Josephine Routledge is the twin sister to John B Routledge. Their dad goes missing during the search for the famous shipwreck, the Royal Merchant. The twins and their friends, JJ, Pope, and Kiara, come across the sunken boat that holds a clue to the...
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I took my eyes off of JJ for the first time when I felt the van come to a stop. I looked at the house in front of us. It looked like a typical crack den with broken shit all over the uncut grass in the front and water stains all over the siding.
"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland," Sarah quipped, breaking the silence.
"I don't know about this, man," Pope said as JJ turned off the van, leaving the keys in the ignition.
"Dude, why are we at Barry's?" John B asked, leaning forward from the backseat.
"This'll only take a second."
JJ pulled his hand from mine and got out of the car. I helplessly watched as he walked up and into the house.
"Where are you going?" John B yelled.
"Yo soy justicia!"
I sighed.
"You know someone should probably-"
"Yeah," I said, already opening the door before Kiara could finish.
I walked into the house, following the sounds of JJ searching through the cupboards.
"I know you got a stash around here somewhere," I heard him mutter to himself as he moved out of the kitchen.
"JJ, what are you doing?"
He didn't turn around as he started rooting through couch cushions.
"Well, as thou hath stealeth from us, we shall stealeth from ye."
"That kind of got lost in translation."
I turned around at the sound of John B's voice, giving him a helpless look.
"An eye for an eye, John B."
My brother stepped in front of JJ.
"Yeah, that's great, JJ, but what happens after you rob a drug dealer, huh? He knows who we are!"
That was enough for JJ to pause and stare down my brother, but he scoffed and moved past him.
"I'm not scared of this guy."
"Well, I am."
"I won't let him hurt you," JJ said, pausing to turn to me. "I promise."
JJ gently brushes a hair from my face, a soft look on his face, but it grows angry and hard again as his eyes land on my red arm. He turned away from me and continued stomping through the house.
I followed him and saw him pulling blankets out of a closet.
"JJ, don't," John B warned from behind me.
"There we go," JJ exclaimed, pulling a bag out of the closet.
He dumped its contents out on the bed, and I watched as half a dozen or so bundles of money fell out of the bag.
