Me and the Devil

31.

⚠️Content Warning⚠️

The walk to the Chateau, except for the occasional chirp of crickets in the surrounding trees. The sun has dipped below the horizon, casting everything in a dim, golden glow. I’m not sure what I’ll find when I get there, but I know I need to fix things with JJ. Or at least try.

As I approach the yard, a flicker of light catches my eye. Suddenly, string lights everywhere illuminate, bathing the yard in warm, twinkling light. I stop dead in my tracks.

“What the hell…?” I mutter under my breath.

I inch closer, and that’s when I see it: JJ, shirtless, sitting in a brand new hot tub smack in the middle of the yard. Steam rises into the night air, mingling with the smell of damp earth. Floating in the water are tiny rubber ducks, each balancing a champagne flute. JJ holds the bottle of champagne, his sunglasses perched crookedly on his nose, clearly drunk.

He notices me and tilts his head, peering over the top of his glasses with a lopsided grin. “I got a jet going straight in my butt right now,” he says with a lazy drawl, taking a long swig from the bottle.

He holds the champagne bottle out to me as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. “You need to get in. Immediately.”
I stare at him, dumbfounded. “How much did this cost?”

“Pretty much all of it,” he says with a shrug, referring to the money he stole from Barry.

I don't even need to see my reflection to know my face is full of disappointment. JJ notices, and his grin falters slightly before he waves it off.

“Can’t a man have a little luxury in life?” he slurs, his words tumbling over each other. “All this scrimping and scraping…I mean, you only live once.” He gestures vaguely at the hot tub, nearly spilling champagne in the process. “Now enough of this emotional stuff. Get in the Cat’s Ass.”

I blink, confused. “The cat’s…what?”

“That’s what I named her,” he says with exaggerated seriousness, motioning to the hot tub.

I step past him, shaking my head as he flips on a disco ball that sends scattered colors bouncing across the yard.

“JJ.” I say slowly, my voice heavy with frustration. “You could have used that money to pay off your restitution.”

JJ pauses, his hand halfway through his hair. He exhales slowly before standing abruptly, water dripping off his torso. That’s when I see it: bruises and scrapes scattered across his chest and arms, dark and angry against his skin. My stomach churns. I know exactly where they came from.

Luke.

“I got a hot tub for my friends,” JJ says, his voice quieter now. He takes another sip from the bottle, his gaze fixed somewhere over my shoulder. Then he shakes his head. “No, screw that. I got a hot tub for my family.”

The word hits me like a punch, and suddenly all my frustration melts away.

“JJ…” I start, but he doesn’t hear me, too lost in his drunken rambling about the hot tub and what it represents.

I don't say anything else. Instead, I step forward, climbing straight into the tub, clothes and all. The warm water rushes around me, but I barely notice. I reach for JJ and wrap my arms around him, pulling him close.

He collapses against me, his body shaking as he finally lets the damn break. Sobs wrack his frame, his arms wrapping around me like I’m the only thing keeping him afloat.

I hold him tighter, my finger threading through his damp hair as he cries into my shoulder.

“I can’t take him anymore,” he sobs pulling me into him. “I was gonna kill him. I just wanted to do the right thing.”

“I know,” I whisper into his hair.

“You don’t get it. You don’t get what it’s like to be me. To have nothing. To be nothing.”

My chest aches, his pain spilling out in jagged pieces that cut deep. “Where I am now, doesn’t change where I came from.” I say still holding him close. “It was always you and me. It will always be you and me.”

He lets a bitter laugh between sobs. “You’ve already proven that wrong.”
I don’t know what to say to that because he’s not entirely wrong. My loyalty has been split for weeks, my heart pulling me in directionsI can’t reconcile. But right now, I can’t walk away from him.

As JJ’s sobs quiet into sniffles, I press my forehead against his and whisper, “JJ, I’ll make it right. I promise.”

He nods weakly, his grip on me fidgeting as if he’s afraid I’ll disappear.

But I’m not going anywhere.

Not anymore.