𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚖𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 // 𝕁𝕁 𝕄𝕒𝕪𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜

Chapter Twelve// False Promises

12. False Promises

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"I can't seem to face up to the facts
I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax
I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire
Don't touch me I'm a real live wire"

~Psycho Killer by Talking Heads

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Trigger Warnings: Mentions of violence

•••

JJ stormed back into the house, shoving past Kie and Pope as he passed.

The couple turned to each other in confusion as they watched their friend start rummaging through the room. Checking under couch pillows and throwing around dirty clothes that littered the floor. Pope eventually shrugged at his girlfriend to signify that he had no idea what was going on.

"JJ, what are you doing?" Kiara sighed, following after the blonde boy as he disappeared into the bedroom.

JJ didn't answer, just growled angrily to himself as he knelt to check under the bed.

"Hello?!" Kie shouted to get his attention. Pope had appeared beside her in the doorway.

Finally, JJ stood, snatching his backpack up from the spot by the bed where he'd found it.

"I can't do this anymore." He muttered, withdrawing his gun and checking to make sure it was loaded.

Kiara's mouth fell open.

"Woah woah woah!" Pope exclaimed, putting his hands up and stepping toward his friend carefully. "Hold on! Let's think rationally for a second here."

"JJ, what are you about to do with that?!" Kie demanded, her voice pitchy with distress.

"I'm putting a stop to this, right now!" JJ snapped, slamming the clip back into the gun and tucking it into the waistband of his shorts. "I appreciate you guys trying to help, but I've got to take care of this one on my own!"

"What?!" Pope cried.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Kie exclaimed, flinging a hand to her forehead in disbelief. "You cannot be thinking what I think you're thinking!"

JJ moved to skirt around them, but the two blocked his way.

"I can't keep letting people get hurt because I fucked up, okay?!" JJ's voice was full of emotion as he tried to push forward again. But Pope caught him by the shoulders, shoving him back against the wall.

"Let me go, Pope." He seethed, glaring up at the boy.

"No!" Pope snapped, locking eyes with him meaningfully. "There's no way I'm about to let my best friend run off and do something stupid when we have a way out of this mess! Okay? Kie is going to get the money and-"

"Look at your face, Bro!" JJ shouted, giving Pope a furious shove and gesturing toward his swollen eye. "They could have killed you because of me!"

Pope huffed, "Well, look, I owed you one anyway! The only reason you stole that money in the first place was to pay the restitution you owed because of me! We're even now!"

"You're right man. Except I still owe the restitution money, because I spent it all on a hot tub and alcohol." JJ pointed out with a wry smile that was full of self-loathing. "Because I'm a fuck up."