xvi.
A Businesswoman Worth Her Salt
$$$
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Her and JJ Maybank's only job was to sell it.
He was an extremely good liar, he had a knack for all things pretend. Last year, he managed to negotiate them a free ride on the ferry to the mainland and she talked the owner of a temporarily closed-for-renovation diner into letting them use it all night for their own enjoyment. Really, they were more a match made in hell than heaven, but this was the Outer Banks; nothing is as it seems.
Like, for instance, if you stared at the chunk of gold they held between nervous fingertips, you would assume they got it off somewhere random. Played for it, maybe. Gambled. Perhaps they were digging on the beach and found it between handfuls of grainy, coral-lit sand. Blair saw an image of the flask and wondered if it had anything to do with it (it did, she knew who it belonged to, deep down. But her brain had blocked the realization from manifesting). Whatever. They're just kids. You would assume that they won it at some type of twisted, sick game.
Not that they dug up old ghosts by finding the gold of a sunken shipwreck in the basement of a blind, demented axe murderer.
Now, they had to pawn it. The rest had split the responsibility of melting the gold and trying to plan a way to extract it and Blair wasn't sure just who told Kiara that she was a good welder, but whoever it was deserved a life sentence in prison at the very least.
The melted gold was blotchy and shiny, wrapped in a thin and dirty cloth. It reflected the sunlight like a mirror and Blair wasn't proud to say she tried to stare at her own reflection through it a couple times, but Sarah would always end up rolling her eyes, amused, and grabbing it from her sister's sticky hands.
Their plan was fairly simple: cash in the few bars John B managed to shove into his still-reeking pockets at the Cut's most notorious pawnshop and use a portion of the riches to buy supplies in order to get the rest out. John B, JJ and Pope managed to design some poorly-drawn type of infrastructure that would lower someone down the well and bring up the bars of gold while Kiara and Sarah were fully intent on melting the gold all by themselves. (They had to somehow erase the wheat symbol, sigh of British gold, off them so they'd be eligible to pawn in the United States). All while Blair rehearsed a script over and over in her head, old drumsticks against the concrete playing a hazy tune. Cigarette-ash sticking to the inside of her lungs, though she hadn't smoked in days.
The Twinkie halted in front of an old pawnshop as John B parked it on the side. Kiara was the first one to jump out, followed by the rest of the eager pack. The curly-haired girl held onto the hard gold puddle tightly as Blair jumped out with her sister's help then slammed the door shut behind her.
"Hell of a job melting it down, Dr. Frankenstein," JJ criticized, staring at the melted mess.
Blair adjusted her pair of navy-brimmed Christian Dior sunglasses over her nose, lips coated in chapstick that smelled like piña colada and just a hint of the coconut water she downed in the morning. JJ could smell the aroma from where he was standing, on the opposite side of the group with his hands in the pockets of his old shorts.
Kiara rolled her eyes, wrapping it in the cloth and handing it to Blair. The boy claimed he wanted to go with to save her in case of impending doom, but he really knew them as a team would be a lot more effective than him watching form the corner of the room. "Like you could've done any better."
"I could have done much better," JJ stated as if it was obvious. "I took a welding class."
Blair grimaced, "you?"
"Yeah. Is it that hard to believe?" JJ smugly smirked. She rolled her eyes as she handed him the cloth-wrapped gold. He liked playing games with girls, wrapping them around his fingers and snapping them in half. But there was something about messing with Blair that made him feel warm at the stomach."You know, I did a bunch of shit. Like, I took a Karate class."
"You know, Maybank," she tapped at the sleek frame of her sunglasses, staring amusedly through the blueish frame, "some kids were dropped on the head as a baby. But something tells me you were thrown out a fucking window. From the highest level of an industrial building. Maybe smacked by a ceiling fan, too."
His jaw fell agape, slapping a hand over his heart in mock offence as he grasped at his shirt and pretending his heart was failing him. "You hurt me."
"Alright, can both of you stop flirting and go do this?" John B interrupted their banter, earning a scoff from Blair.
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one that has to pawn this piece of shit off," the blonde mumbled, holding the blotch up in irritation. Blair grimaced at the sight, wondering which gods would help them now. "How did we get this job anyway?"
"'Cause you're the best liar," Pope answered nonchalantly. He wrapped an arm around Blair's shoulders lightly, smiling as she slid out his grip, flipped him off and started walking towards the entrance of the pawnshop. "You'll be fine."
