Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

xvii. life changes

The group's silence was unsettling for Ashtyn as she sat on the bow of the Pogue, blankly staring at the murky canal water ahead of them. By now, the sun had set, masking the four teens in darkness as they crept toward the bustling country club.

Tonight was Midsummers, an event that Ashtyn knew Kook families attended every year to share stories and bask in their glorified lifestyles. The Cameron's had attended the event every year since moving to Kildare, so it didn't surprise the sixteen year old when John announced they were going in search of their blonde daughter.

Back when the Hughes family were still 'happily' together, the four would attend something similar with business associates in Greenville. For years, the siblings found the event exciting because they were surrounded by children that were the same age as them. Little did their younger selves know, it was their mothers' way of pawning them off on someone else for an evening.

The mere thought of Claudia Hughes caused Ashtyn's blood to run cold. She could see the brightly lit beach club inching closer by the second, and something in her gut screamed for her to run and hide. Her mother was there, probably hanging off Ward and Rose Cameron like a leach.

Ashtyn's blue eyes dart away from Kooklandia to JJ, who was currently lost in his own thoughts staring at the stars above. His earlier outburst had worried the girl, so much so that she wanted to drag him away from this treasure hunting bullshit. He wasn't in the right mindset to be around the people of Figure Eight tonight, but there was no doubt in her mind that John would to ask him and Luke to go in for information.

At the rear, she found that the two dark haired males were lost in their own conversation. It seemed heated, but they were able to keep their volume low enough to prevent she and JJ from hearing.

She glanced at her brother once more before sliding down next to JJ, spreading out across the floor with her head next to his. Nothing was going to work tonight if he wasn't mentally there, and if John wouldn't talk to his friend, then it was up to her. "JJ?"

For a moment, he kept silent, making Ashtyn think that he'd ignore her too. "Yeah?"

"I need to ask you again for my own sanity..." The brunette girl twisted her head to the right to find him already looking at her. His face was severely bruised now that the point of impact had time to discolor, and she could see the sadness behind his blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

His calloused hand slid over to awkwardly grab hers, squeezing it tightly as he let his eyes close. "No Ash, I'm not."

Ashtyn no longer cared that JJ's grip could potentially break the smaller bones in her hand. She just wanted to assure him that he wasn't alone. The mainlander squeezed back as tightly as her limited strength would allow.

The brown haired girl knew she wouldn't get much more out of him, so it was best to leave the conversation there. "Okay..."

"Thank you, for always being there for me." JJ's voice was almost inaudible due to the wind around them, but she somehow caught what he said.