𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 moments of waiting, Kiara hands a white FedEx package to John B through the hole in the stone door. He pulls the lantern out of through the hole and hands it back to me. I take it before leaning over my brother's arm to see the package in his hands.
"That's not gold." Pope sighs when he sees it, turning around and pacing.
I can hear Kie grunting as she pulls herself back through the hole, but when my eyes read what's written on the FedEx package, everything is static in my head until John B speaks.
"Holy shit," he says, his eyes widening as a small smile begins to lift his lips. "This is from our dad." He looks back at me, and I begin to mimic the expression on his face.
Kiara's eyes light up as she looks from John B to me, and a simile smile forms on her face.
I can hear JJ—his back turned to us—click his lighter on as Pope walks over to us before I see smoke start to rise from in front of him.
In the distance, I hear the sound of something crunching the ground below it, getting closer and closer to us. It sounds like a vehicle, and a second later, I begin to see the lights from headlights shiner brighter as they grow closer.
"Code red. Code red," JJ says as he takes a step backward towards us. "Square groupers! Square groupers!" He turns around and runs toward us as we all look up at him.
"Go," Kie says as she turns and grabs Pope's arm, pulling him with her to the side of the stone building. John B turns on his heel and runs with them, crouching down as Kie sits on the ground.
"It's the guys who robbed your house," JJ says to me as he lifts his hand to my elbow and tugs me towards him. He wraps his hand around my waist and pulls me over to the others and out of sight of whoever's just arrived.
"Light!" Kie reminds us as she turns her flashlight off. John B pulls his shirt over his lantern and Pope turns off his flashlight.
"Light. Turn your light off, JJ!" I say to him as he snuffs his join out against the stone wall. His hand is still around my waist as he pushes me up against the wall, and I lift my hand to the flashlight around his head to turn it off myself.
"John B? Your light!" Kiara says, not satisfied with how he's chosen to hide his light. She's right, though. His shirt is thin and the light from his lantern can still be seen.
"I see something!" I hear someone yell from beyond the building. I feel JJ's hand tighten around my waist as he pulls me even closer to him.
"Do you think it's them?" I ask JJ, looking up at him as he peeks around the corner of the wall.
"Homie's got a gun," he says, pulling his head back from beyond the wall.
"Screw this," Kie says, turning her flashlight back on and running towards the tall gate at the end of the dirt path.
John B and Pope run after her, their lights shining every which way off of the trees as they run.
I look up at JJ—who's staring at the three of them—before he looks down at me. His expression is determined before he breaks into a jog, pulling me with him.
"Come on," he tells me before he glances back at me to make sure I'm keeping up. My feet hit against the dirt ground, making the leaves and twigs snap and crunch.
I can hear men's voices yelling behind us, but I don't look back. I don't dare do it.
As we slow to a stop in front of the gate, Kiara and John B are jumping down to the other side and Pope is pulling himself up to the top.
"Hurry up!" JJ says as he looks back over his shoulder. He waits a few seconds longer, but when Pope is still at the top, he removes his hand from around me. He turns around and leans against the gate, crouching down and intertwining his fingers. "Come on," he tells me.
I lift my hands to his shoulders before putting my foot into his hands. He counts to three and I boost myself up, putting all of my weight on him until I move my hands to hold onto the top of the gate. He pushes my foot up and onto the horizontal bar, holding my ankle securely as I swing my other leg over the side of the gate and step onto the same metal bar on the opposite side.
I twist my body so that I'm facing the opposite direction now, and JJ lets go of my foot so that I can swing it over to the same side as my other leg. As I hop down to the ground, JJ pulls himself up and over the gate and lands right beside me.
I look up to see that Pope is still struggling at the top of the gate. He's on the same side of the gate as we are, but he looks caught on something.
"Pope, come on," I say to him with urgency, looking through the gate to the flashlights that are bobbing closer to us.
"I'm stuck," he tells me, looking down at me as he tugs on his shorts, which are caught on one of the iron posts.
