"Hey! Pass me a beer, would you?" JJ shouted, waving his hands in the air. Brie glanced at the cooler box beside her and then narrowed her eyes at him. He let out a frustrated sigh. "Please will you pass me a beer?"
She smiled and threw him a bottle, which he quickly cracked open and began to chug. Brie let out a shallow breath and let herself relax. She hadn't had much time to think about last night. She had told JJ that nothing could happen between them, no matter how much she wanted it to. That had to be one of the hardest things that she had ever done.
The way she saw it, she'd barely been with the Pogues three months and she had already broken their number one rule. Guilt had flooded her instantly when she woke up that morning in JJ's arms. She felt like she had betrayed her friends, and that they might not forgive them for deliberately ignoring the rules that were clearly there for a reason.
The decision tore her apart. She so badly wanted to be with him, but she didnt want any bad blood between the Pogues and she didnt even know if she was in the right place for a relationship right now. Her heart was still reeling from her parent's deaths, and she didnt want JJ to have to deal with all of her emotional baggage.
Despite all of that, she found that didn't regret anything last night. The way he had kissed her and held her made her feel so safe and loved; something she desperately needed right now. You never know, maybe it could happen again? No, she cursed herself. That was just wishful thinking.
"Watch yourselves," JJ announced, standing up at the front of the boat, "You're about to witness something amazing."
"Dude, not this again," John B complained as Pope rolled his eyes.
"What's he doing?" Brie asked, curiously.
"Just move as far away from him as you can," Pope replied, sounding fed up of JJ's antics already. Brie didnt blame him to be honest. Pope increased their speed, the water churning loudly around them.
Kiara and Brie shuffled backwards as JJ rose his beer up to his face, the liquid spraying out everywhere as he tried to catch it with his open mouth.
"Ugh!" Kiara shrieked, "You're getting beer in my hair!"
Beer splashed Brie's face, covering her clothes in the foul smelling drink. She groaned and tried to wipe it off her."Jesus christ, Jay! Give up already."
She stood up and tried to snatch it from him when the boat suddenly came to a harsh halt. Brie felt herself be thrown from the boat, sommersalting through the air multiple times before crashing into the water.
Her body ached as she sunk down further, the burn on her side stinging at the contact with the water. She kicked up and broke through the surface with a pained gasp.
"Fuck!" She exclaimed.
"Oh my god," Kiara shouted. "Pope!"
"I think my heels touched the back of my head," JJ groaned as he floated up next to her, "What the fuck Pope?"
"It was the sand bar!" Pope defended, "Are you guys okay?"
JJ seemed to only just register Brie beside him and swam over to her. She winced at the dull sting on her raw skin and lifted her head to feel the sun against her face, focusing on the warmth to keep her distracted.
"You good?" He asked, wrapping her in his arms so he could support her. She nodded and rested an arm over his shoulders, making sure to keep most of her weight off of him.
"Hey, Brie," John B shouted, "You okay?"
"I'm good," she promised, "Although that burn hurts like a bitch."
"Come on, let's get you out and have a look," he said, leading her back over to the boat.
"Wait, guys," Pope interrupted, pointing out into the water, "I think theres a boat down there."
Brie and JJ both turned in unison, his arm still around her waist. She held onto his shoulders tighter as she squinted into the murky water.
"What?" John B said, coming for a closer look, "No way, man."
"No, he's right," Kiara confirmed, leaning over the edge, "There's definitely a boat down there."
Brie let go of JJ and peered down into the clouded water. She dipped her head under so that she could see the submerged object more clearly. She popped back up and grinned in excitement.
"Oh my god, there is!" She exclaimed, looking at JJ, "Come on. Let's check it out."
"Brie, wait-" he shouted, but she had already disappeared down into the depths.
The water was too deep to make it all the way down, but she had enough time to see that it was an expensive boat. She pushed herself closer through the muddy water, close enough to recognise that the boat was a Grady White. Who on this side of the island would be able to afford a Grady White?
She saw that her friends were now all surrounding the boat, eyeing but excitedly.
Brie gave them a thumbs up, signalling for them all to head back to the boat. They got the message and pushed themselves back up to the surface.
"Did you see that?" JJ asked, swimming back to the Pogue.
"Well, yeah," Brie rolled her eyes at him, "We're not blind."
He sneered and stuck out his tongue. She pulled a face in return as he offered her a hand, pulling her up onto the deck and throwing her a towel. She wrapped it around her to shield herself from the cold breeze.
"That was a Grady White!" JJ told the others, excitement evident on his face, "Worth at least five-hundred Gs easy."
Kiara squeezed her hair out over the side of the boat and pulled her top back over her bikini. "What was it doing out in the storm?"
"I dont know," John B frowned, "But there could be something still on board that will tell us who owns it."
"Yeah, maybe we'll get a finder's fee," Kiara added, excitedly, "Someone should check it out first though."
Brie dropped the towel onto the deck and pulled the now wet bandage off, inspecting her side. It was still bruised and raw, blistering a disgusting orange-yellow colour. She leaned over the side of the boat and splashed the cold water onto it, hissing as it came into contact with her skin. Hopefully the cold would numb the sting a little.
"Brie, you okay?" JJ asked, looking down at her with a worried frown.
"I'm fine," she said, giving a small smile of reassurance. JJ didnt look convinced. Brie pushed herself to her feet and headed to grab the anchor from the back of the boat, "I'll go down and check it out."
"Woah, are you sure?" John B asked, eyeing her carefully, "I can go down if you want."
