pogue problems

back in obx part 4

popes phone started to ring back in the chateau. him and kie were the only ones with phone's currently. "hey jj" pope chirped "yea he's here one sec" he handed the phone to john b "hey buddy" he obviously called jj. suddenly his face dropped.
pope looked at him intently, wondering what it could be.

jj used the code word him and john b came up with whenever luke took his anger out on jj. jj didn't want anyone finding out the extent of what luke was capable of, and only john b was the exception. they also wanted a word to differentiate between a regular fight and when luke was mad. it also helped because the code word meant john b wouldn't ask questions, and jj wouldn't have to relive it.

"flintstone" escaped jjs lips as his body became limp again. they used the name of one of the only cartoon channels john b had. it was a joke at first but then it stuck. "i'm on my way buddy" he heard john b call out to him. he told him vaguely where he was, but if he came driving in the twinkie down this road, he wouldn't miss him.

john b opted not to bring pope with him. he wasn't sure if jj would appreciate the extra set of eyes or not, and he was used to picking up after jj anyways. he single handedly carried jj from the side of the road and into the twinkie, and attempted to reassure his best friend tht everything would be alright. he did the same when they made it back to the chateau. he made it all the way to the stairs before pope burst out of the door and took jjs other side, continuing to drag him up the steps.

they brought him to the pull out where they sat him upright, stabled by pillows and a backpack. jj held out his arm to grab john bs hand before he left again and said "kie". it was a breathless whisper, but it was all he could manage to say. pope called kiara and vaguely explained what happened.

when she arrived, john b was finishing the stitches in his left eyebrow. she saw her blonde best friend sitting there shirtless and all she could think of is how much pain he must be in. he had black and blue bruises scattered around his body, a busted lip, a black eye that traveled to his cheek bone, a purple ring around his throat, a split eyebrow and was still holding a tissue covered in blood occasionally bringing it back towards his nose.

"hey buddy" she quietly spoke as she sat next to him. he brought his hand over to hers and squeezed it. he tried to make eye contact with her but she seemed scared to.

"and i'm all done" john b chimed in, placing a bandaid over his work. he got very good at giving nice neat stitches over the years. right now it was just the 4 of them, the way things used to be. it was nice especially for jj. there was nothing wrong with cleo and sarah, in fact he was growing to like them more and more every day, but there's something about it just being the 4 of them that's so peaceful and nostalgic.

jj cleared his throat and tried to speak, but it didn't go well "just rest it for a couple days ok? i know it's gonna be so hard for you" pope laughed trying to lighten the mood. jjs eyes told him he was laughing on the inside too. kie wanted to know what happened but she was scared to ask. jj must have been able to read her face because he looked from her to john b and nodded in his direction.

"i guess luke's back in town" john b started. "i don't really know anything else" jj nodded and squinted his eyes. "fucking bitch" he managed to whisper, earning a laugh from the other 3.

they decided to watch movies the rest of the night, just the 4 of them. sarah could spend the night with cleo and they understood that they needed to just be with each other. kie called her dad to bring food from the wreck which he gladly brought once he was made aware that luke was back on the island and that she needed to spend the night at the chateau with jj.

kiara held jj in her lap and played with his hair most of the night. it was her turn to help calm him down.