Sunshine in the Rain

19. I Miss You

The next morning, Kie, Pope, JJ, and I are in the yard of my house and are making the thing that will carry up the gold.

"John B pullin' a Houdini." JJ says.

"Yeah where is he?" Pope asks. "I got my scholarship interview tomorrow morning. We gotta get this done." Pope says.

Then JB walks into the yard and he looks pissed,

"JB?" I ask. He walks into the house and I follow him. He's digging through drawers, looking for something. "JB, what are you looking for? What happened?" I ask.

John B doesn't respond and he keeps looking through the house.

"But what's going on?" JJ asks. Then JB grabs the gun.

"JB! What do you need that for?!" I yell. "No!"

Then JJ tries to grab JB but he shoves JJ onto the couch and starts walking out.

Then JB shoves Pope out of the way. "John B!" Kie yells. Then JB gets on the dirt bike and starts revving it up. "JB what the hell?!" Kie asks.

"Ward knows about the gold." John B says. Then he looks at me. "He killed Ash and I's dad." Then he starts driving away.

My jaw drops and I don't know what to do. My dad is dead?! What the fuck?!

Kie looks at me. "Ash you good?" She asks.

Then all of the sadness turns to anger and I go inside and starts punching the wall. I can't focus on the pain. Then my friends run in and I punch a hole in the wall. My knuckle is all bloody and bruised now but I keep punching it.

JJ sprints over to me and grabs my fist in his hand. He looks super worried. "Ash, calm down."

"I can't!!" I yell. "M-my father is dead!! And I never got to say goodbye!" Tears starts falling down my face. "That last words that I've ever said to hims were, 'you're the worst father ever'" I start crying, thinking about that night. The night he went missing.

JJ hugs me. I cry into his chest and then Kie and Pope join the hug. After a while, Kie and Pope leave and it's just JJ and I. We are laying on the hammock together and I'm crying into his shoulder.

"I-I just can't believe that he's gone." I say. JJ rubs my back and kisses my forehead. We stay there for about an hour. I calm down and we're just laying there with each other in a comfortable silence.

"I wish I could stay but I gotta go." JJ says. "Please don't hurt yourself while I'm gone." He says.

"I won't." I say.

"Do you promise? Because I can't have my beautiful princess hurting herself." JJ says. "I can't have Ashlyn Routledge hurt herself." He says.

"I promise." I say. Then JJ leaves and I walk out to the dock and sit there by myself. Then I walk inside as it starts to get dark. I hear a door open a few minutes later.

"Pope? Kie? Ash?" JB asks. "Hello?" He asks. He sounds scared and I hear him sniffle.

"I'm here." I say. I hug him and he starts crying. I start crying as well.

"He-he's gone Ashie. He's really gone." JB says.

"Y-yeah." I cry. "I know."

I grab a picture of our dad. "I miss you dad."

JB hugs me and we both break down again.

"I miss you too, dad." JB says.

Then we both grab a picture and put it in a little boat made of sticks. We light a fire behind the picture and we put it in the water and watch it float away.

"Goodbye Dad." I say. I sniffle. "I love you." JB and I cry in each others arms for the whole entire night and don't get much sleep. We stay out on the dock because we are too weak and sad to move inside. And the outside is peaceful.