The lost pogue

Chapter 1

"Hey Sarah?" a voice whispers from the bed above where my makeshift bed is. By makeshift bed I mean a towel, a blanket and a pillow. Living the life of luxury. 

"Wanna get married?" John B whispers again. 

Hold the fucking phone. What? 

"No" Sarah replies nonchalantly as I shoot upwards and turn towards the pair. John B looks at me with a confused expression, to which I reply with a concerned, 'are you okay in the head' kinda look. 

He rolls his eyes at me before turning back to Sarah. 

"Well how come?" he asks

"You don't have any prospects" she replies sleepily. 

"And.. ya know... a few other factors like... you know this is just off the top of my head... the fact that we're on a boat in the middle of nowhere, as wanted criminals, while our entire friends and family think we're dead." I pause as Sarah lets out a small giggle, "But you guys are right, that's just a minor detail. You guys get married. As long as I can officiate" 

"Shut up Jules" John B whispers, but I can hear the amusement in his tone.

"I'm serious now" John B continues, his attention back on Sarah, "come here" 

"If you two start kissing right now, I swear to god I will throw you both overboard" I groan as I flop back down on the floor. 

I tune out of their conversation, allowing my mind to wander as my fingers trail up to grasp my necklace. 

How's JJ coping right now? Is he finding a way to let me go and move on with his life? I hope so. I really hope he's not going off the rails, using drinks and drugs to cope with his grief. I hope the three of them are leaning on each other, helping one another through the rough patch, healing as group, recognising the holes are there but learning to live as a trio. 

But I have a nagging feeling he's not okay at all. As far as he knows, he lost his best friend. His brother. The one he spent most of his life with. The one who never left him and was always there to help him when things got bad. As far as he knows, he lost me as well. John B said that JJ would never recover if he lost me, just as I said the same about him. I just hope we were both wrong. 

I'm pulled out of my depressing thoughts by the door opening, 

"Morning lovebirds." he greets before turning to me, "Skipper." he says with a nod and a small smile, "coming into port"

"Why thank you old man. And I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed this trip. I would give it a recommendation to everyone if I didn't think you'd get arrested for the contraband" I reply, making him chuckle, but there's something behind his eyes that makes my brows furrow. There's a bit of guilt, but a lot of anticipation and excitement? What's going on? 

"Don't you worry about me getting arrested young one. But you best not be on board without a passport if you know what I'm saying" he says vaguely. I have a bad feeling. 

"Yeah I hear you" John B replies

"You guys can go on my bridge" he continues, practically ushering us out the door. John B and Sarah go first, but I wait for a beat eyeing him up. He matches my gaze and nods towards the door. I follow the two of them up, knowing that even if it is a trap, we'll be together. 

"Hey, I really appreciate you captain" John B says sincerely as we reach the top. Looking down, I can see a flash of guilt across his eyes, but it's gone as quickly as it came. 

"Stay put. Don't come out" he replies before shutting the door. 

I immediately turn to the other two, but they've walked over towards the window