Sarah rested her head on her little sister's shoulder for a second and sighed. "And you're the glamour, little sister. You're the actress," she said.
"I should be flattered, but I really just wanna kill you," Blair muttered under her breath.
JJ's chuckles mixed with the soft jingle of a bell hanging from the threshold, clinching as they opened the door and closed it again. It was a small shop filled with the most basic of useless shit, barely enough space to fit them all. Humidity clung to her skin like a lifeline, pulling the air from her lungs as she followed JJ to the front counter, the gold tucked inside his backpack as he fiddled with the straps. The others were spread all across the shop, trying to look as nonchalantly uninvolved as possible.
"I see you buy gold," JJ grinned at the woman, leaning against the counter.
Blair shot her an exaggerated smile, but she remained unamused no matter how much hospitality they spat out. Irritated, she pointed the sign above her head. "That's what the sign says, don't it?"
"Well, I sure hope you buy a lot of it," JJ threw his backpack on the counter, southern accent peaking, "because I'm about to blow your mind."
"I ain't got much of a mind left to blow, so have at it." Hands crossed in front of her chest, she watched as JJ dug into his back and pulled out the wrapped gold, placing it on the counter before shoving the delicate cloth back inside the side pocket of his old bag.
"How about them gold apples?" he raised his chin smugly.
"That ain't real," the woman laughed, shaking her head.
"That ain't real?" JJ repeated, questioning. He looked at Blair, smirking smugly. "Babe, some people . . . " he trailed off, shooting her a nod. "Feel how heavy it is, then."
"It can't be real," she stubbornly repeated, though picked up the gold and almost dropped it. Confusion flashed her features, eyes snapping to the pair.
"Let's get some light on that," he told her.
The woman grabbed a magnifying glass and used the reflection to shine a sharp light onto the gold. She flipped it over a couple of times, trying to act as composed as possible at the discover. "Spray-painted tungsten." she said. The confusion was as clear as day.
"Spray-painted tungsten? Really? Okay." Bitterly, he shifted and wrapped an arm around Blair nonchalantly. She rolled her eyes at the woman. "Why don't you see how, uh, soft it is?"
"You mind?" The woman asked as she pulled a chisel and a small mallet from the drawer under the counter.
"Not at all," Blair spoke up for the first time, voice so sharp and dripping with venom.
JJ was almost surprised at her tone, racking through his brain to try and find the blatant familiarity. She sounded just like her mother, all of a sudden. He only met her once; he regretted that day with everything he had. "Like my girl said, go for it." She hit the gold once, pressing the indent. The texture clearly told her everything she needed to know, but she still pretended as though it wasn't enough. He smirked, chuckling meekly as Blair smiled cynically. "Wow. Would you look at that? You ever seen anything this soft, cupcake?"
"Nope," Blair smiled, "take a look at this baby."
The woman interrupted them bitterly, throwing her tools away as she grabbed a tiny vial of acid. "Hold your horses, we ain't got to the acid test yet."
"Oh, the acid test," JJ emphasized mockingly, amused as he glanced around the store. Blair looked back at the others, eyes locking with Sarah as she raised her sunglasses to shoot her a wink. "My favorite, guys."
As they already knew, the gold passed the acid test. It would've been such a shame if it turned out fake, Blair thought. She stared at them in pure shock, brows furrowed as she scoffed. "Well . . . it ain't plated and it ain't painted."
"Ma'am I'm telling you this is as real as the day is long." It wasn't often that JJ's southern accent bled out his rough words, but Blair could hear it dripping down his body and pooling at the concrete ground.
The woman ignored him, and Blair couldn't help but shoot the blonde a small look of satisfaction. She was clearly debating her options as she manhandled it and searched for some type of flaw. Her eyes then snapped upwards, examining each of the blonde teenagers slowly and throughout. "It looks like someone tried to melt it down."
Blair grabbed his hand from behind the counter, panicked, and he squeezed it once to let her know that it was okay. "My mom," he said. It was all he could come up with in such short amount of times he was determined to get them out. "She had all this jewelry laying around the house, and she thought it was best to─to melt it down. To "consolidate" it."
The pawnbroker raised a brow, unconvinced. "Seven pounds? That's a lot of earrings."
"Okay, to be honest, ma'am," he cleared his throat, eyes meeting Blair's as if a cry for help. But she couldn't do anything then, the story was already written in stone. So he continued ". . . it's really hard to see my mom fall apart with Alzheimer's."
"Alzheimer's?" the woman repeated.
