𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank

Chapter 76: Ashes

"Could've been a faulty electrical wire," Pope suggested as JJ coughed.

A burning beam crashed down into the ashes.

"Place was all wood. A tinderbox," Kie added.

"Thing just went up," Cleo mumbled as Grace set her head on Kie's shoulder. "Boom."

"Verdict's in, bro," JJ started, "Whoever's up there, does not like you."

Grace closed her eyes, not wanting to continue staring at their destroyed home. She'd grown up there. It was like the second they thought things couldn't get worse their only source of stability burnt to the ground.

JJ, noticing John B's saddened expression, rested a hand on his tense shoulder. "Sorry."

Grace reopened her eyes to take in the damage once more, still not quite believing that the previous night had actually happened. Sure enough,  the wood was charred black and the only thing left standing was the brick fireplace.

JJ chucked an empty glass bottle into the wreckage before standing up and heading down the dock.

Grace peeled her head off of Kie's shoulder and followed him, leaving their heartbroken friends on the lawn.

"Should've bought some marshmallows or something," JJ said while Grace leaned against the railing next to him.

She looked over at him, soot still on both of their cheeks. "Fate has really got it out for us, huh?"

JJ nodded while picking at the dock's splintering wood. "There was so much shit in that house that I wanted to keep forever."

Grace sighed heavily. "Yeah. Photos, books, letters... shit, my mom's guitar was in there."

He pulled a piece of wood from the railing and dropped it into the water below. "Our rings were in there."

She looked up at him with a saddened expression, not knowing what to say.

"I kept them in the top drawer in the guest room on the right side in the far back. I know exactly where they were," he continued.

Grace smiled weakly. "For the record, I'm glad you kept them."

He stared down at her but before he could reply, a creaking in the wood drew their attention away.

The rest of the Pogues silently gathered round on the dock, finding it too painful to smell the smoke and watch the last remaining embers of their home burn out.

"Sarah, when did you say the pilot was getting in?" John B asked, breaking the silence.

"Probably like an hour," Sarah answered. "I mean, once he's here my dad says we can leave whenever we want."

"Okay, well, as much as I would love to ghost my parents again, I can't," Pope spoke, trying to focus on the plan rather than the shadow looming over the group.

"Pope, we're talking El Dorado here. Can you just slip out the back maybe?" JJ grumbled.

Grace narrowed her eyes at him. "We love Heyward too much for that."

JJ shrugged. "It always worked for me. How to avoid unpleasant circumstances 101. If there's a problem, and you don't wanna face it, turn that face and keister around and walk the other way."

Grace rolled her eyes teasingly. "Don't I know."

Sarah laughed at JJ's surprised expression. "I mean, she's kinda got you there."

"Look, I'm not doing that, okay?" Pope piped up before JJ could bicker back.

JJ sighed. "I just want you to be there, dog."