"Shit," Kie says from behind me as she runs back over to us.
"Guys, I'm stuck. I'm stuck, I'm stuck," Pope repeats, growing more desperate as the seconds pass and the lights come closer to us.
"Pope, come on, man!" JJ says with a sigh as he paces back and forth.
"All right, guys..." John B starts as he rushes over to us, but his sentence slowly dissipates.
"I got you. No. Pope, don't move, okay?" JJ says, removing his gun from the back of the waistband of his shorts and lifting it up. John B is quick to JJ's side, pushing the gun down and away from Pope's direction. As Kie pulls on Pope to free him from the gate, I can hear the sound of fabric beginning to rip.
"You're gonna rip me. Wait. You're gonna rip, you're gonna rip, you're gonna rip me!" Pope says, his words coming out faster as Kie tugs him away from the gate. As he's pulled further away from the gate, his shorts rip fully and he's left standing in his white underwear.
"You're fine. Come on!"" Kie yells, turning and walking to the van once Pope is free. Pope's hands go instinctively to cover the front of him as his cheeks turn red.
"Pope, come on!" John says as he runs toward the van.
"Nice! Come on, dude," JJ shouts, backing away from the gate and to the Twinkie as he looks at Pope. He tugs on my arm and pulls me with him as John B runs up to Pope's side.
"It's a little Tootsie Roll," John points out with a laugh as he runs over to the driver's side.
"Come on!" Kie urges with a giggle as she throws the side door open.
"Get in!" JJ pulls me with him into the back of the van and we fall onto the floor. He gets up quickly and sits to the side before pulling me next to him.
I feel like I've done nothing but get pulled around by JJ for the past five minutes, but honestly, I don't care.
"Stupid!" I hear Kiara laugh as Pope climbs into the back with us. Kie slams the door shut before climbing into the passenger's side and closing her door.
"Come on. Come on," JJ says to John before the sound of tires screeching reaches our ears and the van begins to drive away.
☼☼☼
"That bread had mold on it three days ago," I say to JJ as he spreads peanut butter onto two pieces of bread—it's color more green than tan.
He looks up at me quickly before looking back down at the sandwich. "Yeah, I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural...organism," he informs me matter-of-factly, as if it's not disgusting.
"JJ!" Kie sighs, calling him over to where the rest of us are standing around John B. He's sitting at our father's desk in the office, his hands clutching onto the FedEx package.
"Yup, yup, yup! Hot damn! Let's do it," JJ says as he runs over to us, moldy sandwich in hand, and takes a bite of it.
A second later, John B rips the seal of the package open. I hear JJ gag before I see him spit the chewed up sandwich into his hand. He throws it out but looks down at the rest of his sandwich, contemplating if it's worth it to eat the rest of it or not.
"JJ," I say. He looks over at me and when I shake my head he throws the rest of it out. He walks back over and stands behind me, leaning over my shoulder to see John B pull a folded piece of paper out of the package.
As he unfolds it, he utters, "Holy shit." When he places it down flat on the desk, I can see that it's a map.
"Oh. X marks the spot," Pope says, leaning forward and pointing to a big black X off the coast of North Carolina.
"Longitude, latitude," John B mutters as his fingers slide over the numbers written beside the X. "Wait, there's somethin' else in there." He pulls the package out from under the map and reaches his hand inside before pulling something out. We all stare down at it, and John B tilts his head ever so slightly.
"What's that?" JJ asks after a second.
"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," Kie responds, looking up at him before glancing at Pope quickly. She looks back down at the recorder in John B's hand.
I reach my hand behind me until I feel JJ's fingers. I wrap my hand around his and squeeze it gently, but I don't let go.
"Dear Birds." The sound of my father's voice comes over the speakers, and it makes my heart clench. I haven't heard my dad's voice since he left.
"Who's Bird?" JJ asks, looking at me. I look back at him before answering.
