"And lastly, that's Madison, or Mads, my little sister who is also trying to climb up the broken lifeguard tower. We're only a year apart. When she's not doing some odd job for extra cash she is on the HMS Pogue with the rest of us. Most loyal perso...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The atmosphere of the van was energized and chaotic, caught up in the dream that five teenagers were going to be able to stop a plane and steal back the gold. Pope sat behind John B who was driving as he talked to Kiara, going over every possible scenario and giving her a solution to every problem she could think of.
JJ loaded the gun, snapping each bullet into place. He couldn't get Madison's expression on the dock out of his mind. He had never seen her so defeated, so lifeless, and it settled a worry deep in his chest as it constricted his heart like a snake trying to kill its prey. There was excitement in each of their faces, a spark in John B's eye that hadn't been there even an hour ago, but Madison's eyes only held one emotion and that was revenge.
"Maddie," JJ spoke softly to keep their conversation between the two of them. When she didn't answer he nudged her knee with his own. It had surprised him that when they left she took her usual seat beside him in the back of the van but he couldn't tell if it was out of habit or if she needed the reassurance that she wasn't alone. "Hey."
"I'm fine, J," she sighed, not even having to look at him to hear the concern in his voice as she kept her gaze on the passing trees.
He shifted in his seat, glancing to the front to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "No you're not, and that's okay, I know you're hurting right now-"
"I'm fine. I'm completely and utterly fine," she cut him off, though her face betrayed her words, "I'm not doing this now. We need to get the gold."
Revenge. It was the only thing keeping her going. If Pope hadn't run down the dock when he did she would have been able to slip into the water. She wasn't sure how far she would have gotten since she wasn't alone but she was ready for it to be over. Death was the price she was willing to pay just so that she didn't have to feel anything anymore. She didn't necessarily want to end her life, if you asked her straight out if she was going to commit suicide she would have told you no, she just wanted to end the feeling of emptiness in her soul.
JJ wasn't going to give up that easily though, he never would, he'd be working for her forgiveness until his last breath because he wasn't sure what life was without her. "You are what's important right now."
Madison took her hair down, ran her hands through it a few times, and tied it back up in a high ponytail. Was she important? Because she sure as hell didn't feel like it. Her whole world had turned on its axis in a matter of hours. Part of her hoped it was a nightmare and she would wake up at any second wrapped in JJ's arms. After everything she had given up so she could spend her time on trying to find the merchant with her dad was all for nothing. He had been working with Ward the whole time. A man who had more than enough means and resources at his fingertips that made Madison feel insignificant. Was her dad just appeasing her? Letting her think that all her countless hours of research actually meant something. Was that the reason he didn't want her to go with him when he left? She was on dry land, in the back of her brother's beaten van that smelled like old weed and rust, but she still felt like she was drowning.
