RIVER | JJ MAYBANK

EIGHTY THREE

TW : Mentions of abuse. If you need anyone to talk to, i'm always here, my messages are always open, please don't hesitate on messaging

COWARD

Sure enough, as Shoupe promised, River was with John B, despite it been a more secure prison compared to the cell that she would've had at the station. She didn't mind though, she managed to get to share a room with John B and help him with his notes for defence, although she wouldn't be allowed to go to the court case if no one bailed her out in time.

JJ had visited the girl a couple of times, Silas, Pope and Sarah too. Kie hadn't visited the girl, but everyone said she was too busy. She had been in for a week now, she talked to Shoupe about leaving every day but he said there was nothing he would do about it until Reginald got his parental responsibility.

Reginald didn't have any luck with Judge Thornton, despite offering to give him a good sum of money for helping him out.

So instead, he tried to work on getting Georgia to sign away her parental responsibility, after offering a good wad of cash, she did along with the name of River's father so that Reginald could find him out and sign away his rights.

River knew about it all, although when Reginald told her that he knew who her father was, she claimed that she didn't want to know at that moment in time. She wanted to look him in the face and ask him why he left her with her mother.

"Oi." River shouted once she saw Luke. She knew that he was in prison, although she didn't know why. "Dickhead."

Luke stopped playing his basketball and clenched his jaw. Wondering who and why someone had interrupted him. He hated been i trusted, especially when he was in the middle of a game.

She felt so angry now that she had seen him. She hadn't seen or heard about Luke since JJ stole the keys for the phantom. She did wonder how Luke reacted to the fact that they were gone or if he was still yet to notice.

"You talkin' to me?" Luke span around with his brows raise once he saw the girl. River nodded in response and noticed how all the guards took a step closer and their grips on their batons tightened. "What?"

"JJ deserved way better than the shit that you gave him." River didn't want to sugar coat it. She wanted Luke to know that he was a shitty dad for hurting JJ. "He put up with you for so long and for what? You're a worthless piece of shit who gets a high off beating his own kid."

River noticed the way that Luke's jaw tightened and his fists curled up. She was getting on his bad side. She was getting angry.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Luke hissed through his teeth.

The blonde girl scoffed at the man. If only he knew what he put JJ through for all those years. If he knew how much JJ just wanted his dad's love.

"You're a coward Luke. But at least you stuck around. You may have been a shitty dad half the time, but I know that JJ was thankful you stayed." River responded. "Just wanted you to know that he's safe. We'll look after him."

"I do love him, you know." Luke looked down at the girl, wondering what changed her tune. "He's my son. My flesh and blood."

River nodded, her eyes glazing over with tears, all JJ wanted was to be loved by his dad. All he wanted was the acceptance from him.

"Maybe you should tell him that." River spoke up, going to walk away but Luke placed his hand on the girls shoulder, pulling her back to look at him.

"I'm sorry your dad left, kid." Luke cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, he was a shitty guy anyways."

"Any worse than my mother?" River chuckled anxiously, noticing the way a guard was approaching them.

"Didn't seem it, but he was. He had a facade about him. He acted like a nice pogue who would do anything for you, when really he stole from his own grandmother and beat your mom. Count yourself lucky that he left." Luke lightly tapped the girls chin before walking away to continue with his game of basket ball.

River just stood and watched him for a moment. Thinking about the fact that she now knew her father was a pogue and a woman beater.

Maybe her mother wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she just needed to learn and understand what she had been through before she was quick to judge.

The blonde span on her heel just in time to see JJ walking past. Her eyes softened on him slightly, desperately just wanting to rush out and hug him, but before she got a chance to make her way inside the building, he was escorted away.