"That's what our dad called us. I was Birdy and John B was Bird," I say. I can feel and hear that my voice sounds more congested, and I know that pretty soon I'll start crying. JJ squeezes my hand and rests his chin on my shoulder, snuggling his face into my neck.
"I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but I told you so," my dad continues. "And you two doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, John, that you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either," he says before the sound of something clattering comes onto the tape.
"You were probably right to call me out, John. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade to you two," he says with a sigh. "What can I say, kids? I could smell the barn." He sighs again before continuing. "And hopefully, we're all listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits." Once again, my dad sighs, and the more he does, the more I worry. "If not, and you two find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kids. I love you, Bird; I love you, Birdy—even if I didn't always act like it." The sound of tires rolling over gravel and the engine of a vehicle comes in from the background.
I look down at my brother and see him blinking quickly, trying to keep the tears from falling.
We all wait in silence before my dad says one last thing: "I'll see you on the other side."
Static comes over the speaker before the tape recorder clicks off. We all stay still for several seconds before Kohn B sets the tape recorder down and stands up, walking over to the door.
He leans against the doorframe and I hear a sob rack his body.
"Holy shit, he did it! Big John... He found the Merchant—" JJ says excitedly. I let go of his hand and walk over to my brother.
"Can you—can you please?" Kie says as she lefts her hands to the back of her head before dropping them to her side again.
"Sorry," I hear JJ mumble.
I place my hand on John B's shoulder and he turns around, leaning down and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tightly, my face pressed against his chest. As tears from John B's face drop onto my shoulder, I feel my own tears disappear from my cheeks as they're absorbed into his shirt.
I hug him for however long he needs—for however long we both need.
☼☼☼
The sound of Kiara strumming her ukulele mingles with the thunder that rumbles in the distance as the five of us sit on the dock, each of us nursing a beer.
Pope is sitting on the bench, leaning back with his arms hanging over the top of it. Kiara, JJ, and I are sitting on the wooden railing, JJ and I sitting next to each other.
John B sits further away from the rest of us on the wooden railing, staring out at the dark water as he leans against the tall post.
"How much was it again?" JJ asks suddenly, looking up at me.
"Five hundred mil," I respond, looking at him from my peripheral vision before I lift my head and tilt it to look at him.
A loon calls in the distance as JJ lets out a loud sigh. He swings his leg, which was hanging over the water, over to the same side as his other one.
"All right, let's talk the split," he begins. "Now, before we say 'evenly,' may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us." He pulls the gun out from the back of his waistband and holds it up in the air so that we can all see it. "Protection? Not cheap, okay?"
"You haven't trained," Pope interrupts. "You've done zero training."
"YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there."
"You haven't—" Pope starts, but JJ cuts him off.
"Any objections? Didn't think so," JJ says, shaking his head softly as he looks away from Pope.
"Yeah," Pope says as Kiara raises her hand.
"I don't hear any, so..." JJ says, nonetheless, ignoring both Pope and Kiara's objections. Kie rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she drops her hand back to her side.
"What are you gonna do with your 100 mil, Pope?" she asks him, staring at him as she waits for him to answer. He's quiet for a moment, thinking about what he's going to say, before he opens his mouth.
"Pay for college in advance," he says. Kiara narrows her eyes at him, disappointed with his answer. "And also, textbooks. Those are expensive."
"What about you, Kie?" I ask, looking away from Pope and over at her.
"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope asks before we all chuckle—all of us except John B.
Before Kiara answers, I feel a tug on my shoulder. I look to my left to see JJ pulling on my arm. I twist on the railing so I'm lying on my back before I slowly lean back until my head is resting on his lap. He smiles down at me, and I smile back up at him before I feel his fingers gently run through my strands of hair.
It feels good, and I can't help the sigh that escapes my lips as I close my eyes and smile wider.
"Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues," Kie finally answers, a smile on her face as she looks at each of us. She leans forward and looks down at the ground before continuing. "You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."
