Chapter 6 - Breathe

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She stealthily approached the window, expecting a serial killer or something of the sort, but upon opening it, she saw JJ, tossing pebbles from the garden to get her attention.

"Princess! Let down your hair," he said half-jokingly, half-singing.

"What on earth are you doing here? Te has vuelto loco ? (Have you gone mad?)" Maria tried to suppress the smile that was threatening to appear.

"I've come to rescue you from the wicked witch," JJ continued his game.

Maria decided to play along. "I can't believe it, the one and only Flynn Rider here in my garden."

JJ smiled and patted his motorcycle. "You bet, complete with the horse and everything."

"Lucky me," she smiled at her savior.

JJ glanced at the part of the facade where her window was located. Fortunately, a large tree branch extended right up to the girl's window.

"Alright, I've got a plan. Climb up the branch and slowly make your way to the trunk. From there, you jump down."

Maria looked at the path she was supposed to take and, realizing its difficulty, slowly shook her head.

"No way in hell, I do that and I'll end up dead."

JJ went blank. How was he going to convince her to jump?

Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.

"Oh, I see. Of course, since Kooks don't know anything about adventures, you're just a chicken," he started clucking and strutting around like a chicken.

This infuriated Maria, who immediately began climbing the tree.

"Chicken? I'll show you who's a chicken," she muttered to herself.

JJ grinned to himself, keeping a close eye on her movements to prevent her from falling or getting hurt.

Once she reached the tree trunk, she froze. She had never jumped from such a high point without water or a mat below.

"Well, I hope you have all the time in the world because I'm not coming down from here," the girl warned.

"Jump, and I'll catch you." JJ extended his arms, signaling that he would catch her to prevent any injuries.

"What?" she questioned.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"We barely know each other!"

"Do you trust me?" the blond repeated.

She stared at him. He was a guy she had just started becoming friends with less than 24 hours ago, so there was a chance he might not want to help her, or that he was truly a jerk, or a million other things. Yet, she felt a sense of peace around him, as if she were where she was meant to be.

"Yes," she affirmed.

With that, she jumped from the tree and landed in JJ's arms, like something out of a superhero movie.

She moved away from his arms and began dusting off her clothes.

"See? It wasn't that bad," he nudged her lightly with his elbow, while handing her his motorcycle helmet with the other arm.

"You're lucky because if I had gotten hurt, you'd be the one paying my hospital bill."

"Ohhh, auch," the guy chuckled.
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Later, they were on the boat, planning how they would use the little oxygen they had to scuba dive and reach the ship.

"Okay, so basically, you two," Maria pointed to Pope and John B, "surfed in a storm and saw a ship, the same ship you saw sunk yesterday. You went to a hotel, entered a room, took the key that supposedly belongs to the ship, and now you're going to search it," Maria asked, bewildered by everything she had been told. The disappearance of John B's father, the coincidence that the dream boat (which according to JJ, cost a fortune) belonged to a guy who couldn't afford a pack of cigarettes"Everything seemed so cinematic.

MI MILAGRO, JJ maybankWhere stories live. Discover now