One Stupid Thing

1:8:30

Kiara and I walk out onto the dock and rejoin the boys. As night falls, the air cools and the crickets come out to sing their song. Just as I am about to step onto the boat, a hand grabs my arm and stops me. It's JJ.

"El, wait. Is everything okay?" he asks me. He looks so worried that my heart squeezes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm okay," I tell him. As I pass by I run my hand down his arm to further assure him.

"O-okay." JJ looks down at my hand on his arm and his reaction makes me giggle.

"Let's get this show on the road," Pope says from the passenger seat, clearly losing his patience. "Or water?"

I hurry onto the boat and take a seat at the stern. JJ quickly follows and starts the boat. I glance across the boat to where Kiara is sat. She is staring right at Pope and even though she is shaking her head at his joke, I know she secretly found it hilarious. Their blossoming adoration for each other is utterly adorable in its own, unnecessarily complicated way.

"Ladies and gentleman, keep all hands and feet inside the boat at all times and please enjoy your ride on the HMS Pogue. Next stop: Tannyhill Plantation," JJ exclaims as if he is the captain of a cruise ship and departs from the dock.

JJ cruises the boat through the marsh and soon enough we arrive at, well, my actual home. I feel like I'm never here anymore. This place feels more like a prison instead of a home and my dad is the warden. Except this warden doesn't care if I escape. He parks it up on the opposite side of the dock from the Druthers. We all sit there in silence as if John B is just going to appear out of thin air and willingly leave with us.

"What now? We just go up to the front door and ask 'hey have you seen John B?'" JJ says unseriously.

"Look, he lives at Tannyhill now. It's plausible," Kiara reasons.

"I technically live here too, yet you don't see me in there. I've slept at the Chateau almost every night this week," I point out.

"Look, we can play dumb," Kie suggests, ignoring my reasoning.

"Play dumb?" JJ asks. For once, he isn't the one coming up with the dull ideas.

"It's pretty late," Pope adds.

"Look, I've never seen John B like that. We should honestly be going to the cops," Kiara says.

JJ looks at her with annoyance. "The cops—Yeah, and say what, Kie? We're worried about our friend because he's going off on a rampage because Ward Cameron killed Big John. Like, they're not gonna believe us!" The words tumble right out of his mouth before he realizes their effects. JJ looks right to me. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"No, you're right," I interrupt. "No one is going to believe that big man Mr. Cameron who everyone loves, but don't really know why, killed John B's father. They'd ask so many questions. One's that we can't answer."

"Hey, I see Ward." I look over to see Pope staring through his binoculars and into the estate.

"Let me see." Kiara walks up to him and he hands over the binoculars.

"Doesn't look dead to me. Let's go home," Pope says shortly. He sits down to prepare for departure.

"What?" Kiara prompts him.