Together Again • JJ Maybank

Five

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The heavy wind from today should have been some indication that a storm was rolling in. The small spots of rain that had begun to fall on my windscreen when I answered my phone to JJ quickly turned into a heavy downpour and now my wipers were working overtime as I sped down the dark coastal road, desperately searching for him.

I couldn't understand what he was saying on the phone. His words were slurred and he wasn't making much sense at all, but he did manage to tell me where he was and agreed to stay put until I got there. But JJ was temperamental at best, and could have easily changed his mind by now.

Speeding past the shadowy trees, I glanced down at the speedometer, fully aware of how I was dangerously straddling the line between safely driving in a storm and getting to JJ as quickly as possible. My heart momentarily paused in my chest when I looked up again, instantly spotting the lone figure walking along the edge of the road. Well, stumbling. 

Slamming on my breaks, my car skidded along the waterlogged road, slowing down to a crawl as I approached him cautiously. He didn't look up as I pulled up alongside him, instead choosing to keep his head down as he glared at the ground. His dripping wet hair had fallen around his face and his soaked clothes clung to his body.

"JJ!" I called once I opened my window. He still didn't look up. "JJ! Get in the car!" 

Only when I yelled did he stop and turn his face to look at me. My foot fell heavily on the breaks, stopping my car fully as I let out an audible gasp. Even through the darkness I could see how swollen JJ's face was. Purple and blue bruising lined his jaw and eyes, and dried blood framed his nose and lip. "What the fuck, JJ?" 

"Don't, Abby. Just don't." He shook his head as he avoided eye contact with me. He was drunk. But I couldn't work out whether that came before or after the fight he had clearly found himself in. My mind was racing to figure out who had done this to him. Was it his dad? Barry? Or just a random Kook he had crossed paths with?

I stayed silent for a moment longer, watching as he stood awkwardly at the side of the road, swaying unsteadily and still looking everywhere but directly at me. The rain was splashing through my open window, already wetting my face and clothes. "Well, are you gonna get in?" 

He had been the one to call me, but judging from his reaction to me actually being here now, he seemed hesitant. I sighed, exasperated by the situation. "Just get in the god damn car!" 

His need for shelter and comfort seemed to finally override his stubbornness, and he reluctantly made his way round to the passenger door. He climbed in in silence, keeping his eyes down and barely moving. I wanted to ask him what happened, and why he had finally called me, but I was too scared of how he would react. Instead, I looked back out the window ahead of me and began to drive again.

I drove slower this time, no longer in a panicked rush to find him. But the silence was deafening so it didn't take long for me to break it. "You don't have to tell me what happened, but you can if you want, you know?"

I resisted the urge to look over at him when I heard him shuffle in his seat, instead giving him the space to open up on his own. And after a minute longer, he actually did. "I been doing some work for my dad..." My jaw instinctively tensed as JJ mentioned his dad, but I let him carry on with no judgement. "He missed some payments, to some guys. So they sent him, us, a message." 

"So that's it? You've dropped out of school to work with your dad? Looks like that's going great for you." I mumbled the last part, but was sure he heard me.

"I destroyed the Phantom, remember? What other choice have I got?" He bit back at my sarcasm. "I didn't call you to get a lecture!" 

"Then why did you call me, huh?" I turned to glare at him, unable to keep a check on the anger that entwined dangerously close to my broken heart.