Sunshine in the Rain

74. Worth Nothing

Ash POV:

In the morning, JJ and I change our clothes and then head over to the Chateau with the rest of the Pogues. I didn't get any sleep last night. I could get JB off of my mind.

We arrive and I see my Pops. I know JJ loves him. He's the father that JJ never had.

"JJ, look." I say. JJ looks over at my Pops.

"Don't you hate him?" JJ asks.

"Just because I hate doesn't mean that you have to." I say. JJ kisses me and runs over and jumps on his back. I start laughing and then see JB. I walk over to him and hug him. "How was it?" I ask.

"Interesting, to say the least." JB says. "He gave Limbrey a random dish towel and told her that it was that healing garment inside of the cross." He says. "Then she started walking without crutches."

I burst out laughing. "Wait, what?" I ask. JB shrugs and I start laughing again. Then we all sit in a circle and JB tells everyone the story of what he and my dad did. It's clearly a lie. My Pops got in his head and now JB is lying. I've known him since birth, literally, so I know when he's lying.

"So we lost the gold, the cross, and now El Dorado." Pope says. "Three for three, guys." He says. Kie and Pope leave.

"I'm going fishing." JJ says. "You coming, Ash?" He asks.

"No, I think I'm gonna hang here." I say. "I'll see you later, right?" I ask.

"Yeah." He says. "See you tonight, Princess." JJ says. He kisses me and I kiss him back. Then he walks away. I see Sarah and John B talking. Sarah can tell when JB's lying too. Then Sarah walks away from him, crying.

"Hey, Sarah, you okay?" I ask.

"No, Ash." She says. "Your brother is a liar." She says.

"I know, Sarah." I say. "It's because of our dad. It's hard to explain." I say, looking down. "What did John B say to you?" I ask.

"He said that my dad tried to kill me and that I can't deal with it." Sarah says. I hug her and she hugs me back.

"I'll talk to him Sarah." I say. She walks away and I see JB talking to my Pops.

"What the fuck?!" I yell. "What the fuck is wrong with you guys?!" I ask.

"I'm trying to keep them safe." Pops says.

"No!" I yell. "Now you want us to be safe?!" I ask. "You should've thought of that earlier before I was shot, cut, bruised, raped, heartbroken, and fucking traumatized!!" I yell. "You are just a selfish bitch that cares about nothing but money!" I yell. "You don't understand me or JB." I say. "You just vanished and didn't tell anyone what happened until a year later!" I yell. "You are the worst father ever! You aren't even a father!" I yell. "Fuck you!" I yell. I walk away, pissed off. I see JB looking like he feels guilty. I walk to the dock at Tannyhill. The start of where everything went to shit. Where we first stole the scuba gear and where we started the hunt.

"Well look who we have here." Someone says, walking onto the dock. Rafe Cameron.

"Hi Rafe." I say. "I'm not sorry for shoving you off of the boat. You were just paying me back."
I say.

"Yeah, I get that." Rafe says. "I heard that your dad is back. How's that going?" Rafe asks.

"It's sucks, Rafe. He's a selfish bitch." I say. "I already know what I'm worth to him, nothing." I say. "I'm just a backup if John B can't hunt with him."

"Right now, I'm showing my dad that I can run the family business too." Rafe says.

"I'm sorry." I say. A minute of silence passes. "I-I can't be here." I say.

"Why not?" Rafe asks. "That was so sudden."

"I just want everything to go back to normal." I say. "But you're not the person that I need to confess that too. Have a good rest of your day, Rafe." I say. I start running to JJ's house. I get there but he isn't there. I see Sarah though. She's sitting on the grass, crying.

"Sarah?" I ask. She looks at me as I sit down next to her.

"Hey, Ash." She says.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I don't have anywhere to stay." She says.

"Just stay at the Chateau." I say. "Take my room. I usually crash at JJ's or the Carrera's."

"Really?" Sarah asks.

"Yeah." I say. "You can use anything you want that's in my room. I have plenty of clothes because I usually just steal JJ's or my brothers clothes. I say. I hug her.

"I'm gonna go find some water or some beer or something so I'll see you later." Sarah says. "Again, thank you so much." She says.

"Hey, you're family, Sarah." I say. She smiles.

"You're family too, Ashlyn." Sarah says. She hugs me and walks away. I take a walk over to JJ's usual fishing dock and I see him fishing. I love him. I feel like I can talk to him about almost everything. And that's what I need to do right now.