𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank

Chapter 115: Knockin' On Heaven's Door

It was an early morning out on the ocean. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon and the little bits of light it sent over the water were dampened by the clouds hanging low.

"What're you thinking?" Sarah asked as she leaned against the counter and folded her arms over her chest.

Grace peered out of the window before shrugging. "It should pass," she answered. They had no way of knowing how deep the storm would go or how long it would last, so for now optimism was the best option.

After pouring the heated-up broth into a chipped bowl, Grace passed it to Sarah. "Try to get that down."

They were both the only two awake, save for JJ, who was taking a turn steering the boat. He hadn't been helping out much over the past few days in favour of getting drunk. Now that he had laid off and poured his heart out to Grace, he was too lost in thought to go to sleep. Plus, he felt guilty for his lack of assistance over their journey so far, so he volunteered to take the wheel and allow the others to sleep.

Grace was the earliest riser. She woke up before the sun could even force her eyes open. Her streak of terrible sleep was still going strong; with the conversation she'd had with JJ the previous night still ringing strong in her mind and his presence missing to warm the bed, rest was limited to a couple of hours.

Just as the sun crept over the horizon line, the sound of Sarah racing to the bathroom broke her out of her songwriting groove.

The poor girl was wracked with morning sickness that was only perpetuated by the rocky waters. With rain clouds approaching, the water was only rougher, and her nausea only got worse.

"Thanks," Sarah smiled, a pale sheen to her skin as she brought a spoon of broth to her lips.

The duo sat down together on the benches that lined the old, splintering table. Grace turned her attention to the deck of cards Kie had salvaged, content to have a relaxing morning with her sister.

"How's JJ?" Sarah asked in between sips of the sad excuse for soup. Resources were limited out on the water, and with how quickly they'd fled the Outer Banks, there wasn't any time to stock up. They were left with whatever Barry had abandoned in the kitchen and whatever fish they could reel in.

Grace leaned back against the wall, setting the deck down on the table. "Better... I hope, at least. He's just... scared."

Sarah smiled weakly. "We all are."

Grace nodded. She knew it was true. Sarah was out at sea on a treasure hunt after just finding out she was pregnant. Pope had narrowly escaped prison in order to be here. John B had the weight of not only his future but also his unborn baby's resting on the crown. And Grace was absolutely petrified at the idea of losing anyone. She didn't even want to be doing this, but if the Pogues were on a mission, there was no way in hell she wouldn't stick by their side.

But JJ was worse. He had been backstabbed by both his real father and his fake deadbeat one. He had felt what it was like to lose Grace once, and he was terrified of it happening again for real this time.

"How're you feeling?" Grace asked, not wanting to ponder the state of their mental well-being any longer. She'd been doing it enough over the last couple of days.

Sarah smiled as she polished off her bowl. "Much better. I think it'll actually stay down."

Grace quickly knocked on the wooden table before placing down one of her cards.

Even though it was her turn, Sarah didn't look down at her hand. Instead, her gaze remained stuck on Grace. "Hey, I actually wanted to talk to you about something..."