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— I keep a record of the wreckage of my life.
JJ WAS SOUND asleep in Jo's bed with the smaller girl curled up against him. Her cheek rested on JJ's bare chest, their breaths slow and calm. Their peaceful sleep was interrupted when JJ started whimpering. His heart rate involuntarily spiked and his chest heaved up and down. He began to kick in his sleep, trying to escape the monster he called his father.
The sudden chaos woke Jo and she sat up in a startled manner. She was still half asleep and very confused as to what was going on. Her eyes fell to the frantic boy in her bed and she frowned as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The touch only startled JJ more and he flung himself into a sitting position and away from the girl. He let out a fearful cry as he opened his eyes and darted them around nervously, his heart still hammering in his chest.
Jo just watched. She didn't know what to do or say since her touching him had only made JJ more scared. Her heart twisted as JJ ran a shaky hand through his hair. Despite his attempts to hide it, the fear was evident on his face.
"Are you okay?" Jo finally whispered. She waited until he was a bit calmer so she wouldn't startle him as much.
"Yeah," JJ breathed. His voice cracked and he swallowed thickly to try and hide it. Jo's frown only deepened.
Jo sighed and inched closer to the boy. She knew that sometimes he got jumpy because of his history with his father and the last thing she wanted to do was scare him. "How long have you been having nightmares?" She asked cautiously.
JJ was silent for a moment as Jo looked up at him. He noticed how there wasn't an ounce of pity in her eyes; only concern. That was one of the things he loved about Jo. She didn't pity anyone, she only cared for them and allowed them the space they needed.
Eventually, he shrugged. "I dunno," he murmured quietly. "They come and go."
JJ watched Jo with glistening eyes as she slid against him and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt the lump in his throat growing as his turmoil threatened to escape.
"You don't have to be afraid," she whispered. "Nothing bad can happen here."
A strangled cry finally broke free from JJ's throat and the tears began to run down his cheeks. He wrapped his arms around Jo tightly and buried his face in her neck.
"I hate that he did this to me," JJ whimpered. "I hate him."
"It's okay," Jo whispered as JJ continued to cry. "It's okay."
Once JJ had calmed down some they laid back down and Jo snuggled against JJ once more. She knew that when he was stressed or scared or feeling any type of remotely negative emotion he liked to hold her. It was almost like a child hugging a stuffed animal. For JJ, hugging Jo made him feel safe. It reminded him that she loved him and that she would always be there for him no matter what. It also calmed him because he knew that as long as he was with Jo then his father wouldn't be around.
"I'm sorry I woke you," JJ whispered.
Jo was curled into JJ and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She rolled over so she was facing him and ran a gentle hand through his disheveled hair.
"Don't be," she whispered. "You could wake me up a million times and I wouldn't care."
They both chuckled lightly at that and JJ pressed his lips to hers briefly.
"Just think," Jo breathed, "one day we'll be able leave here and we won't ever look back. No more abusive or absent parents, no more Kooks, just us."
JJ sighed happily and smiled at the thought. "We can go somewhere far away where no one knows us and start over."
Jo hummed and closed her eyes. "We have to go somewhere by the ocean though," she added sleepily. "I'd go insane if we couldn't walk to the water."
"Of course," JJ chuckled. "We'll have a huge house right on the beach and a giant boat that we can take wherever we want."
Jo's smile widened as their exhaustion returned and hung heavy on their eyelids. "Sounds awesome," she yawned.
"It will be," JJ stated.
"Goodnight," Jo murmured. She snuggled closer to JJ as she always did before she fell asleep and JJ tightened his grip around her.
"Goodnight, princess," he whispered.
JJ made a promise to himself that night that when they left the outer banks, he was going to create a life for the two of them fit for a queen. Because Jo deserved the world and then some.