She tusked and looked between the pair. Blair slapped a hand over her mouth and began sobbing. "It's so hard!" she sobbed into her hands. The woman took a step back in surprise. She clearly hadn't seen it coming. "You have no idea what that does to you, losing your mother like that. It's been so rough for my boyfriend and I. She was like a mother to me!"
"Okay─okay, calm down," the pawnbroker stared at her in scandalous confusion, in disbelief of the situation. "Stop crying," she almost ordered. "Give me a minute." Then she vanished behind the curtains leading to the back room.
Blair's weeping cries died down, then she wiped her tears with the back of her hands and offered the blonde a victorious grin. "What the hell was that?" JJ's mouth fell, eyes wide in shock and admiration. "You're so good, oh my God."
"I know," she grinned.
Then wiped it as soon as the woman came back, there was no trace of it left, such a wonderful actress. "I, uh, talked to my boss. And this, uh . . . this is what I can do." She slid a piece of crumbled paper towards the two, looking as subtly shocked as she did when she realized the gold was 'as real as the day was long'.
JJ shook his head in disbelief. "Fifty thousand? You think I walked in here not knowing the spot price? Ma'am, I know for a fact this is worth a hundred forty, at least," he said. He was the first one to pick it up, scoffing bitterly as he handed it to Blair.
"Well, sweetie you in a pawn shop," the woman mocked, somewhat amused. "This ain't Zurich. Do I look Swiss to you?"
"Ninety, or we walk," Blair offered, sickly sweet. She pushed the glasses off her face and let her light curls tangle into the brim. Palms flat on the counter, it was almost frightening just how fast her face had dried up. "Don't try to con us, ma'am. Do I look dumb to you?"
"You are your father's daughter all right," she said, merely a breath. Blair frowned. "Seventy," she finally spoke, hoping to satisfy. If there was one thing the island as a whole was aware of, it was the Camerons' ability to ruin people. Blair and Sarah didn't know half of the ravages their name did around the island. "Half price and, um . . . I don't ask questions about where you got this."
JJ looked back at the others, waiting for their subtle approval before silently asking Blair for hers. She seemed more bitter than satisfied with just how big of a scam it was, but calmed herself, knowing that they'd make whole of a lot more when they got all of it out. It's coming out of your pay, she softly muttered as JJ grinned and turned to the woman. "I'm gonna' need that in large denominations, please," he said.
"Well, here's the snag," the woman grimaced. "I don't have that much denominated. Not here, anyway. I can write you a cashier's check."
"Cash," Blair declined.
". . . no, ma'am," JJ finished, shaking his head. "I want the cold hard cash. That's what the sign says. Cash for gold. And that's what we expect. We're gonna get it in cold hard cash."
"Well, I have to send you to the warehouse," she licked her lips, "I have the money there. Is that all right?"
JJ frowned, examining the woman, trying to figure her out. "Where's this warehouse?"
"Resurrection Drive."
"We know the way," Blair smiled cynically, running her hand over a stand of poorly made bracelets on the counter. Her moves were almost threatening as she snapped her fingers and gestured towards the exit. "Have a nice day, ma'am. Hope we didn't cause too much of a scene."
JJ smirked as they walked out the pawnshop, whistling loudly with the rest in tow. "Fuck, man. I love it when you do that."
"Do what?" Blair smugly wondered, bumping into Sarah who wrapped her arm around her shoulders and congratulated her for her impromptu acting performance. "Save your fucking asses? Because, yeah, I love it when I do that, too. Even though we still lost a shitload of the money."
"It's better than nothing or getting reported to the cops." John B shrugged, hopping into the passenger seat.
"Do you guys know where Resurrection Drive is?" Sarah asked as Kiara shit the door, coaxing a nod from John B and Pope.
Blair nodded as she leaned her back against the questionable material, sliding her sunglasses back on her face. John B rushed to drive them down the road, away from the bad vibes that encased the sketchy pawnshop, speeding into the scorching sunlight.
Sarah frowned. "How do you know?" she asked her sister. Blair glanced at the blonde boy, then away and shrugged.
JJ slid down besides her, giving up his semi-comfortable spot on the backseat. Kiara and Sarah were mid-conversation while Pope and John B were arguing about which direction to take. The teenagers were drowned in silence, though one was a lot more mindful of it than the other. JJ wrapped an arm around her seat, feathery against her bare back. The feeling was like a million of fireworks, like cherry blossoms in sunny spring, saltwater under dusty moonlight. Like a heart-shaped box! But nobody knew what the key even looked like. However, if he had to place a couple guesses, he knew his predictions wouldn't be too far off. He shot her a boyish grin when her eyes finally laid on him, coaxing her out of her catatonic state as she mirrored his enthusiasm.