"Peter Tosh—," Pope begins before Kie says the rest of his sentence with him.
"Peter Tosh is dead. I know that, Pope. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die," she says, lifting her beer can in the air. "How 'bout you, Y/n?" she asks, looking at me.
I tilt my head to look at her before turning it back and staring up at the sky.
"I don't know. Maybe buy a big ass house on Figure Eight—go full Kook," I say with a laugh.
"You can sign me up for that," JJ mutters.
My eyes snap up to look at him, and I feel my heart clench with happiness. "Really?" I ask, a glimpse of a smile starting to form on my face.
"Hell yeah. We can get a koi pond—" he starts, but I interrupt him.
"With a bunch of those fish?" I ask hopefully.
"Yup. Those big orange and white ones. A huge garden with all those flowers you like so much, too." My face lights up with a grin at the suggestion, and as JJ looks down at me he smiles softly. "And marble statues of us."
"Well, that might be a little eccentric," I say, my eyes narrowing and my smile dropping for a split second before my face lights up once again. "But then again, what Kook isn't?"
"I'm never visiting," Kie mutters with a laugh from the other side of the dock, shaking her head at us and our wild descriptions.
"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asks. We all look at my brother—who's turned away from us—and await his answer.
After a few seconds, he finally looks at us, a hint of a smile on his lips, before he says, "To going full Kook."
We all smile and begin to laugh before we lift our cans of beer together in a cheer as we repeat his words.
"To going full Kook!"
☼☼☼
As we coast through the water in the HMS Pogue with John B driving, Pope standing next to him, Kie sitting on the side edge, and JJ sitting next to me—where I'm lying on my back at the front of the boat, one of my legs bent up at the knee and my hand lifted to my forehead to shade my eyes. JJ moves closer to me until he's almost leaning over me.
Pope and Kiara are talking to one another, so I doubt that they see how close JJ is to me, but John B is looking ahead, so I know he can see us.
I don't know why I'm so nervous all of a sudden, but I feel like—with how loud my heartbeat sounds in my own ears—John B must be able to hear it.
As JJ leans over me, his upper body held up by his elbow, his head shades the sun from my eyes, so I drop my arm to my side.
"Hey, pretty girl," he says, and I feel like I might combust on the spot.
"Hey," I manage to get out, although I can hear the strain in my voice. I clear my throat before starting again. "Hi."
"You shouldn't cover your face when you're in the sun."
"Why? Do you want me to get skin cancer?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.
"What? No! I just—" he stutters before stopping and letting out a sigh. "You get more freckles when you're in the sun, and I like them. I think they're cute."
"Oh," I mutter. "Okay. Um, thanks."
I hate this so much. I don't even know how to act around JJ anymore. One moment, I can joke around with him and act like we always used to. And the next? I can't even take a compliment.
We used to flirt all the time and I didn't worry about it being taken as anything more than platonic fun. Why did that have to change? Why can't I just act normal?
And why does everything that comes out of JJ's mouth have to sound so hot?
Before I can worry about what he's going to say to me next, JJ looks up and whistles. I tilt my head back to look where he's looking, and I see a black, Kook boat coming closer to us.
"You guys see that?" JJ says. "That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200K, easy." JJ looks at the others before looking back at the boat.
"We picked the wrong parents," Pope says with a sigh. I tilt my head forward again so that I can't see the boat because I know who's in it.
"I hate to break it to you guys," Kiara voices, her brows lowering under her sunglasses and her lips crinkling into something that resembles a snarls, "but that's Topper and his girlfriend."
Topper is driving the boat with his arm wrapped around Sarah's waist. She lifts her sunglasses onto the top of her head as they get closer, and I can see her eyes look us up and down before she looks ahead once again.
"You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch," Kie yells as the boat passes us. We all continue to stare at them for a few seconds until my four friends turn back to whatever they were doing before.
I continue to stare at Sarah, though. As I look, I see her look back at us over her shoulder. Her eyes snap to Kie for a few seconds, and I wonder what she's thinking.
