pinched together. He wasn't aware that she was making it for him, nor why she would. Then it clicked and he hummed, "For my birthday"
"Yeah. She said that she was sick of you being attached to the old one" Noah cracked a smile at the memory of his daughter's ramble about JJ's old board and how she was going to make this one the best board to ever exist.
"She hated my board," The blond halfheartedly chuckled, "But I love it because she made it for me. And it's still in tact"
"It is getting small" Noah raised his eyebrows, sounding just like Avery. The teen rolled his eyes playfully and looked back down, continuing with sanding down the pine wood.
The two fell into small talk, mainly about Noah's new projects that JJ had spotted around the workshop. Neither of them chose to bring up Avery again, both wanting to distract themselves and dodge the pain for a short while. It worked for a while.
JJ let out a frustrated groan, followed by a string of muttered curse words. Noah looked over at him with a frown, "You okay?"
"No, I can't do this" JJ huffed, smacking down the square piece of sandpaper in a strop. He ran his fingers through his wild hair, pushing it out off his face as he stared at the board.
"How about you take a break?" Noah suggested, watching the boy quickly nod and step away from the board. He pulled out a roll up that he prepped a few minutes ago and held it up with a smile, "This always helps"
Standing by the back door, JJ flicked the butt of the joint on the ground before lifting it back up to his lips. He pressed it between his lips and inhaled, feeling the drug drift into his system, wishing he could hold onto the relaxing effect a little longer.
"Are you mad at her?" JJ blurted out, thinking out loud. He looked at the man standing opposite him, leaning against the wonky wall.
Noah let out a sigh, "I know I should be. But I can't, she wasn't the type of person to act impulsively, she always thought things through. And she wasn't stupid, she knew how to handle herself. I just wish I knew why, and if I could have done something to make her stay"
After a moment of silence, Noah shot the question back towards the boy. JJ leaned his head on the doorframe and blew out a cloud of smoke, watching as it dispersed and faded.
He thought for a moment before answering, "no, I'm not mad, I don't think I ever was. I was mad at everyone else, especially John B, but I get it. He concocts, and Avery held him together when his dad went missing, he worshiped that. But he also knows me, and forgets what Avery was to me, that it hurt me too"
"You can't stay mad at everyone, especially John, you two are in this together whether you like it or not. We have to stick together, that's what she would have wanted, and I know you know that" Noah softly said, he was right with every word he spoke.
"God, if she saw us now," JJ cringed at the thought, letting a breathy laugh fall from his lips. "We are a mess. She would have us by the ear"
"Do you believe what John B says?" The raven haired man asked, curious to hear the answer as he was conflicted on his answer to the question.
"A part of me does, it hopes that she'll came back, or that she's still out there somewhere. But I know that she would come home, and it's the fact that she hasn't that scares me the most" JJ foolishly opened up.
It was weird for him to crack open after so long. He had pushed everyone away, particularly when they tried to help and got too close. Yet, in that moment, and about Noah, he wasn't holding anything back.
"I don't know either. I mean, she's my little girl, I just want my girl back" Noah weakly smiled, gently resting his head on the wall behind him.
"Yeah, me too" JJ nodded curtly and stared at the ground. The burning sensation rose in the back of his eyes, making him blink quite a few times to push it away.
AUTHORS NOTE!
i've been working on the relationship between jj and noah, and what could come of it as the story develops. if you hadn't already gathered, they are close, closer since avery's disappearing, and have a father-son vibe. i wanted to contrast with jj's dad and give him some figure to rely on throughout bc he deserves better <3