"We're gonna get the gold," he spoke softly, as if informing her of something she didn't know. Blair chuckled and nodded. "Might move into that mansion a couple houses down the port. The one you said was pretty."
"I don't know what kind of mansion you'll be able to buy with your share of the 70k, but go nuts, I guess," she rolled her eyes in amusement. "You should buy a hot tub or something."
"I mean when we get all the gold," JJ corrected. He bit his bottom lip, jaw flexing as the gears switched inside his brain. Blair could tell he was preoccupied, but didn't get the chance to ask before he spoke himself. "Hey, uh, Bee? I'm not good at math but, like . . . how much is my share of the 70k? Like the now money."
Blair pursed her lips, quick with numbers. "About 12k. A little less, probably. A little more than eleven and a half if I think fast. Why?"
"It's for, uh . . . " he trailed off, swallowing harshly. Even though a part of him wanted to tell her, the other was reluctant on wether or not to bring it up. He didn't want her to think he was trying to take advantage of her. "You know, the restitution. That fuckin' boat might cost me a lung," he said.
"How much?" she frowned.
"Twenty five thousand."
The blonde frowned, feeling all too privileged at the realization that she could so easily pay it off. She grabbed JJ's hand with a soft smile, oblivious to the way his face fell at her words. "Hey, it's no problem. I can pay it. It's only 25k, that's like a market expense for me. Ward won't mind."
"Nah, fuck you," he scoffed, jaw locking harshly. Her brows furrowed, unsure of the sudden attitude. JJ grumbled, his every nerve turning bitter. "I don't need your pity money, Cameron."
"It's not pity money," she shook her head. "I don't give out pity money, Maybank. I propose because I care."
He didn't even have time to answer, jaw going loose.
"So, they really keep the money out here?" Pope interrupted them, grasping their attention. Blair didn't spare JJ another glance, leaving him to deal with his own problems. She offered with complete genuineness, she couldn't do much more than that.
"That's what she said," JJ replied, coughing up his bitterness. It all seemed to fade into smoke as a laugh rolled off his lips, the words making him grin boyishly. "That's what she said."
"Definitely thrown off the Empire State Building," Blair muttered under her breath, making Kiara laugh.
Outside, the trees seemed to thicken while the signs only vanished and the road got worse and worse by the second. Every rumble made her want to gag, carsick so easily when she wasn't in her own. Sarah leaned forward, shooting her a frown. "I've never heard of Resurrection Drive," she mumbled.
Blair scoffed. She was about to say something when JJ cut her off, talking to her sister instead. "It's because you're rich," he told her, shooting her a smug duh that made Blair want to rip his nonchalance right off his hand-carved features.
Kiara raised a brow. "You've never heard of it either." She looked out the window, trees wrapped in what truly felt like bad luck and impending doom. That wasn't true. He looked away. "There's nothing but weeds back here."
"Probably a trap," Blair shrugged and leaned back against the seat. "We're gonna get ambushed."
"All right, stop, just 'cause it's weeds, doesn't mean it's like . . . " his voice died down as the loud sound of police sirens cut of the oxygen inside the van.
Blair Cameron should've been a psychic.
Blair's eyes widened as she jumped to her feet, catching a glimpse of the car before sliding back down onto the ground, uneasy. She couldn't get arrested, not even for the smallest of crimes. Red and blue flashed, so fluorescent she was almost blinded at the sight. And in no world were the others any less panicked than she was.
"Cops?" Kiara hissed, confused as she grabbed into Blair's arm by instinct. "Out here?"
"God! Are you kidding me?" JJ slammed his hand against the seat, his blatant anger rising.
"What do we do?" Sarah asked, panicked as she scanned their surroundings. Nothing they've done was wrong on the surface. The cops had no way of knowing they were the ones to break into the Crain House, much less steal from it. "Blair?" she called for her sister.
"Why are we getting pulled over?" John B frowned as he pulled over to the side of the road, looking back at Pope and JJ scrambling to hold the blotchy gold into his backpack, then inside the openable seat. "Stash that."
JJ was already taking care of the baggies and any incriminating evidence that could and would get the arrested.
"Chill, guys," Kiara tried to sound calm, but her shaky voice obviously gave her panic away.
"I hate cops," JJ mumbled.
