Gone | JJ | Outer Banks

part 14 - i have a bad feeling

I woke up to the sound of crashing waves and the feeling of my body aching, from the odd positioning I had fallen asleep in. As I sat up, I threw my hand over my eyes to shield them from the glaring sun. I leaned against the wooden railing, noticing my brother was nowhere to be found. He had made a habit of disappearing on me and I wasn't keen on it.

Getting on my feet, I yawned and stretched my arms wide. I soaked in the crisp morning breeze before walking back towards the house. Once I got inside, I noticed the house was empty too. My brother and I had fallen asleep on the docks, but I wondered where JJ had crashed -- hopefully not at his house. 

I threw my hair into a ponytail before taking out butter and a carton of eggs from the fridge. I cracked an egg into the pan with some butter, enjoying its simmer in the silence of the house. 

Rubbing my hands over my face, I felt my eyes still waking up. I yawned and picked up the spatula to stir the eggs in the pan. Once they were cooked, I put them on a plate, adding salt on top.

After turning on the radio, I grabbed a fork and sat down with my plate. I picked at my scrambled eggs, listening to the anchors crack jokes about the weather. At the start of The Longest Time by Billy Joel, I heard the front door creak open and whipped around to see who it was.

"It's gone," my brother glowered, slamming the door closed behind him.

I frowned, "What do you mean it's gone?"

"Ward, he took it all. I don't know when but he got in there and fished out every last bar of gold. It's all gone."

Dropping my fork against the plate, I buried my face in my hands and groaned, "We were this close."

We found the fricking gold. We made it this far and Ward had to come and screw it up for us. What else? God, he's a thief. A murderer and a thief.

"I don't know what to tell them all," Johnny sighed, taking a seat next to me.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Nothing you can tell them except the truth."

"We're in deep shit," he told me as if I didn't already know.

"Mhm," I nodded. All of a sudden my appetite had disappeared and I pushed away the half-eaten plate of eggs.

Later that morning, I was at the docks again, sitting with my back against the railing and my feet stretched out in front of me. My brother laid in front of me, Kie on the railing behind me, and JJ on the railing to the side. Kie and JJ had come by -- Pope was at his scholarship interview -- and Johnny had just told them what he discovered this morning.

"You sure he got everything?" Kie asked.

My brother, laying with his head on a lifesaver, nodded. "Every bar. The whole enchilada." He grunted, pulling off his cast. "Look, it's not like I expected a happy ending or some shit," he said, tossing the cast.

"John B..." Kie began when the cast fell at her feet.

"What, Kie?" He groaned, "It's a hairline fracture. Who cares?"

"You should care," Kie shook her head at him. "Your arm is gonna be messed up for life."

"It's fine. See?" He wiggled his fingers, trying to prove a point.

"Oh just put the damn cast back on," I scoffed, reaching for it and throwing it back at him.

"Guys!" Pope's voice called. I craned my neck to see him running towards us. He stopped in front of where I sat and bent over his knees panting. "Oh! Oh! Oh, God. I ran all the way here."