𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 // 𝕁𝕁 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜

Chapter Three // Never Stop Running

3. Never Stop Running

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"The sky it was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there
Some place back there
Smiling in the pictures you would take"

~Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind

•••

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of depression/dark thoughts, Mentions of drug addiction

•••

"Val?" JJ panted, staring down at her with wide, horrified eyes. His face had gone pale like he'd seen a ghost. "What the fuck?!"

"Get off me!" Valerie grunted, trying to buck her body under his weight.

Slowly, JJ lifted himself onto his knees, still pinning her to the ground. "You just had a fucking gun to my head! You think I'm just going to let you walk away from here without a damn explanation?"

"Im not explaining anything until you let me go." She spat, squirming underneath him.

JJ thought for a moment, before reaching out to grab the gun lying beside them. He leveled it between Valerie's eyes before climbing off of her and nodding. Carefully, she pushed herself to her feet, glaring at the gun still trained on her forehead.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Val?" JJ snapped. His cheeks flared with red and she could see his neck straining as he clenched his jaw.

He was pissed.

"I told you! I'm just here to deliver a message, okay?" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and staring back at the boy. Really looking at him for the first time in years.

He looked like shit.

He stood there in only a pair of old cargo shorts and a dirty ripped tshirt. His wild blonde hair sticking out in all directions and his eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. He swayed slightly as he stood across from her and she couldn't help but notice the way his hands twitched.

Actually, she thought again, he looks fucking dangerous.

She hadn't been afraid at first. She knew JJ wouldn't hurt her... Or atleast, the JJ she remembered would never have hurt her. It suddenly occurred to her that this boy was a stranger. She didn't know him and now he had a gun aimed directly at her face.

Slowly, she lifted her hands to show she meant no harm. "Barry sent me to give you a message. I was never going to hurt you."

"So what? You're Barry's bitch now?" He spat, gesturing toward the road with his free hand.

"I'm nobody's bitch, alright?" Valerie defended herself angrily.

His brows flew up, challenging her statement. "So you just wanted to hold a gun to my head then?"

Valerie averted her gaze, sucking in a deep, frustrated breath. "We don't always want to do what we've got to do, Maybank."

"Don't call me that." JJ snapped, but she just glared back at him.

She was furious because JJ was right. She was Barry's bitch now. She answered his every beck and call because she had no choice.

And she hated it.