THE PRINCE'S QUEEN | J.MAYBANK

[15]

"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland," Sarah commented as the twinkie drove up to Barry's trailer.

"I don't know about this, man," Pope worried.

"Dude, why are we at Barry's?" John B asked JJ who was in the driver's seat, glancing up to the trailer then to Barry's ID in his hand.

"This'll only take a second," JJ hissed, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Where are you going?" I questioned from the backseat.

"Yo soy justicia," JJ replied, and I shook my head at his horrible Spanish.

"Did you glean anything from that?" Pope asked the remaining people in the van.

"You know somebody should probably --"

"Yeah, I got it," John B cut Sarah off. He got out of the car with me following.

"I'll come with."

We walked into the house to see my boyfriend rummaging around. "Yeah, so what's your plan, slick?" John B interrogated.

"Well, as thou hath stealeth from us, we shall stealeth from ye," JJ answered in a fake accent.

"That kind of got lost in translation --"

"An eye for an eye, John B."

"Yeah, that's great, JJ. But what happens after you rob a drug dealer, huh? He knows who we are!" John B raised his voice, stopping JJ in his path.

JJ scoffed and uttered, "I'm not scared of this guy."

"The first person he'll come after is Elle," - that made JJ stop from entering the bedroom - "he clearly doesn't like her family, so what's gonna stop him from doing worse to her. Huh?" JJ grit his teeth together and trudged into Barry's bedroom.

"What are you doing?" I called to him.

"Getting even!" Not long after, JJ walked out with a bag full of money. "All right, took care of business," he snickered.

"Hey, look at me. If you keep going down this road, you're gonna end up just like your dad --"

JJ grabbed John B by his shirt, causing a small gasp to escape my lips. "You watch your mouth, man. Aren't you tired of being messed with?" the blonde spat.

"That's not the point, JJ."

"'Cause I am," JJ was about to walk out when I grabbed his hand. He glanced back at me, his eyes softening a touch.

"JJ, if you do this, your problems will be a lot bigger than just your competitors. You're talking about heavy theft and jail," I whispered, and he blinked a few times.

"What do you mean by competitors? Competitors for what?" he hissed, his hard expression falling back on his face. 

My words got caught in my throat, and my eyes widened slightly. "What is he talking about, Elle?" John B cut in. I let go of JJ's hand and gulped.

"Nothing. Forget what I said, let's go," I rushed and ran outside.

"All right, so we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit. Sorry about that, y'all," JJ announced to everyone else as he followed me. I noticed his tone still suspicious, and John B was tense.

"So that's what we're doing now? We're robbing drug dealers?" Kie snapped.

"This Barry guy's gonna find out. And he's gonna come after us," Sarah panicked.

"Yes, he will. This is not the time to start wilin' out," Pope advised.

"How'd you like havin' a gun pulled on you?" JJ shot back.

"Relax," John B said, stepping forward.

"He had it right here on you, bro," JJ pointed to John B's head, who brushed it off.

"Look. We've gotta go get the gold, okay? Just give me that shit. We're putting it back," JJ cut the brunette off by shoving him into the van. This time, I didn't gasp.

"Do you feel like a tough guy? Huh? What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"

"We punch him in the throat."

"Yeah, good fuckin' idea, JJ."

"I'm not putting it back," JJ argued and hopped inside the van. No one followed. "No! Actually, why don't we rewind to that little conversation we had inside! Right, Eleanor?" my boyfriend barked and jumped back out. I froze as everyone looked at me.

"Yeah. What were you talking about?" John B added, and I glanced at my fidgeting fingers.

"I was just saying that . . . . once you get that gold, that's where all your problems will begin. If you think you have struggles now --"

"How do you know that? We get a lawyer and buy protection for ourselves," Sarah interrupted, and I shook my head.

"No. I'm talking about guns and people twice our age trying to get this gold from us. They won't care if we're kids," I tried to end the conversation by sitting in the van, but John B grabbed my arm.

"You know someone who's after it, don't you?" the Routledge boy gasped, and I gazed back at my hand.

"Who?" Kiara cut in.

"I -- . . . ." - I held in the temptation to look at Sarah in pity - "I can't tell you. 'Cause if I do and you guys go after them, then someone will get hurt," my voice faded into a whimper. JJ's look towards me deepened into a small glare.

"Or you'll have to suffer the consequences of lying to us," my boyfriend growled.

"JJ," I pleaded. "I don't want to lie to you guys. Only a few people know about this, and they're already in danger. I mean, look at what happened to my aunt!"

"So Lana knows too?" Sarah asked, and I nodded.

"We know everything," I turned to John B, who still had a hold on me. "We know what happened to your dad," his jaw fell open.

"We know about Big John's work and how he was so close. And we know why Scooter was out in the storm. We -- I knew everything this entire time, and I was such a coward I didn't say anything. I didn't even try to stop them!" by now, I was just scolding myself, tears clouding my eyes. 

I glanced around to see everyone's reaction, and it wasn't good. John B let go of my arm; his eyes were taken over with vulnerability. I knew he wanted me to tell him what happened, but he also knew he wasn't ready to hear it. Kiara had a scowl on her face, and I could see why. She should never have trusted me in the first place. Pope and Sarah's expression was cold and emotionless, so I couldn't pick up anything.

And then there was JJ. His jaw was clenched, shoulders abroad, and his lips turned into a frown. And the slightest bit of tears were in the corners of his eyes. "I know you guys can't trust me anymore --"

"I never trusted you," Kiara cut me off, and I sighed.

"I'm sorry I never told you guys," - I looked at JJ - "especially you," I said, my voice quiet and broken.

Everyone stared at me without a word until JJ broke the silence. "Once a kook bitch, always a kook bitch."

My lip trembled, and I sniffed quickly as JJ snatched up his bag of money and stomped away. "JJ!" I cried but never tried to go after him. A single tear slid down my cheek, and I gazed at the Pogues. "I gotta go."