CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
we're back, baby
It is dark outside when I kick the door's open. John B jumps down the stairs, and turns around, spreading his arms in the air, looking at me. I bow down slightly before jumping down the entire set of stairs. John B catches me midair, just like we had practiced all those years ago when we watched that FRIENDS episode where Ross and Monica do their siblings dance.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I say, putting both of my hands around my mouth.
"We're free!" John B finishes my sentence spinning us around.
While he spins, I catch a glimpse of a face we both know too well, smiling to herself hiding in the shadow a couple of feet away. I repeatedly pat John B's head to make him stop.
"Yo, dude, dude." I keep patting his head until he stops. He looks up at me with knitted eyebrows. I tilt my chin with a smirk, "Look."
As soon as JB locks eyes with Sarah, I'm dropped to the floor. But hey, no hard feelings. I get it. It's Blondie. They need to talk. I respectfully stay back, waiting patiently until they finish speaking.
They don't talk much. Not even two minutes later Blondie is making her way towards me with a beaming smile. She says hi, and links her arm with mine leaving John B behind with a dumbfounded look in his face.
Sarah tells me she is the one that got us out. Well, she actually just bought us a day. But she did it, anyway. She apologized, said she didn't know Topper was also going to retaliate against me. I told her she didn't have to apologize, we were still friends - I think.
John B doesn't complain as we walk back to the Chateau. In fact, I actually catch him smiling to himself listening to Sarah a couple of times. So I think it's safe for me to stay friends with Blondie.
The lights of the Chateau were on. Especially in our backyard. John B and I share matching beaming smiles walking inside our home. Sarah gives us a smile before running to our back door, and running to the backyard.
"Look who decided to come home..." We hear her say, and we understand that is our cue.
John B and I walk outside, waving while everybody welcomes us back home. Kie is here, Pope, Cleo, and of course JJ.
I squeal as I run down the stairs, jumping into his arms. He catches me, as he always does, and spins us around while I wrap my legs around his waist and I dip my head down to meet his lips with mine. We only pull apart when our friends start cheering and clapping.
We laugh together, and JJ tilts his chin towards JB, "Good to see you too, man." He jokes.
"You gonna give me a little kissy kiss too?" John B jokes, puckering his lips.
I actually can't believe he made a joke instead of threatening JJ. And neither can everyone else, because we all go mad and yell for him cheering him and laughing.
JJ then drops me on the floor, giving me one last kiss to my forehead. I run to the rest of the Pogues, hugging them one by one. Pope tells me how much he missed me, and that he has so much to tell me about some stuff he found out about his family.
Cleo hugs me tightly too, cracking jokes about how the can has changed me. Even Kie hugs me, and apologized a thousand times while she has her arms wrapped tightly about me.
"Hey, uhm..." Sarah says, catching our attention. "I have something I want to share with you guys. I can get us down to the Orinoco." We exchange looks with each other, hearing news that seem too good to be true.
"Are you serious, Blondie?"
"Yeah," She nods.
"Okay, and how's that gonna happen?" Cleo asks the most important question.
"My dad's gonna let us use the plane."
"Ward?" JJ asks, sharing an unsure look with me.
"Not sure about that one, Sarah." I voice our thoughts out loud.
"No, listen. We lay low tonight, then wheels up first thing in the morning."
"Okay, that's a lot to process. Your dad actually helping us." Pope exclaims in shock.
"I talked to him. He'll do it."
"So we trusting Ward now?" Cleo checks.
"I trust Sarah." Kiara says softly, looking at each one of us.
"That's all I needed to hear." Pope laughs.
"But wait, I also just have one more thing to say. Um..." Sarah hesitates, "Since we've gotten back from the island, I've done some things that I regret. A lot."
I snap my eyes to John B, who looks at the ground for a second, taking a deep breath before looking up again. I know he's hurt because of what Sarah has done. However, I also know that glimmering look in his eyes. And you can't throw those feelings away that easily.
No one says anything, and it's Kiara the one who clears her throat, tilting her chin towards Sarah while staring at my brother.
"Uh... yeah. I feel... I feel like we've all done a thing or two that we regret."
I can't help but look at JJ, who is looking down at the ground. I twist the ring I still wear on my finger out of instinct.
"And I don't..." Sarah speaks again, "Poguelandia, guys. It's all I've been able to think about. We were all together on that island, and it was a good thing, and I don't want to ruin a good thing."
I do actually agree with her. I miss Poguelandia too. It was easier. Dirtier, messier, but easier nonetheless. We had such a beautiful thing going on. Maybe it's the Outer Banks what drives us crazy.
"I just wanna know, are we still all in?" Blondie looks around, "Are we still all together? Because I am."
"Yeah," Kiara says, and she is the first one to pull Sarah into a hug.
I look at John B from where I am standing, silently asking him not for permission, but if he would be okay if I joined that hug too. My brother snickers to himself, tilting his chin towards the girls.
"Blondie, you can take the Pogues out of Poguelandia, but you can't take Poguelandia out of the Pogues!" I squeal, running to hug both Sarah and Kie, making them laugh.
"We pond road!" Cleo laughs while Blondie tells her she loves her with a laugh.
"Still can't believe you got the plane." Pope smiles, pulling her for a hug too. "That's actually insane."
"Let's go get Big John, all right?" JJ joins us. I end up between Pope and JJ, with both of their arms around me, and mine around theirs.
This is the first time the Pogues have actually felt like a family again since we came back. The first time the seven of us have been together since we got pulled apart on our way back. This right here, this, is what matters. This is what makes everything worth fighting for.
"What do you say there, shit bird?" JJ teases my brother, who is hesitant to join us.
