Sunshine in the Rain

75. Melted

"Hey J." I say, standing next to him. He looks over at me.

"Hey Ash." JJ says.

"I couldn't sleep last night." I say. "I can't stop thinking about JB. My dad could've shot him by now." I say.

"Ash, I'm worried about him too. But you can't kill a Pogue, especially John B." JJ says, reassuring me.

"Yeah, I guess." I say. "I just want everything to go back to normal." I say. "Just a few kids from the cut surfing and getting into trouble." I say. JJ continues my thought.

"Drinking beer and calling Heyward a pussy." JJ says. We both laugh a little and look at each other.

"But before all of that happened, we were just two very flirty friends that have liked each other for years." I say.

JJ smiles and little and he kisses me. I kiss him back and then his rod tugs.

"Fish!" JJ says. He hands the rod to me. "Would you like to do the honors, Mrs. Maybank?" He asks me.

"Yes, I would, Mr. Maybank." I say. I reel in the fish and JJ and I take it to his house to eat later.

"I was thinking about heading down to the docks on figure eight to see if they're hiring." JJ says.

"Okay yeah. I need a job too so I'll come with." I say. His dirt bike is wrecked to we have to walk.

"So, I was thinking, we should get married." JJ says. My eyes go wide as he says that.

"Like, for real?" I ask. "With like a church and shit?" I ask.

"Nah, we both know that we can't afford that." JJ says. "I mean like, just you and me. Standing somewhere together." JJ says. "I say I do." JJ says. "And you say it back. Maybe in a couple of weeks or days." JJ says. "I don't know." He says.

I smile at the thought of JJ and I. My hand in his, his smile, his eyes, and his laugh. "That would be nice." I say.

"I'll never be able to buy you a ring though." JJ says, with disappointment.

"Hey, that's okay." I say. "I don't care about that."

"But you do, Ash." JJ says. "Remember, 3 years ago?" He asks.

3 years ago:

"Okay, Ash, truth or dare?" Kie asks me.

"Hmm, truth." I say.

"When you get married or when you're about to get married, what will be the top 5 most important things to you?" Kie asks.

"Whoa, going a little deep there." I say. I catch JJ staring at me. "One, them being in love with me forever." I say. "Two, them respecting my choices even if they are some stupid ass choices." I say. "Three, them making me laugh whenever I'm sad." I say. "Four, them never leaving me." I say. "And five, they give me a ring. Maybe not a ring, just, a token of their love." I say. "Sorry, it's kinda stupid."

"No, it's not stupid." JJ says. "I agree with you." He smiles at me snd I smile at him back.

Present time:

"Yeah." I say, remembering. "But I was fourteen. It doesn't matter anymore."

"Why not?" JJ asks.

"Because I love you, JJ." I say. "I've loved you ever since I layed eyes on you. No item could ever have the same amount as that."

JJ smiles and kisses me. I kiss him back and we hold hands as we walk to the docks.

We walk into a small building and ask for a job but the guy says no.

"Why not?" I ask.

"You know the Kooks don't trust Pogues." He says. "It wouldn't be good for my business." He says.

"Really man?!" JJ asks, frustrated. We walk out.

"It's ok, J." I say. "We'll find somewhere else." I say.

We both walk out. "Hey!" JJ says. He points to Rafe on his boat. "He has to have the cross." JJ says.

"How about we go swim under the boat we listen in?" I ask.

"Yes. Cmon. We need that cross." JJ says. We both dive into the water and swim under. We tread water next to the boat and listen to Rafe talk. He's with his friend, Barry the drug dealer.

"We gotta actually make money off of this thing." Rafe says.

"I told you, my aunt, she got some contacts." Barry says. "She gonna help us move these lil bitches." He says.

"The gems, the nuggets, the whole damn melted enchilada." Rafe says. "We're selling it in bars." He says.

I look over at JJ and he looks pissed. He starts swimming away but I stay. They melted the cross. I go and climb onto the boat. Rafe and Barry don't see me but I look onto the dock and see JJ staring at me with his eyes wide. He waves for me to get down but I shake my head. He puts his hands on the side of his head in frustration.

I look around the corner and see Rafe and Barry talking. They keep talking about their sellers but then Barry looks at me for a split second and I pull my head away. I hope he doesn't come over here.

"Well, well, well." Barry says, grabbing my arm and pulling me around the corner. "We have a little Pogue on our hands." I'm out of sight of JJ.

"Get your druggy ass hands off of me." I say, trying to get out of his grip.

"Rafe! I got you a little gift!!!" Barry yells. Then Rafe comes into view and his eyes go wide when he sees me.

"Ashlyn?!" Rafe asks. "What the fuck?" He asks.

"You melted the cross?!" I ask, yelling. "How fucking stupid are you?! That was a historical artifact and all you want is money!!" I yell. "It was Pope's family heirloom!!!" I yell. Rafe nods his head for Barry to let me go and he does.

"I thought you understood Ashlyn!!" Rafe yells. "I did it for my father! To prove to him that I'm worth it!!" He yells.

"I understand Rafe." I say. "But you still did it! You gotta learn that our fathers are never gonna care about us!" I yell. "You should know more than me that they are never gonna give a fuck about what we do!!"

"Really Ash?!" Rafe asks. "What have you done for your father that's so terrifying?! Have you shot people?!"

"Yes Rafe!!" I yell, getting teary eyed. "I've killed people too!! I've killed people and hid their bodies!!! Their families don't even know what happened to them!!!" I yell. Rafe gets quiet.

"Ashlyn-" Rafe says, I cut him off.

"No Rafe!" I yell. "Don't start with me!! You need to learn that no matter how hard we try, that they are never gonna take us in as their children!!" I yell. "They are never gonna understand us!!!! To them, we are pieces of shit!!!" I yell. "Bye Rafe." I say, tears flowing down my face. I jump into the water off of the boat. I get onto the dock and walk past JJ.