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//chapter forty • open arms and doors
𓅰彡𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘
THE TEENS take turns to drive the boat back home. They stop on the coast of Cleo-knows-where, get some food that her and Pope definitely stole. Andrew sat near the wheel while JJ drove the boat through the night, back towards OBX. Back home.
"So you sure you two didn't tell him where the diary is?"
"Mmm, you know, that sounds like doubt, JJ." Andrew crossed his arms and sat back. "No, we didn't. Kie said we knew where it was."
JJ nods, hair being whisked around by the wind. "It's not great that now he thinks you can lead him to it, but I'll take it. Why does he want it so bad anyway?"
Andrew shrugs. "I told you. Instanity. He thinks the Merchant's gold came from El Dorado."
JJ purses his lips, holds up his finger. "Okay, so the diary we have leads to a five hundred year old treasure that no one's ever found?"
"Yeah, 'cause it doesn't exist." Andrew makes a face. "El Dorado? It's just a story Gaspar de Carvajal made up."
"And you know that how?"
"It's..." Andrew paused. "It's one of the things Ward would talk about when Mom made me go fishing with him. I also read about some of it from the books on Big John's office. And it's pointless anyway. Looking for El Dorado would be like looking for Olympus at the top of the mountain. Useless and probably dangerous."
"I'm in."
The brunet sighs. "Of course you are."
"It's kind of like my best option at this point, so... Definitely beats sitting in geometry class," JJ adds.
"Oh? You'd rather die than study triangles?"
"I think the triangles are out to get me." The blond says, occupying his hands with the console, "I mean, I don't even know what'll happen when we get back to the OBX." He rakes a hand through his hair. "Nothing good. I can tell you that. Nothin' good."
Andrew's stomach stirs in the realization that he, like JJ, had nowhere to go. There wasn't anything in Kildare for him, aside from JJ and the Pogues. Tannyhill didn't want him, he didn't even know if it was safe to go back to that mansion. Andrew's guess was: probably not. And he didn't even have a Jeep to live out of. Thanks, Pope.
"We could ask to stay with Spencer." Andrew suggests. "Bailey loves me, and she'll probably have you around as long as Luke didn't punch her."
JJ grew a little dispirited by that. "And what? Live with your ex-boyfriend?"
Andrew rolled his eyes, he could feel that comment coming. "Johnny moved off the island with his mom like, a year ago."
