Of course, we still entered the stone wall. We were in a garden.
"You guys know whose house this is, right?" Kiara calls out as she steps over overgrown grass.
"Nope." I shake my head, "Someone please fill me in."
"Honestly, I don't really believe the stories of this place." John B says in front of me. JJ was in front of him and then Kiara led the pack.
"Shh." Pope shushes us.
JJ then walks up next to Kiara. "What stories did you hear?" He questions.
"The one where she killed her ex-husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since. On certain nights when the moon is full... you can see her in the window." She says the last part in a hushed voice, sprinkling her hands in front of JJ.
"So, why the fuck are we on her property then?"
"Because the stories are totally not true." John B replies.
"No, Kie that's not funny because it is all true," JJ exclaimed. "I swear to God, Coral this is real. I knew Hollis. Jeez!" JJ jumps at a stone statue. I start giggling at him.
"Got the jumps Maybank?" He doesn't even look at me, but I shrug it off.
"You knew Hollis Crain?" Pope questions. We all come to a stop.
"Yeah, dude," JJ affirmed.
"Dude, how do you know Hollis Crain?" Pope commanded.
"She was my babysitter, man. Told me all about it. Told me the truth... about her mother." I feel like JJ was telling a scary story and we were all around the campfire. JJ still hadn't glanced my way, at all. "And what happened in the house." JJ continued. "So, as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and...she was a murderer and all. Hollis didn't believe it." JJ's eyes darted to everyone's but mine. "Until that night."
"What night? John B drawled.
JJ takes a huge pause, just staring at John B. "It all came back to her. When Hollis was six years old, she heard her parents arguing downstairs. So she goes downstairs to see her mom washing her hands in the sink... full of blood." I actually shivered at the thought. "Her mother just says that she cut her finger. The next morning she says that her and her father split up. But then, Hollis noticed something. Her mother going into the parlor, constantly, in and out, in and out with plastic bags. Weeks pass and Hollis decided to use the outhouse. And as she's using it, she looks down, and there, in the outhouse, is her father's head staring straight back at her."
John B rolls his eyes and throws his head back. "God, you are so full of shit."
"Dude, I swear to God, man."
"Did she call the police?" Pope asks, his voice scratchy.
"She didn't have time." Suddenly John B is heading off again. "Wait! Dude!" JJ goes after him stopping him.
"What!" John B says as JJ grabs his shirt.
"You sure you wanna do this? She's an axe murderer. You got a cast on." JJ suddenly becomes very serious.
"I don't give a shit if she's an axe murderer, okay? I got nothin' to lose, right? You comin' or what?" Pope Kiara and I go with him and eventually JJ does too.
John B crouches down, "Hey, come on. Come here." He whispers. "So here's the plan. We need to look for the wheat near the water like it said in Denmark's letter."
"Okay, like what kind of water?" Pope wonders. "Like, pond water?"
JJ chuckles, "Bongwater?" Pope and Kiara give him a strange look while I just roll my eyes, paying attention to John B.
YOU ARE READING
JJ and a Routledge
RomanceA couple of months after John B's dad went missing at sea, a girl named Coral shows up at his door claiming to be his sister, whom he never knew he had. They soon begin living together as she exclaims her story and dives into the Pogues and their di...
