Ghost of You || JJ Maybank x Reader

full pogue

Exhaustion was starting to set in harder than it had before, especially when you were tucked under JJ's shoulder in the back seat of the Twinkie. Kie was on the floor, a join between her fingers as she sat next to Pope. John B and Sarah occupied the front seat, your brother intent on driving back to Figure Eight in an attempt to find Rafe. What you didn't expect was a slew of cop cars to be blocking the road up ahead, ruining your course of action.

"Oh shit. They found the truck."

"Chill, chill, chill, chill," Pope hushed Kie's distress as bright blue lights filled the darkness of the van. You sat up fully once a flashlight glossed over your eyes, JJ's hand refusing to leave your skin despite the cops now approaching.

"Well, lookee here," Shoupe commented sarcastically as his light illuminated John B's face through the open window.

"Evening, officer," Your brother responded while keeping his face emotionless.

"Sherrif."

"Right, sheriff. Forgot," John B corrected his error without intent behind his words. He motioned towards the totaled truck ahead. "Speed kills, huh?"

Shoupe's light hit your face again, making you wince and hide further into JJ's shoulder before it moved again to find Kiara. "I pulled the tags, and I know whose truck that is. Hey, Kie. Did you drop your weed pen back there?"

"Sheriff, I just wanna say that this is all my fault. She had nothing to do with this. I take 100% responsibility," Pope explained.

"Nothing to do with it? You wanna try that again?" Shoupe repeated before shaking his head. "Your parents reported the truck missing four hours ago, and the keys were missing from the house. I'm taking you home. Or I can pull you all in for leaving the scene of an accident."

"Okay," Kiara finally admitted defeat. Shoupe directed Officer Plumb to open the van door to let your friend out. Kie wasn't even phased at the action and turned towards you guys. "Hit me up later and make sure I'm still alive."

The sound of the door closing sent everyone into silence. You waited for a moment before the blue lights started to disappear and John B followed the tow truck that had the total vehicle on the flatbed. You knew where you were going in hopes of finding the cross and the idea definitely didn't help the events of the night settle.

"Babe," JJ's voice was quiet as he pressed a kiss to your temple. "You don't have to go. We can take you home."

You shook your head softly, fingers ghosting over the bare skin under his shirt that you had sought out for warmth. You had come this far in the whole thing; there was no way you were stopping now. Surviving the Cameron house had been accomplished before.

The street lights provided barely enough coverage once John B pulled up outside of Sarah's house. The five of you climbed out and ducked below the wall per Pope's word in an attempt to see better.

"He's got the truck," JJ whispered as he glanced over the concrete structure. You could hear the hiss of the brakes as Rafe parked the vehicle and killed the engine.

"How much you wanna bet Rafe has the cross inside that truck right now?" Pope asked as you watched the eldest Cameron enter the large house, not without pausing to look over his shoulder.

"There's only one way to find out." Sarah started making her way towards the gated entrance before John B was running after her in concern. You could hear broken pieces of their conversation, especially the part where your brother said he wanted to talk about their relationship at that exact moment, which just pissed Sarah off.

John B stepped back with a smile on his face like a kid on Christmas and it made you roll your eyes. You watched Sarah creep up the driveway, busy tying the piece of your brother's bandana around her neck as she did so. At least one good thing would come out of tonight.