[rosemary] .jj maybank.

epilogue

following the devastation that quickly engulfed the outer banks, the three remaining pogues were left with a deep sense of heartbreak. they were different from the rest of the little island, for their heartbreak was for three loved ones. the island of kildare couldn't care less about the death of two juveniles from the cut. yet news quickly spread about the beloved kook princess and how she was brainwashed by john b routledge, who was accompanied by his cousin, rosemary booker.

the night of the supposed death of john b, rosie and sarah's was a tough one for the pogues. kiara and pope returned to their homes with their families where they were comforted with the love from their parents. but jj was stuck. he declined the offer to stay the night with pope. he wanted a night of silent reflection and didn't want pope subjected to his long night of drinking alone and staring at his shoes as he sat on the floor. jj wandered aimlessly. he had passed his father's house, concluding it was a no to stay the night there. which left him with the chateau.

once he arrived, he slowly approached the front door with a slightly bowed head and a heavy heart. his stomach was empty but the thought of eating repulsed him. frankly, the thought of doing anything without the company of rosie or john b repulsed him. the blonde stumbled through the door abruptly, head hanging low to avoid seeing the faces of his favourite people hung up on the wall. his heart was beating fast. anger and sadness and anguish and sorrow mixing together within his mind and veins, flourishing and festering until he felt he couldn't take the pain anymore. grabbing onto the first thing he could reach, his hand swiped across it, causing it to fall and break into pieces on the floor.

unfortunately for him, it had been a picture of him and rosie from years ago that she had framed for him one day when he was particularly upset about his relationship with his father. it was only until a few months ago that she had placed it in the living room as a way to show that jj was a common resident at the chateau.

staring at the broken glass surrounding his boots, jj chuckled weakly. he couldn't help but think what rosie would have said if she was in the moment with him. she would've commented on the irony of the situation and how cliché it was that he broke a picture of them as a response to her death.

leaving the mess for another time, jj tried his best to step over the fallen picture, only managing to step on a small portion of the shattered glass.

walking over to the couch, he sat on the floor, leaning his back against the old and tattered fabric. pressing the edge of his palm into his chest, he tried his best to relieve the physical pain he felt, breathing in and out slowly.

he slowly tilted his head back to rest on the couch as he stared at the ceiling. that's precisely when a fresh batch of tears gradually fell from the corners of his eyes, rolling down the sides of his face and towards his ears and hairline. after another minute, he brought his head back down, covering his face with his hands and wiping the tears from his eyes. he had never dreaded thinking about his future more than he did right now. he dreaded the inevitability that he would go on living without rosie and john b and sarah. and he hated that he knew he would be filled with anger and sadness for the unforeseen future. the blonde took a deep breath in, the pain digging it's way deeper and deeper into his veins and heart.

standing up from his place on the floor, he walked to him and rosie's shared room. just taking off his boots, he let his body fall onto his side of the bed. for a minute he stared at the empty space beside him. he could hear his heart thump in his chest. he hated the fact that him and pope and kiara would have to hold a pogue memorial for their lost loved ones. jj knew it would only be the three pogues there anyways.

pulling rosie's vacant pillow towards his body and hugging it tightly, he took a deep breath in, engulfing himself in her scent as one tear fell from his eye before drifting off.

THE END OF ROSEMARY

•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•∗•
ahh the book is finally done! i'm so sorry the ending took so long! but i really hope you guys enjoyed reading it <3