ONLY ANGEL | JJ MAYBANK

CHAPTER SIX

•••

Now JJ and Collins had missed out on a lot during their little book club session. In the span of time in which it took for them to read almost a third of their book despite several interruptions from JJ's shenanigans, John B and Kie had gotten themselves arrested and John B had had a couple more run ins with the law himself.

Collins didn't know much of the 온라인카지노게임 to begin with, but pieces of the puzzles were slowly coming together with each bit that she gathered from the explanations given in order to get everyone caught up. For example, John B had a family compass that seemed to be a hot commodity with some pretty scary people. This compass had been picked up from a sunken Grady White belonging to island local, Scooter Grubbs, who couldn't have possibly afforded such a luxury watercraft. And the word 'Redfield' wasn't an anagram for a game that the friend group liked to play, it was a clue that John B believed his father left for him that was scratched onto a hidden compartment of the compass, knowing that the object would somehow make its way back to their family.

That was where Collins could sort of see what JJ meant by concocting on John B's end. It just seemed so absurd of an idea that John B could think his father intended for him to somehow find this compass when it was in the hands of a man like Scooter. And Redfield, one of the most common names on the island, was almost like sending them on a mission to find a needle in a stack of needles to find out what he could've possibly meant by such a word.

But that's what brought John B, Kie, and Pope to the Redfield Lighthouse while JJ had been busy spending time with Collins, and what led John B to the conclusion that his father's obsession with the most famous tale of lost treasure around Kildare County, the Royal Merchant, played a big role in this whole mystery. The keeper of the lighthouse was just as consumed with the Royal Merchant as his father had been, which is what allowed John B to start connecting dots in his head.

Meanwhile, as he did that, his friends were trying to be as supportive as they could, but they were also trying not to enable him too much because everything he was saying, seemed kind of too good to be true. John B had never gotten over his father's disappearance, and the compass resurfacing had sparked a determination in him to try and find his dad and follow the clues he was so adamant were being left for him.

The least they could do was be there for him to test whatever theories he formulated, and one of those theories had carried over into the nightfall with a drive down to the cemetery. And as far as hunches go, this was one that everyone was especially less than thrilled to hear, because a group of teenagers strolling through a graveyard never ended well in any 온라인카지노게임.

But basically, that's how Collins Jacobson found herself one minute in the comforting confines of her bedroom, and another minute creeping through the darkness of the island's burial grounds with the tiniest flashlight that John B had in his van. When he'd asked her if she liked mysteries, she sort of thought they would be sitting around a bonfire or something, discussing speculations over s'mores or hot dogs. She did love a good puzzle, but she hadn't been prepared for a whole conspiracy.

Not to mention, that she had no idea that they'd be trespassing into a place where people were laid to rest, and now they were disturbing some poor corpse's eternal sleep with their presence. Needless to say, Collins had gotten a lot more than she bargained for.

"You afraid of the dark?" A voice said in her ear at a hushed volume. Collins felt a shiver run up her back at the warm breath that fanned over her skin which contrasted the cool night air.

She craned her neck to look up at JJ's face with a sheepish smile on her own in response. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "A little. What are you scared of? Ghosts? The dead rising from their graves? Wait, what was that sound?"

Collins clamped her hands over her ears to block out JJ's teasing remarks with a jittery skip in her step as she followed the group down the seemingly endless line of gravestones.

"Cut it out, JJ. This place is scary enough, as is." Kie whispered irritably, clutching her own flashlight tightly in her hand because it was pretty much the only weapon she had on her. "John B, what are we doing?"

"You know when you're trying to remember a song and can't remember who sings it?" They each nodded their heads in comprehension despite the fact that they could barely see each other's faces in the dark. "So, Redfield, this whole time I thought it was a place, right? But it's not a place, it's a person."

They came to a slow stop in front of a tall stone crypt, which John B promptly shined his light on the name 'Redfield', which was carved at the very top.

"Voi-effing-là." JJ breathed, as they all peered up at the name. He had a headband with a light attached to the front of it that Collins had to admit, looked pretty dorky on him.

"See? My great-grandmother, Olivia Redfield." John B gestured to the crypt once more. "It was her maiden name. Help me get the door."

While the three boys assembled in a row and started pushing all their strength and all their weight against the entrance, Collins and Kiara stepped out of the way to watch as they struggled to move it even an inch from where it had been before they'd even laid hands on it.

"This thing is like 700 pounds, it's not gonna budge." Pope protested while digging his feet into the ground for leverage.

"We didn't come this far to get this far, all right?" JJ groaned, refusing to give up as he strained every muscle in his body trying to move the boulder sized door.

"Maybe that door's a pull?" Collins hummed from behind them, observing the three boys pitifully.

Kie stifled the chuckle that almost escaped from her mouth at Collins's comment in regards to the boys' fruitless efforts to open the door.

