𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴 ☼ 𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯

𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯〔 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴 〕

𝘈𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

As soon as we touch down on Kildare island I part ways with Rafe in search of my brother and the Pogues, determined to find them and hoping that they actually made it home.

Doubt starts to creep into my bones when I find the chateau empty and guilt swirls in my gut. I should've went with Kiara and helped them. They needed me and I abandoned them again.

I head over to my childhood home, thinking maybe I would at least find JJ and my nerves are immediately calmed when I find my little brother in our back yard. The blonde boy is working on his bike while Pope watches in admiration and Cleo gives him pointers.

"JJ!" I call out and his head immediately whips to me.

"Addy" He breathes out in surprise, dropping his wrench.

My younger brother throws himself at me and I wrap him in a tight hug, breathing out a sigh of relief now that he's safe in my hold.

"I was so worried about you" JJ tells me as Pope and Cleo approach with wide smiles.

"Likewise, little brother" I chuckle, pulling away from him with a warm smile.

Pope takes his chance to pull me into a tight embrace and I happily allow him to cut off my circulation until Cleo yanks me from his hold with a scolding stare. The girl's eyes then zero in on my hand that is placed on Pope's arm and she whistles lowly.

"Nice jewels you got there" Cleo compliments, drawing attention to the ring on my finger and I pull my hand to my chest, concealing it.

"What is it?" JJ questions curiously.

"I have something to tell you all and I was hoping to wait till we were all together, but I don't know where the others are" I start to tell them.

"What's going on, Addy?" Pope asks in concern.

"I'm engaged" I reveal, showing the trio my sparkly engagement ring.

The three of them all stare at the ring with bewildered expressions of shock and surprise, Pope grinning ear to ear while Cleo looks impressed and JJ seems to be slightly worried.

"I'm so happy for you" Pope is the first to break the silence and it makes me smile softly.

"If you're gonna be rich now, can I borrow a couple hundred dollars and not pay you back?" Cleo wonders aloud, making Pope and I laugh.

"I'll see what I can work out for you, girl" I wink at her and she rubs her hands together with a mischievous grin.

I notice that my brother isn't laughing, nor is he even smiling and he still hasn't said so much as a word.

"Jayj, what's going on in that big head of yours?" I ask him jokingly and he looks at me in a way that seems to be almost vulnerable.

"Are you leaving us?" He speaks up and guilt sparks in my chest.

"Would you hate me if I did?" I reply with my own question and my chest burns when I see tears gather in his eyes.

"No, I wouldn't hate you" He shrugs, trying to act nonchalant "That's cool. I'm happy for you"

"JJ, speak to me" I plead as Cleo and Pope excuse themselves, heading into the house.

JJ looks at our front door to make sure that the others are gone before he looks back at me and a tear rolls down his cheek.

"I don't want you to marry Rafe" He finally admits and I nod in understanding, taking a hold of his hands like I would when he was a little boy "I don't want you to run away with him or be a Cameron or have his babies or be a stuck up rich Kook"

"Please don't leave me, Addy" JJ begs, his voice cracking and it breaks my heart.

I pull the blonde boy into my hold, grabbing the back of his head as he buries his face into my neck to hide his tears and he wraps his arms around me tightly.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay" I whisper soothingly, rubbing his back with my free hand "I'm always going to be here for you"

"But you won't actually be here" JJ sniffles.

Seeing the younger boy that I raised as my own in the state he's currently in completely tears my heart in two and my own eyes well up with tears as the thought finally sinks in that if I live with Rafe in Guadeloupe then I won't get to see JJ anymore.

As much as my brother and I have had our ups and pretty terrible downs, we've been through everything together and I never would have survived without him. I owe this boy everything for giving me a reason to wake up in the morning and keep pushing on for the past sixteen years of his life.

JJ and I aren't children anymore and honestly I don't think that we ever really were, but we still need each other the same as we did when we were only young and scared of the monsters in the closet.

I can't even begin to envision a world without my little brother annoying me at every step of the way and I decide at this exact moment that I don't want to.

"I'll speak to Rafe and I'll sort this out, okay?" I assure JJ and he pulls away a little to look at me through red rimmed eyes.

"You will?" He croaks and I take a hold of his face in my hands.

"Yes, of course. I'm not leaving you here alone, JJ" I state firmly and he smiles softly "I don't care that you're older now and that you can fend for yourself because you'll always be my baby. I will love you and take care of you until we're both old and grey"

"I'm not a baby" He groans but he still smiles.

"You're my baby" I counter with a teasing smile "So is Pope and John B and Kiara and Sarah and Cleo. You're all my babies"

"I love you, big sister" JJ breathes out a sight of what sounds like relief and I press a kiss to his forehead.

"I love you too, little brother" I hum happily.

"Hey, guys!" Pope comes running out the house with Cleo "Kiara wants us to meet her at the chateau!"