MI MILAGRO, JJ maybank

Chapter 9 - Is this love

"Maria, you're killing me with anticipation, damn it!" John B put his hands on his head, stressed out by the situation.

It seemed that getting into the hole was easier than getting out of it. Maria was struggling to make her way back.

"Anda niño, sal tu de un agujero tan pequeño (Come on, kid, let's see you get out of such a small hole). JJ, help me out here," Maria extended her hand, and JJ assisted her in getting down.

The girl handed over what she had found, an envelope with "For John B" written on it, indicating it belonged to him.
John B took it and examined it closely, smiling to himself.

"This is from my father," he told his friends, who craned their necks to read it.

Suddenly, they heard vehicles approaching their location. Maria stealthily approached the area where the cars had stopped and, upon seeing who they were, rushed back to her friends with a look of desperation and exhaustion.

"Guess who's here, our friends! And they're armed," she said.

Instinctively, she took JJ's hand and gestured for everyone to crouch behind the tombstone.
However, their hiding spot wasn't great, especially with the lights from the lanterns and flashlights still on.

"JJ, turn off the flashlight! The light!" John B whispered loudly.

But JJ wasn't paying attention. He was fixated on his hand, his fingers intertwined with Maria's. He was oblivious to everything happening around him, only focusing on the soft touch of the girl's hand, how perfectly their hands fit together. Without thinking, he circled his thumb on Maria's palm, and she squeezed his hand in response.

Pope was going crazy with his friend. He ripped the flashlight from JJ's hand and threw it far away instead of turning it off. Well, adrenaline took over the moment.

"Screw it," exclaimed Kiara, and she started running like crazy towards the car, her friends following suit.

However, there were a few mishaps. When jumping over what was the cemetery gate, Pope got stuck.

"Hey, I can't move!" he shouted at them, looking back to see if they were being chased.

Maria grabbed him by the shirt and, without thinking twice, pulled him, tearing his pants and revealing Star Trek underwear.

"Mr. Spock is looking fresh," Maria laughed as they got into the vehicle.

Pope gave her a little shove and amidst laughter, said, "Oh, shut up."

And with that, they headed to the Chateau.

Once they arrived, they quickly made their way to Big John's office, or rather what was left of it, because the men had smashed all the evidence, all the photos, and had taken away every possible lead. Well, all except one. It was the Pogues who possessed the envelope.

John B sat down in the chair, and everyone positioned themselves standing around him.

As he opened it, he pulled out a recorder that contained a recorded message. John B pressed play.

"Dear Bird. I hate to say 'I told you so', but i told you so, and you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't killed yourself yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either. Right now you'll probably feeling guilty about our fight, but don't be. We will soon be spending our money on the coast of some island, chilling on a random beach. See you on the other side"

Everyone was left speechless. They didn't know how to react, what to say, or how to process the information that had just been revealed to them.

John B struggled to his feet and, leaning against the wall, started sobbing. Everyone had forgotten that it was his father, the one he had lost, the one he didn't know if he would ever see again.