𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 - 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

30 / epilogue

— epilogue —

the two siblings sat in silence as john b drove the boat. "oh my.." junes saw the cameron girl sprinting down the dock. "john b! june!" she yelled. "sarah!" the routledge boy yelled back. john b pulled the boat loser tp the dock so she could jump on. "hey, what are you doing? i didn't think you were coming. you weren't at the dock" john b spoke to the girl as june sat back and listened.

"you guys were gonna leave without saying goodbye?" the two laughed before sarah kissed john b, "don't leave me ever again". june jokingly gagged at the two kissing. sarah rolled her eyes before pulling the girl into a hug. the three all stood side by side as john b directed the boat.

it had grown dark by the time they were out at sea. "thats like the entire sheriff's department" sarah spoke aloud. "we'll go dark and let the tide pull us out".

the anticipation of getting caught and arrested thrived through june. she stood there picking at her nails anxiously. "we're clear" john b let out a sigh of relief. "hey. hey. we're gonna make it" sarah told the obviously anxious june. "yeah we just gotta go north through the swamp, then we just—" sarah cut off john b, "follow the north star".

"when everything spins around" sarah spoke but when they all looked up at the stars the clouds had covered them. "guys look, no no, the lights" june pointed at the island. "wait, no, no" sarah began to panic like the other two.

"get down, get down!" john b told the two girls. "is it not turning over?" sarah asked as john b tried to turn on the boat. "no it's not" john b confirmed. "what do we do?" junes whole body began to shake in nervousness. "check the engine" he told the them. "what am i looking for?" sarah looked down at it. "the choke! the little ball" june rushed over and helped her.

"just squeeze the ball!" john b yelled. "go!" sarah told him. "come on, come one, sweet Jesus" john b turned on the boat. "we gotta go" june spoke, looking out at the lights.

the boat was being chased by the cops and being cornered in but john b took a hard turn the other way. "they're coming around the cut! we gotta go south!" june yelled over the boats loud engine. "into the storm?", john b replied to sarah, "yes into the storm!".

the three held onto each other as the was being chased. they were startled by a voice coming through the boat. "john b, june? i know you two are there. i know you can hear me, and if you two love sarah like i think you two do, then you will turn that boat around and come back. you're going into a storm you cannot survive. june, please, i will make it right. i promise you. come back" ward spoke. sarah saw june grab the walkie, "no! don't listen to him. he's a liar".

june still held the walkie in her hand. "john b, june, i am begging you. think of her and turn around" ward begged the siblings like they were doing something wrong when it was absolutely twisted. june had finally come up with the courage to speak to him, "ward cameron, can you hear me? she her voice shook in nervousness. "yes. june, im right here. im right here. please bring her back, okay? we'll work it all out when you get home" he responded.

"you killed my mother and father, and you framed me and my brother for a murder that we didn't commit. you took everything from me! you took everything from me and so did your son! but i'm still here. i didn't back down from him or you. and i swear, ward, i will come back and take what's mine. so, you listen to me, all right? i'm comin' for you and your son" june threw down the walkie with tears streaming down her face.

the three stood them with waves crashing over the boat. in silence, not knowing what to say. "what you do two do if i wasn't here?" sarah asked the them, "look, i'd rather die than go to jail" john b answered for him and june. "i'd rather die then be without you" sarah told the boy. the two kissed while june stood there awkwardly. a ginormous wave crashed into the boat while john b yelled "hold on!".

the three pogues sat in the white tent anxiously waiting to hear new about their friends. jjs head rested in his hands. they all stood up while shoupe, plum and thomas walked in. "did you find them?" pope the asked the most thought question of the evening. shoupe shook his head, "no".

"so, they got away?" kiara felt a sort of relief for a second. shoupe stood there in silence, "we, uh...lost them". the three pogues stood there in shock. shoupe apologized. "you lost them?!" pope exclaimed with not hesitation. jj grasped his chest. how could he lose his best friend in girl friend in one day? its like everything went silent. he couldn't feel anything. suddenly he felt arms wrap around him. pope and his family held him in a hug.

jj had started to head home when he had the urge to go to junes. he walked up the rickety steps to her bedroom. as he opened the door he noticed someone was already here. "rafe. get out" he yelled. rafe turned around. "i'm guessing this", rafe held up and envelope, "is for you". he shoved it into jjs chest. "go to hell, rafe" he spat. rafe scoffed, "ill see you there".

jj quickly ripped open the letter.

dear jj, im so sorry. this isn't how i wanted everything to happen. i can't stress enough how much i'm gonna miss you. you're the best thing thats ever happened to me, jay. i wish i could redo how everything went down. how we used to hate each other. i don't know how to put in words how much i appreciate you. just, don't change while im gone. i promise i'll be okay. i'll see you later, jay. i love you more than you could imagine.

jj didn't notice that he was crying until tears wet the piece of paper. he threw the paper to the side. he hit the wall, leaving a dent it in. "fuck" jj paced around the room. he ran down the stairs of the large house and went home.

dear june, your funeral was the other day. we weren't aloud to go. i miss you more than anything. i hope i'll see you again someday. i don't believe you're dead. you were the love of my life. i don't wanna move on, i'm trying not to. im sorry, june, i love you.

the three pogues finish carving june's and john b's names into the tree. jj placed the two letters and a junes necklace into the wooden box. kiara and pope knew to not ask what the papers were so they left it alone. "to john b and june" jj raised his flask up. "and sarah" kiara added. jj walked away from to two to his bedroom. he knew he missed june. he picked up his phone and dialed a number. "hey jj! you want me to come over?" a girly voice spoke over the phone. "yeah. see you later gabriella" jjs voice sounded very disinterested, but she couldn't tell. "okay, see you in a minute, jay!" she giggled. he hung up the phone and left the cheateau.

ABBY SPEAK/ holy shit. gold rush is over. never thought this day would come if im honest. dont worry, june's story isn't over. i'm splitting the seasons into different books. i'm so sorry if there are spelling mistakes in these two last chapters! i love y'all and thank you for everything! all the love and support you guys have given me! see you later! 💛