𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 (𝙅.𝙈.)

Fifty one

He steps out of the truck. "No way" JJ mumbles when he sees him. I run up to my brother and pull him into a tight hug. "No effing way" Pope adds. "You gotta be kidding me" JJ grins. I pull away from the hug and go back down onto the dock.

"Shoupe let me take it for a spin" John B says as he follows me. "Ok that's believable, I'll buy that. For now" Kie says hugging him. "It wasn't easy bro, but I got the phantom for you and she runs like she was made yesterday" JJ says, tossing him the keys.

"John B I'm coming with you guys" I say. "That's probably best, you'll be safer" he looks back at me. I step up into the boat with JJ. "I guess this is goodbye?" I ask, squinting my eyes because of the sun. "Liz, please don't go" he begs stepping close to me.

"JJ, I have to" I reply. He pauses as stares at me for a moment. He intertwines both our hands and leans his forehead against mine. "It's ok, I understand" is all he says.

"I love you Elizabeth" he says pulling his head away to look into my eyes. "I love you more JJ" I reply. He then kisses me deeply, tears start to run down both our cheeks, the sun reflecting off both of our faces. We soon pull away. "This isn't goodbye, it's see you later" he mumbles. I smile. "See you later, lover boy" I say, pulling away from him. He couldn't help but smile.

"John B, remember to crosss the border at Brownsville" JJ tells my brother. "Yeah yeah, Brownsville" he replies. "All right, saddle her up saltwater cowboy let's do this" JJ says. John B steps up onto the boat with me while JJ hops off. JJ motions for me to give him one last hug so I did. "I'll miss you Beverly" he whispers in my ear. "I'll miss you more Bennett" I reply before pulling away from the hug. We still had tears rolling down our cheeks.

"Take care of her John B, keep her out of trouble for me ok?" JJ asks. "Yeah of course" he replies. Tears start to form in his eyes as well. "I'm sorry for basically... throwing us off a cliff with this whole treasure hunt thing" John B tells everyone. "We were bound to run off a cliff at some point, right?" JJ asks. We all laugh.

"Yeah, we were" I reply. "At least we did it together for though, pogue style" JJ says. "Pogue style" me and John B mumble back. "Get out of here, please" Kie states. "Now, see you in two months down in Mexico" Pope adds. "See you later JJ, I love you" I say taking a seat at the front of the boat while John B heads over to the steering wheel. "I love you more, Liz" he replies.

"Tell Sarah I said goodbye, ok?" John B asks them. The three nod. "Don't forget, cross the border at Brownsville ok?" JJ confirms. "Got it, Brownsville" I reply. John B starts the engine and our three friends give us one last push from the dock.

As we were backing away, me and JJ kept eye contact from my spot on the bow. I thought of all the crazy shit that went down this summer and how lucky I was to have ended up with JJ. Even though everything else went wrong, at least we were still together.

I went to the back of the boat and stood near the motor. I waved to the three on the dock who were still watching us drive away. They all waved back.

Me and John B were silent. There was nothing to say. We just left our lives behind, bringing nothing with us but the clothes on our back. No pictures, no way to remember anything or anyone. "Hurricane Danielle is expected to make landfall in the Outer Banks and surrounding areas within the hour. Current wind speeds are 65 miles per hour" John B's small radio announced.

Suddenly Sarah comes running down a nearby dock. "John B!" She yells. "Sa-Sarah!" He yells back. Sarah was sprinting to the end of the dock. "John B! Lizzie! Wait!" She yells. John B pulls the boat up next to the dock. "And then there were three" I say with a smile.

"I didn't think you were coming, you weren't at the dock" he says when she steps onto the boat. "You we're just gonna leave without saying goodbye?" She asks wrapping her arms around his neck. "Look, I hate to break this up but the entire island is still looking for us so umm" I say. "Right, right" they pull away from each other and we start to drive away in the boat.

It soon became dark. Sorta scary actually. There was the hurricane happening, and we couldn't make any noise given the fact that's everyone was looking for us. I thought about how I wouldn't be able to talk to JJ in at least two months. Why did Rafe have to shoot Peterkin in the first place? Everything was fine until he showed up.

We stop the boat when we come across the new headquarters they set up on one of the points. "That's like the entire sheriff's department" Sarah says as the three of us stare at all the the flashing lights. "No Sarah, that is the entire sheriff's department" I correct her. "Holy shit" was all John B could say.

"Go dark and let the tide pull us out" John B tells me. I nod and turn off all the lights that were on the boat. We continue to stare at the site. It was silent, but the silence couldn't have been any louder.

"We need eyes on the other side of the point!" One of the officers yell. "Hey, we're clear" John B looks between me and Sarah. "Hey, we're gonna make it" Sarah replies. "Yeah we just gotta go north through the swamp and then we just follow the north-" Sarah cuts me off. "Follow the North Star, what everything spins around" she says. John B and Sarah share a look.

"Guys, no no no no guys the lights!" She says. The island started to light up house by house, almost as if it were a Christmas tree. And certainly last but not least, the lighthouse had power.

______________

A/N

Brb, gonna go cry because this is my second to last chapter for this book (until I start book two when the season drops😉)