[rosemary] .jj maybank.

chapter thirty-four

"how's it feeling?" pope asked kiara, who was dangling from the tree in their make-shift wagon to export the gold. "feels good."

"alright, i'm taking you down," the brunette boy said, as jj and rosie sat on the edge of the hot tub. "john b pullin' a houdini," jj commented. which, for the record, was true. they were supposed to get the gold tonight. even though rosie and john b hadn't talked since their fight yesterday, worrying for his well-being had become a habit of hers. "yea, where is he? i got my scholarship interview tomorrow. we gotta get this done!"

rosie was wondering the same question, "yea, and like, we have no way of knowing he's okay. wasn't he supposed to go fishing with ward early this morning? he should be back by now."

"speak of the devil. hey!" jj said, making all the pogues notice john b's presence. "dude, i set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything," jj boasted, taking credit for pope's creation. "no, he did not. i did that."

"hey, john b," kie and rosie said, watching john b rush inside the château. "okay, that's it?" the four pogues looked at each other in confusion. was he still mad or did something happen? rosie was convinced something happened because even though her cousin could be petty, particularly when it comes to giving the silent treatment, but this was a whole new level.

"uh.. what's that all about?" pope asked rosie and jj, who both shrugged. "i was gonna ask you the same question," jj responded. "i don't know. something might've happened. we all know ward is a class-A creep," rosie pointed out, sharing her theory. the four teens walked inside, seeing john b search the house, knocking things over and tossing things on the ground.

"you alright, man? what– what's up?" pope asked, followed by kie "what are you looking for?" john b walked right past the four pogues, digging underneath the sofa bed. "bro, what's going on?"

rosie slightly gaped at john b once she saw the item he was looking for. why the hell would he need the gun? "wait, johnny b, why do you need the gun?" the pogues looked at him in shock, all asking the same question. jj walked up to john b, trying to get an answer which only resulted in john b throwing jj on the sofa bed. "john b, what the hell is going on? what's wrong?" rosie wondered aloud, she had never seen her cousin so outright aggressive. especially with jj. it frightened her a little.

rosie held her hand out for jj as pope and kie continued to protest against his violent actions. pushing pope into the table, john b got a head start away from them. they all looked at each other in worry or confusion. rosie was the first one to rush outside, calling after john b. "john b, what the hell are you doing? what's wrong?"

the brunette revved the engine, creating a loud noise that only encouraged the four pogues to move faster. "john b, what the hell?"

"ward knows about the gold. he killed my dad," he explained briefly, looking back at them. rosie stopped in her tracks immediately, shocked at what he just said. suddenly, john b took off, jj, pope and kie all rushing after him. rosie felt like she couldn't move, writing ward's name on her imaginary 'to kill list if i had the balls to'.

rosie felt an overbearing weight fall on her shoulders. why did her parental figures always die or get killed? big john was like her dad. yes, he was her adoptive uncle but the amount of time that she spent at the château, you would think he was her dad. it felt like her brain was contorting in her skull, an idea beyond her understanding causing her heart to beat rapidly.

her breath shortened, rushing back inside the house when the pogues all looked back at her. she paced the kitchen, tugging on her hair as she tried to think of something else but it was no use. rainbows, puppies, sunsets, anything that made her happy was swallowed into the abyss of her brain, a dark storm passing through. the three other teens rushed inside, noticing rosie's chest heave up and down in a frantic pattern as her nails dug into her palms, her hair in between her fingers. "rosie, it's okay, everything is gonna be okay," jj said, trying to keep his tone light even though he was also freaking out.