Depths

Bird and Nightingale

Once the five teenagers return to the chateau they head straight to the kitchen table while JJ makes a pitstop at the kitchen counter to make a sandwich. John B sits down at the table preparing to open the envelope in front of him, nerves wracking his body. If Harli was being honest, nerves were wracking her body as well. Curiosity was definitely building about what was held inside of the envelope that was left for them.

Part of Harli didn't want to know what was inside the envelope. If it was anything like their encounters with the compass it would surely only bring them trouble. But, this was her dad and she needed to know what was so important that he felt as though he had to hide it inside of an old family crypt and a hidden secret message inside of a sunken compass. No matter how much Harli wanted to avoid the trouble that was sure to follow, her questions about what was so important to her father outweighed every other thought.

"J, I don't think that bread's any good." Harli tells him as she glances at him spreading peanut butter on the old bread.

"Yeah, man. That bread had mould on it three days ago." Pope agreed.

"It's fine, guys." The blonde argued. "It's good for you. Mould is just a natural  organism." JJ finishes his sandwich and moves to take a bite. Harli grimaces as he takes a bite and immediately starts gagging, spitting the bite into the trash and throwing away the whole thing.

"JJ, come on!" Pope instructs him, causing the blonde to join them at the kitchen table. He stands behind Harli who sits next to John B. JJ's hand finds Harli's shoulder and he gives it a soft squeeze, letting her know that he's there for her no matter what.

Everyone watches as John B opens the envelope and pulls out a paper. Unfolding it, he reveals that it's a map of the East Coast, mostly of the Outer Banks. The teenagers notice coordinates and a red X marked on the map.

"X marks the spot." Pope points at the spot on the map before John B exclaims that there's something else in the envelope and pulls out a tape recorder.

"What's that?" JJ questions.

"A tape recorder, duh." Kie quips at him harshly, causing JJ to roll his eyes at her and Harli to shoot her a glare before returning her attention back to John B. She hated when people made JJ feel like he was stupid. Yes, he did stupid things sometimes, but he was far from stupid. No one would ever know it, but he was one of the smartest people Harli knew, though his low grades in school would say otherwise. JJ just didn't have anyone outside of the Pogues to believe in him. He had to spend most of his time working to be able to make rent and hope that his  deadbeat dad didn't take it to go gamble or buy drugs.

John B looks at Harli questioningly before hitting play on the recorder. She gives him a slight nod, and the five listen intently, waiting for what's going to be revealed.

"Dear Bird and my beautiful Nightingale." The voice of their dad sounds on the other end of the recorder causing the two teenagers to look at each other in shock.

"Who's Bird and Nightingale?" JJ questions.

"That's what our dad used to call us." John B answers him softly, returning his attention back to the device in front of him. In all of JJ's years of knowing the two teens, he had no idea that was their father's nicknames for them. But, it made sense that Big John's nickname for Harli was Nightingale. She was the epitome of what the tiny bird symbolized- she was creative, pure and good in every sense. Nightingales had a history with symbolic associations of being the muse, and Harli was. She was JJ's muse, even if she didn't know it. She made him want to be better than what he had.

"I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so." The recording continues. "And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't go killing yourselves just yet, kids. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. You were probably right to call me out. I wasn't exactly father of the decade. What can I say, kids? I could smell the barn. Hopefully we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack on the beach down in Costa Rica living off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well... that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the century. If something happens to me finish what I started. Go for the gold, kids. I love you both, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you both on the other side."