I don't know exactly why Sarah did what she did, but I do know she cut off all ties with Kiara one day—just out of the blue. Kiara doesn't even know why she did it.
She starts to turn her head forward, but stops and looks back again—this time at me. Our eyes catch, and she looks sad, almost regretful.
I know it's my fault. I know I'm the reason she looks sad. I was the one who stopped hanging out with her all the time. I was the one who stopped texting her—talking to her. None of it was her fault.
And I know that what I did was wrong—I know that I should've just talked to Sarah and told her why I didn't want to go to her house anymore. She would've believed me, she would've still been friends with me. But I couldn't. I couldn't do it.
I don't even know if I could do it now.
☼☼☼
"All right, keep a look out," JJ says from the front seat as we pull into a parking spot in front of the club. "We're behind enemy lines." He opens the glove box and sifts through it before pulling something out.
The gun.
"Yo, come on, man. Just put it back," John B says, putting the van into park and taking the key out of the ignition as he looks over at JJ.
"What?" JJ asks, checking the gun to make sure it's loaded.
"JJ," I say with a tone that says "seriously?"
"You can never be too careful," he says as he looks back at me. As Kiara and I look at each other, she rolls her eyes before pulling the side door open. Pope climbs out first and walks up to JJ's window.
"Hey, I predict that bringing a weapon to a four-star hotel will likely cause more problems than they solve," he says, leaning on the frame of the open window.
"Thank you, Pope," I say, my eyes still on JJ.
"I swear to God," Kie says as she sticks her head in the space between John B and JJ, "I'm gonna throw that thing in the ocean, JJ. Put it back." As she gets out of the van, John B grabs the gun from JJ's hands and shoved it into the glove box.
"There you go," Pope says with a sigh as he steps away from the door so JJ can get out.
"You can't grab a gun like that," JJ says to John B, but he's already getting out of the car and likely doesn't even care. "Can't forget my badge," he says, opening the glove box once again and grabbing his badge. He closes the glove box before opening the door and stepping out.
He walks around the front of the van with me, Pope, and Kiara following him. "Professional busboy," he says as he lifts his badge higher.
"So, where are we going now?" I ask, catching up o all beside him. He looks down at me before answering.
"We're getting on the internet because only rich people have electricity right now," he explains. I nod my head before looking ahead. "This way!" he says, looking behind him to make sure that the rest are following.
As we walk into the building, we make our way through the kitchen, where dozens of staff members are cooking, tasting, and playing foods.
"Andrew! What's up, bro?" JJ says with a nod to one of the guys. As we walk further, he smiles to a shorter woman putting food on a plate. "Mama L, good to see you!" he says, reaching his hand towards the food.
"Hey, no!" she exclaims, smacking his hand with a wooden spoon. "JJ!" I can see her frown turn into a small smile as we walk away.
"Mm-hm," JJ mutters, rubbing his hand where it was smacked. "See," he says as we leave the kitchen and enter the main lobby, where all the lights are on and the sound of soft chatter can be heard, "they got the backup generators going? Kooks don't miss a beat."
JJ leads us further down the hall until he stops in front of a door and opens it. Pope walks in after JJ and practically runs to the rows of computers in the center of the room.
"Sweet Lord, the internet!" he exclaims as he sits down in front of one.
"John B," I hear Kiara say as I walk into the room.
"I've missed you," Pope says, talking to the computer that's lit with power in front of him as Kie sits down beside him.
"Let me get in there," JJ says, walking over to stand behind Pope. "Gotta check out my Insta models."
"We don't have time for that," Kie says as I say, "JJ." I stand beside JJ and pinch his side gently, although he still jumps. His eyes lock with mine and I shake my head gently before looking down at the computer screen.
I can still feel his eyes on me, but after a few more seconds the feeling is gone and replaced with the feeling of his hand coming around my waist and pulling me closer to his side. I make an effort not to look at him, because I know that if I do, I won't be able to keep my face from flaring up in color.
