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Listening to JJ is a dumb idea, I learnt that years ago. CLEARLY, my brother has not. The group hangs back at the Chateau while John b goes to steal the tanks. The four of us stay seated outside as Kie begins to blabber to Pope with something to do with plastic and the environment. I let my eyes slowly travel to meet JJ's only to find he was already looking at me. The silence between us two is deafening, so I decide to do something about it. Pushing myself up from my chair I walk towards Jay with a small smile.
"Want to get a beer?" I ask lightly as I tap his shoulder and walk past him toward the chateau. I hear Pope mumble a quick good luck to the blonde as he gets up from his seat and begins to follow me inside. The two of us quietly make our way into the kitchen, he leans against the counter with his arms crossed as I open the fridge and grab two beers.
I pass him one of the cold cans as he mumbles a quick thanks. I can't help my mouth get instantly dry as I watch him take a large sip and his neck flex as he swallows. WHAT THE HELL SAM?! What if he saw you staring? I think I'm starting to lose my fucking mind. His eyes meet mine and in a panic from almost being caught staring, my eyes instantly jump down to look at my unopened beer. He clears his throat loudly going to speak.
"Can we not do this?" He questions sounding agitated and annoyed. My eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"Do what?" I ask quietly.
"This!" He says motioning between the two of us. "This whole awkward, no talking thing. It's not us." He sighs causing me to smile. "Can we just forget about last night? What almost happened was stupid, I was drunk. Can we please forget about it, Sammy?" And just like that my smile is instantly gone. I knew it meant nothing to him but actually hearing the words makes me almost feel sick. I disguise my obvious disappointment with a laugh.
"Thank God! That was super weird." I laugh loudly. "Yeah, let's consider it forgotten." I smile up at him trying not to show the slight heartbreak I'm feeling.
"Great!" He laughs along. "Plus, if we ever, like, did...that. John b would literally rip my head off." He jokes even though we both know it is one hundred percent the truth. My brother is very overprotective so if he ever even thought that his best friend and his little sister were fooling around, he'd kill us both.
"I'm glad we're back to normal, Jay. Lets not ever let something get between us again, okay?" I mumble as he wraps his arms tightly around me and I rest my head flat on his chest. I feel his head lay on top of mine as we both hold each other tightly.
"Never again." Right as JJ mumbles a response we hear Kie shout from outside.
"John Bs back!"
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The five of the Pogues all sat together on the still boat. Sam lit a joint and let JJ take a small puff before snatching it back. John b groans loudly at Sam, making her roll her eyes.
"Do you have to do that? That shits bad for you." He scolds the brunette from across the boat.
"Yeah, like you don't smoke weed." She sarcastically laughs ignoring his attempt to parent her.
"This is empty. You took empty tanks!" Kie frustratedly groans loudly.
"Of course you did, genius." Sam mumbles eying her brother who ignores her completely.
"Okay. This one's a quarter full. That's enough for one of us." Kie announces.
"I love it when a plan comes together." Pope sasses making Sam have to sniffle a laugh.
"Does anyone know how to dive?" Kie questions as everyone quietly shakes their heads.
"Yeah, of course! That's how we like to spend our cash, screw paying rent or buying food, we love to go diving." Sam sarcastically jokes taking another puff of her joint.
"It is kind of a kook sport." JJ nods, agreeing with Sam.
"I, uh, read about it." Pope speaks up.
"Damn, so we're screwed." Sam laughs nudging Popes shoulder as he smiles across at her.
"Great, Pope read about it so someone's going to die." Kie sighs.
"Look, you put the thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard can it be?" JJ asks the group.
"If you come up to fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends." Pope states.
"Bends like, bend over." JJ says while bending over and sticking his ass right in Sams face.
"Can you get your butt the fuck away from me." She says shooting the blonde a playful glare as he looks over his shoulder at her.
"Oh please, you're just jealous cause I have a better ass!" He smirks bending over even more. Sam brings her hand up and slaps his ass causing him to gasp loudly.
"The bends kill you." Pope announces ignoring JJ and Sam.
"Right, I knew that." JJ says standing up straight.
"I can dive." Sam tells the group, as she puts her joint out on the side of the boat. Everyone's eyes jump to meet hers in a panic. John b and JJ instantly shake their heads. "Oh come on, it can't be that hard. Like you said, it's a kook sport. So, if a bunch of polo shirt wearing, trust fund kids can do it, I sure can." She shrugs, standing up and going to grab the tank.
