The Strays ⎈John B Routledge⎈

Vices

Chapter 6: Vices

"I almost killed him, man." JJ told John B, voice strained as tears pooled in his eyes. The two were on the porch of the Chateau, CJ nowhere in sight. "He was on top of her..chokin' her out and I just- I just saw red. It's my fault, ya know? I shouldn't have taken that stupid gun."

"JJ, man, you can't blame yourself for your dad bein' a piecer. You took that thing to protect us. It was used to protect us. Whether you took that gun or not, your dad would find some fuckin' reason to hurt you. Don't blame yourself, dude. Blame him."

"Whatever. I just- I'll be fine. I just need you to go find my sister." 

CJ wasn't at the Chateau. After walking most of the way to John B's, she turned to her brother and told him to go to John B's on his own. That she'd be there soon and just needed to be alone. JJ knew that meant she should be at the tiny cabin, but he wasn't gonna go around her if she needed space. He knew how they both dealt with things and sometimes both of them just needed to be alone. Usually, this was when they were at their most destructive; needing to be away from everyone or at least those they were close to. The siblings, and friends, would normally just let the twins burn out, knowing things would only be worse if they intervened. But he was worried. Life was never good at home, but this time he'd almost killed her. Again. And this time, the twins almost killed him. He didn't want to leave her alone and knew the only person she'd even let near her facility right now was his best friend. 

Taking another swig of his beer, JJ set the bottle back down on his lap. He just hoped his sister wasn't angry and hitting things. Or completely self-destructing. Best case scenario, she was laying in the treehouse, tapping into their stash, and not getting too deep into her own mind. JJ willed that to be the truth, even if he knew it wasn't. But that's why he was sending John B. 

"You sure you don't want me to stay here?" 

Looking up, JJ sent him an incredulous look. "I love you dude, but don't pretend you don't wanna run out there. Go get your girl." 

"She's not my girl." John B grumbled, pushing himself off of the railing. 

"Shut up." 

Scoffing, Johnny shook his head, ruffling JJ's hair. The boy shrugged him off, flipping him the bird. John B just sent him one back, a warm smile coating his features. "Put some ice on that."

"Got it, mom." 

Snickering, John B stepped off the porch and walked over to the dirtbike. Sparing one more look at JJ, making sure he was really alright enough to be left on his own, John B sped away. 

It didn't take long to get to the tiny home this way. On JJ's dirtbike, they could narrowly dodge trees and get all the way there. John B rode until he was close enough for CJ to almost hear him before he jumped off. Flipping on a flashlight, the boy pushed the bike the rest of the way to his destination. He knew loud noises would only set CJ off. 

When he got there, one of the two tiki torches was lit outside. He could just barely make out Claire's figure in the light, causing him to cut the power to his flashlight. Walking closer carefully, he noticed CJ's hand gripped the rope on the tire swing, body pressed against the rubber. One of her knees was vaguely pressed inside the hole. The girl seemed to be in a daze, staring out into the dark forest. Despite being mostly out of it, she'd heard the footsteps. She knew there'd only be one person out there looking for her. 

"I hate him." The girl seethed, taking a drink from the Fireball bottle in her hand. Her voice was hoarse and John B winced. "All he had to do was n-not be a total piece of shit. Instead..he just blamed us for mom leaving..even though she left because of his shit."