𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 ⇉ 𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

𝘮 𝘶 𝘳 𝘥 𝘦 𝘳

IN THE QUIET embrace of the night, the Pogues found their refuge at a secluded campsite in March Point, a hidden gem away from the chaos of their lives.

The air was thick with the scent of pine and the faint crackle of the fire, casting flickering shadows on their faces. They sat scattered around the warmth, each lost in their thoughts, yet connected by the shared intimacy of the moment.

JJ, distant yet magnetic, stares into the flames as if searching for answers within the dancing embers. Beside him, Ariella leans in, her eyes wide with curiosity, hanging onto his every word like it held the key to a world she desperately wanted to understand.

"When I was a kid, I didn't get it. It didn't make any sense to me." JJ began, the firelight illuminating the lines of worry etched on his face. His voice was a low murmur, almost swallowed by the night. "But then one day, I just decided to ask him. I said, 'What do you mean, hell is other people?' And he looked at me for a while, then he just said, 'Just keep on living...and you'll find out.'"

The weight of his memories hung in the air, thick and heavy, as he recalled a time when innocence still clung to him like a second skin.

As the words left his lips, a shift occurred within him. The vulnerability he had just shared seemed to pull him back into himself, creating an invisible barrier.

He instinctively recoiled from Ariella's touch, a protective instinct against the storm brewing in his heart. She didn't pry further, understanding the turmoil that Groff's betrayal had added to the already deep scars of his past.

It was a silent acknowledgment of the battles he fought, battles that raged within him, unseen yet all so consuming.

"Luke's been wrong about a lot of things, but, man, was he right about that one." JJ continues, his jaw tightening as if he were physically wrestling with the memories of Luke's abuse and Groff's betrayal. "Went from a fake dad...to a real dad who just tried to kill me."

The fire crackles louder, echoing the intensity of his confession. Ariella felt a shiver run through her, and she instinctively squeezes Kiara's arm, finding comfort in her presence. Kiara leans her head against Ariella's, a silent show of solidarity as they both watch JJ, who stood up, running a stressed hand over his face.

"Yeah, Luke. I found out. Hell certainly is other people."

His voice was laced with a bitter truth, resonating in the stillness of the night, leaving the air thick with unspoken fears and shared understanding.

                            𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧.𖡼

As morning began to rise, the sky still cloaked in a deep indigo, Ariella lay cocooned in her sleeping bag, a world away from the Pogues. The weight of guilt pressed heavily on her chest, a suffocating reminder of her choices.

She should have never let JJ go with Groff.

The thought twisted in her mind like a jagged knife—Groff should have never been allowed into their lives at all.

But he had slipped through the cracks, charming and manipulative, and now he had a hold on JJ that she was powerless to break.

She was too late to stop the betrayal, too late to shield him from the storm that Groff had unleashed.

Ariella felt a sense of helplessness wash over her as she tried to reach out to JJ, to pull him back from the edge of despair.

Just as she began to spiral deeper into her thoughts, a gentle touch on her back pulls her from the depths of her mind. The warmth radiating from the hand was unmistakable—it was JJ.