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CHAPTER FIFTY ONE Hot tub
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(PRESENT)
Kira and Pope had noticed Avery's lack of words but neither chose to ask.
They had gone to the pawnshop with the melted bar of gold and got involved in an ambush. Avery had not shown up to join them all day. The group noticed JJ's attitude was unusual, he wasn't cracking jokes and avoiding any mention of his best friend. He snapped at the mention of her not joining them, immediately signalling them to not ask anymore but they were all wondering the same thing.
Eventually, Kira had got through to Avery and they drove round to hers. She was very quiet and spaced out when they were telling her about their day. Pope was told to not mention JJ's outburst with the cash, yet he forgot and told her about it. That seemed to have spiked her interest and was what caused her to reluctantly join them on their way through.
Hopping out the truck, Avery ignored Pope talking about the equipment he had scavenged to help them retrieve all the gold. She leaned against the door and stared into the darkness, her mind whirling with thoughts, JJ was almost every one of them. She was growing worried about him, the way he exploded on his friends earlier and storming off made her feel even worse. She should have been there, and been a better friend, especially to him.
Suddenly a whirring sound drifted through the air and multiple little bulbs flicked on, making the yard glow warmly. Kira was the first to head towards the lights, following them across the grass, with Pope following closely behind. Avery let out a sigh before pushing herself off the vehicle and headed in the same direction.
The lights got brighter and more colourful the closer they got. Avery's lips parted at the sight of a huge hot tub randomly placed in the middle of the yard. Her stomach dropped as she realised that JJ was sat in the water, a champagne bottle in hand and sunglasses hiding his eyes. She stopped while Kira and Pope inched closer, unsure what to do or say.
"What did you do, JJ?" Pope frowned heavily.
"I got a jet going straight up my butt right now," He giggled. His eyes peering over the sunglasses, gazing over at Avery for a second. He started to pour glasses of bubbly, "Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me? Slaud!"
Avery clenched her jaw as she watched JJ take a gulp from the bottle. She blinked blankly at him as Pope spoke, "how much did this cost?"
Soon the conversation was muffled. Avery could feel her eyes stinging, resisting the urge to cry. It was obvious JJ was drunk, his tone was high pitched and wobbling. She didn't want to blame herself for the state he had allowed himself to fall into. Yet, she was wondering if showing him her mother's tape was one of the reasons he had acted out. More regret weighed her down at the thought of not being there for him after he walked away yesterday, she should have followed him, should have apologised another hundred times.
"You could of paid for restitution!" Pope raised his voice.
"Or literally given it to any charity!" Kira exclaimed.
"Or better yet, you could of helped us buy supplies to get the rest of the gold out of the well!" Pope continued to shout.
Avery shook her head, she hated that JJ was clearly struggling and they were shouting at him instead of helping him. She stepped forward, "hey, that's enough!"
"Okay, well, you know what? I didn't do that," JJ shouted back and stood up in the tub. Avery froze at the sight of the wounds dotted around his bare body. The red and purple bruises where new, almost as if they were fresh. She whimpered, letting her eyes leak with salty tears. She was the only one that knew about the abuse JJ went through, now he was revealing it to the others. "For my friends. I got a hot tub for my friends. You know what? No, you know what? Screw friends. I got a hot tub for my family!"
"JJ, what the hell?" Kira spoke quietly.
"I got this for you. Guys, look what I did for you! Alright? Look at this! Look at this!" His voice was withering, giving in and cracking with the emotions that were running through him. "No, you stop being emotional. It's fine, okay?"
Without hesitation, Avery pushed Pope out the way and stepped into the hot tub. The water immediately seeped into her converses and socks, her bare legs soaking from toe to knee. She wrapped her arms around JJ instantly, pulling him as humanly close as she could. Burying her head in his neck, she felt his tense muscles soften and he melted into her touch, wrapping around her waist and let his tears fall.
"I can't take him anymore!" JJ cried out, burying himself further into her embrace. His words made her heart break, she sobbed into his neck. "I was gonna kill him, Aves"
The two were engulfed into a hug, Kira and Pope had stepped in with them. They stood holding each other close, ignoring the discomfort of the warm warm soaking their clothes and skin. Avery whimpered, gripping onto JJ tighter which he instantly returned, holding her tighter back. In that moment, Kira and Pope realised how broken the pair where and no matter what mistakes they made, they were out of hurt.
And Avery and JJ were each others person, no matter what.
