Nothing is hidden under the sunlight // JJ

Chapter 23

"I killed someone"

Sophie woke up. Sweat was dripping all over her body. She hadn't slept all night long due to that. Her pillow was wet from her tears and the seats wet from her sweat.

This time when she opened her eyes she faced the light of the day. She had woken up so many times before the past six hours.

Rafe's words were echoing on her head. She felt trapped inside those words. And if she was feeling trapped, how would Rafe feel?

"I killed someone"

She hadn't ask who, or why. She hadn't asked for more information. At the times like this what's fair doesn't come first. She couldn't imagine her cousin, the boy who grew up playing with murdering someone. Holding a gun, or any other kind of weapon and pointing it to someone. Just the idea of it was making her eyes wet.

"I killed someone"
"I'm scared"

What was fair would have been going straight to the police and testifying against him. But there was no way she would do something like this. She wanted to hope that there was a good reason he did it. Maybe he was in self defence or trying to help someone. She wouldn't testify against her own cousin. He was a scared boy. A scared boy whose life was hanging from a very thin line.

Who else knew? Did James? Did Kelce? Well Topper knew. That's what he was about to tell her. She wanted to speak to someone about that.

"Please don't tell anyone"

Who could she speak to? Only Topper knew and he wouldn't like to speak to her. And she had also told him that she would never speak to him again if possible. But Topper wasn't the one she was looking for. She wanted to speak to someone who would try to calm her down and assure her that there is still hope. Usually she would speak to James but he wasn't aware of what had happened. She had to speak to Rafe again. He could probably explain her what had happened.

"He prefers sucrificing his own son in order to save his ass."

What was he talking about? What had Ward done? And if he had done something why a parent would prefer to make his child suffer? Sophie couldn't understand anything.

She had arrived here hoping that something extraordinary was going to happen. Unfortunately her wish came true. Of course she had escaped her pretty normal, without anything unusual, life but she was wishing she could have it back.

Sophie opened her phone checking the time. It was too early for her. 7:00 am. She was usually waking up around 9:00 or 10:00 but never 7:00, well unless she had put an alarm. James hadn't returned home last night, he was probably sleeping with some girl he'd met. No one was around.

She moved towards her pick up. Actually it wasn't hers, it was her mother's. But since she wasn't using it anymore -she had got used to the technology- and no one else liked it, it was hers now. She raised the pick up's  needle and then turned away to pick one of her father's old vinyls.

No one in her circle was enjoying the music she was listening to. Modern or old, pop or rock, known or not, her friends would find a way to tell her that she didn't have music taste. And she was facing up these difficulties ever since she was pretty young. If it wasn't for James and Rafe who were always by her side she would never learn how to defend herself and her choices.  

Tears started covering her brown sweet eyes. She couldn't lose her cousin. And she couldn't handle this all by herself. She wanted to talk to someone but she couldn't. She didn't know who knew about the murder. And even if she did none of the people she knew would hug her and try to calm her down. Neither Topper, nor Kelce, nor any other of the kooks she had met.

She choose Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A" vinyl and after some seconds the room was filled with music. She was always questioning how could someone listen to music and being completely calm. Even when she was sad she would jump all over her room singing along with the singer.

She tried to stop herself from thinking about Rafe. It's funny how things can change in one day. The previous morning all she could dream and think about was JJ and now...

Her phone blinked. God knows how she heard it, with the music playing on the highest volume.

Rafe:
I think I owe you an explanation about what I told you last day. I'll explain everything just don't tell anyone.
Meet me in the forest in front of your house in ten minutes.

She didn't reply. After she was all dressed up she pulled up the needle from the pick up and shut it down.

Whatever Rafe was going to tell her she had to stay calm. She took a deep breath and moved out of her house closing the door behind her.

~~

JJ walked into his house. He didn't know what had led him there. A voice echoing in his head was telling him not to go. He knew what was going to happen but he decided to enter.

If he got caught his father wouldn't do anything about it. Well at the moment at least. Who knows maybe when he was on drugs he would remembered that he had a son. But he wanted to see him in case he wouldn't return.

"Dad?" He said as he was opening the door to his father's room.

He was nowhere to be found. His glance fell on the kitchen table. Bottles of beer, vodka, whiskey, rum and all kinds of bottles were covering the table. All of them empty. And then he noticed something else.

On the cupboard there was a note
"You owe me money. Before you die from overdose you must bring them to me."

"That son of a bitch!" JJ yelled as he pushed on the floor all of his father's empty bottles.

He would never say that he was upset from the note but deep down he felt like crying.