"Yeah, what do you say, Johnny? Ready to save dad?" I cock my eyebrow questioningly.
"I think this deserves a woogity," Pope adds. "How long you gonna pretend you're not coming over here?"
I know it's not gonna take long. I smile to myself, feeling my heart jump with happiness in my chest seeing the way John B and Sarah are smiling at each other. Yeah, he's definitely back in fully John B shape.
My brother opens his arms with a grin, walking towards us. We get together, between laughter and jokes. I can feel some tears rolling down my cheeks, and I think this may be the very first time I'm feeling overwhelmed by how much joy I'm feeling.
"Are you crying?!" John B laughs at me.
"Shut the fuck up!" I laugh too. "I just love y'all so much, you fucking shitheads." I sob.
When you've lost everything, and you have nothing left behind, the people that are still in your life become your everything. I think I can speak for both John B and I when I say that these people are our family. This is everything we have left, and I'm pretty sure everything we'll ever need.
"Oh, we're really doing this, aren't we?" John B says with a beaming smile.
"Hell yeah, we are. We're back, baby!" I shout towards the night sky as loud as my lungs allow me to.
Laying low for the Pogues means getting drunk while listening to music at the Chateau. So that's exactly what we do. Luckily for us, this time no one is coming after us - or so we think. We're almost sure we're safe tonight.
Pope, Cleo and I have been playing dominoes for a while, laughing and talking about Ward's plane while Kiara plays soft tunes on her ukelele sitting on the couch. John B and Sarah left the room five minutes ago, I'm pretty sure they're having sex in JB's room. So good for them!
JJ grabs a beer from the kitchen, and when he makes his way back to sit next to me, I shake my head softly. He frowns, not understanding. I cock my head to the side, glancing at Kie. JJ's shoulders drop and he lets out a sigh.
"Go," I mouth, pointing discreetly at Kiara.
JJ pouts like a little kid, but still goes. I watch him scratch his neck awkwardly while sitting down next to Kie. She hides a side smile, and looks my way briefly giving me a knowing look.
"What's up with with those two?" Pope asks curiously, tilting his chin.
"He messed up. Now he has to apologize."
"Damn, boy." Cleo laughs, "JJ is really apologizing?"
"Of course he is!" I defend him, "I told him to." I add with a smirk.
"He is your little bitch. The clink has changed you, girl." Cleo teases, clicking her tongue.
"Nope." Pope shakes his head with a chuckle, "She's the same as she's always been."
JJ comes back, putting his hand on my shoulder startling me for a second. He joins us for a while as we speak about everything and nothing at the same time. We tell Pope and Cleo what we've been up to these days. JJ recreates himself telling them about his wonderful idea of working with smugglers and the whole goblin mode incident.
Eventually Pope and Cleo leave us alone, and I wink an eye to Cleo when Pope's not looking. She flicked me off and threatened to kill me if I did that again. They're so gonna get together.
Kiara is still playing her ukulele in the background. JJ offers me his hand and asks, "Wanna dance?"
I look at him surprised, "For real? You hate dancing."
"Exactly. Don't miss your chance."
I let out an excited squeal, and grab his hand before he changes his mind. JJ pulls me up from my chair and towards him until my body crashes against his chest. I throw my head back laughing while his arm wraps around my waist. He keeps my hand on his chest, holding it softly as my arm slides up around his neck.
JJ swings us around the room, moving at the beat of Kie's music. At one point, JJ's back is turned to Kiara. I use the opportunity to whisper a sweet thank you to her. She just smiles and keeps on playing with the biggest grin on her face.
"I love you so much." JJ dips his head down, to press a sweet kiss on my brow.
"I love you." I say back, feeling the butterflies in my stomach go crazy.
"Is it hot in here, or is it just you?" He smirks just when I notice a small drop of sweat go down his forehead.
I laugh, but the sound gets choked on my throat when I notice the flickering orange lights coming from the kitchen window. My heart drops to my stomach. I stop moving, and let go of JJ's hand.
"Fire." I manage to mumble.
"Yeah, you're fire." JJ doesn't understand what I'm saying.
"No, I mean fire. The house is on fire."
My words alert Kiara too. Both of them follow my gaze, and the three of us witness the flames getting higher around the window.
I push Kiara towards the hallway, "Go get JB!"
JJ and I run to get Pope and Cleo. They were both next to our back door, and rush to the living room with us just as I hear Kiara scream.
"Why does this keep happening to me?!" She yells.
She comes back running with Sarah throwing her shirt over her head, brushing her hair with her fingers. John B comes out of the room too, throwing on his shirt and looking around alarmed.
Blondie runs for the nearer door, and reaches out her hand to grab the handle. She pulls it back immediately with a yelp.
"Sarah, get away from the door!" John B yells.
I remember then the bag I left in the kitchen with my stuff prepared for South America. It is still there. I run towards it and grab it. I slide it on my back, and run through the hallway to my bedroom.
I grab the handle of my window. It is not as hot as the door handles. I pull it open and check outside. There's a small clearing where the fire hasn't reached yet.
"Guys! Guys!" I yell at the top of my lungs before coughing.
The Pogues come running alerted, and I point towards my window while coughing. They immediately understand, and John B insists I go out first. I hover over the edge, and brace myself for the fall when I throw myself to the ground.
My ankle twists, making me lose balance and fall face first to the ground with a grunt. Cleo is quickly at my side, grabbing my arm while coughing and helping me get up.
The Pogues climb out of my window one by one. John B is last. We step back, getting further away from the flames that are gobbling down our home.
I've had many nightmares during my lifetime. Seeing the Chateau on fire, the roof falling off, the windows shattering was never one of them.