𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒 | jj maybank

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲

CHAPTER TWENTY: THE HOT TUB

here we fucking go

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"so we gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning," pope implied as he pulled up to the chateau with kie and i.

"okay, well, we gotta focus," kiara responded as i nodded in agreement.

"i know. it's gonna be fine. we got john b and jj inside the well, and elsie and i up top. and you and sarah will be outside transporting," the boy broke it down for us.

"yeah we got this."

"full kook, here we come!" i resounded, slamming the door to the truck.

"that tin can can hold like 200, 300 pounds."

"lots of gold," i smirked at the two, to which they both smiled back.

"thanks," kiara let out to the two of us. but what for? keeping us all in line?

"uh, what for?" he turned back and looked at the girl as i remained quiet, careful to not interrupt their little "moment" or whatever.

"stranding us. you know, making us make up," kiara explained as i let out a simple ohhh.

a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "what makes you think that was us?" just as kie was about to respond, the whirring of an engine caught us three off-guard as lights brightened the entire chateau.

"the fuck?" i mumbled quietly.

"what the hell?"

"who the hell is that?" kiara added as we followed the lighted pathway. as we walked up, we all took notice of jj, sitting in a lush hot tub.

"no, no, no," i shook my head, knowing exactly what was going on here, but the others didn't quite get it.

pope looked at the boy, confusion spread on his face, "what did you do jj?"

"i got a jet going straight in my butt right now," he chuckled as all of our faces remained stone cold. "ya'll should get in here immediately. salud!" he raised a glass into the air.

"how much did this cost?" pope inquired, but it was obvious that it wasn't cheap.

"uh, well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh, hey, express delivery- pretty much all of it, yeah."

pope's jaw dropped at the answer. "all of it?"

"yeah, all of it," jj repeated, not seeming the least bit phased.

"you spent all the money in one day?" he attempted to clarify for himself.

"yeah, it burned a hole right through my pocket," jj gestured. "but i mean, come on guys! like look at this! finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me. kie what?" he looked at kiara, who had a questionable expression on her face.

"can't a man have a little luxury in life? come on, all this scrimpin' and scraping," i saw his lip tremble as some sadness flickered in his eyes, "i mean like, guys we- you only live once, right? enough of this emotional shit, get in the cat's ass. come on."

"in the what?" kiara gulped.

"in the cat's ass. that's what i named her. oh hey yo, i almost forgot. huh? yeah that's right, i know, disco mode. that's right baby!" he plastered on a smile, but it was so clearly fake and hiding a broken boy behind it. a boy that put everyone else's problems above his own. a boy that was finally breaking down after holding in all of his frustration and anger.

"are you kidding me? you could have paid for restitution!" pope fumed as i turned my head to meet my eyes with his.

"or literally given it to any charity!" kie added, her siding with pope.

"guys, stop!" my voice broke slightly, knowing that they were just adding fuel to the fire that was already ignited.

"or better yet," pope continued, not paying the least bit of attention to what i was saying, "you could've helped us buy supplies to get the rest of the gold out of the well!"

"okay, well you know what? i didn't do that!" the blonde boy stood up in the hot tub, and my heart shattered at the sight of what i saw. large, painful bruises were scattered on his stomach, naturally due to his father. tears pooled in my eyes, knowing that this was a regular for him. pope and kie's eyes trailed to the bruises in surprise. they knew vaguely about his father, but the only person who truly understood and could empathize with him was me. "i got a hot tub. for my friends. i got a hot tub for my friends. you know what, no you know what? screw friends. i got a hot tub for my family!"

"jj what the hell?" kiara cringed, which was quite possibly the worst reaction that anyone could've had in that situation.

"i fucking told you guys. i fucking told you," you glared the two as they shared guilty looks, realizing that i actually was on to something earlier.

"i got this for you. guys, look what i did for you! all right? look at this!" he splashed the water, still putting on a happy demeanor, even though he was getting closer to the breaking point.

"jj," kiara said as tears filled her eyes, and i was close to breaking down myself.

with that, tears began to flow out of jj's eyes too. "no, you stop being emotional. it's fine, okay? i mean, it's sweet right? everything-"

both kie and i stepped up to hug him, but pope pulled her back. "let elsie take care of this one."

"just get in," he cried as i held onto him for dear life. he laid his head on my shoulder in defeat, letting out harsh sobs. "i just couldn't do it. i can't take him anymore! i was gonna kill him," jj let out through tears.

"j, i love you. so, so much,"i murmured into his ear, running one hand though his hair soothingly, and the other one tracing circles on his back. "i'm always going to be here for you, you got that?"

"we all will be," pope chimed in, the two other pogues joining in the hug.

"i just want to do the right thing," his voice broke.

"we know," kiara replied, "we know."

everyone was finally hitting their breaking point. luckily, this all would be over soon, once we got the gold.

but turns out, there was much more pain to go through that none of us expected coming.

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{1072 words}

this chapter is low-key kinda short, but i felt like this scene needed to be it's own chapter for obvious reasons.

ally