A/N: I owe many of you a huge apology. When I first started writing this, I said I would publish 1-2 new chapters every day. But I took a 3-day break from this story.
Please feel free to give me feedback on the story so far <3 I hope to continue this story till the end!
As we got back from the set up with Kiara and Sarah, I headed straight home. I didn't tell my dad what the plan was because I wasn't aware that I was spending the night on the boat as well so I worried he'd be worried. Back at home, Luke and I would go and party lots of nights and not come back till the next day, but the difference here was that I was gone with Luke and now I'm just gone alone.
I walked inside the house and found my dad sitting on the porch with a sketchbook and a coffee.
"You're back early, I thought you worked from early morning to late afternoon?" I ask sitting down with him to see what he was drawing.
"Yeah, this morning one of our nets was caught in something and so we spent all morning untangling them and cutting out clots. It was all trash that was stuck in them. By the time we got done, it was too late to go out." He explained. He was drawing my mom on the shore with me and Luke in her arms. Oh boy... not this again. I sigh and get up.
"That's good. Last night I stayed with Kiara and Sarah and had a little sleepover." My dad smiles at the thought.
"Ah! I forgot to tell you! Yesterday afternoon when I got back from work I went down to the mainland. I've been talking with an old buddy of mine who runs the ferry and he said he had a car that he didn't need and wanted to give to us to use!" My dad exclaims. My eye widen. My own car? I mean, Dad could use it too but. Damn. Luke is gonna be so jealous. I squeal and run into his arms. "Any plans for the day?" He asked.
"I was probably gonna go for a surf later tonight. I wanna go night surfing." I say all giddy. I love night surfing. I have a surfboard specifically for night surfing. When I was in middle school, I took the lights off my light up sketches and super glued them to the bottom of my board and it worked! Now when I surf at night with that board, I give it a nudge and it lights up and looks so cool! Dad just rolls his eyes.
"Just be careful. Are you going with JJ Maybank by any chance?" He asked out of the blue. I furrow my eyebrows.
"Yeah.... probably. Why do you ask?"
"His dad was by the fishing boats this morning. Turns out he works for the same fishing line as I do but on a different boat. We talked a bit this morning and I let his use my pocket knife at some point. He and I talked about getting it back but he works for another boat on the other side of the island so I don't know when the next time I'll see him is. If your picking that boy up you should pop in and ask for it. It's my favorite pocket knife." He gave me a pouty face. I scoffed. Does he think I'm his errand girl or something? I nod regardless and head to my room to get a fresh swimsuit on for the surf. As I left I was stopped by a gift from the gods.
A stunning, dirt-covered, forest green outback Subaru. Probably over ten years old but she still has a ways to go. This car. This car has seen some things. I love her.
I get in and find the keys lying in the ignition. Classic Australian thing to do. We should really not get in that habit since we're in America now though. I start the car and head for the wreck to see if anyone was there. I really need to get a phone.
I pop in the wreck in my swim shorts and rashguard ready to surf. Kie was working as she always is, Pope was sitting on the barstool talking with her. John B and Sarah were nowhere to be found. Damn, I can only imagine what they could be doing.
Darn you Kodi, such a dirty mind. I'm so proud of my JB.
I head over to Kie and Pope.
"Hey guys! I was wondering if you guys would like to join me in an adventure brought to you by the one and only Kodi Johnson. Are you in?" I raise my eyebrows up and down. Kie giggles.
"And when would this adventure take place?" She leans in.
"Tonight, at the surf. It's a surprise but be prepared for anything. Surfing, snorkeling, tanning, drinking, etc, etc. Can you send a text out?" I ask. I basically gave it away but she still seemed clueless. Perfect.
"Yeah, I'll send a text," Kie said. I nodded and smiled, leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. Pope, who was sitting in between us really, shakes his head.
"Uh no. uh uh. This is not happening. No pogue on pogue macking for you girls too! God, I'll never be able to unsee that." Pope says rubbing his eye. Kie and I just laugh.
"I think you just brought one of his fantasies to life." We hear behind us. In walking John B and Sarah under his arm. We giggle at her comment. Pope covering his face, and his probable blush.
"Kie, can you update them on the adventure tonight? I can meet you guys at the boneyard around 18:00," I smile and head out. Next stop, JJ's. I have nothing to do today so I might as well run the errand. As I drove over my heart was pounding deep in my chest.
