Outer Banks (JJ Maybank x Reader) Book 4

The Mothers

I hear a knock on the door and quickly scramble with the test. The door opens. "Hey, we're going to open up shop for a little, see if we can bring in a few customers, you coming?" Kie sighs. "Oh! Yea, yea," I gasp. She raises her eyebrows. "You okay?" She asks. "Uh, yeah, yeah," I nod. Her eyes widen. "Is that... yours?" She whispers. Fuck. She saw it. 

I open my mouth to speak, then close it. Kie pushes open the door slightly, picking it up. "So...," Kie whispers. "Are you sure?" She asks. "Well I took both... for confirmation," I nod awkwardly. "Mmm-hmm," She swallows. "JJ?" She asks. "Yeah," I say, taken aback. "Yeah, yeah, for sure. Like, does he know?" She asks. "Oh, no, I just found out," I lie. "Oh," Kie whispers. "Yeah," I nod. "Impeccable timing!" I sigh.

"I mean... about to be homeless, broke, again," She nods. "Mmm-hmm," I sigh. "I don't really know how it could get better," Kie nods. "I would be like, super great, if maybe you could find, like, one positive thing," I say, holding my breath. Kie sighs. "You're gonna be an amazing mom," She whispers, smiling softly. "And JJ loves you," She nods. I smile. My eyes fill with tears. "Obviously," I giggle as a tear falls. "He's gonna be an... alright dad," She grins. I laugh. "Woah," Kie smiles as we both laugh. 

"And you have all of us," Kie nods, grabbing my hand. "They say it takes a village," She says softly. "Yeah," I nod. "Okay," I breathe. "You're gonna be okay," She smiles, pulling me into her arms. "I love you," I breathe. "I love you too," She nods into my shoulder. "Auntie Kie," I grin. "Whoa, Auntie Kie," She giggles, a big smile on her face.

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I lay in bed next to JJ, staring at the ceiling. His snores fill the room, he's sound asleep. I run my hand up and down my stomach, trying to feel a little bump. I'm restless. Suddenly, I pull back the covers, slipping out of bed carefully so I don't wake JJ. I creep through the door into the kitchen, filling up a cup of water from the sink. I sigh, leaning against the counter.

"You're up late," I jump, spilling half my cup of water. My mom sits on the couch, barely visible in the dark. "What the hell are you doing?" I whisper scream. She terrified me. "Can't sleep either?" She smiles softly. I stand still, watching her cautiously. "Come sit," She suggests. I hesitate, but eventually I move to sit by her. "What are you doing up so late?" I whisper. "I could ask you the same thing," She smiles softly. I look at the clock, which is blinking just after 4am. "Um," I say.

I don't know why I tell her, but I do. "I'm pregnant," I say. Her eyes widen in the dark, extremely taken aback. "Wow, um," She nods slowly. She exhales. "Who's the father?" She asks. "JJ, of course," I say, shocked. "We're married," I say, finally realizing she probably doesn't even know. "Oh!" She says, more shock on her face. "You know nothing about me," I whisper. Her face crumples. 

"Y/n, I should've been here. I know I should've," She whispers. I shake my head, staring at my hands. "I don't want to talk about this," I say. "I know," She nods. "But you didn't deserve what I did to you. Neither you or John B," She sighs. We sit in silence for a long time. "I don't know how to tell him," I whisper, my voice cracking. "What if he thinks we're too young? What if doesn't want a child?" I say. "He will," My mom says, her tone confident. "You didn't," I say, looking at her. She doesn't respond, her eyes sad. 

We're quiet for an even longer time this time. "Listen, I know I don't know you, or this boy, but if your anything like me, this boy is obsessed with you," She whispers. I laugh. "Confident much?" I ask. "I didn't-," She starts. "I know," I whisper. "Tell him, y/n," She says. "And if he doesn't love you when you do, he never loved you in the first place," She says. I stare at her, sighing. "Okay," I nod. I have to tell him now. I stand up, leaving her alone in the living room.

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"Hey, J, can I talk to you for a minute?" I ask, following him through the backyard. "Uh, yeah, what's up," He asks as we walk into the shed. He rummages through a drawer, looking for something. "So, I-," I start. JJ is shifting through some papers now, clearly not focused on me.

"Hey, JJ, I really need to talk to you right now, it's really important," I say. He stops, turning towards me. "Okay, what is it?" He asks. Pulling out a chair for me to sit down. "Um," I take a deep breath, holding out my hands. JJ grabs both of them, keeping his eyes on our hands. "Uh," I say again, smiling a little. I take another breath. "I'm pregnant," I say. JJ's eyes snap up to mine, his mouth dropping open. "You're pregnant?" He repeats.

I nod, not able to speak. My eyes fill with tears. JJ stares at me, eyes wide. "You're pregnant," He nods, not a question this time. I try to smile, then look at my feet. "Yeah," I exhale. JJ scratches his head, letting out a breath, he looks at the ceiling, then back at me. A tear falls. "Okay, um," He says. "I'm really, really scared," I say suddenly, my voice breaking. "I don't know what to do," I shake my head. "I don't know how to do this," I say. "I know, baby," JJ says.

"And we're... so young," I swallow. "And I know the timing's probably terrible," I start to speed up. "And I don't want you to leave me-and I-," JJ interrupts. "Hey, hey, come here, come here," He stands up, pulling me against him. "I've got you," He whispers into my ear. "I was really scared to tell you," I mutter. "Hey," He says, pulling me back to look at him. "I love you," He tells me. "We're gonna figure this out," He breathes. "Because we always do," He nods, stroking my cheek. "Right?" He asks. "Yeah," I nod. He smiles, kissing me.

He places his hand on my stomach. "What are we gonna name him?" He whispers. "Him?" I smile. "Oh yea," JJ nods. I laugh. "Have you told John B?" JJ gasps, his smile instantly falling. "No.. why?" I ask. "I got his sister pregnant," He says suddenly, staring at me. I laugh at him. "Come here," I whisper, pulling him into my arms.

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I had told JJ, but it didn't help with anything. We had zero working capital, as Pope said. But, that's when our luck turned. The Outer Banks Sentinel wrote about us. Archeologists excavated the cave we blew up, and we were heroes. It was pretty weird, to be honest. After the ceremony this old guy named Wes Genrette came up to us with a request. He invited us to his private estate, to discuss his proposition. So, here we are. 18 months after finding El Dorado, on our way to Goat island. Back in the G game.