INDIANA II JJ Maybank (Outerbanks)

chapter thirty eight

Her heart stopped for a moment, nervous for his reaction as she told him she loved him for the first time ever. Sure they had said they love each other before, but that was when they were kids and they didn't mean it in the same way.

His sobbing stopped for a minute and he loosened his grip for a second as Indi could feel his body stiffen up at her words. She knew she probably shouldn't have said it at that moment as he was already really vulnerable. 

"You don't have to lie to me." He sniffled as he wiped away some tears he had on his cheeks. "Nobody loves me." He repeats looking down at the ground. 

"J," She says taking his face in her hands making him look at her directly in her face. "Don't ever assume you are not being wort being loved." She tells him placing a light kiss on his nose. It hurt her that he thought so low of himself. "And I mean it when I say, I love you." 

She places another kiss on his forehead before repeating for a second time more firmly and slowly. "JJ Maybank, I'm madly and utterly in love with you." 

"Inds." He says as she tries to get a reaction through his eyes as she sees the side of his lips slightly tug up despite his drunken state. "I love you too, Indiana Routledge." 

A smile spread across Indi's face as he said the words back and she wrapped her hands back around him, hugging him until he had really calmed down after everything that had happened tonight before speaking up again, "Come on, let's get you to bed." She said as he nodded slowly in response as they finally got out of the hot tub. 

She helped him out and into the Chateau. She smiled as she saw how Pope and Kiara had taken the pull out couch for the night and took JJ over to her room. She helped him get dressed for the night and then changed out of her wet clothes from the hot tub and pulled on one of JJ's shirts. 

JJ laid on his side in Indi's bed watching her intently with a smile, happy that he had finally found somebody that truly loved him and took care of him, despite all of his flaws he thought he had. 

She joined him in her bed and also laid on her side facing him as he intertwined their fingers. Just looking each other in the eyes not saying anything as JJ spoke up. 

"Why do you love me?" He asked as he looked afraid for her response. Indi didn't really have to think about it as she gave him a toothy smile. 

"Where do I even start." She paused for a second grinning at him. "I love how you would do anything for your friends. I love how you protect me. I love the way you look at me and make me feel like I'm the only person in the world. I love how I can be myself around you and how you are always able to make me smile when you're around. I love how you make me feel like I can get through anything, as long as I have you. And there are so many reasons that I could list why I am in love with you but I want you to remember that I love you for being you and I never want that you change yourself for anybody, just because you don't feel like you are enough, because you truly are." She finished giving their intertwined hand a small squeeze. 

"I love you too Indi, so so much and I don't know what I have done to ever deserve anybody like you, but I hope you'll stay with me for the rest of my life and that we grow old together." He smiles at her.

"Come here." She giggled as she pulled JJ into her so he had his head on her chest as she combed her fingers through his hair, watching him with a smile as his breathing slowly calmed down and falling asleep with him in her arms. 

-

They spent the next morning in the backyard of the Chateau. Indi and JJ were sitting at the edge of the hot tub hugging, with their feet in the water as Pope and Kiara were preparing stuff for the gold hunt. 

"John B pullin' a Houdini." JJ spoke up next to her, placing his beer down on the edge of the hot tub.

"Yeah, where is he?" Pope asked as Indi tried to think about where he could be. "I got my scholarship interview tomorrow. We gotta get this done!" 

"Shit." Indi muttered as she remembered where she was supposed to be this morning, and well John B had expected her to show up.

"What? Everything all right?" JJ asked concerned as he saw the look on her face.

"I was supposed to go fishing with him and Ward today. Do you think he'll be mad at me?" She asked, afraid to get into a fight with her brother for her not showing up. 

"Speak of the devil. Hey!" JJ suddenly said as she saw John B appearing and walking through the backyard his eyes fixed on the Chateau. "Dude, I set up the entire winch to pull up the gold and everything." JJ lied. He hadn't done a single thing the entire morning to help them get the gold. 

"No, he did not. I did that." Pope said. Indiana got out of the hot tub and followed after her brother as she saw something was bothering him with the look on his face and how he was ignoring them. 

"Hey!" Pope and Kiara both called after him as he didn't notice them but the Routledge siblings were already inside. 

"John B what's wrong?" She asked him as he started to search around for something, "What are you searching?" 

"Where does JJ keep his gun?" He asked her, not even sparing her a glance. 

"His Gun?" She asked confused as in why he would need it. "JB,-" 

"Where is his gun?" He asked louder and pushed her away from him as she had stepped forward and was in his way. 

"You all right, man? What- what's up?" Pope asks as the other three joined them in the Château.

"What are you looking for?" Kie asks him as he goes over to the couch, lifting the cushions. Indi gulped, as she knew this was the place JJ had hidden his gun and he would easily find it there. 

"Bro, what's going on?" JJ joined in the questioning and John B looked at the gun in his hands. 

"JB, put the gun back." Indi told him sternly. She already didn't like the fact that her boyfriend was running around with a gun on Kildare Island and didn't need her brother to start using the gun. 

"Don't tell me what to do!" He snapped at her.

"John B, what do you need the gun for?" JJ asked as he now realized that he in fact had taken out his gun. "Talk to us!" He told him as he stepped forward to him but then got thrown on the pull out couch. 

Indi gasped never have him seen this aggressive towards his friend before.

"John B chill." Kie yelled at him as he walked outside. Indi made her way over to JJ to see if he was hurt. John B had thrown him with such a force that he had flown over the couch and landed on the floor. He groaned in pain as Indi helped him back up on his feet.

"What are you doing?" Kie asked him and as Pope went to stand in his way he also got forcefully pushed away into the table. "Shi- are you okay?" Kie asked him as Indi gritted her teeth at his behavior. It wasn't okay with her, that he was treating them like this without an explanation. 

"Okay, that's enough." Indi said fed up with him treating them like this as she ran out of the Château. JJ quickly ran after her, concerned that John B would hurt her too.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She yelled at him as he was sitting on JJ's dirt bike revving the engine. 

"Ward knows about the gold." He yells back at her and pushes her away by the chest as she was holding him back by his arm. "He killed dad." He whispers so only Indi could hear him as he speeds out of their driveway, leaving her there with tears streaming down her face at the news about their dad really being gone forever. 

Pope and Kiara tried to run after John B speeding off, as JJ runs to her, confused about the tears running down her cheeks and polling on her shirt. 

"Ward killed dad." Is all she can get out as an explanation as she falls to the floor starting to sob. JJ instantly joins her, trying to get her to calm down from hyperventilating even tough he knew it was useless. He knew how much love she held for her father and she had to cope with the news that he was really dead. And there was nothing in the world that would ever bring him back so she could properly say goodbye after the fight they had the last time they saw each other.