Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Eighty-One

Everleigh's eyes fluttered open at 6:00 sharp. She was in the same spot she'd fallen asleep in. She chewed at the inside of her cheek and she turned the motors back on, beginning to turn the boat towards the pin she'd left for the Pogues. She parked the boat better than she expected to, going down to the main deck and looking around.

Then, she heard the docks moving as if someone was walking on them. Her stomach was in a knot but she had no choice but to face them.

She came from around the corner and saw a boy. He was wearing a bucket hat and a blue long sleeve button up. He had camo print khaki shorts and boots. Blonde hair peaked through the bottom of the hat. She knew immediately who it was and she immediately felt as if she could cry. "JJ." She smiles.

He turns around and the familiar blue eyes she knew so well were looking directly back at her. She runs her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face and he removed the hat from off of his head, making sure the shade wasn't making him see things.

"J... JJ." She says louder, a tear finally falling down her cheek.

She rushed down the ladder and she started to cry. She ran to him as fast as she could. He looked in disbelief and just opened his arms approaching her slowly.

Once their bodies made contact, she immediately let herself collapse in her boyfriends arms. Her lovers arms. She was full on sobbing as he held her tightly.

"I'm so glad you're safe, princess." He whispers, tucking his head in the crook of her neck.

His scent still smelt like him, even if he hadn't showed in well over a month. His voice sounded like a sweet tune on the radio during a sunset drive. His touch satisfied the cravings she had for him, never feeling so good against her skin.

Even when she didn't want to, she pulled away and put her hands on the sides of his face, allowing her fingertips to softly touch his blonde hair that she missed. "Wow! I didn't think I'd ever see you ever again." His eyes had her in a trance of staring into them. His beautiful diamond ocean eyes. The only eyes in the world that were meant for her, and the only eyes in the world she couldn't resist.

"Yeah, but I'm here now. Okay? It's alright. It's alright." He reassures her.

She pulled him in and locked their lips together. His hands felt her waist and back. Taking in the touch of the girl that held him so dearly. Her taste was like no other girl that he'd ever kissed. The entire world so irrelevant during this moment that they didn't even hear the Pogues run up to them.

Pope, Kiara, and Cleo made it to her first as they gave her a small group hug. Then they moved and Sarah hugged her, squeezing her so hard that her bruised torso made her seethe.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sarah asks her, "I mean physically."

She just nods and Sarah steps to the side. John B looked at Everleigh with watery eyes, He looked just as much in disbelief as everyone else. She looks at him, expecting to be yelled at for splitting up. But a tear runs down his cheek and he takes a step forward, hugging her tighter than he'd ever done before. She felt her stomach throbbing but she didn't care.

The whole group joins them in a group hug, finally all back together again. "We thought you were dead." Pope sighs.

"Are you kidding me? Ev..." JJ starts, looking at the boat she'd just walked off of.

"Is this you?" Pope adds, looking at Rafe's boat, which happened to be in Everleigh's possession.

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you." She rolls her eyes, knowing that she'd eventually have to share the story that the group would most definitely dislike. "Come on."

Everleigh looked back, and John B's smile had faded. "Go ahead on, I'll be right there." She smiles, walking back over to John B. "Hey, what's going on?" She asks him, but he was looking at a church off in the distance.

"I don't know." He mumbles, looking down at Everleigh with sad and confused eyes. "Somethings going on, and I can't figure it out."

"Hey." She comforts him, making him look her in the eyes. "There's a lot going on right now. Let's wait it out, if there is something, we'll figure it out, okay?"

Sarah peers around the corner again. "John B, Ev, let's go."

Everleigh followed John B onto the boat, biting her lip as he went into the room with everyone else.

She climbed up to the hull while JJ was untying the boat. "Yeah, so I have just a couple of questions." She encouraged him to ask, a smile glued onto her face. "A Lagoon 620 with twin 150 Volvos. You understand we can go anywhere with this thing, right?"

She smiles down at him. She moved the hair out of her face. "I know, kind of a piece of shit."

"Way to be discreet, by the way. What did they want anyway? They didn't hurt you, did they?" He spitballs. He was anxious and she could tell.

"Uhm... yeah, no I'm good. It's just, you're not gonna guess what Singh wanted from me." She explained to him but JJ didn't seem to care. "Denmark's diary."

He blinked and looked back at her, his eyes ran up and down her body, looking for bruises or cuts. Any evidence that they hurt her. "Why?"

"I don't know." She shrugs her shoulders. "Said it leads to a treasure that's a lot bigger than the Merchant."

He climbs up the side of the boat, walking closer to Everleigh. "You're saying there's a bigger treasure? Then sign me up." She giggles and turns around but he softly grabs her arm, turning her back around. "Hey, uhm. I know you're probably gonna get mad at me for asking, but you uhm... you hesitated when I asked if they hurt you."

Everleigh shakes her head, letting her eyes fall to the floor below her, a bad habit she had when trying to hide something that was bothering her. "I'm alright."

"Please, Everleigh. If somethings wrong I won't tell anyone." He lifted her chin to make her look him directly in the eye.

She lets out a shaky breath and she nods lightly. She looks at him again before lifting her top. The bruises had finally formed and they were as fresh as they could be.

JJ's jaw dropped but he immediately closed his mouth. Just as he'd done so many times before, his sad eyes flickered to hers for only a millisecond before his fingers lightly traced and ran across the bruises. "I'm gonna fucking kill them, Ev."

She shakes her head at him and she pulls him into her. His arms fell around her shoulders and he kissed the side of her neck. "We're not going back. Everything is gonna be alright." And just as if it was on cue, John B went running onto the docks.

"I love you, Sarah Cameron." He shouts, sprinting off the dock, "Hey you tell Ev I'll be right back." He ran away telling Pope he'd be right back, and Everleigh let go of JJ and made her way up to Sarah.

She was watching as John B ran of biting her lip nervously. "Where the hell is he going?" Everleigh asks her.

"The bells." She told Everleigh quietly. "He heard something in the bells and he thought it might have something to do with your..."

"Dad." Everleigh cuts her off. "He hears them too."