Brother's Best Friend || JJ Maybank

Episode 7. Dead Calm | 29

Julianne Bailey Routledge

At 2:55 in the morning, my alarm began blaring, the sound forcing me awake. I groaned, slapping a hand over my phone to stop the retched sound. I could already hear my brother up and moving, motivating me to do the same.

Two knocks sounded at my door, John B not even waiting for me speak before bursting in.

I scoffed at his lack of manners, "Sure, come right in. Thanks, John."

He flopped onto my bed, "Shut up and let's go."

"You're the one laying on my bed." I went over to the door, raising an eyebrow at him, "You coming?"

He got up, following me to the basement where Ward was already waiting for us. The next 20 minutes consisted of the three of us getting poles ready and stocking up the boat, finally leaving the doc around 2:30.

We decided on heading South, reaching the spot just as the sun was rising.

"You sure you don't want to throw any out there, Julianne?" Ward asked as he got lines ready for him and John.

I shrugged, "Maybe one, but not right now. Thank you, though. This boat is lovely."

He nodded at me, shifting his focus to my brother, "We picked a good one, didn't we?"

John nodded, looking out into the water, "Sure did."

We were sat at the top of the boat, floating along with the water.

Ward handed John B his now empty glass, "Hit me again. Hold the grapefruit juice on this one. Let's get this day on it's feet. In fact, you know what? Poor one for yourselves."

John B looked up at him, confusion written all over him, "We're, uh.. we're 16, sir."

Ward only shrugged, "John, I know you guys are 16, okay? It's okay. It's just one drink. We're out here on the ocean. These are almost international waters. We're celebrating."

I still shook my head, giving him a polite smile, "I don't drink, sir. But I appreciate the offer."

"Oh, come on. You're a teenager, every one of 'em does it. Just have one."

I bit my lip, feeling insanely on the spot, "Um.. Yeah, sure, I guess."

Ward nodded, "John B?"

My brother thought for a moment, not resisting the urge to take his offer, "All right, all right."

I wasn't shocked by my brothers actions, he was a big drinker, much like our father was. Though, he was responsible, so I trusted him not to get too trashed. Especially since we're in the middle of no where with a guy we barely knew.

Ward began speaking after John handed us our drinks, "See, here's the thing. I don't know if you know this, but you're about to be fishing with a Grand Knight of the Rhododendron. I know you don't know what that is, and it doesn't seem like a big deal, but.. to me, it is, it means I'm a.. I'm a trusted member of this community. That means a lot to me. Trust."

I swirled my drink around in it's cup. To anyone else, these words would have been reassuring, but to me, they made my ears perk. Something in the way he spoke made my stomach churn. It was almost like... like he was trying to get something out of us. To only gain our trust. Something felt off to me, and usually when I felt like this, I was right. I just hoped I was wrong.

John nodded, "Absolutely, yeah."

He held his glass up, "Here's to trust."

We clanked our glasses, "To trust."