UNTOLD | JJ Maybank

Chapter 7

That night, sleep wasn't an option for Malou. Everything she had done, everything that John B had told her and everything they had went through in the last few weeks, played in her head like a broken record. Everything haunted her and Malou felt, like she had finally lost her mind.

When did all of this happen? How did all of this happen? And how would this end? Everything inside of her screamed to be heard. Her anger. Her fear. Her sadness. Her regret. She felt everything at once and she didn't know what to do with it. She cried, until no more tears were left to cry. She texted and called her brother and her friends, until the battery of her phone died. She screamed, until her lungs hurt. She wished for everything to be fine again, until she felt numb.

When the first ray of sunshine broke into the Château, Malou slowly turned her head to look outside. Emotionless, she blinked a few times, before she sat up slowly. Grabbing her phone from the small coffee table, Malou put it back down, once she remembered, that she had used all of the battery last night. Turning around, she took a look at the analogue clock on the wall. 5 am.

John B hadn't come home last night. Of course, he hadn't. And Malou wasn't sure, when he'd come home again. She wasn't sure, when the pogues would be ready to forgive her. Or if they'd ever be ready to forgive her. Malou decided, that she needed distraction. So, she went to her shift at the Wreck early that day. Two hours, before her regular shift would start, but she hoped, that the Carreras wouldn't mind. And maybe, just maybe, she hoped, that Kiara would be there.

"Malou. What are you doing here this early?", Mrs. Carrera asked, while she put the chairs back to the ground.

"I couldn't sleep and thought I'd use my time for something useful. I could help you with whatever help you need. And you don't have to pay me extra of course, I just need something to do.", Malou explained and watched how Mrs. Carrera frowned a little, before she slowly nodded her head.

"You're always welcome here, Malou. Are you ok, though?", the woman asked and Malou nodded.

"Yeah, sure! Just, you know, some teenager stuff, nothing big.", Malou said and forced herself to smile a little. Mrs. Carrera smiled back at her and Malou was sure, that Mrs. Carrera probably thought of boy problems being Malous teenager stuff. Not saying anything further, Mrs. Carrera told Malou with whatever work she could start, until the first guests would arrive. Malou nodded and walked behind the bar, where she put on her apron. Putting her hair up in a ponytail, Malou put her bag underneath the bar and plugged in her phone to charge it. Waiting a few minutes, she turned it on, only to see, that she still had no texts and no calls. Even though she hadn't expected any, Malou still felt a sting in her heart.

She opened her chat with Pope and texted him good luck for his interview, telling him, that she was proud of him. She opened her chat with Kiara, but decided not to text her. Thinking, that if Kiara knew, that Malou was at the Wreck, she wouldn't show up there. Malou didn't even dare to open the chats of John B and JJ. Her heart already broke by just the thought of seeing, that neither of them had replied to her. Locking her phone, she put it back to the charger and started working. And for a while, it did distract her. When the Wreck opened for breakfast time, Malou suddenly caught a familiar figure with dark curls walk into the restaurant. Quickly, Malou set the tray of coffee down and ran up to Kiara. Grabbing her by her wrist, Malou carefully pulled her to the side.

"I know you guys are mad at me, but you could at least reply! I was worried sick over you!", Malou spoke up, when Kiara hadn't even processed what was happening. Once she looked at Malou, her eyes turned angry. Shaking Malous hands off her, the pretty girl glared at her friend.

"Well, we were too busy to reply, because we had to think of how to fix your mess!", Kiara spat and Malou took a step back.

"I get it, alright? Can you just tell me where John B is?"