"The only people who don't hate cops are cops," Blair stated, running her hands through her hair. "And maybe donut sellers, they make good business."
"Did you bring the gun?" John B asked, the question reverberating against Twinkie's walls.
Before JJ could reply, Blair cut him off and answered instead. "No, it's back in my car. Safest place to keep it. Nobody knows."
"Thank God," Kiara exhaled in relief. "Please, everything else in your bag."
"I am!" JJ hissed, shoving everything inside his bag. He looked around the Twinkie for anything else, coming to the realization that there was a lot more substance inside the van than he thought. "Uh, shit."
"How much weed do you have on you, bro?" Kiara's eyes widened, watching as he patted himself down and scrambled to pull the bags from his pocket.
"Fuck, JJ!" Blair hissed in irritation.
Pope looked out the window, mouth wide open. "He's walking up," he let them know, voice shaky as he fell into the seat besides an equally panicked Blair. Okay, maybe a little more; he was Pope Heyward after all.
Restless, she drummed her fingers over the smooth skin of her thigh, growing more and more restless as she dug her nails into it. Noticing, JJ grabbed ahold of her hand and held onto it tightly, almost sending her body in a frenzy. It was the very first time JJ had touched her without asking for permission beforehand, wether it was in words or simply a nod. For a split second, he was afraid she'd pull away but never did. Plastering her other hand above it, she stared out the window as the man's footsteps got louder and echoed closer.
However, it wasn't a cop that peaked behind the driver's window, but instead a man who believed he was a god. A crimson bandanna covered the lower half of his face, nose down, but Blair knew who he was. He held a gun to John B's head, a rifle, more like, and she knew he was smirking like a madman underneath his mask. People like these made the world go 'round, she believed, for without evil, there would be no good. But she wasn't the good and neither was he. So, who? Sarah whimpered while John B only stared in pure panic, Kiara nails digging into the skin of Blair's bicep while the girl was grappling so tightly onto JJ she believed she'd rip his hand off. Monsters often believe they're gods, Ward once told her. Now, she knew exactly what he meant by it . . . monsters.
"Why don't I go ahead and see them hands in the air?" His accent was thick, almost asphyxiating and voice uncharacteristically loud. He looked around the van in amusement. "All ya'll's hands up in the air now!"
JJ refused to let go of her hand up until she shot him the look herself. Trust, but she held no authority over the drug dealer. Slowly, they all raised their hands in surrender as panic overcame them. He held the rifle almost shakily, but they were all aware he'd shoot if he needed to.
"You, out of the car! Let's go! Out of the car! Let's go! Hurry!" John B scrambled out the van at his orders, hands still raised over his head as he tried his best to remain calm. Blair was breathing heavily, watching him through the window. "Now let them out!" Yet John B didn't dare to move, and the man only shoved the gun at his chest and scram louder. "What are you waitin' on? What are you waitin' on? Let them out!"
At that, John B quickly acted and ran towards the passenger door, helping Sarah out before throwing her behind him in an attempt to protect her from the man. But he didn't stop, pointing towards the back as he watched John B slide it open. Pope stepped out first, then Kiara, both looking as pass as sickly ghosts. Blair and JJ made it out simultaneously, the latter pushing the girl behind him as he eyed the gunman down in terror. She grabbed onto the back of his shirt when he was close enough, keeping her other hand raised as blood pumped through her brain. There was nothing like adrenaline to turn Blair into a hero, perhaps even tell her what to in order to save everybody. But there was not a single drop of epinephrine in her body, overruled by fear. She let go of JJ and Sarah rushed to her, clinging onto her sister like a little kid. Ironic since she was the oldest. God, they were fucking afraid.
"There you go. All of y'all out now," the man continued to yell, pointing the shotgun at John B up until he caught sight of Blair. A loud laugh rolled off his tongue, like poison and gunshots and all once. Suddenly, the rifle was all she could see. "Shit, if it ain't little Cameron! Missed you at the trailers. When're you comin' back for more?" he stared her down, eyes glimmering in amusement. "Come gimme a hug!"
"No fuckin' way you're touching her, man!" JJ yelled, punching forward but falling short of words when the man shoved the gun into his chest.
"Shut the hell up!"
"All right!" JJ replied loudly, stepping back as Blair grasped into his back, desperately trying to pull him away from the man. Pope stepped forward, trying to keep him out of trouble. "Just relax!"
"Shut the hell up!" He didn't stop, shoving the gun around as they all stumbled back in terror. "Shut up! I'll blow your head off! Lay down in the ditch! Lay down in the ditch!"