"Yeah, no. You're not going down there." JJ sternly tells the brunette.
"No, no way." John b immediately says as he harshly grabs the tank from her hand. "I'll do it." He announces.
"You can dive. I'm cool with that." JJ agrees causing Sam to roll her eyes.
"Since when can you dive?" Kie eyes the boy next to her, clearly worried for his wellbeing.
"I'll do it. It's fine." He shrugs. Sam groans in annoyance, she can't help but be mad at the fact that her brother thinks he can tell her what to do.
"Let me do the calculations real quick." Pope mutters. "The boats about 30 feet down. So It'll take 25 minutes at that depth. Which means you need to make a safety stop at about ten feet. Alright, for two minutes." Pope instructs as Kie signals into the water to Sam as she nods in understanding.
Sam pulls her shirt over her head revealing her olive-green bikini. JJ's eyes immediately jump from Popes diagram to Sams tan body. His mouth instantly waters at the sight of her diving into the marsh. The other two boys look down at the water after hearing Kie and Sam jump into the marsh.
"What was that about?" Pope questions in a confused tone.
"I don't know, but I liked it. A lot." JJ mumbles still looking into the water where Sam had recently jumped in.
"That's my sister, man!" John b warns JJ sternly as he slaps him across the shoulder.
"Uh, so, yeah-'' JJ tries his best to change the subject. "Uh, when you're down there look for the cargo hold." He says holding up a tool. "You stick this thing inside and twist and pull, okay?" The two girls break through the surface of the water smiling at each other.
"Hey! We tied our shirts to the anchor about ten feet down. It's where you need to do your safety stop." Kie tells John b as she makes her way slowly toward the boat.
"So try not to die." Sam says to her brother as she swims towards the boat as well. When Sam reaches the side of the boat she leans over and smacks JJ on the calf. "Help me up, blondie." She instructed. He reaches over the boat and grabs her hand to pull her up.
"You need to make sure you have enough air to decompress. Breathe as little as possible." Pope tells John b.
"Zen. Think Zen, you know?" JJ mumbles as John b smiles sarcastically.
"Hey, if we get caught out here in the marsh, we're basically screwed, so...Better get a move on." Pope tries his best to rush the brunette.
"Copy that." John b replies. Sam goes up to him and gives him a small hug.
"Don't die, okay?" She mumbles walking away. Kie goes up to him and kisses his cheek.
"Diver down?" John b says.
"Diver down." Kie replies with a smile. Sam nudges JJs rib cage as they both smile at their friends in front of them. John b jumps into the water as everyone watches quietly. Pope turns to look at the group and when his eyes land on Sams stomach his jaw drops.
"Jesus Sam, what the fuck happened to your stomach?" Everyone's eyes drop to her body. Apparently, everyone was too caught up before to notice the huge bruises and cuts covering Sams ribs and stomach. JJ reaches forward and gently trails his fingertips over her injuries.
"Sammy-'' He whispers softly right before she harshly pushes his hand off her.
"It's fine guys. Seriously." She tells the group. Right before anyone can say anything else they hear loud sirens coming from behind them.
"Guys, that's the police." JJ announces.
"Oh, for fucksakes. Shit, hide the weed." Sam says tapping JJ frantically on the shoulder. JJ bends over and quickly hides the girls stash.
"You've got to be kidding me." Pope grunts moving to the front of the boat.
"Just act frickin' normal." Kie says frantically. The cops park their boat directly beside the Pogues.
"Evening officers." Pope greets them, as JJ ties them up to the boat. Sams hands ball into anxious shaky fists.
"How you kids doing? You know the marsh is closed?" Shoup tells the group in a stern tone.
"No."
"No way."
"Sorry." The group mumbles all at the same time.
"I didn't know." JJ voices grabbing Sams hand from her side and squeezes it comfortly. Sam looks up at him with a small smile.
"Why is it closed?" Pope asks the officer.
"We're conducting a search out here. Boat went down. Seen anything?" He eyes us with suspicion.
"No." JJ answers still holding Sams hand tightly beside him.
"No boats. No." Pope tells the man as Kie and Sam both shake their heads. Sam squeezes JJ's hand anxiously as he looks down at her.
"He's going to be fine." He whispers quietly.
"Where's your friend you always hang out with? Your brother." Shoupe points at Sam.
"Don't you know it's rude to point, assho-" Sam sasses with a harsh glare.
"He's working." Kie interrupts the brunette, shaking her head lightly.
