Chasing Sunshine | JJ Maybank

39 // The Runway

"This is some bullshit," JJ grumbled our entire shameful walk back down the dock. We quickly learned that Pope was not joking and here we were, twenty minutes later, armed to the teeth with soapy water and brushes to scrub our early morning liaison from the HMS. "This is the worse consequence getting laid could get me."

"Aha! Really? You can't think of anything worse?" I laughed out loud, but my playful smile quickly fell when he shrugged, not able to see where I was going with this. "Oh my god, you're ridiculous."

"What?"

"A baby, JJ," I deadpanned, giggling when his face blanched at the mention, "A baby is worst consequence of getting laid."

"Yeah well, lucky I had one on me so we don't have to worry about it," he retorted, annoyed with my teasing laughter, "You're welcome."

"Be honest, when don't you have one on you?"

"So I'm prepared, sue me."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing and dipping one of the brushes into the soap. "Good thing too, you'd make a horrible parent."

I didn't really hear his mumbled reply (probably something along the lines of you'd make a horrible parent), because the mention of the word suddenly made me remember the previous engagement I had this morning. "Shit, I muttered, dropping the brush to the deck and breathing out through my teeth, "I have to go."

"Oh hell no, you're not getting out of this!" JJ replied, wagging his own brush in my face playfully. "It took two to tango, Sunshine."

"JJ, I'm serious," I said. To be honest, the whole confrontation with my brother had flown from my mind the minute I found JJ in the yard last night and I hadn't given it another thought since. But now that the stark reality of where I had to go, and what was going to happen when I got there, was hitting me like a ton of bricks and I felt myself begin to sink under the weight. His face lost its teasing smile when he picked up my hands beginning to tremble and my breaths started becoming uneven.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked softly, letting the scrub brush clatter to the floor of the Pogue before rejoining me on the deck. "Talk to me."

Glancing at my phone, I realized I didn't have the time to give him a full recap of yesterday's events. I gave a short laugh, trying to stifle the rising panic I was feeling with dry humor. "Let's just say, I'd rather stay and clean a hundred boats then leave right now."

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I couldn't do this.

The four of us stood outside the Kildare County courthouse, looking up at the imposing gray grungy building feeling nothing but complete and utter dread. JJ had insisted on recieving the cliff notes of my brother and I's conversation, afterwards looking ten times more troubled then he did when I started. He, along with Pope and Kiara, invited themselves along and left no room for me to argue. I was glad they did, because right now it felt like my legs had turned to jelly and my brain was non-functional.

"We're right here, Meggers," Kie said softly, rubbing my lower back soothingly. It helped a little, but the only thing running through my mind was anxious thought bubbles about what my life would look like when I returned to Illinois. It made my stomach turn over. I didn't have much time to stall because my brother chose that moment to come out hurriedly from inside, scanning over the pavement in front of him in search of me. When he did finally see us, he trotted down the few stairs from the front door to meet me, running a hand over his face and breathing a sigh of relief.