Blair inhaled sharply, lacking air. Giving Sarah a reassuring look, she moved away slightly and did as he said. She wrapped her arms around her neck, lit ablaze by what felt like a million forest fires eating up at her insides. The gun was still pointed at them and she didn't know how to stop herself from crying out. It was horror, bleeding into the concrete and seeping through the pores all the way down the lowest circle of hell. She could feel the crimson taking over her shirt before he even shot, she so strongly believed he would.
"Lay in the ditch!" He pointed the gun towards the side of the road, yelling on the top of his lungs. Nobody would hear them scream. "On your goddamn hands and knees! Down! Put your face on the ground!"
Blair fell to her knees amid thick dirt, completely ignoring the way it stained her shorts and rubbed at her skin. Cheek against the grainy surface, she clasped her hands behind her hair, scraping at her scalp as she tried to stop her gold bracelets from tinkling loudly. They were Georgia's and she was sure she wouldn't be able to accept him tearing them off her wrists.
"Don't let me see you look up! All right? That's all y'all gotta' do," he said and walked towards the van and ripped the door open, looking for the gold.
"It's a setup, guys," Kiara stated the obvious, words a shaky whisper.
Blair spared her a glance, breathless. "That old bat shanked us," JJ hissed, pounding his fists into the dirt. He raised the leaves from the dead, tangling in Blair's hair as he continued to scream out for the crazy old woman. "Fuck! Goddammit!"
"JJ? JJ . . . JJ!" Blair grabbed his hand, stopping him from hurting himself any further. The blonde's eyes widened at the sight of the fear in her face, and he couldn't help but ask himself if it was him she was afraid of. She brought his hand up to her face, pressing her lips against it as her cheek caught the strings of his many bracelets. "I'm fucking scared."
He shifted towards her, squeezing his eyes shut as they got infinitely close. "It's okay. I won't let anything happen to you, Blair. Trust me."
"John B, don't be a hero, man," Pope's voice echoed inside their brains, as if interlocked. The boy shot Blair a wary look as they watched John B slowly move to his feet.
Pressing his finger against his lips, he swiftly moved towards the man's truck and slid in the back. Sarah whimpered loudly, mentally crying out as she seemed to seek comfort from an equally afraid Blair. She almost wanted to cry at the sight, considering she had almost never seen Blair scared before. She was always so calm and collected but, now, almost all of the people she cared about were in danger and she found herself being too much of a coward to do anything about it.
She held her hand out and Sarah grabbed it, crying into it. Blair swallowed back her sobs and focused back on the dirty ground underneath her.
"All right, y'all stay just like that," the man shouted back, gun swinging by his side. He didn't seemed to notice John B was missing. The gold was in his hands, but Blair couldn't see what he shoved in his pocket. "Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road. Don't move your goddamn heads, okay?"
The man jumped into his car, finally letting go of the shotgun and he turned on the car and prepared himself to drive away. But, before he could do anything, John B grabbed the gun and pushed the door open, jumping out as fast as he could. The man was just as fast, however, grabbing ahold of him as he tried to pry the gun from his icon-clad grip.
JJ was the first one to jump to his feet at the commotion. He was also the first one to get punched, thrown back as the man's fist collided against his face. One after the other, everyone but Pope and Sarah tried to get a hit at the man, the former having slid into the vehicle, looking for the gold, while the latter was only watching wide terrified eyes and pale face. The blonde and brunette were getting brutally beaten by the boy as Kiara laid on the ground, breathless. The rifle was only a couple feet away from Blair, but her body wasn't responding to the order. Pope clattered inside the truck whilst the man delivered a bone-crushing punch to JJ's face, noise so loud until it turned to complete smoke.
And, amid the smoke, Blair felt it. There it was, the rush she so dearly awaited. It flooded her veins like a million suns, melting the ice that caused her paralysis. She wasn't afraid anymore, rebirth from ashes and fiery fumes. Toxic; maybe she was just a product of domestic rage after all. Her hands grabbed at the gun flipping it around and knocking the air from the man's lungs, sending him to crumble on the grainy soil. The boys were released from his grip, eyes wide and chests heaving as Blair threw the rifle to John B, crouched in front of the man, and offered him the most bone-crushing, soul-freezing, skin-wrecking punch she could possibly muster.
"I got the gold!" Pope shouted, running towards them. Sarah hit the man with the car door as Blair stood to her feet.
