𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 [𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤]

𝐛𝐛𝐪 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 & 𝐦𝐚𝐜 𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞

My mind kept replaying everything that happened yesterday. Every time my eyes closed all I could see was my best friends climbing in a shipping container to save our other friend and get back Pope's family treasure. I could hear John B gifting me the chateau if anything ever happened to him, even though I know that won't hold up in any real court. Then there was the constant replay of JJ telling me he loved me. That came without any warning and continued through my brain without any rhyme or reason to it. It wasn't any old "love you Lou", it was "I love you, Lou. Always have, always will."

Always have. Always will.

How was I supposed to move on from that? I know that I need to get up for school, but I just couldn't fathom the idea of going through the day with all of it constantly on repeat. When did 'always have' start? Why did he never tell me? Why did he wait until we couldn't be together to tell me he loved me? I had so many questions with no one to give me an answer.

I stayed wrapped in my blankets for as long as I possibly could before getting out of bed and getting ready for the day. By the time I made it out of my room, it was almost time for school to actually start so I was running out the door to attempt to make it on time.

When I finally made it through the front doors of Kildare High School the hallways were almost empty. There was a late straggler here and there but it was mainly just me until I reached the office. It was mandatory to check in and get a late pass before going to class. They only gave a 5 minute grace period, starting from the time written on the pass, to get to class so I had no time to wander around.

I tried my hardest to avoid all the stares as I entered Mr. Sunn's classroom. He didn't say much as he handed me the worksheet and motioned for me to sit down. I hadn't been in school in a week and no one had seen any of us since the bonfire. Everything that wasn't cross-related got pushed to the back burner.

I tried my best to focus on the paper in front of me. Shaking out every thought that pushed forward that had no relation to the work I was trying to do. "Laney." I heard from behind me in a whisper. I looked up to where Mr. Sunn was to see if he was looking before I turned around. Carlie, the blonde girl that had a thing for JJ, was leaned forward toward me. I raised a brow and waited for her to continue, "Have you heard from JJ? I've been keeping an eye out for you guys but today's the first day any of you have been back in school."

I shook my head in response, not wanting to tell her about anything that had happened. She didn't need to know. No one did. I'm not even sure I'm going to see any of them again, so I might as well save the explanation for then because I know everyone will look at me and ask why I'm still here and they aren't. She sat back in her seat after not receiving the response she wanted, making me turn back around too.

˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The day went by as slow as it possibly could. I rushed to my car when it was time to leave, driving around a bit instead of going directly home. I wanted nothing more than to pull up to the chateau and see my friends there, but I knew they weren't going to be. I wasn't that lucky. Wherever they were right now, I hoped they knew how much I missed and loved them.

After a while, I found myself sitting in The Wreck's parking lot. I contemplated going in and talking to Kiara's parents. Telling them everything because if they knew, they'd spend all the money in the world to find their daughter which meant finding all of them. But I couldn't do that. They'd wonder why I hadn't went with them.

So I backed out of the spot and continued driving.

Going over the drawbridge and into the Cut, I smiled at the spray painted "Pogue Zone" sign as I passed it. When I got off the bridge, I went straight home. There was nowhere else to wander to stop at.

As I pulled in, I saw my dad sitting on one of the lawn chairs as Cooper ran around the yard. When I had my car door closed, I called for him, "Cooper!" He ran up to me from the water. My father turned to me as I spoke. He looked tired. He was still working despite what the doctors had recommended. Either way, when he started his treatment in a few days he wouldn't be able to work at all. Dylan said it was some sort of chemo pill to help attack the cancer. I thought it would only speed up the process of dying, but they both seemed to think it would help so I never questioned it.

When Cooper made it to me he shook all of the water that was previously attached to him and soaked me from the knees down. I laughed as he jumped on my legs and waited for me to put him. "Well hello to you too Coop." After he received enough pets, he ran back toward my dad.

"Lou, come sit with me." He patted the chair next to him and I walked over, dropping my book bag on the ground next to me as I plopped in the chair. "How was school today?"

"School was fine. I have a ton of things to catch up on. I think I'll be free by Halloween, maybe?" He chuckled at me. What he didn't know was that I had contemplated not even coming home today. I wanted to drive to the ferry and get to the mainland. From there, I felt like I had a better chance of figuring out where they were from there.

He reached for my hand, "You'll get it done. I believe in you." He gave it a squeeze, "And 3 weeks isn't that bad. I bet you could be all caught up in 2 and be out on Halloween if you really tried." I shrugged as I stood up to go in the house.

"Barbeque chicken and mac n cheese for dinner?" I called out as reached the back steps. He lifted a thumb in the air as his response. Dylan was walking out of the kitchen as I stepped in from the yard.

"Have you seen JJ today? I was waiting for him to help me fix the truck."

My attention moved from him to the stack of mail on the counter, "Uh," I sifted through it, "No. Not yet, at least."

"Well when you do, mention it please?" Dylan walked away before I could even respond. I so badly wanted to tell him about everything but I knew I would sound so crazy. Instead, I went in my room until it was time to make dinner. It was done quickly and I took my plate in my room. The plate ended up sitting on my desk until everyone went to bed so I could throw it away because I ended up not being hungry.

When I knew everyone was asleep, I packed a bag of clothes for school and wrote a note to let them know I was staying at the chateau. If they ended up being gone for too long, I'll probably just move in.