Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Thirteen

The ride home was quiet, at least for Everleigh.

John B and Kie were out surfing, JJ and Pope wanted to go too, but Everleigh had to hide the bruises.

"JJ?" Everleigh calls into JJ's room.

He opens the door, shirtless, only in his swimming bottoms.

"Uhm..." She clears her throat, "Sorry, uhm, could I please borrow a shirt. I just don't want Kie or my brother to see the bruises."

JJ nods, "Can I see them?" He asks softly.

She turns around, only in a pink bikini and ripped denim shorts. The two marks made an X on her back.

"This won't happen again." He says, tracing his index finger across the bruise, lightly and carefully. His touch gave her the chills.

"JJ," she says, turning back around, "The shirt?"

He shakes his head, almost as if to bring him back into reality, "of course, sorry." He runs into his room and into his drawers, pulling out a gray t-shirt. "Is this okay?"

She nods with a smile on her face. She puts the shirt on and runs to the front of the house, grabbing her mint green surfboard, waiting for JJ and Pope.

The three teens ran to the ocean. The teens began surfing, JJ and Everleigh were competing in every wave, as they always did.

Into the fourth or fifth wave they got into, Everleigh slipped on her board, causing her back to slam into it. JJ immediately noticed her fall, cutting out of the wave and towards her. He paddled toward her as fast as he could. "Ev!" he called out looking for her.

Everleigh resurfaced after a couple of seconds, gasping for air. Her back hurt, and her lungs couldn't catch enough air. JJ grabbed her, and pulled her onto his board. Her leash had come off from around her ankle, and John B had her board.

"Everleigh!" John B called out, paddling to the two on the board. "Are you alright?"

"Wipeout." she groans, giving him a thumbs up.

"Time to go in." JJ says, paddling towards land.

JJ had helped Everleigh change, her back made it difficult to raise her arms.

"Thank you, JJ." She smiles. She had noticed that JJ had been checking her out. Even though he promised he wouldn't look, she knew he was gonna look anyways.

"Anytime princess." He says, returning the smile.

"JJ?" Everleigh asks before he walks out of her room.

"Yes?" He turns to look at her.

"Why do you call me princess?" She asks, looking at him with soft eyes.

He just shrugs his shoulders and leaves the room. Everleigh smiles to herself, she knew he had an answer.

That night they were all out on the hammocks. Pope and John B across from each other, Everleigh was cuddled with JJ, and Kiara was across from them.

"You really think it's out there? Like, no bullshit?" Pope asks.

"Our father thought it was." John B replies blankly.

"But do you?" He asks again.

"After hearing his voice on that tape..." He pauses, "I think I do."

"Only one way to find out." Pope says, doing the Pogue handshake.

"Look, we're gonna find it, you know? Even JJ believes." Kiara says looking at JJ.

JJ handed his blunt to Everleigh, who took a hit, then blew the smoke out, making a big cloud in the sky. She handed the blunt back to JJ and closed her eyes. It was a long day.