She breathed heavily as she watched the man grovel at their feet. John B crouched in front of him, pulling the bandana off his face, JJ scoffing cynically at the sight. "I know this piece of shit. He's a basehead. He sells coke to my dad," the Maybank boy said.
"He . . . he's Sage's half-brother," Blair swallowed harshly. She looked at Sarah and managed through gritted teeth "he's Rafe's dealer."
"Your brother ain't the only one. You're good," he smirked, lopsided and bloody. "People don't usually last as long as you do."
JJ's rough boot was a strike he'd probably never forget. The man, Barry, angrily spat blood on the concrete. "Shut the fuck up, man!"
They all looked to Blair so she'd say something and stop him. She didn't.
"Let's just get out of here, okay?" John B proposed as he and Pope tried to hold the blonde back.
But JJ only glared at him and pushed them away, rummaging through Barry's pockets before his hand came out with a wallet. His eyes held a glint Blair didn't know as he pulled out his license and stared at it in determination. "We got one last stop," he muttered under his breath.
"JJ?" Blair questioned as he stood abruptly, making her lose her balance. Sarah grabbed ahold of her urgently, watching as the boy walked towards the Twinkie.
"Hey!" John B called.
"Let's go see where this son of a bitch lives!" Violence seemed to be pouring out his every pore as he hopped into the driver's seat and started the van, barely giving the rest a couple seconds to process what he was doing. John B let Blair take the seat besides him, frowning as she clicked on her seatbelt.
"Mhm, okay. JJ, that's not exactly the best idea," she muttered, brows furrowed as she stared out the window to find Barry barely regaining a normal breathing pattern. "Actually, scratch that, it's a horrible idea."
"We're supposed to be a team," he grumbled.
Blair sighed, "we are . . ." she shut her eyes. "Let's go."
And so he drove away, leaving a grovelling Barry to cry out in pain, threats spilling breathlessly from his lips."I'm gonna' remember this shit! You can't hide from me!" he yelled as he watched the van disappear. "I know exactly who y'all are! You hear me? Wait 'til Sage hears about this, Baby Cameron!"
Everything about this felt unfair to Blair. Why was JJ so fucking angry? He was supposed to be her anchor, comfort her and help her get through the catatonic fumes that encased her brain like happiness' paradox. The adrenaline had started to settle when she realized JJ was speeding dangerously through she streets of the south side, looking back at the Pogues to try and make sense of it all. They were trying to compose themselves, too busy to notice the uncharacteristically high speed. Something wasn't right. She placed her hand on his leg and he offered her a soft smile as he pulled up into the driveway of an old, crumbly, trailer-adjacent house. She never saw Sage around there; but she could smell him when they stopped.
"Dude, why are we at Barry's?" Pope spoke before Blair could. The girl frowned and shifted in her seat.
JJ looked down at Barry's driver's license, before nodding to himself and tearing the door open. "This'll only take a second."
Blair slid the passenger seat's window down, leaning out of it as John B pushed himself between the seats and peered out the van, watching the blonde walk towards the house in stride. "Where are you going?"
"What are you doing?" Blair added.
"Yo soy justicia!" the blonde yelled and entered the house, making Blair groan as she unclasped her seatbelt.
"I am justice," she translated, looking back at the Pogues. They shot her almost quizzical looks, shocked at the fact that she understood, but Blair found it pretty stupid. Yes, she spoke Spanish but yo soy justicia was a pretty easy sentence to break down. "He's gonna do something stupid," she nearly sung.
"You speak Spanish?" Kie asked.
"And French and Italian." They shot her looks of pure shock, clearly not expecting it.
Sarah scoffed. "She used to do my homework."
Blair shook her head and pulled the door open, jumping off with a frown, "is anyone going after him?"
John B sighed, nodding as he slid the back door open and jumped out swiftly. "I got it."
Pope whisper something indistinct and shook his head. "You should go," he told Blair.
"I'm no good around angry people," Blair shrugged and declined. Really, she didn't want to see him like that, not when she knew that she couldn't do anything to help him.
When the Routledge disappeared into the house after the boy, the rest were already outside, pacing over soft grass as they wondered what in hell had possessed the boy into bringing them to a fucking drug dealer's house. For the hell of it? She didn't have a single drop of adrenaline left. The Heyward boy only shook his head, as if pointing out the obvious. She buried her face into her hands, the silence as comforting as it could possibly get.
Well . . . before it was shattered into a million pieces by said reckless boy coming out of the house with a navy bag and peaking bills. Drug money, she could smell it. "All right, so, we're looking at four or five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit," JJ raised the bag, "sorry about that, y'all."
