Downfall - JJxOC

chapter five

"It's fine. This is an easy fix Mick." JJ assures me. The trio of pogues are now standing beside me. We all stare down at the mutilated tire. This is bad. So so bad. Pope goes to open the trunk but its locked. He jiggles the handle, obviously searching for the spare tire.

"Unlock the trunk, Kenna." Pope tells me. When I don't move, Kiara does. She runs over to the driver's door and searches for the button. There's a click and the boys throw open the door. JJ and Pope quickly begin pulling up the floorboards of the trunk. They manage to get the last piece up and reveal and empty, tire-shaped space. JJ looks to me.

"Mick, where's the spare? You have a spare right?" He asks, his voice growing urgent. I bite my lip to keep myself from giving the answer that no one wants to hear. The pogues look between me and the empty trunk. I open my mouth to give them an answer. Nothing comes out. I can't speak. I keep trying but the words won't come out. JJ rips his hat off his head and pulls his fingers through his sweaty hair. The hat is thrown to the ground, then he storms over to me. He puts his hands on my shoulders, leaning down so he is on my level. "There's no spare is there?" He asks softly. He knows how I get in these situations. I freeze up. I can't help it. I slowly shake my head no. JJ sighs and drops his head. Then he pats my shoulder and stands up.

"We need a tow truck, don't we?" Kiara calls.

"Let's find a tow truck." JJ announces, spinning away from me. I still stand frozen. My surroundings seem to blur around the edges. Kiara and JJ begin to argue about who to call. Pope walks over to me.

"Kenna. It's really not a big deal. We'll find a tow truck." Pope assures me. I just nod. Pope frowns and tilts his head. "Kenna. Repeat after me. It's okay." He urges.

"Its okay." I whisper. Pope nods and smiles. Then he grabs my arm and pulls me with him to join the other two. The action pulls me back into reality. My mind clears up and the world grows sharp again. We all pull our phones out to work together to find a tow truck. Kiara lets out a cheer when someone is finally on the way. The blistering sun has set by the time we arrive at the mechanic's shop. And something that should only take ten minutes is now going to take a few hours. The mechanic reluctantly told us that I would need a new rim. He didn't have one, but claims his buddy has the perfect one and would be hand delivering it to us within the next two hours.

"Pope you better reschedule your little meeting." I tease. The boy just rolls his eyes. The mechanic has gone back inside to work on another car, leaving the four of us to wait outside.

"We're going to be here all night aren't we." Kiara groans.

"Could be worse." I say with a shrug. "Beats boarding school." I tell the girl with a teasing poke. She swats at my hand.

"You would know all about that wouldn't you.' Kie bites back. I laugh and lean into the girl. We sit on the porch with our backs against the wooden panels of the building. There are a few lanterns strung up that light up the area from the surrounding darkness. The boys sit in two chairs on either side of us. We all banter back and forth, trying to pass the time. Kiara even forces us all to play a game from middle school summer camp. It's honestly quite entertaining.

"This is taking forever." JJ complains, jumping up from his seat. "I'm going to talk to our buddy about his slow-driving buddy." Then he quickly disappears inside. Pope stands up as well. He mutters something about needing to make sure JJ doesn't bite off the guy's head. He rushes inside as well. Kiara and I share a look.

"That was weird, right?" She asks me with a raised brow. I giggle and nod my head.

"So fucking weird." I agree. We sit in silence for a few moments, just listening to the sound of cicadas chirping.