more than gold, jj maybank

My Druthers

I wake up in a very unfamiliar area with a frown as I sit up. I was in a bed with white sheets and wool blanket, something I hadn't seen since living at Tanny Hill. I felt so safe here, it was like there was no one that could hurt me and for the first time, my shoulders weren't tensed and stiff.

The memories of last night came flooding back with a headache. Rafe tried to get me killed and Barry tried to drown me in a sink of water. And then Brodie found me in the Wharf and offered to let me stay. That's why I am in this room.

I slowly look around, rubbing my eyes and fixing my hair just in time for Brodie to walk in. "Hey, you're awake." He says, walking over to me with a platter of some sort. He sits on the edge of the bed and hands me it. I look down and see a section of fruit, a section of pastries and a section of bacon. I missed the Kook life.

"Oh my god, thank you." I say, immediately starting to eat,

"No worries." He laughs. "Um, so do you have somewhere to be today?" He asks.

"Oh, um, if you don't mind would you be able to drop me off at the Chateau, please?" I ask, looking up.

"Yeah, uh, no worries." He says, getting up. "Do you need any clothes?"

"Uh, yes please, if you have any."

"Yeah, I'll go get some." He says

"Thank you." I say, watching him leave.

A few minutes later he arrives with some clothes. "This is all I have, so if you don't want it, I understand" He laughs, handing me the outfit.

"Thank you." I say, laughing as well.

✵

The shirt was obviously his, but the denim shorts were probably someone's he hooked up with because he definitely wouldn't be able to fit into these.

We were now starting the drive to the Chateau, which would overall take about 15 minutes. I just wanted to see Sarah or Kie and tell them everything that happened. I wanted to slap JJ and then breakup with him, and mostly I wanted to clear JB's name. We drove in silence but it wasn't an awkward one it was a peaceful one. There was music playing and it was really chilled out compared to the rest of my life.

The silence made me think. Think about everything that happened.

I get to the Chateau and we both get out of the car. I frown in confusion as I see the Twinkie parked out the front. What the hell was it doing back here?

I head inside the house, looking for Kie or any other Pogue I could find. We needed to make an actual plan for John B and up we needed to do so quickly.

"Jade?" Brodie calls out to me from outside.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"They're on the dock." He says, pointing to it. I exit the house and we both start walking to the dock together.

My eyes widen at the sight of John B, who was standing on the deck, eyes hard as he looked down at Topper who was standing in his boat, a smug smile on his face, "John B?" I ask, walking up to him and hugging him quickly, ignoring the rest of my friends. "How the hell are you out?" I ask, chuckling as I hold him tight.

"They dropped the charges." He says, smiling as he holds me tight as well.

"That's amazing!" I say, pulling away as I turn to Topper. "Uh, what is he doing here?" I ask, squinting in confusion.

"He saved me, last night." Sarah says, nodding her head.

"From what?" I ask, concern growing quickly,