Alone Together • JJ Maybank

Forty Seven.

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My heart weighed heavy in my chest while I watched the world spinning past the windows as Pope drove away from where John B had jumped out of the car. The sun was beginning to set and I couldn't help but worry about how he would make it through the night without being caught.

I lifted my head from JJ's shoulder as he started to laugh, reminiscing on Pope's erratic driving while he lit another joint. "Pope, you clocked that car, man. Like that was so bad!" He chuckled loudly as his whole body shook with laughter.

"I'm just glad I'm not driving now." Pope replied flatly. My head shot to look at Kiara, who spun around quickly looking at me with panicked eyes.

"Pull over!" We yelled in unison at Pope, who was in fact still driving. I understood why he needed to take the edge of yesterday, but he had been smoking non-stop and wasn't used to it, and it was starting to worry me and Kie. "JJ, it's not funny. He shouldn't be driving." Kiara scolded when she heard him laughing from behind her.

Kiara climbed out of the passenger seat once Pope pulled over, marching around the car to the driver's side. "Mama's mad." JJ muttered under his breath, causing me to glare at him.

"Stop." I whispered, trying to scold him too, but unable to keep the small smirk from growing on my lips at the cheeky glint in his eyes.

"You're cute when you pretend to be angry at me." He chuckled lowly as he pulled my face towards his, placing a playful kiss on my cheek while Pope and Kie swapped seats. "Want some?" He held the joint towards me as I rolled my eyes. Part of me wanted to, to ease the worry growing inside me with each passing minute. But Pope was already spiraling and I couldn't leave Kie alone in being the only level-headed one right now.

"Where are we going?" I asked as she started driving.

"Tannyhill. The last place they're gonna look."

I nodded in acceptance before an idea popped into my head. "Wait. We can't pin all our hope on Sarah. We need a backup plan." I looked at Kie's eyes in the rear-view mirror. "You and Pope go to Tannyhill. And we'll go to Nana's." I said, glancing at JJ for confirmation. "We need to get all my evidence on Ward. If Sarah can't help, at least I might be able to."

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I peered over the top of the hedge in a neighbor's garden from my crouched position beside JJ. Kiara had dropped us off as close as possible without drawing any attention from the cops, but considering we could pretty much guarantee that they had the Chateau staked out permanently, we had to sneak into Nana's house undetected.

Nudging JJ, I pointed to a car parked down the street a few doors along, with two figures sitting in it. Subtle. JJ nodded as he grabbed my hand and pulled me further along the hedges before we climbed over, keeping as low as we could. Only one more house to sneak across until we could get into the safety of my home.

Making our way through another neighbor's overgrown yard, we made it to the side of Nana's house. I crept up to the window of the bathroom, praying that it was unlocked. The creek of the wood made me hold my breath, praying that the noise didn't echo too far as I lifted it higher and higher.

JJ pulled himself up first, before turning to help lift me in after him. Closing the window behind me, I let out a huge sigh of relief that we made it this far without being caught. The house was eerily silent and completely dark, reminding me that the power was still completely out.

"Come on, let's be quick." I directed JJ with my flashlight towards my bedroom. Walking out of the bathroom into the hallway, I couldn't help but get an odd feeling as we walked the short distance to my bedroom door. I stood still for a moment until I pushed the door open.