"Yeah, don't worry," she gave him a confident smile. "I want to-"
"Brie, you're not going," JJ said, stubbornly, "Give the anchor to John B."
Brie gave him a hard glare and shoved past him, standing on the edge with the anchor hugged to her chest. There was no way that she wasn't going down now. Who the hell did he think he was telling her what to do? Kiara winked at her with an impressed smirk as she stood her ground.
"You don't get to tell me what to do," Brie told, calmly, looking to John B for confirmation to go ahead. "Diver down?"
"Bro, tell her!" JJ yelled, gesturing to Brie's smug expression, "She can't do it!"
"Is it because I'm a girl?" Brie teased, playing the misogynist card which she knew would piss him off, "Really, JJ? I thought you were better than that."
JJ rolled his eyes dramatically, huffing out a frustrated sigh. Brie bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from laughing, which she knew would only piss him off even more. JJ was a hothead at the best of times, but when Brie teased him she unlocked a whole new level of rage in him.
"Yeah," Kie chimed in, frowning at him as she played along, "That's really shitty, JJ."
"Look," he growled, teeth gritted as he tried to contain his anger. He pointed a finger at Brie, making her raise her eyebrows questioningly."You nearly died a few hours ago. And now you want to go down into the water again? It's not happening, Brie. I won't let you."
"Oh, and I need your permission, do I?" She sneered, moving closer to the edge. His eyes flicked down to where her feet were almost hanging over the edge and gave her another firm glare.
"Don't even think about it," he warned, pointing another harsh finger at her, "I swear to God, Brie."
Kiara stepped up to her and gave her an approving nod for standing up to JJ, kissing her cheek. "Diver down, fool."
"Don't you fucking dare-" JJ raised his voice in warning, but he was too late. A grin grew over Brie's face as she looked to Kiara Kiara smirked and gave Brie a light shove so she fell backwards off the side and into the Marsh.
Brie drew in a sharp breath before she hit the water and then let the anchor drag her down to the bottom, reminding her of this morning when she woke up on the bed of the Marsh after her little shock. She hadn't felt the pain at first due to the adrenaline, which is probably why she was able to swim all the way back to the dock.
She was still amazed that she hadn't seen the cable in the water and even more amazed that she was more or less fine. That was apart from the big burn across her side, of course.
It was still scary to her that she was lucky to even be alive after being electrocuted whilst in the water. Hell, she would have even been lucky to have ended up in the hospital, never mind being able to walk about as if it had never happened. As Pope had said, and JJ repeated several times, she should technically be dead.
She tried not to dwell too much on what could have happened, focusing instead on how lucky she was to get out of it pretty much unscathed. Maybe her luck could allow her to find something on this boat.
Brie let go of the anchor as it hit the sand and pulled herself into the cab of the boat, eyes searching for anything interesting. She scammed around quickly, but it seemed empty. Anything that was on the boat was probably washed away when it was sunk in the storm. She was becoming more and more aware of how much oxygen she was losing, knowing that she'd have go up for air soon.
Suddenly, her attention was grabbed by something inside the cabin of the boat. Her fingers fumbled to grab it. A motel key. She let out an internal sigh. Not very interesting, but it was better than nothing.
She didnt have time to take another look as she was coming to realise that she couldn't hold her breath much longer. She swam out of the boat and let herself float back up to the Pogue, drawing in an large gasp when she finally reached air. She coughed to clear her throat and nose, shaking her head to get rid of some of the water.
Brie could hear JJ still swearing and muttering angrily under his breath as she dragged herself back onto the boat. She winced at the pull on her side, making John B lean over and help her up. Brie grimaced in an attempt to smile in thanks as she sat on the deck with her legs still hanging over the side into the water.
JJ turned his back to her, still muttering to himself, and raked his fingers through his damp blonde hair, making Brie's heart sink a little in her chest. John B threw her a towel and sat down next to her.
"What did you find, Batman?" He asked, bumping her shoulder. She shot him a disappointed smile, handing him the key.
"A motel key?" Pope asked.
"Wonderful," JJ shouted, dramatically, throwing his arms up in the air, "A motel key. Good job, Brie. That was so worth you putting yourself at risk again. Well done."
She felt her throat swell up, her eyes prickling. She could usually deal with JJ's temper, but she had to admit that his comments hurt. Why was she letting him get to her like this?
"Why are you being such an ass?" She yelled, standing up and marching over to him. JJ seemed surprised by her outburst, as if he just expected her to sit back and not react. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not fucking incapable, JJ! There's no need for you to be such a sarcastic twat all the time."
"Oh, shit," Pope muttered, glancing between the pair. Kiara and John B both sat silently, mouths agape in shock.
"You're just- you're so-" JJ stuttered in frustration, face turning slightly red, "You're fucking insufferable, Brie. Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger all the time? It's like you dont even think about how worried we get."
"Uh, you get," Pope corrected, "How worried you get."
JJ glared at him, fists clenched. "So you guys dont give a shit if she gets herself killed?"
"Hello!" Brie yelled, drawing everyone's attention back to herself, "I'm still here."
"Of course we give a shit," John B said, like it was obvious, "But you're being super weird and protective, bro. I trust Brie, and so should you."
Brie crossed her arms and looked at JJ smugly. She knew that she could count on the others to back her up. JJ was being irrational and she knew that, deep down, he knew that he was too. He looked at her again before dropping his shoulders in defeat.
"Whatever," JJ huffed, "Let's go and check out that motel, see if we can see who owns that Grady White."