Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Thirteen.

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Music was playing softly from of the speakers of the van as John B drove along the road. I sat in the passenger seat, watching out the side window as the trees blurred past. From being outside of the Cameron house early this morning, to almost being shot again at the Chateau, my mind was too jumbled to concentrate.

Kiara, JJ and Pope were in the back arguing about whether the lost city of Atlantis was real after the previous discussion about John B got a bit heated.

"Hey, you ok?" John B asked me after a couple minutes of him silently glaring as he drove, worked up by his friends apparently not supporting his hope that his dad was still alive. He glanced across to me, noticing my silence the entire time. His voice was low, not catching the attention of the others.

"Mmhmm." I nodded with a small smile at him. He looked back to the road for a moment before turning back to me.

"Are you sure?"

"Just a lot on my mind, I guess. Doesn't help being chased by men with guns." I tried to laugh off his concern, but the firm look in his eyes didn't fade.

"Can I ask you something?" He eventually said. Laughter roared from behind us, showing that the others were still talking between themselves. I nodded, not knowing what he was thinking. "Why were you at the Cameron house this morning?"

I am pretty sure my heart stopped beating at his words, and I tried my best to keep my face from reacting. "I, er..." I started to stumble over my words.

John B looked back to the road when he spoke again. "I was dropping off the scuba gear to the boat and saw you." His voice was now light, with only a hint of concern.

"I think he might have known my mom." I tried to explain without saying too much.

He looked at me briefly, raising an eyebrow. "And you wanted to ask him at six in the morning?"

I forced a light chuckle again. "I didn't knock in the end, alright? I realized I was being crazy going so early in the day. I'll go back another time." I swallowed hard as I watched the boy beside me. His eyes stayed fixed on the road, but I could see his mind ticking away as he digested my words.

But luckily the road sign we passed caught my attention away from John B. "Redfield lighthouse?" I questioned. He hadn't told us where we were going so my words caught the others attention, silence dropping over the van.

"My dad's favorite place." John B replied, instantly forgetting the previous topic and not taking his eyes off the lighthouse in the distance as we drove closer.

I looked up at it as I opened my door, climbing out and stepping onto the stone path surrounding the property as the others joined beside me. "Right, here's what's going to happen, you're going to post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" John B began to explain his plan to JJ.