Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Epilogue.

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Sat at the end of the dock, I tucked my legs to my chest. I had no idea what time it was, but the sky was starting to glow red as the sun threatened to break the horizon and the storm clouds had broken away to reveal the very last of the night's stars.

The rain had eased off not long after Nana drove us home. I hadn't wanted to leave JJ, Kiara or Pope, but Nana and their parents insisted we needed to sleep. And when Heyward said that JJ would be staying at theirs indefinitely, we had no other reason to put up a fight.

Nana went straight to bed, safe in the knowledge that she was home and I was safe. But as soon as she closed her door I could hear her quiet cries. John B had lived next door to her his entire life and as much as she would joke that he was a nuisance, I knew that this would hit her just as hard as it has hit me.

Once her sobs had quietened and I could tell she was asleep, I snuck down to the end of the dock, just like I did on my very first morning here. The memory hitting me like a freight train with each step I took to the end. John B had found me out here that morning and we sat quietly together, catching up for the first time in years, but somehow feeling like we had never been apart.

And since that day, we had barely spent a moment apart.

I wiped away the tear that dripped onto my cheek, wondering how I even had any left in me, when I heard the rumble of a dirt-bike pulling up. I didn't even have the energy to turn around, knowing exactly who it was. Instead I tugged the blanket around me a little tighter, not taking my eyes off the water.

Soft footsteps padded down the dock, coming to a stop beside me. "I thought I'd find you here." I glanced up when he spoke. His blonde hair was tucked messily under his red cap and he had clean clothes on, but his blue eyes still looked as tired and broken as they had earlier.

"I couldn't sleep." I forced a small smile, opening up my blanket for JJ to sit beside me.

"You know, I found some awesome herbal tea that'll fix that for you." I chuckled at the memory of his words, resting my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling my body into his and kissing my head. I let out a deep sigh as I relaxed into his body, but the sound of car doors closing made me sit back up and look over my shoulder.

Kiara and Pope walked solemnly in our direction, forcing small smiles when they got closer. "What are..." JJ started to question but was cut off by Pope.

"Heard you sneaking out."

"Oh, sorry bro." JJ's voice was quiet as Pope and Kiara sat down beside us.

"It's fine. I couldn't sleep either." Pope carried on after a moments silence. "And I knew exactly where you were going, so I picked up Kie and thought we'd join you both." I smiled down at the two of them, my body exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions I had experienced in such a short amount of time.

"We didn't want you to be alone right now." Kiara added. "Well, we didn't want to be alone either." I chuckled at her honesty as I snuggled back into JJ's side. He looked down at me as I did, a small smile growing on his lips for a second before he leaned in to kiss me. I smiled into the kiss as it ignited the butterflies in my stomach just like he always did.

My heart was aching for John B and Sarah right now, and I honestly couldn't even imagine how any of us would cope when the sun would come up soon and we would have to carry on with a new day.

But reconnecting with John B brought me JJ. And two best friends in Kiara and Pope. And I knew that I could suffer the grief with them by my side.

I pulled back from the kiss, leaning my head back on JJ's shoulder again as we watched the most horrendous night of our lives come to an end as the last of the storm clouds blew away.

"Well now we can be alone, together."

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The end.