PARADISE ON EARTH | jj maybank (DISCONTINUED)

1.25

LAURA SAT AT A table across from Kiara, staring out at the water. Her mind would not stop thinking about JJ no matter what was going on in the moment.

"Do you guys think he'll go home?" Kiara spoke up.

Laura faked a laugh. "JJ going home? That's funny. There's about a zero percent chance he'd go home."

Pope sighs, "Okay. 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 it in– in a safe vault or something.

"I- I don't know. Just until we can find someone who won't rip us off. I can figure it out tonight, get it done, and we can be out there as early as tomorrow morning."

John B chipped in. "All right, let's do it. Let's go."

"What about that thing with my dad?" Sarah asked John B, then looked over towards Laura. She knew she forgot something.

"Shit." Said both Laura and John B.

"What thing?"

John B dropped his head. "I have to go fishing with Ward."

"You can't get 400 mil 'cause you have to go kill fish?" Kiara muttered.

John B sighed, "Look, I have to go."

"Blow it off. It's 400 million in gold!" Pope protested.

Kiara gestured to Pope. "Make something up!"

"Look, I– I have to, okay? He... he saved us, all right? If it weren't for Ward, we'd be in foster care. So... I have to go. Plus, it'll be better to do it at night." John B looked around at the group, "Right?"

"Fine. Fine, go fishing." Replied Pope, dropping his head down.

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

Laura spent the rest of the day with Kiara and Pope, planning the events for tomorrow night. The entire time she was worried for JJ, as if it wasn't the most obvious thing. The other two teenagers could sense it the entire time they were out.

They pulled up to the Routledge house in Pope's truck, and Laura immediately missed the home even though it hasn't been that long since she's been out of it.

"So this has gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning." Pope said, turning off the car and getting out.

"Okay, well, we gotta focus." Kiara said, sending a pointed look over at Laura. She held her hands up in surrender, a smile resting on her face.

"I know, I know." Laura replied.

Pope continued, ignoring the girl. "We got John B and JJ in the well, and me and Laura up top. And you, Sarah, and Briar will be outside transporting."

"Yeah, we got this." Kiara said, getting out of the truck, Laura following.

The three walked behind the truck, getting what they needed. Kiara opened up the trunk as Pope began talking. "That tin can hold over like... 200, 300 pounds."

"Thanks. For stranding us. You know, making us make up. Well, at least three of us." Kiara looked at Laura, laughing.

"What makes you think that was me?" Pope smiled at Kiara.

But soon after, looks of confusion covered all three of their faces as the lights around them on the trees turned on.

"What the hell?"

"Who the hell is that?" Kiara was the first to start walking over.

Laura and Pope shared a look, before following the girl. There they saw JJ sitting in a hot tub, popping a bottle of champagne. He was wearing sunglasses, obviously drunk out of his mind.