THE PRINCE'S QUEEN | J.MAYBANK

[16]

"I don't know what to do, Tía. He won't forgive me for this. None of them will," I argued against Lana, who was sat on the couch of her living room, her many layers of clothing spread across the blankets.

"Everyone will eventually let it go, mi sobrina," Lana soothed, but my frozen and cold statue never settled. I kept shaking my head in denial.

"They won't. You don't get it, Lana. I lied to not only John B, Sarah, Pope, and Kiara but JJ too. JJ was the one person I was supposed to tell important stuff to, and I failed. I failed at being a friend, a girlfriend, even a sister. When Topper finds out I robbed a drug dealer, he is going to hate me even more than he does," my voice came out quiet and broken, which made a frown appear on Lana's face.

"Eleanor --" she sighed, getting cut off by a creak coming from the front porch where the door remained broken down. We looked over to see Topper standing there with an infuriated look.

"Topper," I gasped and was in the midst of getting up when Lana held up her hand. I sat back down. My aunt stood and strolled over to Topper.

"May I help you?" she asked him.

"I need to speak with Elle," he said, trying to remain polite and contain his anger.

"Well, she's currently busy."

"It's an emergency. Coming from her brother who wouldn't want to delay the time she spends with her family unless it was urgent," the boy replied.

"Coming from her own blood, I know she has no intention to speak with you, so get off my property," Topper clenched his jaw.

"Come on, Elle," he called to me as I glanced him up at down.

"No --"

"God damnit, Eleanor! Get the fuck up!" my brother roared and shoved Lana to the side.

"Leave her alone!" I snapped, standing as he snatched my wrist and dragged me outside to his car.

"You kidding me? You really trying to piss me off?" he hissed, opening the passenger door and pushing me inside. He rushed around and got in the driver's seat. He began driving away and down the dirt road.

"I don't know what you're talking about --"

"You robbed a fucking drug dealer, Eleanor! What the hell were you thinking?!" he hit his palms against the steering wheel and turned to me. He pulled over next to a collection of trees as his face faded red. "It's because of those filthy Pogues you hang out with! They trick you into doing their reckless shit! Especially your little boyfriend!"

I interrupted him with a shove. "Shut up! You don't know anything about them!"

"I know enough to know they're dangerous! I'm trying to protect you!"

"Bullshit!"

"Just fucking listen for a minute, Elle!" his voice raised so high that it actually shut me up. "Since we were little, all I've wanted to do was keep you safe. If yelling at you and hitting you will stop you from seeing the very people who put a gun to my head and sunk our family's boat, then that's what I'm going to do. I want to say that I'm sorry for trying to be a big brother, but I'm truly not," his voice went quiet, and my eyes brimmed with tears which I blinked away. Without a reply, I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the car door. He grabbed my hand, which I tugged out of.

"Please, Topper. Let me go," I whispered. He bit the inside of his cheek as I closed the door, and he drove away. I decided not to go back to Lana's and instead just began walking.

~:*:~

Hours later, I was still strolling down the dirt street of The Cut. I didn't know exactly where I was going but knew I wasn't in Kook territory. I was close to the marsh since I saw occasional glimpses of it through cracks between trees and houses. I had almost forgotten what Topper had said by now, and it faded into the rest of our arguments. The only source of light was the moon, but even that went away at times. So I found myself struggling for something other than darkness until my vision suddenly erupted with dozens of fairy lights.

I squinted my eyes and followed the trail of lights all the way to the backyard of the Chateau. As I got closer, I saw two figures standing around a hot tub. The tub had flashing lights and jets everywhere, with little flamingo floaties holding champagne. But the one thing that stood out was my topless boyfriend sitting in it. I could already tell he was tipsy from the bottle of champagne in his hand and his behavior. It appeared to be Kiara and Pope staring at him in shock, just like I was in the shadows.

"Oh, hey, yo, I almost forgot," JJ exclaimed and flipped a switch. A disco ball turned on, and more jets started. "Huh? Yeah, that's right, I know. Disco mode. That's right baby!" A broad smile fell across his face as he leaned in his seat.

"Are you kidding me? You could have paid for restitution!" Pope yelled, which made JJ's face fall.

"Or literally given it to any charity!" Kiara barked, only building JJ's sudden flood of negative emotions. He began rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"You could have helped us buy supplies to get the rest of the gold out of the well!"

"Okay, well, you know what? I didn't do that!" JJ screeched and stood up. Revealing several large and black bruises on his chest and stomach. Making everyone's mouths fall open and our eyes to widen. "I got a hot tub! For my friends. I got a hot tub for my friends. You know what? No, you know what? Screw friends. I got a hot tub for my family!" 

"What the hell?" Kiara muttered.

"I got this for you. Guys, look what I did for you! All right? Look at this! Look at this!"

"JJ." 

"No, you stop being emotional. It's fine, okay? I mean, it's sweet, right? Everything -- Just get in!" the blonde cried, and Kiara jumped in the hot tub. She threw her arms around him, and both began sobbing. A tear fell from my eyes as I watched my boyfriend unravel.

"I just couldn't do it. I can't take him anymore! I was gonna kill him," he shook over Kiara, who held a tight grip on him. It took Pope a few seconds, but he soon came in after them and wrapped his arms around JJ too. "I just wanna do the right thing," JJ whispered.

"I know. I know," Kiara whimpered, trying to hold back tears. 

"Where's Elle? I want Elle. Where's Eleanor?" he sniffed. Pope nor Kiara wanted to crush JJ's dreams, so they said nothing.

"JJ," I croaked, slowly walking out to the light. I didn't even think about what I was doing beforehand, but it was too late since they already saw me. Everyone looked up, and without any hesitation, JJ got out of the hot tub and raced towards me.

His arms fell onto my waist, and he continued his sobs into my neck. He kept mumbling small words I couldn't make out, but they only made him clutch me harder. "I'm so sorry --" I cut him off with a soft shush as he cried louder.

"It's okay, baby. I'm sorry too," I replied and ran my hand through his wet hair. I placed a tiny kiss on his collarbone, which calmed him down a bit. His hands found my hair, and he started playing with the curly strands. Not stopping until the next morning.