Carefree || JJ Maybank

Chapter Eighty-Four

They drove for a while, chatting as they tried to distract themselves from the fact that John B currently wasn't with them.

As it began to grow dark, the girls all sat at the front of the boat while JJ and Pope talked. They found a place for them to stop for gas.

They pulled in and Pope and Cleo were sent to get food and gas. Everleigh saw JJ sitting on the side of the boat and fidgeting with something in his fingers. "Hey." She smiles, sitting next to him and ignoring that Sarah and Kiara were staring at them.

He looks at her with dull eyes and a forced smile, never wanting her to worry about him. "Hi, princess."

"What's that?" She asks curiously.

He shakes his head and looks down into his hands. "It's my..." He stops and looks at her. Her eyes was all he needed to see to know she was truly listening to him. "It's my... well, it was my dads. The guy puts me through hell and back and I still can't seem to get over the fact that he's gone."

Everleigh had to admit, it made her so happy to see JJ's face without any cuts and bruises for so long. He seemed happy but she could see the times he was upset. "He's still your dad." She tells him, and when he smiles slightly at her, she knows he's trusting her words. "You're really strong, JJ. I hope you know that."

"Gotta be strong for my gal." He jokes.

They're interrupted by Pope and Cleo boarding the boat. "Let's make way, off to Kildare we go." Pope announces.

JJ and Everleigh walked into one of the rooms in the boat, flopping into bed next to one another. They quickly fell asleep and let the rest of the group take them home.

But, it only felt like a few minutes asleep when the boat comes from a stop, and Pope walks in. "Hey, hate to be the rooster but, we're at Kie's."

Everleigh rubs her eyes and opens them at Pope. "I thought we were stopping at the chateau..."

"We did." Cleo tells her. "You're not allowed to get mad, we left Sarah there. We'll check in later. Don't know if your brother is there or not."

As mad as she was, she knew it was gonna be a losing battle. But, she follows them out onto the dock, the bright sun making her squint.

"Welcome to the Outer Banks, Cleo." Pope welcomes her.

Cleo looks around in awe, this being one of the few places she's never been. "You're crazy, Pope. Your parents are not gonna appreciate me snacking up."

"Of course they will. Are you kidding?" Pope talks back, the two of them leading the group. "Heyward might put you to work, but we could always use the help."

"I don't know, man." Cleo mumbles. "You sure?"

"Yeah, look, he might squawk a little bit..." Pope starts.

"A lot bit, actually." Everleigh chuckles.

"Shut up." He smirks. "Just let me talk to him. We'll figure it out."

They walk up the lawn, Kiara being the first to the gate.  "This is me." She sighs, dreading having to look her parents in the eye after being missing for so long. "Home sweet home."

"Damn, Kiara. You live here?" Cleo expresses, clearly not catching on that Kiara's family really was rich. "This is like the White House, man."

"How bad do you think it's gonna be?" Pope asks, and Kiara sighed again.

"On a scale of one to ten?" Kiara asks, receiving a shrug of Pope's shoulders. "Twenty."

"Do you want us to hold up here?" Everleigh asks. "Because we'll wait."

"No, I... I gotta take this. Thanks for walking me." Kiara tells the group. She was lying, facing her parents was something she did not want to do. But what choice did she have? She walks up the stairs and says another goodbye.

Then, the group split up. Everleigh went with JJ and Cleo went with Pope.

They walked towards JJ's house, knowing that Luke had been gone, or at least that he left. "The island was better than this dump." JJ mumbles in frustration.

Before Everleigh can reply, he sees yellow tape on the door and rushes up the steps. Then, she sees it. An Eviction notice sign was posted right in the center. JJ fought with the handle and when it didn't open, he looked for the closest window.

"JJ." Everleigh tries to call for him, but he was already climbing through the window. He was knocking things over and throwing things on the ground. She made her way over to the window but once she got there, JJ opened the front door for her with saddened eyes.

He signaled for her to follow him inside by nodding his head and when she made it in, the place was still a mess and JJ just observed. He found two beer cans that were sat on the counter, he tosses one Everleigh's way who forced a smile and sat next to him on the couch. JJ threw something at the wall, making Everleigh flinch.

But, they both cracked open the room temperature cans and clanked them together. They drank from them, beer never tasting so good in their lives. "What you thinkin'?" Everleigh asks him. She spotted him looking around the room with a bland expression.

"I'm thinking that the entire time I lived here. I got my ass beat by my dad because I was to afraid to fight back." He talks. He didn't look at Everleigh, instead stared at the can in his hand. "I got my ass beat every single time. Yet, I still came back. Every damn time."

She nodded as she listened, his face looked like he was fighting off tears, but he refused to let himself cry over his dad.

"He busted my face up time after time. And even when you begged me to stay away and with you. I'd show up back in this shithole." He chews at the inside of his cheek. His hand found it's way to her thigh, resting on it. "Even when you begged me not to come. Your stubborn ass helped me fix my caved in face every single time."

She didn't want to cry, but he was making it a little hard. "Before we were dating, when you'd come back with bruises or cuts or anything. All I wanted to do was kiss every mark." She sighs, resting her head on his shoulder. "I hated seeing new injuries. I hated knowing what was going on. I knew you were never gonna listen to me, but as long as you were cared for... I was content." It was true. While she didn't have feelings for JJ yet, the bruises that he came home with made her sick to her stomach.

"Please don't ever leave me, princess." He whispers, caressing her thigh.

She kissed his shoulder and bicep before quietly whispering, "Never."