Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Nine

"I mean, it's obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to us, right?" John B asks, driving.

"Yeah," Kie replies, "it's possible."

"It could also be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels." Pope says. He still didn't believe in any of John B's theories, and it was honestly pissing Everleigh off.

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ steps in.

"I'm not concocting, okay? My dad's trying to give me a message." John B says.

"If it helps you believe John B." Kiara says, sighing.

"Look, I-I don't need a therapy session, okay? Look, I'm not trippin' out." John B stutters.

"It's okay to trip, bro, but..." JJ starts.

Everleigh glares at him before finally speaking up. "Look, our dad is missing, okay? Missing."

"You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened. Just wake up every morning wondering."
John B finishes for Everleigh.

Everleigh looks up at JJ, who is looking at her, his eyes were sympathetic. She'd come to realize that other than John B, JJ was the closest person to her. Most of the time he was closer to her than John B.

"It's been almost a year." Kiara says, almost whispering.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ says trying to help the situation.

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere." Pope adds.

"Absolutely. Uh... or Atlantis." JJ suggests.

"JJ." Kiara warns. "Look, what do you think the message is?"

"Redfield." John B starts, driving into a driveway.
"Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place."

"Right. You two are gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" John B says, pointing at Everleigh and JJ.

"Wait... Why us?" JJ immediately asks offended.

"Because you're not coming." John B answers.

"Why?" Everleigh asks.

"There are independent and dependent variables." Pope starts, turning towards Everleigh and JJ, "You two are independent. We don't know what you'll do."

"Shut up!" JJ yells.

"Listen to me for a second." John B interrupts. "Pope, you stand look out with JJ and Ev. Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."

"Great." Kiara mumbles, looking at Everleigh with a small smile on her face.

"I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum." Pope says, getting back into the beaten up Volkswagen van.

"All right, would you just shut up already?" JJ says kicking up an apple to Everleigh , as the two try to keep it from touching the ground.

After a while of JJ and Everleigh playing soccer with one another, play fighting, and wrestling. Until a siren could be heard, moving closer.

JJ and Everleigh jump in the car. And JJ starts driving away.

"What about John B and Kie, JJ?" Everleigh asks.

After a while Everleigh was sitting outside, watching the water until John B comes storming passed her.

"John B?" Everleigh calls out. He stops in his tracks, turns around and hugs her.