Storm Chaser // JJ Maybank

12

I sit in my backyard waiting to hear from JJ. I'm hopeful his father bailed him out. But with Luke you can never be sure.

I stand up when I hear a motorbike. JJ comes speeding down my driveway stopping a few feet from me. He has new cuts on his face that weren't there when he got arrested.

I walk over to him and grab his chin. "What the hell happened?"

JJ takes my hand off his face. "I owe 30 grand in restitution."

"30 grand?" I look at him concerned. JJ nods. "Okay. Okay. We can... We can work it off. I can help you."

JJ shakes his head. "Yeah, I told my dad the same thing and look what happened."

"He hit you," I state.

"He beat the shit out of me in the car outside the police station," JJ tells me.

I pull JJ into a hug. I feel him stiffen. I pull away and look at him. I can tell by the tears filling his eyes that's not all that happened. JJ's dad beats on him so often he doesn't cry about it anymore. Not since we were kids.

"JJ what else happened?" I ask.

"I..." JJ's chin quivers as tears come to his eyes. "I... I pointed the gun at him."

I pull back and look at him. "What?"

"He was asleep on the couch and I... I pointed the gun at him." JJ wipes a tear from his cheek. "I almost shot my dad."

I wipe the tears from his eyes. "Hey. Hey. It's okay." I pull him back into a hug. "You're okay. It's gonna be okay." I rub JJ's back as he starts to calm down. I smile at him as he pulls away. "No matter what your dad does, you always have me. I promise you that." I hold out my pinky. "J-Storm forever."

JJ wraps his pinky with mine. "J-Storm forever." JJ smiles. "Now we gotta go."

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Just get on the bike I'll explain at John B's," JJ tells me.

I get on the back of the pick and hold on tight to JJ. "Try not to kill us."

When we get to John B's house we wait around for a while. Then I realize that there's a car out front of John B's house that we don't recognize. JJ and I hide waiting for him to come home.

When JJ sees John B, he grabs him by the head and covers his mouth. John B fights back and throws JJ on the ground.

"It's me, JJ. Stop, stop, stop, stop," JJ tells him.

John B hits him in the chest. "What are you doing, Bro?"

JJ covers his mouth. "Shut up." He pulls John B down beside a truck.

I point to the car watching us. "See that? They're watching us, okay?"

"Who?" John B asks.

"I don't know," JJ tells him.

"Let's go. Sneak around to the dock," I tell John B.

We walk through the marsh. The water gets higher as we go.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. You got the keys to the Pogue?" John B asks.

JJ nods. "Yeah."

John B and JJ hold their bags on their heads as the water is almost head high. We get to the Pogue and pull ourselves in. JJ and John B untie the boat as we lay on the floor, keeping out of sight. John B starts the engine and we're off.

We park the boat by a little clearing on the marsh. I sit next to JJ on a rock as John B sits across from us.

"First, I almost get strangled to death by Kooks, and now I'm on the hook for 30 grand," JJ says.