ruthless; jj m.

37

I parked in front of John B's house.

Sarah and I parted ways as she went down the dock to talk to John B and I went inside to talk to JJ. 

I walked up the porch and opened the door, seeing Kie, Pope, and JJ sitting together and having a good time. "Scar, hey," Kie said softly. I smiled gently at her. "Hey guys," I said as I took a seat. "How you holding up?" Pope asked and I shrugged. "All right, I guess," I said. 

There was an awkward tension in the room and I wanted to leave, but I came here to do something that needed to be done. "Guys, can I talk to JJ alone for a sec?" I asked and Kie and Pope nodded, getting up and leaving. 

He sat next to me on the couch. "Hey. You okay?" He asked and I was a bit shocked by his sudden compassion. Something that I needed yesterday, but didn't get. "No. I'm not." I answered. "I'm sorry. That must've been hard to see yesterday." He said and I nodded. 

"Yeah. It was. I could've used this compassion yesterday." I said and he sighed. "I know, but Ward ruined my best friend's life, Scarlett." He said softly. "You don't think I know that? JJ, I'll never be able to forget that. But Ward was like a father to me. He raised me, JJ." I said. 

"I know. I'm sorry." He said. "And you didn't even comfort me. I didn't even get a text from you." I said and tears began to fill my eyes. "And ever since the other night, you've been so... distant," I said. "What do you mean?" He asked and I sighed. 

"JJ, ever since we had sex, you've been acting strange. You haven't really been there. You're emotionally far away." I confessed. He stayed silent while I waited for an explanation. "You don't have anything to say?" I asked and he shook his head. "I think there's just been a lot going on." He said and I sighed at his vague response. 

I stood up. "Well, I don't wanna add to your stress," I admitted. He shot me a confused look as he stood up. "What does that mean?" He asked. "I can't deal with this emotional distance anymore. It's hurting me, JJ." I explained. 

"You're breaking up with me?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, J. I am." I said as I held back tears. "Scar, come on. We can talk this out. I'm sorry about yesterday, I'm sorry--"

"I know you are. But it doesn't change anything." I said to him and he held my hands. "I don't wanna lose you." He said, holding back tears. I shrugged. "I don't wanna lose you either, but I don't see this working if we're already having problems this early on," I admitted. 

A tear escaped his eye and I wiped it away. "I'm sorry," I said to him before turning around and leaving. I walked out the door and saw Pope and Kie quickly sit down on the couch to act as if they weren't eavesdropping on our conversation. 

I didn't say anything to them as I walked off the porch and back to my car. I got into my car and saw I had a missed text from Sarah. 

New Message from: Sarah
Headed to Topper's on
my bike. Don't worry about
me. Need a breather. 

I usually would respond, but I was holding back tears still so I put my phone down and started my car, heading home. 

When I reached my house, I went into the main house first to grab something to eat. "Scarlett, honey? Is that you?" I heard my aunt Nora shout from the kitchen. "Yup. We got any food?" I asked as I closed the front door and walked into the kitchen. 

"Honey, can you come to the living room with me for a moment? We have guests." She said and I shook my head. "I really can't. I've got a million things on my mind and I can't meet anyone right now." I admitted as I opened the fridge. 

She sighed as she closed the fridge. "Scarlett. Come into the living room." She said as she walked out of the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as I followed her. 

"Scarlett." I heard and I looked over and saw familiar faces. Faces I hadn't seen in a long time. "Mom? Dad?" I said in shock. "Hi, darling." My mother said. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" I asked. 

"We came to check up on you. Been seeing your name pop up in the news." My father said as he stood up. "So?" I asked. "So we're here to check-in." He said. "Well, thank you for the concern, Frank. But I'm all good." I said sarcastically. 

My mother ran up to me. "I know we haven't always been there sweetie, but we're your parents. We care about you." She said. "You care about me now, Kathleen. When it's convenient for you. You're about eleven years too late." I said as I turned around to walk out. 

"We heard about Ward. We wanted to make sure you were okay." My father said. I laughed. "Of course I'm not okay. The man who practically raised me killed himself. I saw my ex-boyfriend murder the Sheriff. My friends are killing themselves trying to find slabs of gold. I just broke up with my boyfriend, and now my parents are trying to make amends. I am not okay." I said as I went into the kitchen. 

"Boyfriend?" I heard my uncle ask and I sighed. I forgot that I never told them. "Well, ex-boyfriend now," I muttered. "Who? You've been around those Pogues." My uncle asked. "Pogues? You've been hangin' around Pogues?" My father asked. 

I sighed. "Yes. I've been hanging out with Pogues. If I remember correctly, you were one." I said to him. "Was it JJ?" My aunt asked. I closed my eyes at the mention of his name. I nodded before speaking. "Yeah, it was," I said. "The lawn boy?" My uncle asked. 

"Yes, the lawn boy, Gary," I said as I grabbed leftover dinner from the fridge that my aunt had made earlier. "And I'm actually really upset about it, so if you guys could all stop pestering me, I'd appreciate it," I said as I walked out of the house with my food and made my way over to my place. 

I walked into my house and sat on the kitchen counter as I waited for my food to heat up in the microwave. I heard a knock on my door and I sighed as I stood up and opened the door to see my mother and father. 

"We come in peace," Frank said jokingly. I sighed as I opened the door wider for them to enter. "Wow, I love how you decorated the place," Kathleen said. "Yeah, thanks," I said as I opened the microwave and grabbed my food and a fork, and began eating at the kitchen counter. 

The pair stood across from me as I ate. "You've been through a lot of shit this year, huh?" My mother asked and I nodded. "Yeah," I answered plainly. "We know we have a lot of lost time to make up for, but we're here for you." My father said. 

I had no energy to fight with them, so I nodded. "We want to have dinner with you tomorrow, after school." My mother said. I thought of an excuse to make to get out of going, and it came to me. "I can't. The bonfire is tomorrow night." I said as I stood up and cleaned my plate. 

"Look, this was... nice. But I've got school in the morning." I said as I looked at the time. "Oh, of course. We'll get out of your hair." My mother said. "And kid, we heard about your grades. We're proud of you. Don't know how you're so smart." My father said and I smiled in response. 

The two walked out of my house and back over to the main house. I sighed as I went into my room and changed into comfy clothes to wear to bed. I wrapped myself in my sheets when I sat in my bed. I was beyond stressed already, and now that my parents were back in town, I was convinced I'd explode due to stress. 

I wished I could call JJ and tell him to come over and have him hold me. But that couldn't happen anymore. I thought about the bonfire tomorrow and wondered if he'd be there. It probably wouldn't be good to see him so soon after the breakup. 

But I wanted to.