Pretty When You Cry ୨୧ Rafe Cameron

nine

When Isla heard the sound of a speedboat approaching, she woke up and realized she fell asleep on the dock, her head against the railing. It was Pope and JJ in Heyward's boat.

'Why've you been M.I.A.?' JJ asked.

'Dad's dead. Ward did it,' Isla said flatly. 'Brothers up moping in the Chateau if you wanna talk to him.' She re-lit the same blunt from last night.

JJ and Pope gave each other a look of pure worry. They made a silent agreement that Pope would head up to talk to John B, and JJ would stay with her.

JJ sat down next to her, studying her eye bags and the roughness to her breath as she huffed out.

'Can I have a bit of that?' he asked.

'Yeah, always,' Isla replied, passing the blunt over.

'What's going on in there, Iz,' JJ said, touching her forehead, then tucking her hair behind her ear softly. She felt a surge of emotions rush over her.

'I don't know,' Isla sputtered, 'I can't— everything's just, falling apart. And I can't stop it. And it's my fault.'

'Isla none of this is on you. How could you possibly think any of this is your fault?'

'I have a big mouth and I talked to loud, I lost us the gold. I treated my dad like shit, I was a shitty daughter, and I'm still doing the things he told me not to. He's probably rolling over in his grave. But I just don't know how to stop it.'

'Isla, you're smoking— not killing anybody. And what do you even mean Ward killed your dad?' JJ had a look pity and confusion on his face.

It took Isla a moment to spit out the words. She really didn't want to break down. Each tear that rolled down her freckled cheeks brought her closer to doing that though.

'Ward said something to John B on the boat yesterday, he never fully explained. John B was so scared I couldn't keep on about it. He says Ward tried to kill him.'

'Shit.'

'I don't know what to do anymore Jayj,' Isla faltered, 'I can't—'

She started to hyperventilate, her soft sobs becoming louder and heavier, filling the air with her sadness, her grief.

'It's ok, I've got you.' JJ pulled her into his arms, tightly hugging her. She needed him. There was nobody who understood her better in the moment than JJ Maybank, not even her own twin brother or her best friend Kiara.

JJ was her best friend sometimes. He was more like her than she cared to admit. Sometimes when she looked at him she saw pieces of herself. This made her cry as little harder, but speak a little softer.

'I love you, man.'

'You too Iz, I'm here for you.'

———

That day was a hard one for them all, but tomorrow came. Always did. It had now been a week since that day.

They had gotten the single bar of gold the Cameron's hadn't stolen melted down. That alone was worth a significant sum of money, so they were trying to figure out what to do with that. JJ had the money, for some reason, Isla couldn't figure out whose decision it was to give the most irresponsible person in the group the money.

When Kiara, Pope and Isla got back to the Chateau they saw something unexpected. JJ, alone, in a massive jacuzzi. It was decorated with a variety of lights, a disco ball, little beer floaties. All under Isla's favourite oak tree.

They all almost immediately knew what he did. He blew the money on a fucking hot tub. What the hell was he thinking?

Isla approached him, only to see a gash across his face. She could only think of one place for the injury to have came from, but the others never noticed.