[rosemary] .jj maybank.

chapter forty-five

"you two okay?" john b asked, glancing to his left to look at his girlfriend and his cousin. sarah nodded weakly, "yeah, i'm fine." while rosie squinted her eyes, looking up from her board, "just peachy." when sarah and john b both gave her a look, making her sigh, "yes, i'm fine. thank you."

the three teens stopped paddleboarding for the time being, letting their arms rest as they tried to catch their breath. "do you really think they're gonna be able to steal the boat?" sarah wondered aloud. john b nodded his head once, "well, jj's involved, so..." rosie chuckled at the brunet's statement, "yeah. and there's no way i'm paddleboarding all the way to fuckin' mexico. my arms would fall off."

despite being in the middle of the marsh, the three vigilantes suddenly heard sirens close by. "shit," john b mumbled, commencing his arm paddles, followed by sarah and rosie.

paddling more to the right, rosie hoped to go unnoticed by the couple. in the spur of the moment, she had decided one last visit to the chateau was absolutely necessary. however, it looked like john b had the same plan, as he cut sarah off by going to the right. "john b, rosie, where are you guys going? the boat ramp's this way."

john b tilted his head down, "look, sarah, i've gotta go home." rosie nodded along, "me too. one last time. even if it's just for a sec." the blonde looked at him in confusion, then at rosie. "what? no. there'll be cops crawling all over there." sarah sat up quickly, causing both cousins to do the same. "yeah, and that's okay. look, i– i don't want you to come. look, it–" john b started.

"what do you mean?" sarah asked, cutting john b off in a rush. "the gold from crain's house... it's at the château. my dad's been looking for that for years. it's all i have left of him. okay, i've gotta get it. and we're gonna need the money," john b explained, but sarah was hesitant. "you guys'll get caught."

"okay, then i get caught," john b stressed, leaving rosie out of that equation. "no, and then all of this will be for nothing."

"no, it's not. listen to me, please. i need you to go to the boat dock.. in an hour," the brunet instructed. sarah disagreed, "no, i'm coming with you." the couple argued for a second until john b ended the disagreement, "sarah, you're not coming with us! it's too dangerous. go to the boat dock. i'll see you in an hour. if we don't have money, we can't go anywhere... we're losing time."

rosie tilted her head down, then looked back at the blonde, "see you in an hour, sarah. please be careful." rosie smiled softly at her before laying back on her stomach and following john b.

⤛ ∴ ∗ ∵☾ ❀ ☽ ∵ ∗ ∴ ⤜

back at the maybank household, and frankly, seconds away from retrieving the keys from around his dad's neck, jj noticed his father's eyes open. heart dropping to the pit of his stomach, jj kept his hands still until his dad spoke. "i didn't expect to see you. you're back."

jj stepped away from the couch, and stood up straighter, "yeah, no, i just– just checkin' in." luke sat up, taking a swig of his warm beer, before placing it back down on the coffee table, adding it to the collection. "school out already?" jj stared blankly, "what?"

"did you ditch?" luke asked, chuckling softly. "it's alright. you can tell me." jj swallowed harshly, nodding fervently, "yeah. i hit the break, you know." luke giggled at this, "i hated school too. my boy! ..hey you know what... listen, hey." the older maybank stood up abruptly, fear quickly pooling in jj's stomach, but it calmed down slightly when luke let his hand rest on his son's shoulder. "hey, look, i know i'm hard on you sometimes..."

jj looked at the floor, nodding, "mm."

"but sometimes, i see– i see your mother in you, and it gets me a little tweaked, you know?" luke explained, making both maybank men chuckle. "you're a good boy. and i love you, son. come here. i love you. i love you, son. i love you," luke said, pulling the blonde in for a tight hug. jj's heartstrings pulled in different directions, creating cracks on the surface similar to a cracked glass beginning to break.