𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞- 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

8.

🦋☀ 🌊 - 8

"I mean, it's obvious, right?" Pope began, swinging the compass back and forth between his hands like he could wring the truth out of it.

"A family compass?" John B said, eyes flicking between the road ahead and Kiara in the passenger seat. "He had to know it would come back to me, right?"

"Yeah. It's possible," Kiara agreed, leaning back in her seat with a faint smile, though her eyes betrayed concern.

"Or it's also possible that you're concocting wild theories to-" Pope started, pausing to throw a side glance at John B, "-you know... help with your sad feels."

"Well, you know how I deal with my sad feels," JJ said with a grin, immediately earning a sharp jab to the knee from Olivia sitting beside him.

"I'm not concocting, okay? My dad is trying to give me a message," John B said, voice steady but firm, his eyes scanning the road. He wouldn't drop this, not even when everyone else rolled their eyes.

"If it helps you believe-"

"Look, I don't need a therapy session, okay? I'm not tripping out," John B chuckled under his breath, adjusting himself in the seat.

"It's okay to trip, bro-"

"My dad is missing!" John B whipped his head toward JJ, eyes blazing. "Missing! You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish, then wake up every morning with no idea what happened!"

Olivia's stomach twisted. She felt almost guilty for making jokes or teasing earlier. No matter what little frustrations she faced with her family, she had people to come home to, always a roof over her head, always a familiar face waiting. She couldn't imagine what it was like to lose someone so central to your life.

"It's been almost a year," Kiara said softly, her voice careful, gentle. She didn't want to hurt John B's feelings, but she needed him to understand reality might not match the hope in his mind.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped," JJ offered, trying to lighten the mood with a smirk.

"Or he could be in a Soviet sub, getting interrogated," Pope added, shrugging.

"Absolutely... or Atlantis," JJ said, grinning at his own ridiculous suggestion.

"JJ." Olivia's scolding tone cut through the humor, sharp and precise. "John B, I'm sure wherever he is, he's fine."

John B's lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze returning to the road. Kiara reached over and gently touched his arm. "So, what do you think the message is?" she asked, her tone softening him further.

"Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse," John B finally said, pulling the van up to the lighthouse entrance.

The group climbed out of the van, craning their necks to take in the massive structure before them. Olivia hadn't ever been here, and she couldn't help but feel impressed. The lighthouse loomed over the coast, stark against the morning light, its white paint weathered and slightly chipped from years of salty winds.

"Okay, here's the plan. You're going to stay here and look out," John B said, pointing at JJ.

"Wait, why me?" JJ asked, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Look, JJ, there are independent and dependent variables. You're an independent variable. We don't know what you're going to do," Pope argued, folding his arms.

"Okay, just shut up!" JJ shouted, exasperated.

"Pope, you stay here and look out with JJ, okay?" John B said, glancing between the two boys.