you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
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"And that's my twin sister, Josie, although she acts more like she's my mom. Somehow we're the same age, but she practically raised me more than either of our parents ever did. 90% of the time she's the one fixing or covering up our screw ups and the other rare 10% of the time she's the one coming up with them. She may act responsible, but she can be more trouble than all of us combined. Insanely loyal and protective. She'd do anything for us. We've been through a lot together and I'm not sure what I'd do without her— what any of us would do. She's kinda the glue of our little group."
you are the best thing that's ever been mine
Josephine B. Routledge, or Josie as she made sure everyone knew to call her, was a careful girl. Growing up in The Cut with her treasure-obsessed father and wild-child twin brother made her so. At sixteen years old, she'd become more of a parental figure to John B. than either of their parents ever had been.
She was the one on top of the bills, making sure the Chateau remained with electricity, running water, and quite literally everything else necessary for a functioning home. She was the one working every odd job possible, asking for more shifts at the stupid country club, taking every babysitting opportunity from wealthy Kooks in Figure Eight. All while her father remained locked in his study searching away for a ship she knew he'd never find or nabbing John B. up to go have some fun, father-son time. Josie couldn't remember ever having father-daughter time with Big John.
So Josie was a careful girl because she knew all that was at risk if she wasn't. They'd lose their home, there'd be no food on the table, and she was certain that—no matter how much she loved their rag tag group of friends, The Pogues—John B. and the rest of them would be in unescapable, unimaginable trouble like expelled from school or in jail.
This especially became obvious when Big John suddenly disappeared. Gone. No trace. No clues. No body. They all assumed he'd been lost at sea and while John B. remained convinced their father was still out there somewhere, Josie found herself praying he wasn't—even if she was certain it made her a horrible daughter and person to do so. It was one less person to worry about and no more dollar bills short that she "must have miscounted".
Summer is the only relief Josie gets in the year and she intends to make full use of it. She'll work, saving up as much as possible for the next school year and she'll be able to relax and have fun with the Pogues. Except this summer doesn't seem to be off to a great start as Hurricane Agatha hits and the group of teenagers quickly find themselves wrapped up into something much more sinister—and it somehow has something to do with her father's compass?