"Go. Nah," Pope says to Kiara as John B stands on his opposite side and sets his backpack down on the table. He searches through it before pulling a folded piece of paper out and setting it down in front of Pope.
"Hey. Hey! Hey! I got the map!" he says, unfolding it.
"Coordinates, please?" Pope asks, pulling up Google Maps.
"34° 57' 30" north. 75° 55' 42" west," John B says as Pope types it into the search bar. As he presses enter, the map zooms in. "Boom, continental shelf right there." Jb points to the screen where the pin has dropped.
"Okay, well, if it's off the deep end, it's not gonna be much of a treasure hunt, is it?" Pope says with a sign as he glances at my brother.
John B looks at him before he sighs and looks back at the computer screen.
"Come on, baby. Come on," JJ urges from beside me. As the sound of voices and footsteps becomes louder from outside of the room, both Kiara and I turn our heads to look at the door, waiting to see if the voices are going to enter or pass the room.
Thankfully, the voices trail off as they get further and further away from the room.
"Shit, it's on the high side. It's only 900 feet," John B says, pulling my attention back to the computer screen. I catch Pope turn his head slowly towards JB, his eyes squinted in disbelief.
"That's not too deep," JJ says, and I can feel his deep voice run through my body, making me shiver. He looks down at me and tilts his head in question, opening his mouth to say something, but is stopped when Kiara says something instead.
"Is that doable or something?" she asks.
"Yeah," JJ says, turning his head to look at her—although his eyes stay locked on mine for a second longer, "totally doable."
"Well, will we be taking your personal submarine?" Pope asks sarcastically as he looks over at him.
"How do you know this, Mr. Dive Master?" I ask, and he turns back to look at me.
"The salvage yard," he says before continuing. "They got a drone that can drop 1,000. It has a 360 camera and everything. It's for, like, deep dives and stuff. It's exactly what we need."
"And can your dad get his grimy little hands on that?" JB asks, pulling JJ's eyes away from me.
"Well, my dad's grimy little hands got his ass fired. I guess the salvage captain frowns on showing up shitfaced, turns out. But the drone's there. It's in the impound yard out back." he says.
"How much did you say was on the Royal Merchant again?" Kie asks, her eyes locked on the computer screen.
"Uh, 500 million," John B says as JJ mutters, "500 mil." Pope gets up from the chair and runs over to the door as Kiara's eyes widen.
"500 million dollars?" she asks as she slowly gets up from her seat.
"Yep," JJ confirms with a nod. Kiara quickly walks over to the door, where Pope is blocking it with his arms stretched out.
"No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not," he says.
"Pope! Move," Kiara tells him, pushing him to the side.
"No! Guys, that's too—" Pope says as JJ pulls me with him towards the door.
"Come on, Pope," I say as Kiara pulls the door open and steps into the hallway.
"Can't we do anything legal for money?" he asks me, his brows pulled together.
"It'll be fine. Come on," I urge him, letting JJ pull me out of the room by my hand as I look back at Pope with a smile.
"Go," John B says, pulling his backpack on before grabbing Pope's arm and pulling him with him as he follows JJ, Kiara, and me out of the club.
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞
Hello my lovelies! Im sorry it's been like a month since I last updated. I've literally just been so busy with figuring out graduation and college stuff, and what I'm going to be doing this summer. It's been hectic, you guys!
I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update from anime and onwards, as a I'll be working at a camp this summer and then starting college in the fall, so please be patient with me! I know I'll keep writing this story, so you don't have to worry about me not continuing on with writing it, but I don't know how often I'll get updates out. I hope you guys can understand and will still continue to read this story! The fortunate thing is that I'll have weekends off this summer, so hopefully I'll be able to write a ton then!
Anyways, thanks for reading and don't forget to show your love and support by voting and commenting! You guys have no idea how much it means to me to be able to read your thoughts as you read this story!
Love you guys forever!