PARADISE ON EARTH | jj maybank (DISCONTINUED)

2.01

WELCOME TO THE LIFE of a sixteen year old girl who no longer had any true biological family left. She didn't realize how much family could mean to a person until it all got ripped away from her so quickly.

The sight of one of her best friends carving her dead brother's name into their tree broke her immediately, even though there wasn't much left to break since he was pronounced dead.

There stood Laura, arms crossed over her chest, eyes glued to the burnt out heart and messy wording. Tears welled in her eyes, daring to leave.

"To John B." JJ uttered, one hand holding a flask full of alcohol, and the other around the shoulders of the brunette girl standing closely to his right.

"And to Sarah." Kiara responded weakly, looking over at the blonde boy. Briar nodded her head along, agreeing with the words stated.

The five proceeded to take sips of their drinks. Laura removed JJ's arm from around her shoulders, walking into the house, finally allowing the tears to spill.

The second she entered the small home, a light sob escaped from her lips. Laura never allowed herself to grieve, only to be there for her friends. She stood in her same spot, not being able to move.

JJ had followed her, knowing it wasn't a good time to leave anybody alone. And they both knew they needed each other the most at this moment. 

"I can't do it anymore." Laura sobbed. She fell onto the couch, officially letting herself completely break down. JJ sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, allowing her to fall into his side.

"We'll get through this together, LB. Promise." JJ whispered. "Promise."

Later that night, they were all sitting outside. Laura and JJ were laying across the hammock, Laura laying on her side staring out at the water, facing away from the others. Briar and Kiara were sharing a bench while Pope took one of the chairs.

It was a quiet night, nobody talking much at all. They all kept to themselves, allowing each of them to collect their own thoughts without anybody putting new ones in.

But soon enough, everybody had to end up leaving. Kiara, Pope, and Briar had gone back home while JJ and Laura were stuck at the same place with the burnt tree now stuck with the name of her dead brother.

~~

The next morning, Laura woke up feeling an arm laying over her torso. She turned over in her bed, now being face to face with JJ. He was still sleeping, and his hair was covering his face. Laura smiled at him, and pushed his hair back to look at him.

After a few moments, Laura finally decided to get out of bed and let JJ rest. She made her way into the bathroom, taking a shower to start her day. Laura had learned the past few days, the longer she takes to do things, the easier it is to think about John B.

She knew how silly it sounded, but after all that Laura has gone through, the last thing she wants is to think about is her dead family.

Once Laura was out of the shower and dressed, she went back into her room to find JJ awake, still laying under the covers. He was scrolling on his phone, but looked up when the brunette entered the room.

"I was wondering where you went." Said JJ with a smile, sitting up against the headboard.

Laura chuckled, "I just went to take a shower."

The girl flopped back onto the bed laying on her stomach, smiling at the blonde. He smiled back at her, before reaching forward gripping onto the flannel shirt she was wearing.

"Is this mine?" He asked.

Laura shrugged. "Maybe."

JJ shrugged the blanket off of himself, beginning to stand up. She saw that he was wearing the same shirt from the previous night and a pair of sweatpants that were most likely ones she stole from John B.