Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX Yucatan ‿︵‿︵‿︵
(PRESENT)
Avery should have handled this one.
After JJ gave John B the fright of his life, tussling him to the ground, the trio were sneaking around to the dock. Before the blonde's had reached the Chateau, they spotted the slick black car in the driveway. They immediately changed their direction and JJ parked the dirt bike elsewhere, hiding away until they had another plan.
Avery wasn't appreciating the awful feeling of the muddy waters sloshing against her bare legs. The bottom of her denim shorts were damp, darkening as they soaked up the water, her hair constantly was falling in her face and small stands were getting stuck to the long cattail stalks.
"You've got to be kidding me" She muttered to herself, reaching the small edge before the ground dipped deeper.
"Come on, Aves" John B whispered, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him.
A small gasp left her mouth, her body fully emerged in water. Her hand fell out of John B's and she was able to paddle, following her two friends over to the HSM Pogue. Her hands reached up and gripped the side of the boat. She attempted to hoist herself up, struggling to get a good grip with wet hands.
"Holy shit, okay!" She squealed quietly at the feeling of John B's hands grabbing her waist and pushing her up.
As soon as she could, Avery flopped forward and wormed her way onto the boat. She peeked over the edge to see John B climbing up with ease, scoffing at him for making it look easy, and moved out his way. She kept low and staring at the shack, hoping that they wouldn't be caught by whoever was watching them.
"Yo, hurry up. Come on, come on, come on" John B whispered, appearing behind Avery, encouraging JJ to untie the boat quicker.
Finally, the three leaned over the side and pushed, bringing the boat away from the dock. JJ scrambled to take the keys from John B's hand and get the ignition activated. He twisted the key and the familiar rumbling started up, making Avery sigh in relief. They got the boat moving and sailed away from the Chateau, drifting out of sight.
After a while, they decided to dock the boat at a random spot. Avery was quick to hope out, dragging her hair over her shoulder and ringing it out. She peered over her shoulder to see JJ jump out shortly after her, and then John B too. They wondered to the ruins, Avery climbed up to the highest point and found a patch to perch herself. She sat with her legs crossed with JJ leaning on the same part of stone below her.
"First, we almost get strangled to death by Kooks, and now I'm on the hook for thirty grand. We should just dip" JJ ranted, glancing up at Avery in hopes that she sided with him.
The two had created the ideal life together, through the years they added more ideas to it. It was most likely impossible for them to achieve at this point but that never meant they weren't going try to. Avery had forever lived in her father's stories about touring the world, meeting people, surfing every coast possible.
And in his story, he met her mother. But in hers, she had JJ Maybank.
"Okay, where do you wanna go? Hm?" John b questioned, raising his eyebrows and spreading his hands out.
"Yucatan" JJ simply replied.
"I was going to say Micronesia" Avery shrugged, chuckling a little.
"I'm dead serious right now. Surf all day, then we can just live off lobsters we catch with our bare hands," JJ continued rambling. He looked up at the blonde girl, "and catch some fish for you because you don't like lobster"
"You just wanna leave cause you got your ass beat?" John B frowned and waved his hands around, "think about it. They're willing to kill for the gold, then it's gotta be out there"
"Have you lost your mind?" JJ barked, his voice rose into a shout. He snatched his cap off his head and stared at his friend, "One hundred years, man. One hundred years, people have be tryin' to find this Royal Merchant, and no one succeeded. And you think you are gonna be the one that actually finds it?"
"Okay, J, that's enough" Avery called out. She reluctantly removed herself from her spot and shuffled down the stone, ungracefully landing on her feet.
"When will you get it in your thick skull? If you keep goin' done this road, you're gonna end up just like your dad!" JJ spitefully shouted, he wasn't thinking straight in the moment but there was some truth in his words.
John B snapped and harshly shoved him backwards, nearly making him stumble into Avery. He yelled back, "I can't give up, JJ! The last time I saw that dude, we got in an argument, and then he took all of our rent moment and dipped for the Royal Merchant. And then I told him he was a shit father, and you know how the rest of the story goes"
Letting his anger fade, JJ reassured him, "bro, that wasn't your fault"
"That doesn't matter, JJ!" Avery quickly butted in. Before he could met her eyes, she looked away and sucked in a sharp breath, feeling her eyes burning. "He can't give up the hunt"
"I don't care who's out there, who's gonna try to kill us. Do you understand that? You know that" John B sternly said, backing up from the blond. He turned around and walked off, grabbing his bag from the stone wall. "I've got a plan. You comin' or what?"
Without hesitation, Avery stepped forward and mimicked his steps. JJ's eyes glanced up and followed her. He knew that she was doing this for John B, and was relating it to her own story, to her mother. They carried the same guilt and had the same hope. Something he would never fully understand.
"JJ?" Avery softly said, loud enough for him to hear. She grasped his attention as he reluctantly looked back at her, his jaw unlocked.
"Four hundred million, JJ," John B reminded him. "How much do you own in restitution?"