"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers?" Kiara scoffed, eyes wide.
"This Barry guy's gonna' find out," Sarah agreed, completely flabbergasted at the boy's actions. JJ said he could be rational and yet she didn't see that happen once. "And he's gonna come after us."
"Yes, he will," Pope agreed, speaking loudly. "This is not the time to start wildin' out."
"JJ," maybe his first name was what caught his attention. The times she'd use it where occasional, very rare. When she was afraid or happy or disappointed. He didn't need to think too deeply to understand the meaning of this one. "Look, let's be smart about this, okay? This whole thing is shitty, yes, but you can't do that."
"Shitty!" he only repeated, clenching his jaw. "How'd you like having a gun pulled on you? I bet it was shitty."
"Relax," John B placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm him down.
Useless, he should've known there was no peacemaking with JJ Maybank. "He had it right on you, bro. And right on fuckin' Blair!" He shoved a finger in his best friend's face, boy god features dripping in anger as he stared at the girl. "He was ready to fucking rob her. Like, of the shit she was literally wearing."
"Look," John B tried again, "we've gotta go get the gold, okay? Just give me that shit. We're putting it back." His hands reached out to try and grab the bag, but the blonde only ripped it away from him and smashed John B's back against the van. Hand right around his neck, though he'd never hurt him for real. "You feel like a tough guy, huh? What are you gonna' do when he comes for us?"
"We punch him . . . in the throat."
"Yeah, good fuckin' idea, JJ," John B scoffed through gritted teeth, sneering at the boys.
"I'm not putting it back." Shrugging, he hoped in the van and placed the back on his lap, waiting for the Pogues to fill it up. Yet nobody moved. "You guys getting in or what? Blair?" He called out for her, but she remained frozen. Frowning. Hurt, he nodded stiffly before sliding out the back. "What?"
"We're sick of your shit." John B pointed out harshly, earning a few nods of approval.
But not Blair. Never Blair, he told himself. Yet she wasn't moving nor coming to his defence like she would usually do. When his mouth opened, the words felt dry and they almost made her want to cry. "You're sick of my shit, huh? What exactly is that?"
"Your pulling guns on people shit," Kiara stated, crossing her arms as she stepped forward.
Pope did the same, ready to add his own fuel into the obviously scorching fire. "You acting like a maniac─"
"Okay, Pope, I took the fall for you, man!" JJ interrupted, yelling as loudly as his vocal chords could allow. His eyes softened, emotions hitting like a truck. "Know how much I owe because of you?"
"I'm gonna' pay you back. And I didn't even ask you to do that!" Pope countered, yet Blair could feel the guilt radiating off him. It suffocated him and ripped him from the inside and out, yet showing it would only prove JJ right.
"I just did!" JJ shouted, jaw locking in place. "Pay it back. Right here, right now, by myself."
Nobody moved, nobody spoke. Even the birds went silent. JJ scoffed, throwing the bag over his shoulder as he walked away.
"You know what? That's exactly what I'm gonna' do. Go off by myself," he called, barely sparing a glance to his friends. But, when he did, his eyes locked right with Blair, unable to read her storm-like irises. "So much for being a team, huh, Blair? You're just like everyone else."
"Let's go get the gold together, JJ," she tried and clenched her jaw. She was breathing heavily, so goddamn tired. "Don't leave," she called.
He spun around and shook his head, eyes full of tears and anger and everything between rage and sadness. "What you said yesterday was just bullshit, Blair. You know you don't mean it. I'll never be enough for you and you know that. So, you know what? Fuck you."
He grabbed his shit and left, unable to find a heartbeat in his own goddamn chest.
She wanted to follow but didn't because she was to tired and unsure that her legs would even carry her anywhere. She tried calling for him once, but only in her head. He wasn't doing okay, but she had the right to be selfish and not be fine, too. Sarah wrapped her arm around her shoulders
"It's okay," whispered and stroked her sister's hair. Blair was shorter, she melted into Sarah's embrace. She sniffled and buried her face into her shoulder, covering her eyes with her hand. She didn't want to look anymore.
Sarah let Blair lean against her all throughout the drive back home. Eyes blank, she didn't wonder where he was going.
On another note, Blair had been wrong. She wasn't just a girl, she was, as the pawnshop owner said, a businesswoman worth her fucking salt.
A smart girl . . . so why was she rubbing it over all her open wound of a heart?