Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

twenty three

DESPITE HAVING gone to sleep very late the previous evening, Scarlett found herself lying wide awake by five o'clock the next morning. For a while, she laid on the couch- tossing and turning to try and get some more sleep. Eventually though, she gave up and decided to take a small wander down to the dock, deciding to watch the calming sunrise. After a while, just as the sun was coming up over the horizon, Scarlett heard the soft sound of another pair of footsteps before she felt the presence of the person sitting beside her. "So, this is what a sunrise looks like." JJ joked, dangling his legs over the edge of the dock.

Scarlett nodded, unsure what to say to the blonde. Within just a few hours, they had argued twice before JJ had drunkenly apologised to her, saying he hadn't meant it. It wasn't surprising that she didn't know what to think anymore. "You're up early..." She mused, not sure what else to say.

JJ shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Besides, I heard you get up and knew I wanted to talk to you. See what it is about sunrises that you like so much."

"They're pretty and they're very calming. That's what I like about them." Scarlett said, finally turning her head towards him. His hair was messy, covered up by his signature baseball cap, and he looked exhausted. "Are you sure you got some sleep last night?" She asked him.

"Could say the same about you." JJ smirked, looking over to her. Her eyes had dark bags under them, showing how stressed she was. She had thrown her hair up into a messy bun, random strands of her hair falling out of it. "Look, Red, there's a lot I wanted to say to you. And I think I said some of it last night but I was drunk, and you might've been too. So I wanted to say it again." Scarlett nodded, gesturing for him to continue. JJ took a deep breath, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "I shouldn't have pushed you away, Doll. I really do love you. I thought that by pushing you away, I was protecting you, if Barry came after me." He sighed. "But I realise now, that I can protect you better if you're by my side. I don't want us to be over, Scar. I want to stay with you for the rest of my life- for as long as you'll have me. And I want to tell you that I wasn't lying when I told you I was in love with you too."

Scarlett bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes flickering back and forth between the horizon and the boy beside her. "I want to forgive you, JJ. I promise you that I do. But you lied to me so much yesterday. I don't know what to do, I really don't. I want to be with you again, but..." She trailed off, looking down at her lap as her fingers fiddled with the rose hanging from her necklace. "Can we just forget about this for now?" She asked after a moment, looking up and locking eyes with his blue ones. "Let's just... put this to the side and forget about it till all this shit with the gold is over."

"Does that include forgetting about us?" JJ asked, fearful that he might lose the only girl he'd ever had truly deep feelings for.

Scarlett shrugged. "Honestly, JJ. I'm not sure." She pulled her legs back up onto the dock and pushed herself up into a standing position. "I'll have to think about it. For now, though, I'm gonna go get ready for today." She awkwardly patted his shoulder before leaving him on the dock and heading back up John B's front garden. Quietly, she pushed open the porch door and tiptoed past the couch- where Kiara was still fast asleep. She walked into what had been claimed as JJ's room, and pulled a random outfit from the mis-matched drawers before heading into the bathroom to get changed.

❤❤❤

An hour later, now dressed in a long-sleeved crop-top and a pair of denim shorts, Scarlett found herself sat on the grass, a little way away from the wooden dock. The world around her was quiet, save for the soft chirping of nearby birds and the lapping of the water at her feet. Scarlett found herself enjoying the silence, having found little time recently for some time with her thoughts. That was, until she spotted a frustrated John B swimming towards her in the marsh. "What the hell...?" She mumbled to herself. John B?" She asked, watching in confusion as the boy climbed up onto the grassy bank next to her. "What's happened?" Scarlett pushed herself onto her feet, rushing over to him and inspecting him for any new injuries.