"I'm going to check your little boat out." Shoupe tells the group already stepping on the boat.
"Yeah, hop aboard." Pope nods, moving to the side.
"You want to check, check her out." JJ sighs moving him and Sam to the side. Sam looks into the water anxiously, hoping her brother is okay.
"You got another one of these." Shoupe asks pointing at the lifejacket.
"Yeah, of course." JJ tells the cop. "It's in the hold." Kie gets up from the hold of the boat and stands next to Pope.
"Show him." Kie sighs as JJ leaves Sams side. Her hand suddenly feels cold and lonely without his presence.
"Here we go." JJ says showing the police officer the extra life jacket.
"Alright." Shoupe nods. JJ immediately stands behind Sam and wraps his arms tightly around her waist. She instinctively leans back into his warm hold. The group starts to get visually anxious. Shoupe looks over the side of the boat into the water making Sam tap JJ's hand in a panic as he wraps it even tighter around her.
"Alright." Shoupe says walking away from the side of the boat. JJ and Sam instantly relax against each other in relief. "Beautiful day."
"Sure is." JJ nods clearly annoyed by the whole situation.
"Will he just get the fuck out of here." Sam whispers to JJ.
"Let us know if you see anything on the way out." The sheriff tells the group as he steps onto his boat.
"We'll do." Pope nods smiling at the officers. As their boat drives further away from the group Sam quickly rushes to the edge of the boat, the group quickly follows. All four of them lean over the water just as scared as each other. Sam feels JJ's hand rub her back comfortingly.
"Come on John b. Come on." Sam mutters quietly but only loud enough for JJ to hear.
"He's definitely out of air." Pope voices as Sams hands begin to shake.
"There he is!" JJ says excitedly tapping Sams back. Sam watches as her brother breaks through the surface of the water causing her to sigh in relief. The whole group laughs in clear relief.
"Don't scare us like that." Pope laughs at the boy breathing deeply.
"You asshole! What the fuck was that?!" Sam yells furiously at her brother. "I thought you were fucking dead!" She screams getting up to grab another joint.
"How'd it go down there? Did you find anything?" JJ asks the boy in the water.
"Did I find anything?" John b laughs sarcastically as he throws his bag onto the boat.
"That's my boy!" JJ laughs proudly grabbing the bag.
"You okay?" Kie questions John b.
"Yeah, I ran out of air." He laughs causing Sam to groan and take a large puff of her joint.
"You scared the shit out of me." Kie laughs with a huge grin.
"Yeah, the cops were out here but, uh, we took care of them." Pope states proudly in a cool tone causing Sam to laugh.
"Yeah, you kind of missed the show brother." JJ laughs wrapping his arm loosely over Sams shoulder. Kies voice rips both JJ and Sams attention away from each other.
"Hey, guys? Guys, bogeys, two o'clock." The whole group turns to look behind them to see a sketchy looking boat making their way closer.
"Guys, I don't have a good feeling about this. Lets get thee fuck out of here." Sam says anxiously almost pleading the group to leave. She groans as she puts out the joint she just lit.
"Do you recognise that boat?" Pope asks quietly sending Sam a small comforting smile.
"I've never seen it. What are they doing out here? The marsh is closed." Kie replies in a fearful tone. Sam almost makes a joke about how they are ones to talk but decides to let it slip just this once.
"I don't know, but let's not stick around to find out." JJ rushes as everyone starts to get the boat ready to leave.
"JJ, get the bowline." John b instructs as JJ does as suggested. Sam keeps her eyes on the boat across the water the whole time. She knew something was wrong, she could feel it.
"Should we wait on them?" Pope questions making Sams eyebrows shoot up in confusion.
"Are you fucking suicidal?! No we're not going to wait on them." Sam just about yells as the creepy men get closer.
"Guys, don't wait for me. Go!" JJ shouts while pulling up the anchor. The HMS begins moving slowly along the water away from the boat still coming their way.
"I don't like this." John b mumbles while steering the boat. Sam places her hand comfortingly on his back to calm his nerves even though she was just as scared.
"Go, go, go, go!" JJ rushes as he notices the boat pick up speed behind us.
"Go into the marsh!" Pope tells John b.
"I'm going! Act natural." John b mumbles making Sam groan in annoyance about the whole situation. The boat creeps way to close to the back of the HMS making Sams stomach drop as she holds her brothers back tighter.
"Hey guys! They're following us!" Kie announces in fear, causing the whole group to panic.
