P4L, carpe diem (JJ Maybank)

030

1ST PERSON

After work, I waited for my chauffeurs. Once Kie and Pope got there, I had a smile on my face at the sight of them.

I had changed out of my stinky, poop-scooping clothes and into more civilized clothing.

"Hey, guys," I muttered, sitting in the middle seat.

-|-

We all drove to the Chateau, in between talking plans for the gold scenario. I couldn't help but worry about JJ. Maybe I had gone too far? I knew I screwed up.

"So, we gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning," Pope explained and I nodded. "If that's our goal. But we gotta stay focused," I added.

"I know. I know. It's gonna be fine."

Kie explained stuff to me. "We got John B and Dyl inside the well, maybe JJ too. Me up top. You and Sarah will be outside transporting," Pope said to Kis.

Kie got got out of the truck. "Yeah. We got this," she agreed.

"Cool."

We walked to the back of the truck, opening it up.

"Thanks," Kie said, out of nowhere.

"For what?" Pope and I asked, as I pulled a box towards me and giving it to Pope. "For stranding us. You know, making us make up."

"What makes you think that was me?" Pope asked, with a smile.

We were interrupted by a whirring sound, like a machine turning on. My eyebrows scrunched, confused. "What the hell?"

"Who the hell is that?" I asked, walking towards the back of Chateau. Lights were surrounding us and right in the center, was a freaking hot tub.

And inside of the freaking hot tub, was my boyfriend, popping open a bottle of champagne. He had sunglasses covering his eyes, and his hair was a mess, and not in a good way.

"What did you do, JJ?" Pope asked, seriously confused.

"I got a jet going straight in my butt right now," he exclaimed, slurring. Great, he's drunk. "Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me?" He asked, and I just stood there, worried and pissed at the same time.

He poured himself two glasses of champagne. "Salud!" He shouted, holding the glasses up, but only to then began drinking out of the bottle.

"How much did this cost?" Pope asked.

I had a good feeling of what the answer was.

"Uh... well, with the generator, the petrol and hey, express delivery," he slurred, totally wasted. "...pretty much all of it, yeah."

My mouth dropped to the floor. "All of it?"

"Yeah, all of it."

"You spent all the money in one day?!" Pope exclaimed, pissed. "Yeah, burned a hole right through my pocket. But, I mean, like, come on, guys, like, look at this!" JJ shouted, using a lot of hand motions to show the setting. "Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me."

Kie and I shared a look, very confused and worried. "Princess, what? Can't a man have a little luxury in life? Come on, all this scrimpin' and scrapin'..." he slurred, whipping off his glasses.

There looked like there was no mind, no souls behind those eyes. He was wasted.

But not even the JJ we know would become THAT wasted. It seemed like JJ— MY jj— was missing. Something must've happened, which I didn't know.

"You only live once, right?" His eyes were red, and he looked like he'd been crying. "Enough of this emotional shit. Get in the Cat's Ass. Come on."

I tilted my head down. "In the what?" I quietly asked.

"...In the Cat's Ass. That's what I named her," he explained, a small smirk on his face.

"Oh, hey, yo, I almost forgot." He pressed a button of the machine. A bunch of lights showed up, a little too bright for my liking in the darkness of the night. The white lights before were almost too much— now colors? Damn.

"That's right, I know. Disco mode. That's right, baby!"

That's when I lost my shit. "Are you fucking kidding me? You could have paid for your restitution!" I shouted, and his smirk turned to a frown.

"Or literally given it to any charity!"

"Or, better yet, you could have helped us buy supplies to get the gold out of the well!" Pope shouted, as JJ rubbed the bridge of his nose, facing to the left.

"Okay, well, you know what?"

He stood up, and almost immediately I figured out what was wrong. His chest was peppered in bruises, deep red bruises. Even on his arms, but he was using his hands so much I couldn't see them.

"I didn't do that. I got a hot tub!" He shouted. "For my friends. I got a hot tub for my friends. No, you know what? Screw friends. I got a hot tub for my family!" He said, beginning to cry.

"What the hell?" I murmured, my eyes scouring all his skin. I couldn't take them off of him. It frightened me. But I knew what happened. His fucking dad.

"I got this for you," he went on, meaning the tub. "Guys, look what I did for you! All right? Look at this!"

"JJ," I said, my lip quivering too.

"No, you stop being emotional. It's fine, okay?" He demanded, tears falling from his eyes.

"I mean it's sweet, r-right?"

I took a step forward, till I met him inside of the hot tub. He was falling apart, and it was killing me. Not as his girlfriend, but as his best friend.

I hugged him tightly, being careful not to hurt his bruises on his skin. I could feel his sobs like tickles on my skin.

He wrapped his arms around me, but didn't completely hold me. I held his head on my shoulder, as he cried as I held him. I put my head on his shoulder, kissing his shoulder softly. He finally gave into the hug, tightening his arms around my lower back.

"I can't take him anymore!" He cried, crumpling in my grasp, shivering. "I was going to kill him!"

I petted his hair, trying to calm him. I sobbed onto him too, nervous, worried for him.

I could feel Kie and Pope wrap their arms around us, too, providing more comfort for him.

"I just wanna do the right thing."

"I know," I said in a calming tone, though I was crying too. "I know. Sh-sh-sh," I cried, feeling his hair cling to my skin.

"It's not your fault, baby. It's not your fault. You do the right thing. You're gonna keep doing the right thing," I explained. "I'm right here..."

a/n:

EVEN MORE FUCKING CRYING
GOD DAMMIT

I NEED THE FREAKING TISSUES

but on a side note,

;)))))