Together

22. Enough trying to leave

Why you always in a mood
Fuckin' 'round, actin' brand new
I ain't tryin' tell you what to do
But try to play it cool
Baby I ain't playing by your rules
Everything looks better with a view
-24kGoldn, iann dior

Shoupe is standing leaned against the sink with a cup of hot coffee. He also looks like he hasn't had a lot of sleep. In truth he really hasn't. He was anxious about today.

There's a knock and Shoupe quickly let's Darcy in. She gives him a smile and they exchange good mornings and engage in idle small talk while Darcy takes a seat at the table. She opens her binder, making a note of something she just remembered.

JJ appears, and he's got his duffel in tow. He doesn't look at Shoupe. Honestly, he wishes the guy wasn't here right now. He couldn't handle another goodbye.

He hopes Shoupe knows how much he's appreciated everything, and JJ means that. The guy has been so much more than a landlord. He couldn't put a name to their relationship, but it was definitely more than it was before. Morphing into something almost paternal rather than the cops and robber type they previously shared.

Darcy's smiles at him warmly and indicates for him to sit, to which he takes a seat beside Shoupe, still withholding eye contact. He can feel Shoupe glance at him before turning to Darcy.

"How are you doing, JJ?" she asks, tilting her head to the side, examining him.

"I'm good," he says quickly. There is no bite to his words but there's no smile or other nonverbal gesture to indicate he feels it either. He can't bother to fake his emotions right now. At least not enough to swing them the entire opposite end of what they were. Who cares, she's here because she has a new place for him. Emotion don't mean shit right now so why try.

Darcy's smile feels forced in that moment. As if she knows he's not really fine and is trying really hard to play along with him for his sake.

Shoupe clears his throat and Darcy nods like she has been reminded of the purpose of her visit.

"Right," she says, looking over her notes. "Okay, JJ, first I just want to say that I admire how invested you are with where you are staying. You've been doing so good with Mr. Shoupe and it's really made me proud."

JJ fidgets uncomfortably in his seat. His heart is beating fast, and his throat feels like it's going to close up at any moment. He hates it when people are long winded for no reason, and he doesn't want to be reminded of how well things were going with Shoupe. He starts to tune her out on instinct, ears only being ready to listen when a specific location comes up. That's all that matters.

"And, I have taken your request to move you to the mainland seriously," she continues, though more hesitantly. "It's not unusual for specific living arrangements to be requested and we want to make sure that where you land keeps you safe and happy."

JJ's leg starts to bounce, and he swallows the lump in his throat. It's like swallowing a sock. Just say it, woman. He's closed his eyes and is looking down, just nodding along to what she's saying but not picking up on anything specific until,

"However, sometimes those things don't overlap."

"What do you mean?" he asks head snapping up. He caught a change in her tone that made him refocus into what she was saying. It went from light and airy to one of apologetic. It feels like she's going to say...

"JJ, you're going to stay with Mr. Shoupe."

JJ's mouth hangs open, his mind trying to wrap around the words he heard. She was fucking on a goddamn monologue, and it felt like that sentence just came out of nowhere.