"This can't be good." Pope mutters, his eyes so wide they're almost popping out of his head.
"Dude, you've got to go faster." JJ tells John b as he looks over at Sam anxiously.
"What the fuck is that?!" Sam yells as she sees the man pull something out from behind him. Before anyone has the chance to answer, a gunshot rings out through the air. Everyone immediately ducks at the frightful noise. Sam feels someone harshly tug at her body pulling her to the floor of the boat. When she opens her eyes, she sees JJ laying slightly on top of her, guarding her from any bullets.
If she literally wasn't about to die, she would be focused on how close he was and how his breath feathered her face. But it wasn't the time for that. Sam looks up to see her brother still steering the boat, fully exposed to the shooters.
"John b, get down." Both her and JJ anxiously cry for him to get to safety. Another loud gunshot sores through the air causing everyone to shake with fear.
"We're gonna die!" Pope shakes in fear.
"It's going to be okay." Sam says calmly as she pushes JJ off of her and starts to rise from the floor. She didn't care if she got hurt, all she cared about was making sure that her brother and friends were okay. So as she feels JJ tugging on her arm and pleading for her to get down, she ignores him. Before John b knows what's happening, Sam forcefully pushes him to the floor of the boat and takes control of the wheel.
"What the fuck Sam?!' John b yells in fear and shock over what his sister was currently doing.
"Stay the fuck down JB!" She shouts harshly right before another bullet gets blasted in their direction. The fear Kie felt seeing her best friend steering the boat dodging bullets made her come up with an idea quickly. She gets up racing towards the fishing nets at the end of the boat causing Sam to smirk in approval.
More gun shots rang out through the air making all the boys continue to beg the two girls to get down. Kie throws the net off the boat with a grunt and a hopeful expression. Multiple other shots are fired before the men's boat crashes into the fishing net. The two girls sigh with relief when they realise that the other boat had stop moving and the plan had worked.
"We're all good, boys!" Sam laughs sending a wink in Kies direction. The three boys stand up in shock as they watch the other boat be left further and further behind them. The group instantly cheers in relief as Sam can't help the proud smile that spreads across her face.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" John b shouts aggressively in Sams direction. It was obvious he was mad that she put herself in danger trying to protect him. "Don't you ever do that again." He whines as he wraps his hands tightly around his only family.
"Can't make any promises." Sam smirks, "It's the rush of life John b, gotta catch it while you can." She laughs making the group smile in her direction.
"That's my girl!" JJ cheers happily as the group make their way back to the Chateau dock.
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The group quickly rushes off the boat to excitedly open this bag they had found. John b dumps it down on the dock as the whole group crowds around him. Sam balls her hands into tight fists with adrenaline and anxiety pumping through her veins.
"What do you guys think it is?" Kie asks with an excited tone. Sam on the other hand didn't care. Whatever was in that bag was not worth almost losing her brother and her friends, it was not worth losing her family.
"Got to be money, right?" John b questions as he quickly unzips the black bag.
"That or a couple of keys with street value to the low-to mid-mils!" JJ chuckles grabbing Sams hand to prevent her from cutting her hands with her nails anymore. He knew it was something she did when she was nervous or scared and he hated it. He wished he could take the pain away but instead he would just have to try his best to prevent it.
"Can we please just open the bag?" Pope snaps aggressively. Surprisingly Popes shit attitude was the one thing that cheered Sam up in this moment.
"Jesus Pope, what's stuck up your ass?" She laughs sending him a teasing wink.
"That's a rare outburst of emotion." John b comments making Pope huff in annoyance.
"you guys are literally killing me with anticipation. Open the bag." Pope yells making Sam giggle into JJ's shoulder.
"Jeez." JJ laughs at his snarky tone.
"We almost died over this." Pope says making Sam but in.
"Ummm, actually you guys were fine all ducked and hidden away. Kie and I almost died saving your asses." Sam sasses while Kie nods in agreement.
John b screws the lid of the metal container as the group waits not very patiently. When John b pulls out the mystery item both him and his sister freeze instantly. As the rest of the group moans about it being worthless, Sam falls onto her knees beside John b and wraps her hand around his wrist.
"Is that-" Sam chokes back a small sob as John b just nods lightly still staring at the compass.
"Guys, what? It's not worth anything?" JJ questions the two in confusion. Sam can't even find the words to explain to him as she looks up into his eyes. Before Sam can even think of what to say, John bs voice cuts through the cold air.
"It was our fathers."
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