UNTOLD | JJ Maybank

Chapter 6

Just like JJ had called it, Malou did feel better after a few hours of good sleep. She felt a little bit stronger and less scared, but she still felt sick to her stomach. Malou wasn't so sure anymore, if she had done the right thing, and she felt terrified, knowing that she had to confess her actions soon. Kiara and Pope had come back to the Château early in the morning to plan the next steps and while JJ tried to be helpful, Malou sat aside and just watched it happen. It felt, like she waited for a storm to come up and suddenly, it was there. Much worse, than she had expected it to be.

The door opened forcefully and Malou startled at the sudden, loud noise it made, when it crashed against the wooden wall. Quickly, she looked up to see John B storm inside the Château. His clothes and hair were wet, his face was red and his eyes had never looked darker. He was breathing heavily and ran straight to the spare room, that JJ usually stayed in. Malou stayed in her seat frozen and watched how the pogues went after him. She heard them argue loudly, and right after Kiara shouted at him to stop, John B walked out of the room again. As he passed Malou on the couch, she noticed the gun in his hands, as he went back outside.

"John B!", Malou shouted and jumped off the couch to run after him.

"John B! Stop!", Malou shouted as loud as she could and suddenly, her brother stopped and turned around to her. The pogues had caught up to them and suddenly stood next to Malou who looked at her brother in concern.

"What the hell is going on?", Kiara asked and John B angrily walked up to his friends.

"Ward knows about the gold. He's gonna take it.", John B said angrily and Malou gulped. She knew, that John B wouldn't be happy about it, but she hadn't expected him to be this angry. The pogues began to argue, but Malou wasn't able to focus on their words.

"I told him.", Malou suddenly said and everyone went quiet. She looked up at John B, whose face froze in shock for a second.

"What?", he asked and Malou took a deep breath.

"Listen to me, alright? I just wanted to fix everything. I brought the money back to Barry and then I went to Ward. I know, that dad worked together with him. So, I thought, that if he helped dad, he would help us, too. I asked him to take care of everything, of authorities and the equipment and everything like that, but he promised, that he would give you your part of the win anyway. Then I asked him to pay for JJs restitution and in return of the check, I told him where the gold is...", Malou admitted nervously and watched, how her brother got angrier with every word.

"Malou, you did not...", JJ mumbled and pulled at his own hair, at the same time, that Kiara scoffed and turned around angrily to stare at the sky.

"It was for the best, ok? We got shot at, we got followed, someone broke into our home and we were held at gunpoint. We can't get out of this alone. Please, believe me, I just wanted to save all of us. Because you- you're losing your mind over the gold, John B! I was scared, that you'll end up just like dad did. And if Pope is gonna go down any further by doing illegal things for this shit, he will lose his scholarship and JJ will be in jail, before we even know it. This gold is gonna ruin us, John B. We need help with it and Ward is willing to help. He helped dad, too.", Malou tried to explain herself and watched how John B shook his head. Pope was uncomfortably quiet and Kiara held her hands to her temples in distress.

"He's not willing to help, Malou.", John B said coldly and Malou took a step closer to him. Looking at him with lost and tired eyes, she nodded.

"He is, John B. I've seen him work with dad. If dad trusted him, then you can, too."

"Ward Cameron killed dad, ok?! And he tried to kill me, too, not even an hour ago! And now he's going to get everything that we have worked for, because you chose to trust him!", John B screamed at her and Malou felt her face turn pale. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe, or maybe, she wanted to forget how to breathe.

"What?", she whispered and John B shook his head again, as he looked around unsettled.

"Ward is responsible for the death of our father. He killed him and threw him into the ocean like trash. Yeah, maybe dad trusted him, but he payed for it with his life. And now what? The man who killed him gets the gold."

"John B, I didn't know! I-..." Malou started, but got interrupted right away.

"No! You fucking ruined everything and you did it behind our backs!"

"I wouldn't have done it, if I had known! We can fix this, alright? Just..."

"Malou, leave it! Stay back. You've done more than enough.", John B shouted back at her angrily and eventually walked off. Slowly, Malou followed him, but knew well, that he didn't want her around.

"I just wanted to do the right thing.", she said, wanting her friends to understand her actions badly. She never wanted to harm them or to jeopardise their success. She had just wanted them to be safe.

"No, you just did what was best for yourself.", Kiara then said, as she walked past Malou to get to John B, followed by Pope and JJ.

"I never thought, that it would be you to stab our backs.", Pope mumbled and followed Kiara. JJ stopped a few feet away from Malou. He looked at her with sad eyes and Malou felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. She wanted to call out his name, so he would stay and listen to whatever she had to say, but she knew, that no matter what she would say, it would not be good enough. JJ stared back at her and Malou wasn't sure, if he waited for her to say something or if he considered to say something or not. With sad eyes and broken hearts, the both of them stared at each other, until JJ eventually turned around and left.