𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 𝐒𝐎 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ➝ 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

𝟏𝟑. 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐊𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 completely dark and star-filled by the time we got back. We were all piled into John B's chateau, waiting patiently before he opened the package. All of us were anxious and intrigued by the package, but even with the suspense, my mind still managed to travel to the kitchen with Rafe. I knew that I shouldn't be smiling or wanting to go back to the moment, but I couldn't help myself. Just the thought of going to the party with him made my knees weak and I was scared of the feeling since it wasn't something I was familiar with.

I sat down in the chair next to John B, knees pulled into my chest, while JJ made a sandwich in the kitchen. "That bread had mould on it three days ago," Pope told him and he finished spreading the peanut butter onto the sliced of bread.

"Please don't eat that," I pleaded and he closed the jar of peanut butter before putting it back in the cupboard.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mould is good for you. It's just a natural organism," He said as Kie called him over. He ran next to the group, leaning over John B's shoulder while holding his mouldy sandwich.

John B ripped open the package and I could hear JJ gaging, spitting out the sandwich he just made. I chuckled softly, watching as John B dumped out the contents inside. "Told you," I muttered and JJ knocked his shoulder with mine as he reached for the drink on the table.

John B unfolded a large piece of paper, revealing a map with words already scribbled onto it. "X marks the spot," Pope said as he pointed to the map, stating the already obvious.

Running his pointer finger over the map, he noted the coordinates, "Longitude and latitude," While I studied the map, John B grabbed the small box, which was a tape recorder.

"What is that?" JJ asked from beside me, and Kie rolled her eyes dramatically.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," She said harshly as John B pressed the small gray button.

The sound of static filled the room as a deep voice echoed through the recorder. My eyes widened as the man spoke softly, "Dear Bird," He started and I realized it was Big John, John B's dad.

"Who's bird?" JJ asked, leaning down towards the table.

"That's what my dad called me," He replied as the tape continued.

"I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid," Big John said as more static came from the small device. "I didn't expect to find the Merchant either,"

My jaw dropped slightly when the words came through the recorder. Shocked, I looked at the rest of the group and they had the same expression written all over their face. "You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn," I could see that John B's hands were shaking softly, which made me lay a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for," The sound of a marker writing on paper echoed through the device, and I realized that he was marking the X on the map.

"There she is. The wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started, go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side," Static crackled on the tape and it turned off, meaning that the recording was over.

To say that I was speechless was an understatement. No words could describe the feeling that was racing through the entire group, especially John B. He stood off of the chair and walked towards the porch door as he sighed deeply.

"Holy shit, he did it!" JJ exclaimed, breaking the silence between us all. I licked my dried lips and he continued, "Big John-- He found the Merchant--" I elbowed JJ in the ribs quickly, telling him that this wasn't the time, as John B sobbed quietly.

Kie walked towards him, wrapped an arm around his body and hugged him as tears ran down his cheeks. JJ quickly apologized as I ran a hand through my hair, pulling it out of its low and messy bun.

✮

The sky grew into a dark blue as we sat on the dock, trying to recollect our thoughts from the recorder. John B had calmed down, but his eyes were still a bit puffy from before. The sound of Kie's ukelele filled the quietness around us as a loon called in the distance.

I sat on the railing quietly, playing with the string bracelets on my wrist as I swung my legs back and forth. "How much was it again?" I asked after a second and Pope fixed his hat.

"Four hundred mil," He sated and I let out a small breath. Four hundred million was a lot of money, meaning each of us would get eighty million if we found it.

"All right, let's talk the split," JJ piped up and turned his body towards us and away from the water. "Now, before we say 'evenly' may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those square groupers who were after us," He explained as he held up the gun in his hand, which made me roll my eyes, "Protection. Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training," Pope objected and I agreed softly.

"And plus, the one time we actually needed the gun, it was sitting in your backpack on the porch. Might as well give me more money for standing at the door," I replied sarcastically and JJ groaned.

"Youtube guys! That's at least a five percent bump right there. Any objections? Didn't think so," JJ said and Kie raised her hand but he ignored her, "I don't hear any so..."

"What are you going to do with your 80 mil, Pope?" Kie asked as she set down her ukelele onto the ground.

He shrugged, thinking for a second, "Pay for college in advance," He said finally, "And textbooks. Those are expensive. What about you, Kie?"Kie thought for a second and Pope continued, "What does a socialist do when she's rich?"

She chuckled softly, "I just wanna make a double album about OBX, the Pogues. You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marly Studios, Peter Tosh producing,"

"Peter Tosh is dead..." I pointed out and she nodded.

"I know, but the spirit of Peter Tosh will never die," She replied then looked at me, "What about you?"

"Um..." I muttered softly and let go of the bracelet, "Definitely get my mom and me out of debt, and textbooks too, those are expensive," I explained as I fiddled with my bracelets again.

"I know what I'll do. I'm going to get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook. Gonna get a marble statue of myself and then I'm gonna get a koi pond, put a bunch of those fish in it..." JJ told us as he pushed his messy blond hair out of his face.

"What about you, JB, you're pretty quiet," I acknowledged and he looked away from the water, beer bottle in his hand. I took a sip of my own, surprised that it was still cold in the humid weather outside.

"To going full Kook," He replied with a grin, and I lifted my beer.

"To going full Kook!" We all cheered, tapping our drinks together. That's how the night went, we talked, laugh and drank before all of us crashed at John B's.

sorry for the wait, hope y'all like it <3
syd <3