Gold Digger// JJ Maybank- OBX

forty four

"HE DESERVED it, right?" JJ asked the Pogues. They were all gathered on the dock and the HMS Pogue, not doing anything in particular. JJ was leaning on the wooden rail, fishing rod in hand as he dangled in in the water. Kiara and Scarlett were either side of him, the latter sitting on the dock with her toes dipped in the water. Pope had taken to standing on the ramp down to the boat, his back leaning against the rail while John B lay across the bow of the HMS.

"Are you joking?" Kiara asked, her face scrunching up slightly as she looked to JJ. "Of course he deserved it."

Scarlett fiddled with the rings on her fingers, her mind racing with the memories of losing her own parent. "I know he was an asshole, but I feel kinda sad. No one should have to go through the pain of watching their parent die. Especially not suddenly like that." She shook her head slightly as she fixed her gaze on the water. "I can only imagine what Sarah must be feeling."

Pope hummed in agreement. "Never seen anyone blow themselves up like that."

"Cross that one off the bucket list." JJ commented.

"JJ!" Both Kiara and Scarlett cried in shock, the blonde girl lightly hitting the boy's leg. Kiara shot him a stern look as she walked down to the boat, taking a seat next to John B and gently rubbing his shoulder.

"Sucks for Sarah." JJ added, looking down at his girlfriend. His face fell as he saw how upset she looked. He knew without having to ask that seeing Ward Cameron's death had brought up bad memories of when Scarlett lost her mother and Big John. JJ put the fishing rod down, giving up for the time being, and sat down next to Scarlett. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Are you okay?" Kiara asked John B.

"It's not me I'm worried about." He answered after a few moments.

The Pogues sat in silence for a while, caught up in their own thoughts about the recent events. Eventually, after a while, Scarlett stood up from the dock and walked up the garden to the Château, hand in hand with JJ. Taking a seat on the couch that was on the porch, Scarlett rested her head on JJ's shoulder. "You wanna talk about what's on your mind?" He asked her, his voice soft. "Or just smoke? I've got a couple of joints in my pocket." As he spoke, the Maybank boy pulled out a joint and a lighter from his pocket. He lit it and took a hit before holding it out to Scarlett.

Gratefully, Scarlett took the joint from his hand and took a long hit. Breathing out the smoke, she let out a sigh. "I just- I should be happy Ward's dead, J. I hated that man, he killed my mother and Big John and made our lives hell. But I..." She shook her slightly as she took another hit, trying to gather her thoughts. "JJ, you saw how hurt Sarah was. How can I be happy about his death when it's tearing her apart?" She looked down at her hands, turning the joint over in her fingers. JJ watched her movements, listening as she told him what was occupying her mind. He reached his hands forward and placed them over Scarlett's, moving the joint from her fingers. "I should be happy that he can't cause any more damage to my family. To us." She paused, her gaze not moving from hers and JJ's hands as he lifted the joint to his lips. "Sarah shouldn't have been there when it happened. We should've left before he did it. Losing a parent is the worst pain I've ever felt, I can't even begin to imagine how Sarah's feeling having had to witness it all." She lifted her head, finally looking at JJ as he passed the joint over to her.

Scarlett lifted it to her lips taking a hit as tears slowly fell from her eyes. JJ leaned forward and brought his hand to her cheeks, gently wiping away her tears. "Your make-up was getting ruined." He joked. "Wouldn't want that." Scarlett shook her head at him, pushing his hand away from her face and blowing smoke into his face. JJ laughed, coughing slightly. "Hey! C'mon, Red. You know I've got sensitive lungs."