I've been avoiding thinking about our conversation on the boat about me having feelings for JJ. I honestly don't know if I do. If my feelings for him were a wave. I feel like I would've seen them in the distance but didn't think anything of it. Until they got closer and I saw how big of a wave it really was. So I'd swim to shore and question whether or not to dive underwater and avoid it, let myself be crushed in impact, or the stand-up and ride the wave full on.
What do I do?
I pull up to the house and took a moment to look at it. It was a shady looking house, I'm not gonna lie. I get out of my car. Hehe. My car. And make my way to what I assume was the front door. I could hear yelling from inside but I figured it was the TV. Until that yelling seemed way too real. I stop dead in my tracks as I recognize one of the yelling voices. JJ. I crouch down under a window of the house where I hear the yelling loudest. I hear things being thrown and breaking, punches, the actual sound of when someone hits another. It's horrible. When I was hitting Jamie, I shut that sound out. I can't shut this out. If something were to happen to JJ, I don't know what I would do.
I heard JJ let out a pained groan. I can't just sit here, though, I know I'd only make things worse if I went in there. The most painful moment of silence sat. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. I heard the back door slam. Out walks JJ with a beaten face, tears falling as quietly as he sobbed.
I got up slowly and made my way towards where he was walking. He was going straight towards his bike and hadn't even noticed my car or even me. I was so scared. When I was listening to the fight, all I wanted was to think about something else. I could only think about our time on the surf when I told him about my mom. The time he fell on me in the boat. I time he asked me for a coke on the rocks. The time he kissed in the van. That same boy was the one who was getting beaten by his dad just a thin wall away from me.
"JJ.." I said barely above a whisper. He turned around fast, caught off guard.
"Kodi what are you doing here?" He asked in an aggressive tone. Why he mad though?
"My dad sent me to get something from your dad. They work together..." I wanted to ask if he was ok. But I knew he wasn't. He was stressing out, running his hands through his hair and rubbing his face like it would rub away all the forming bruises and cuts.
I took his hand away from his face, taking a second to look at his eyes in search of something telling me he's okay. I wasn't. He really wasn't. He was angry, vulnerable, and hurt.
I take him over to my car. He gets the idea and hops in the passenger side.
"Since when did you have a car?" He asks, his voice hoarse from the yelling.
"Since this morning, dad had a friend from the mainland who didn't want it anymore." I smile over to him. I drive to a spot I know no one will be. This was a place Luke showed me before he left. "Kodi... where are we going?" I just look over to him and smile. I stay quiet.
We finally pull up the location. There's a road on this island that goes straight to this cliff, right on the edge of the ocean. About a 50-foot drop to the rocks below where the waves were crashing. When you look out, you see miles of ocean and boats the size of ants. When you look behind you, you can see the cut and figure 8 clearly separated. How little it all looks to the mainland on the horizon. You feel on top of everything but in reality, you can't see this place from anywhere on the island. Like a two-sided mirror.
JJ just looks in awe at both sides.
"This place is amazing!" He burst. Looking back at me. I giggle at his reaction. We both ended up sitting on the hood of my car looking out at the water and hearing it crash violently against the rocks. Funny how violent they seem on the shore but how calm them seem in the distance.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" I ask after a while. He sniffs and looks over at me.
"I honestly don't even know where I would start. It's all just fucked up, you know?" He said. I could see him getting worked up again so I leaned my head on his shoulder and he stopped talking about it. He sighed and leaned into me as well, eventually putting his arm around my shoulder.
We just sat in silence with each other. I felt comfortable but anxious. Like what? What kind of feeling is that even? I felt JJ turn his head a bit and kissed me quickly on the forehead. Was is a friendly kiss? A 'hey I like you' kiss? Wtf?
"Thanks for today... It was what I needed. You were what I needed." JJ says. He was being a little weird after he said it. Ahh... it was a thank-you kiss. Well thanks for nothing, the useless JJ. That didn't help me understand my feelings for you at all!
"Damn that was cheesy," I said to him. He let out a chuckle he was holding in.
"Yeah, it was," JJ said with a smile and slight tint on his cheeks. Either from a blush or the wind on his cheeks.
There's my JJ.