Adore You ☼ JJ Maybank

6

[ MAYA, GET DOWN! ]

"look, i'm calling it off, alright?" john b said, "peterkin said if i stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with dcs."

"and you believed her?" jj asked.

"yes, i believe her, jj."

"an actual cop, john b. you believed a cop." jj said, throwing a rock as hard as he could away from them.

"all i gotta do it stay out of the marsh for a couple of days, and she'll help me out." john b said, "it doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun."

"you know what i should've done?" jj said, "i should've just let topper drown your ass."

"yeah, like topper was gonna drown me."

"sure looked like it, i mean, have you looked in the mirror recently?" jj stood, walking over to john b, maya looking up from poking the ground with a stick to be ready in case jj did anything stupid.

"tell me some more, come on."

"they always win, don't they, man? kooks versus pogues. they always, always win." jj hit the buoy hung on the ceiling. "goddamn."

"hey, it's okay." kei said.

"no, it is not okay! they don't want us to go down into the marsh. that means there is something valuable down there and you know it, man." jj pointed at john b. "i know you do.. and i understand why you don't wanna go," jj then gestured to pope, "you're the golden boy. you got way too much to risk. and you," he now talked about kei, "i mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway. why would you bother? but you and me, man," he looked at john b, "and maya, we got nothin' to lose! we really don't, alright?"

"jj..."

"and i know it didn't used to be that way for you."

"i don't wanna talk about this. i don't want to talk about this." john b says.

"so that's it?"

"just get out of my way, bro."

"john b, listen to me, i have a plan." jj said, "you got key to cameron's big boat, right? there's scuba gear inside, man. we just need to borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. you don't see rich kids go into foster care, do you?"

☀︎

"this is empty. you took empty tanks." kei says.

"i.."

"this ones a quarter full." maya says. "it's enough for one of us."

"love it when a plan comes together." pope joked.

"does anybody know how to dive?"

"anybody?"

"it's kind of a kook sport.." jj said.

"my dad took me, like, once or twice before.."

"how long ago?"