𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒 | jj maybank

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE: HOW COULD I BE SO NAIVE?

_______________________

pulling up to the residence, jj second-guessed himself going to visit his father for no particular reason. was it a bad idea? he thought back and realized that, every time he'd visit luke, it wasn't simply because he wanted to.

elsie had told her boyfriend that luke maybank wanted to change for his son, but did he really mean that? jj was about to find out.

the middle-aged man was sitting in one of his usual spots, the porch. the hole from their fight wasn't there anymore; the screen seemed new and replaced.

"d-dad?" jj muttered, seeing the silhouette of his father as he opened the porch door.

"hey, son," he replied simply. "what do you need from me now?"

"nothing, i just wanted to check on you," jj answered. the last encounter with his dad left him feeling different; even if his dad was just out of it.

"you sure about that?" luke countered, knowing his boy just a little bit better than any person would believe. jj smiled a little and replied with yes. "well then, i appreciate it i guess."

"are you, you know-"

"sober?" the man laughed. shit didn't work that easily, especially for a man that had been using drugs to cope for years on end. his son didn't really find it funny though.

"jj," his tone switched. "i'm trying for you buddy. i really am. i'm not going to lie to you, son. i'm still usin' shit, but you know what? that friend of yours-- she kind of put it into perspective for me, you know?"

"elsie," the blonde thought out loud.

"i heard a little on the radio about her, in fact," luke pointed into the air at nothing, remembering something from the morning news earlier in the day. "she proved the other kid innocent or something, am i right? isn't the boy being accused as guilty your friend?"

jj felt tears prick at his eyes, but he didn't quite know why. it could've been the fact that he was having an actual conversation with his father that didn't happen to be a screaming match between the two. or maybe it was truly how brave his girlfriend was that baffled him.

"you alright?" luke noticed the boy's sudden change in attitude and demeanor.

"i um-- yeah, i'm fine," jj licked his lips. "you know, he died in the storm last night. he tried to turn around but uh-- a storm got em."

"shit, kid. i'm sorry," luke's irritated eyes softened, "where's the girl? elsie?"

jj looked at floor, it being a habit when he was asked a question or put into a conversation he didn't like. "she's um-- she's at the hospital."

"what for, son?"

"alcohol-- and drugs," jj fumbled with the ring on his thumb, which elsie was always first to notice he did due to being stressed. but she wasn't there, and luke didn't know the backstory as to why she used those substances.

"fucking hypocrite," he couldn't help but let slip out under his breath.

jj looked up at the man, a change in emotion, "what did you say?"

"i mean, she came here saying shit to me, but she's one to talk. she's the one in the hospital for god's sake!" he threw his arms. at that moment, jj hated himself for going there.

"well i could think of worse places where you belong," the blonde seethed, "you don't know shit. and you don't have a clue as to what elsie has been through. i was so wrong about you, and she was too. how could i be so naive?"

before the man got a chance to respond to his raging son, he had stormed out of the porch and left.

-

-

elsie woke up, her hair clinging to her forehead from being so overheated.

"fuck, am i in hell already?" she muttered, chuckling slightly to no one but herself. "jj?" she knew he wasn't there in actuality; he had left hours ago. it was just that she had become so co-dependent on the blonde since they were with one another twenty-four-seven.

lifting her arm was a more daunting task than one would expect. she was connected to i.v.'s that had fluids flowing into her body. it felt a few pounds heavier, and all she was trying to do was move her hair out of her eyes.

"perfect, you're awake. i was just coming in to give you your medication," a younger nurse appeared from the doorway; she was probably only a decade older than elsie, "here, take this."

"you know, no offense to your staff or anybody, but when can i get out of here?" elsie inquired. she wanted nothing more than to be with her family-- the pogues. for some odd reason, something felt off about the group, like something terrible had happened. she remembered john b getting away, and talking to shoupe, and then--

the news. but was she just out of it?

"actually, um-- i have a question. not that you'd know the answer but, do you know about the two teenagers fleeing the island?" elsie changed the subject, not giving the nurse a chance to answer the first.

"oh, you mean the routledge kid and the cameron girl?" she replied, placing a hand on the railing of the hospital bed. "their boat went down last night. i believe there are still search parties, but i haven't heard anything else. did you know them?"

"vaguely," elsie answered, not wanting to hear pity from someone she didn't even know the name of. hearing the confirmation of her friends' deaths completely killed her, but she was so used to putting on a brave face that it wasn't even faze her at this point.

"well, on another note i think dr. smith is coming in here shortly to talk to you."

just as the younger girl said that, the older doctor made his way into the hospital room, the only source of light at the moment being the tv that elsie wasn't even watching.

"elsie, hi. i just wanted to talk to you about-- things," he pulled a chair over and sat down in it as the nurse left the room. "how are you feeling?"

"all this shit going into my body, who even knows? i can't feel a thing," she scoffed jokingly in response.

"good, good," the doctor tapped his pen against a clipboard in his lap. "tonight, we are going to be moving you to hospice, which is just another unit. sound good?"

"hospice?" elsie did a double-take. maybe she wasn't the smartest tool in the box, but it didn't take a genius to know what happened to people that stay in hospice.

"yes."

"so i'm dying," elsie spat.

"elsie. what makes you say that?" he countered.

elsie rolled her eyes, she wasn't a child. "now i might be an alcoholic with a trashy mouth and witty remarks, but i'm not a complete dumbass, doc. now do you know something i don't, or?"

"look, it's simply protocol for someone dealing with what you are. not everyone in hospice is awaiting their death date. it used to be like that, but now it's just like any other unit," dr. smith explained, being as truthful as possible. this wasn't a bad thing, and he was completely truthful about that. in fact, elsie seemed to be doing wonderfully. he anticipated her getting out in a few more days.

after a long pause, elsie understood, "alright, okay. that makes me feel better."

-------------

{1264 words}