Redamancy / JJ Maybank

Chapter 31: Captain Routledge

Once the truck stopped in the middle of the city, both Rafe and Lila hopped out of the back of the vehicle. Rafe guided the search to go find his boat with Lila following when they found it at the nearby dock. "Come on, my boat's down here."

They both walked down the wooden dock with their eyes scanning their surroundings cautiously. When they reached the entryway of the boat, he turned back to Lila. "Make sure your shoes are off."

Lila obliged, taking off her wrecked sandals, holding them in her hand as she stepped onto the boat. The man hurried to the top of the boat, getting ready to leave when he looked to Lila down below. "Can you please help me with the bowline?"

Lila accepted his request, her plan starting to come into formation. She rushed over to the front of the boat where the bowline was when she started to mess with it slightly, acting like she was trying. "Hey, I can't get it."

"Goddamn, do I have to do everything?" Rafe muttered to himself, rushing down to Lila's aid.

Lila moved out of Rafe's way when he reached the bottom of the boat where she stood. Rafe swung his leg over the railing of the boat, reaching to untie to bowline while Lila watched.

When he untied the bowline, tossing it into the water, Lila took her chance when she shoved him off the side of the boat. Due to the strength that she had when pushing him, he fell off of the boat, plummeting into the waters below. The girl ran away from the edge, running up to the top where Rafe was once before.

"Lila!"

Lila looked down at the water, seeing Rafe who had just resurfaced when she started to hurry up the boating process. Using her past knowledge with steering a boat, she started up the boat engine, getting ready to flee the scene.

"Lila! What are you going?!" Rafe questioned, seeing her commit the crime of taking his boat.

"Grand theft auto!" Lila responded in a shout, starting to steer the boat away from the dock. "I have to help my friends. I'm sorry, Rafe!"

"I'll find you, Lila!" He threatened her as she continued to drive away on the boat. "I'll find you!"

Lila ignored his threats, driving away as quick as possible with a slight smile on her face. She hated to betray Rafe, knowing he was trying to change but she had to help her friends. Her friends mean the world to her, so, if commiting a crime is what she has to do to make sure they're safe, then that's what she'll do.

While driving the boat, something clicked in Lila's mind when she remembered that she had the phone still in her pocket. Steering the boat with her left hand, she pulled the device out of her pocket.

She opened up the contacts of the phone, clicking onto the number that she messaged once before. She raised her arm at face level when she took a picture of herself, smiling at the camera before sending it to her friends.

She hoped that they would get the message.

...

"Lila, it's fine. You're fine. They're fine." Lila mumbled to herself, pacing around the boat while fidgetting with her fingers.

When she parked the boat at a dock across the city, she sent the group her location. She had been waiting for them for an hour which made her start to panic due to her ability of overthinking.

Whenever Lila would start to panic in certain situations, JJ would always be there to calm her down. But he wasn't there now, so she was stuck trying to calm herself down.

"And I snuck in through the garden gate, every night that summer just to seal my fate." Lila started to sing to herself, thinking of JJ whenever she heard the song. "And I screamed for whatever it's worth, I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?"

Once she calmed herself down, she reopened her eyes, feeling comfort at the thought of her love. She turned away from where she stood, starting to look around for her friends when she found the person she had been waiting to see. JJ.

She didn't know that he stared at her for a minute before she had noticed him. He was enchanted by the sight of his girlfriend. She was all he could think about in her absence.

"JJ?"

The blonde boy slowly took off the fisherman's hat on his head, revealing himself to Lila. She saw his familiar face before she started hurrying to his side. She slid down the boat, getting to the bottom level before rushing towards him. She didn't think she could ever run as fast as she was in that moment.

Finally reaching him on the dock, she threw her arms around him, hopping into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging onto him before he returned the hug, seeing how much Lila missed him. They missed each other the same amount, as much as the other would protest.

He placed his hand on the back of her head, holding her close to him when he heard a light sob coming from her. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He assured her, knowing how terrible she felt. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Interrupting the couple's moment was their group of friends, rushing to greet the brunette girl. Lila pulled herself away from JJ, pulling him out of the moment when she was immediately squeezed by her friends in a group hug. After receiving comments from her friends, she pulled away, looking to her older brother. "Did you miss me?"

"No." He lied with a smirk on his face.

Lila rolled her eyes at his words, scoffing before tossing herself at her brother, giving him a large hug. Taken aback by the action, he hesitantly hugged her back, realizing how much he did miss his sister.

...

"I have just a couple of questions." JJ began, looking to his girlfriend who started to prepare the boat for their leave. "A Lagoon 620 with twin 150 volvos. You understand we can go anywhere with this thing, right?"

"Is that so?" Lila questioned, earning a nod from JJ, who was excited at the sight of the boat. "Where are we going to next, partner?"

"Wherever you want to go, Captain Routledge." JJ answered, pausing what he was doing as he stared at the girl adoringly.

Lila smiled at his answer, a bright blush creeping onto her cheeks before she returned to her duties on the boat.

After they finished setting up, Lila started the engine on the boat. She knew it was time to go before Carlos' crew would come after them. She was ready to start steering the boat away from the dock when she noticed her brother running off of the boat. She furrowed her eyebrows at the sight before looking to Sarah, who just shrugged her shoulders.

When John B left, they expected him to be back soon, but soon turned into later. The sunset was resting on the horizon as it shined brightly, sending a yellow tinted light to reflect onto the group. They all waited on the boat, waiting for their friend to get back while they worried about Carlos' crew coming after them.

"I can't believe he just took off."

John B started to become the least of their worries when they noticed cars, that belonged to Carlos, pulling up to the dock. While everyone rised from their positions, watching as the crew drove closer to them, Lila started to steer the boat away from the dock, knowing it was time to go.

"What are you doing?" Pope asked, feeling the boat shake slightly beneath his feet.

"We have to go." Lila replied sternly, continuing to steer the boat. "We'll come back for him."

"But, he's your brother-"

"I'm not leaving him behind!" Lila exclaimed, interrupting him before the boat finally got out of its crowded space in the water. "We'll come back for him, I promise."