COMFORT CROWD [3] , jj maybank

14. he's dead!

☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆

IN THE EARLY HOURS of the morning, the fire is still going though there's not much left to burn.

   "Could've been a faulty electrical wire," Pope says.

For hours, we've been trying to think of what could've been the reason a fire started in the Chateau. With every collapse of the beams of the house, my heart drops. With every picture I watched burn, my heart aches. So many memories, burnt to a crisp within the walls.

    We're still covered in ash and debris. I'm sitting between JJ's legs, back to his chest as he rests his head on mine.

    "Place was all wood. A tinderbox," Kie sighs. "I'm just confused. The fire was outside. I don't think a faulty wire fire can start outside. Can it?" I question.

   "Maybe. Not sure on the logistics of that," Pope answers.

   "Thing just went up," Cleo quietly says. Bailey lets out another string of coughs. I'm sure her lungs are worse off than the rest of us. She was confined in the small bathroom for what felt like forever, inhaling smoke. "There was nothing we could do," Bailey whispers, her voice still hoarse as she holds Kie.

   The home we all found comfort in is gone. The house we'd go to when we had nowhere else to go, the house that most of us grew up in. John B's house. His little fish shack on the marsh—gone.

   "Verdict's in, bro. Whoever's up there—does not like you," JJ comments. I move my head, glaring up at JJ. I'm too tired to come up with a remark. My lungs feel too tired to even breathe. At least he whispers a sorry to JB before tossing a glass bottle at the still burning home.

   Thunder rumbling in the distance catches all of our attention. "We might wanna get our shit together. Weather doesn't seem like it's good for a plane ride," I say, leaving the safety of JJ's arms and dusting the dirt off the back of my exposed legs. Well, I can't tell what is dirt and what's ash, so.

  "We should take you to a hospital or something, Bails. Your lungs can't be good," Kie says, brushing hair from the Perez girl's face. Bailey gives her a weak smile, "We don't have time for that."

   "You sound like you smoked five packs of cigarettes though," I tease, pursing my lips to touch my septum. Kie and Bailey both deadpan at me. Not the time. Got it.

   We all walk down to the only part of the Chateau left. The dock. The very place where JJ and I shared our first kiss and many more after.

    There's dark clouds in the distance. I love rain I just wish it fucking rained when the house was still salvageable.

    "Sarah, when did you say the pilot was getting in?" John B asks.

   "Probably like an hour?" Sarah says, questioning herself, "I mean, once he's here, my dad says we can leave whenever we want." My fingers play with the rings around them nervously. I have to face my mom. I haven't seen her since the fight with Adrien but I also don't wanna leave for another country without saying anything. "Okay, we'll, as much as I would love to ghost my parents again, I can't," Pope says. I nod in agreement.