We were now all in the Twinkie. I knew Kie and Pope knew something was up right now. John B and JJ were sitting together in the front. Usually, JJ would be in the back with me, and Sarah would be in the passenger seat next to John B. John B and Sarah kept making eye contact in the rearview mirror, on the other hand, JJ hasn't even glanced back. Sarah, Kie, and I were all the way in the back and Pope was in the seat directly behind John B.
"Guys, the thing that Limbery said, I don't think she meant to let it slip." Pope cuts through the awkward silence and I suddenly wonder if Kie and Pope are going through something as well. They've barely talked since we left the Chateau. JJ looks back in my general direction at Pope for the first time the whole ride. I look right at him, hoping he'll feel my gaze and look at me, but he doesn't. "She said the key leads to the Cross of Santa Domingo." Pope continues and fiddles with the key in hand.
JJ extends his arm, reaching for the key. "Can I see that?" Pope drops it in JJ's hand.
"Are we supposed to know what that is?" Sarah speaks up for the first time in a while.
Pope shrugs, "I'm guessing it's some sort of historical artifact of great importance." Pope furrows his eyebrows in thought and I move in closer to Sarah.
"Well, according to the interwebs..." Kiara had her phone pulled out, "It was a gift from New Spain to the Spanish King." I have no idea how that can help us out at all.
"New Spain?" JJ pipes up, "Is there an Old Spain?" He looks at Kiara the same way he had earlier and I was starting to understand his gaze.
Kiara laughs, "Shit, talk about over-gifting. Look at this thing." She faces the phone up front to show the boys first, and then me and Sarah. "Looks like a person standing next to it."
"So... it's a giant ass cross." JJ nods, I mean the person was smaller than the cross, so it must be huge.
"It was widely considered at the time to be the most extravagant tribute ever from the provinces." Kiara continues to read off the Wikipedia page. "It was lost off the coast of Bermuda in 1829." 1829, why did that sound so familiar?
JJ turns back, again, "Did you say Bermuda?" Oh, my word, this boy.
"Oh, no, not the triangle." John B mutters.
"It always leads back to the triangle, dude!" JJ laughs, slapping JB on the back. "Like every single time something weird, it's Bermuda."
We start our own conversation in the back, ignoring JJ's rant on how the Bermuda Triangle is connected to absolutely every problem on Earth. "Okay, well what does a key found above your mee-maw's pharmacy have to do with any of this?" I look directly at Pope while asking this, and his expression is unreadable.
"Yeah." Sarah nods and lightly mumbles along with me.
Kie nods as well, "And where do we come in?"
Pope looks down at the floor before responding, "I don't know. That's a good question."
We soon pull up to the stop where Pope's mee maw lives and JJ jumps out of the passenger door to open the sliding door in the back. Pope hops out first, Kiara was halfway out of the Twinkie when Pope confirms my suspicions. "Hey, actually, I think I'm gonna do this one by myself." Kiara pauses in her tracks and I make a face of confusion behind her.
"Are you sure?" She asks, but I could tell the air caught up in her throat.
"Yeah." Pope squinted, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the sun or his annoyance. "I can handle it. I don't really need you so..." Ouch. What the fuck did Kiara do to this boy.
I almost laugh, to play it off, "Oh we're all just one big happy family today, aren't we?" JJ glares right at me and I see the small bit of guilt on his face. I just roll my eyes and settle myself next to Sarah again. Kie quickly gets back in too. JJ slams the sliding door shut, as well as his.
"Alright.... how about you girls go get us some drinks it is hot as hell right now." John B suggests as we drive off. He looks back at Sarah in the mirror again but she just nodded.
I nod eagerly, "Yes fucking, please. I am about to faint." We pull up to a small corner gas station and the three of us hop out and run across the road. "So... guys." I say as we walk in the door, "I see a lot of tension between everyone right now."
Kiara rolls her eyes and then bursts out, "Yesterday in the surf shack I told Pope I just wanted to be friends and now he's pissed. What's going on with JJ?" We each had our drinks and were grabbing some for the boys. My shoulders slump at the mention of him.
"I don't even know. I think he likes... someone else. He's been avoiding me, and we've been on and off for a while. I guess he's done with me." We walk out the door after paying and I shrug it off but I feel the tears in my eyes.
Sarah pulls me in for a hug, which makes me burst into tears. "Aww, sweet girl it'll be okay. If he leaves you he'll soon realize it was the dumbest thing he's ever done and run back. Then, you get to say no." Kiara joins our hug too.
"But- But I don't wanna say no." I back away from them and wipe my tears. "Let's talk about something else. This is fucking stupid to cry over. Sarah, how do you feel about JB?" Sarah opens her mouth to say something but then closes it again.
"I mean, of course, I thanked Topper. He saved my life, and I put him through so much already. And you'd think that's the crime of the century." Sarah's voice was super calm but I could tell she was angry. We began walking back down the sidewalk.
"Tell me about it." Kiara sighs, "All of this crazy shit is happening and Pope is giving me the silent treatment because I'm not in love with him." I almost laugh and Pope's pettiness.
"And we're the dramatic ones, these boys are the ones doing way... too much." I wipe away any sign of tears as we near the Twinkie.
"Sure." Kiara agrees laughing. Sarah jumps in first, then Kie, then me. I hand John B and JJ their drinks.
"Thanks, Cor." John B smiles while taking a sip. I freeze for a split second, as well as JJ before just nodding.
"Yep, yeah, no problem." I slide back into my seat next to Sarah and play with my hair. I have to move on from this stupid past with the nickname. I need to get over it, they are different people and I mean, I have a whole new life now.
"Um... also, what the fuck happened to you out there?" John B turns to face me and JJ does as well. He points at the gas station and then back at me.
I pretend to be confused before answering. "What do you mean?" I glare at John B, hoping he gets the memo to shut the fuck up. He opens his mouth and then looks at JJ. I just nod and he nods his head, surprised.
"What'd you do to her JJ." I hear him whisper in the front. JJ just slumps down in his chair, not a peep from him the rest of the way back.
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...
