Thalassophile // JJ Maybank

Chapter 38

I sit in the wreck with the Pogues, however I sat at a different table than them. I sit a table over, staring into my hands. I felt awful about what had happened outside of Barry's house. And I felt bad about not sticking up for him more.

"Look, he'll come around, all right? It's... He's doing a JJ thing."

"You think he'll go home?" Kiara asks.

I pick my head up, looking at the Pogues.

"There's about a zero percent chance that JJ goes home." Pope speaks up.

I notice John B look over at Sarah. "You okay?"

She nods slowly. "Yeah. Are you?"

"I mean, I'm in one piece, so..."

"Okay." Pope says walking toward the other Pogues. "It's too dangerous to pawn this thing off piecemeal. So our best bet is to go down there and get the rest of it. Bring it all up at once. Put in a safe or a vault or something. I—I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off. Okay, I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there tomorrow morning."

"All right, let's do it." John B agrees.

"Easy." Pope agrees.

"Let's go."

"What about the thing with my dad?" Sarah asks the brunet.

"Shit."

"What thing?" Pope questions.

"I have to go fishing with Ward."

"You can't get 400 mil 'cause you're gonna go kill fish?" Kiara questions.

"Look, I have to go."

"Blow it off." Pope says. "It's 400 mil in gold."

"Make something up!" Kiara adds.

"I— I have to, okay? He... he saved me, all right? If it weren't for Ward, I'd be in foster care. So... I have to go. Plus it'll be better to do it at night. Right?"

"Fine, fine, go fishing."

"And at least, JJ will probably have washed up by then."

I roll my eyes, getting up from the table I was sat at.

"Red?" John B eyes me as I stand. I look at him before beginning to walk toward the door. "Franklin, where are you going?"

"Well, while you're planning your little fishing trip and Pope plans this little treasure hunt, I'm gonna go find JJ."

"You don't have to do that."

"No one else seems to care enough to check on him, right?" I snap. I walk out the front door and begin my walk to any of the places JJ may be.

***

As soon as I saw bright lights in front of the Chateau I knew I had found JJ. I walk around my car to see the boy, sitting in a large hot tub. Champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne sit in little flamingo floats. A wide smile crosses his face when he sees me.

"JJ?"

"Hi, Frank." His voice comes out slurred, he was drunk.

"What's going on?" I ask walking toward him.

"I got a jet going straight in my butt right now." JJ let's put a light giggle. "You should get in, immediately. You hear me?" JJ pours another glass of Champagne before drinking straight from the bottle.

"Did you spend all the money on this?" I question carefully. I was so confused as to what was going on.

"Uh... yeah. Burned a whole straight through my pocket. But, I mean, come on, like, look at this. Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me." I stay silent, unsure how to react. "What, Franklin? Can't a man have a little luxury in life? Of course you wouldn't understand. You're loaded."