One Stupid Thing

Ready As I'll Ever Be

Who knew that flying all the way to South America, racing a ruthless mob boss to a lost city of gold, and losing two parents in the process could be so exhausting? Oh, wait. We do. I think if I never go on another treasure hunt again, it will be too soon.

Without the luxury of a private jet at our disposal anymore, the seven of us were forced to hitch a ride on a random shipping barge called the "Blue Marlin" which would've been more cumbersome if we cared about anything other than sleeping. So, despite the inconvenient mode of transportation, the trip home seemed like small potatoes in comparison to everything we just went through.

When I wasn't catching up on sleep, my mind was hyper fixated on the realization that ever since I announced that I will be leaving next week, JJ has been giving me the cold shoulder. Like, seriously, he hasn't dared to even look in my direction. It was foolish of me to assume that the simple holding of hands was going to make everything go back to normal between us.

By the time we arrived back on Kildare Island, I had come to terms with the decision I made to leave. At first, I second guessed myself, worried that leaving now would just make everything worse between JJ and I, but, well, he couldn't care less if I'm here or not. I doubt he'd even notice if I happened to catch an earlier flight. However, despite his icy nature, my feelings for him haven't changed, and I still hate myself for caring so much about what he thinks of me. For instance, I made sure to be sensitive regarding his insecurities about Ryan and I's friendship, considering I would be leaving for Portugal with him by my side. It's second nature to consider him, even though I'm not trying to, but I can't help it. It's a habit.

So, in the meantime, I've been lingering around John B and my sister where the Chateau once stood.

"Did you get through to Rose?" I ask Sarah as she walks towards me. Her phone call with our stepmother was pissing me off so much that I had to walk away and go sit down at the old dock.

She shakes her head and groans. "Nope. She still thinks we killed Dad."

"Did she at least let you talk to Wheezie?"

Sarah shakes her head again and takes a seat on the bench beside me. "No, she hung up on me."

I scoff. The audacity of this woman. "She's gone batshit crazy. Must be the sun down in Guadeloupe."

My sister snickers at my comment. "Probably. Well, at least Ryan gave you a new phone. I'll let you know if I can get ahold of her again."

"You better."

She sighs and a thoughtful expression clouds over her face. "I still can't believe that your mom is alive," she says, changing the subject.

"Neither can I. It's so surreal." I look around at the covered deck, trying to memorize every single thing about this view. Who knows when I'll see it again. "I'm going to miss this place, though."

Sarah throws an arm over my shoulders. "It's going to miss you, too. We all are." I side-eye her and arch a brow. "He will, too, Stella."

"I don't know about that." I look down at my lap, toying with the worn bracelet around my wrist. "He acts like I don't even exist anymore."

"It's JJ. He's just being stubborn," she assures me.

I shrug her arm off of me. "Okay, this is the least of our problems. Dad and Big John just d-died and we're talking about my ex boyfriend?" I snap, growing agitated discussing about my shit-show of a love life. "S-sorry," I apologize quickly.

"No, yeah. You're right." My sister breathes deeply. "Honestly, I don't know what to say. I don't even know how to feel about all of this. Everything's just so... so..."