Audacious//JJ Maybank (Outerbanks)

Chapter 114

I stand outside Cleo's door, hesitant for a moment before raising my hand to knock. My heart aches knowing how much pain she's in, how much she's lost. When I knock softly, her voice, barely holding it together, calls out, "Come in."

I open the door and step inside, finding Cleo sitting on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands, shoulders shaking as she cries. I don't say a word; instead, I rush over to her, pulling her into a tight hug, feeling her arms cling to me like I'm the only solid thing she has left to hold onto. Her body trembles against mine, and I can feel the weight of her grief pouring out, raw and unrestrained.

"I'm so sorry, Cleo," I whisper, rubbing her back, trying to give her the comfort she needs. "I know he meant the world to you."

She nods against me, her face buried in my shoulder. "He... he did a lot of bad things," she chokes out. "Things I know weren't right. But he also... he took me in when I had no one. Gave me food, gave me family. And now he's just... gone."

Her words break my heart, and I hold her tighter. I can't imagine what it's like for her—to have had someone who was like a father, someone who saw her when she was at her lowest, only to lose him in such a brutal way. Terrence was complicated, sure, but he was the one who gave Cleo a chance when no one else would. For better or worse, he was her family, and she loved him.

"I know, Cleo. He was there for you when no one else was. That means something, and you're allowed to grieve that," I say softly.

She takes a shuddering breath, pulling back slightly to wipe at her tears. "Feels like a piece of me is just... gone," she says, her voice thick with grief.

I nod, understanding. "It's okay to feel that. We'll get through this together. We're family too now, right?" I offer her a small smile, and she nods, her lips quivering as she tries to hold back more tears.

For a while, we sit there in silence, her head on my shoulder as I hold her, grounding her as best as I can. I don't let go until she finally begins to breathe a little easier.

"Thank you, Jackie," she whispers, giving me a sad, grateful smile. "You don't know how much this means to me."

I smile back, squeezing her hand. "I'm here for you, Cleo. Always."

As I get up to leave, I glance back, seeing her take a deep breath, regaining a bit of her strength. I know she's hurting, but she's strong—stronger than she realizes. A while later, I walk outside to check on JJ, who is topping up the Twinkie for our drive to Chucktown.

I stand there, watching the Twinkie kick up a cloud of dust as it pulls away, carrying the others down the road. The sound of the engine fades into the distance, leaving me alone in the quiet. I look down at the note in my hand, reading over JJ's messy handwriting again. "Had to go run an errand - go on to Chucktown without me - catch up with you later."

"Since when does JJ ever run errands?" Sarah's voice echoes in my mind. She was right—it wasn't like him. There was a feeling in my gut I couldn't shake, a tightness that had me dialing his number again even though I knew it'd go straight to voicemail.

I lean against the house, staring out at the empty road, wondering where he could possibly be. JJ was impulsive, sure, but this felt different. Usually, he'd at least give me a hint or make some joke about where he was going. This time, nothing. Just a vague note.

I take a deep breath and go inside, but the house feels emptier than ever. The silence is heavy without the others around, the walls echoing with all the memories of JJ's wild laughter, of Cleo and Kiara's back-and-forths, of Pope's steady voice and Sarah's eye rolls at John B. The house feels hollow, but maybe that's just because JJ's not here. I shake off the feeling, telling myself he'll be back soon, that he'd never leave me for long.