A hissing sound suddenly cut through the air, and as the beam of their flashlight fell upon a snake poking its head out from a crack in the crypt, all three boys simultaneously jumped back with a yelp in fear of the creature.

"That's a moccasin, all right! Ye old Dr. Cottonmouth, Death in tall grass." JJ spewed while the snake slithered across through the dirt before he lunged after it and began barking like a dog.

Everyone immediately sprang forward to pull him away and shush him quiet. "JJ, shut up! You're gonna wake the freaking dead, man." Pope snapped.

"They're afraid of dogs, guys. Everyone knows that." JJ said pointedly. "Look, if there's one, there's probably dozens in there."

"Stop, you're scaring me." Kie whispered in annoyance while holding herself tightly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"They're more scared of us than we are of them, so if we just leave them alone and don't disturb them too much, we'll be fine." Collins advised them, while trying to keep things cool, even though she herself would personally prefer to pass on an exchange with the gliding reptile.

"So no barking?" JJ asked her with his brows raised, to which the girl looked up at him and slowly shook her head, and mouthed, 'no.'

"John, look. We're not gonna get in there, it's not budging. We should probably just go." Pope suggested softly. He knew it wasn't what John B wanted to hear, but it also was sort of exactly what he needed to because this whole thing with his dad was eating away at him. They could only do so much.

"I can get through." Kie stated, causing all eyes to turn to her while her eyes fixated on the chunk of rock missing from the top corner of the door that was covered in dead vines. "Look, this is about your dad. And honestly, I really don't believe in it, but you deserve to know the truth."

Collins watched as John B reluctantly, but also thankfully, agreed to Kie's offer to slip into the creepy crypt in order to find out if his intuition had led them to the right place. She helped John B and Pope pull away the dead brush that blocked the hole leading inside while JJ assisted as the stepping stool for Kie to push off of.

And she watched in dumbfounded disbelief as Kie disappeared into the other side of the door. Kie could've easily not have said anything and let John B give up when Pope advised him to and just left his questions unanswered. She could've let the solution hide in the back of her mind and save herself from the trouble of climbing into the crypt, but she didn't do any of those things. She ignored her fears and did what John B couldn't do himself and helped him. That was what good friends do for each other.

Collins wished she could be so brave.

They waited in anticipation outside in the night. They'd expected an immediate discovery, but Kie had been quiet for too long and they were far too impatient.

"Did you find something?" JJ questioned as he tried to peek through the crack and catch a glimpse of whatever had Kie so speechless. But instead of replying back to him, a slim package was passed through the crack in the door and into John B's hands.

As John B held the package in front of him with the light illuminating the surface, an incredulous smile slowly made its way to his lips.

"What is it?" They asked him curiously, peering down at the writing scripted across the top. Kie had climbed back out to them and joined them outside once again to see what was made of their finding.

"Holy shit, this is from my dad." John B breathed, turning to look up at his friends in amazement.

While they had been too preoccupied with the package to pay attention to anything else around them, JJ had been in the midst of lighting a joint when he spotted headlights approaching them. "Code red, code red. Square groupers." He warned before rushing back to usher everyone away. "It's the guys that robbed your house."

Collins ducked behind the wall of the crypt and fumbled to shut her flashlight off like everyone else, and while JJ had been too busy stuffing out his joint on John B's great-grandmother's tomb, she swiftly grabbed him by the jaw to turn his head towards her and clicked off his flashlight for him with a sense of urgency.

And now normally, JJ would've been too dumbstruck by the touch of her hands on his face to form a coherent sentence in thanks, but his mind was a bit distracted by the fact that they were dead if they were caught.

Sneaking another look from behind their hiding place, JJ narrowed his gaze on the figures approaching them and whispered, "Homie's got a gun."

"Screw this." Kiara grumbled with a shake of her head, and before they knew it, she was taking off in a run and they were all scrambling to catch up with her.

"Hey! You kids get back here!" A man's voice yelled, pressing them to move faster.

They sprinted to the fences surrounding the edge of the cemetery and hopped to jump over it with the men who had arrived hot on their tail. To be completely candid, Collins had never been a very athletic person. She couldn't catch a ball to save her life and despite having some fairly long legs, she had terrible form and could only run so fast. Not to mention that never in her life had she ever had to run from capture, nor did she ever have to jump a fence in order to escape, so the fact that she had found herself in a situation where she needed to do both, put her at a severe disadvantage.

Lucky for her, she had someone looking out for her. For as erratic of circumstances as they were in, JJ hadn't been too busy saving his own ass to think about any one else's. In fact, the only other ass he could seem to consider other than his own, was Collins's, as he caught himself before he made the final descent down the other side of the fence to glance back at her.

He didn't even hesitate to help her or even wait for her to try and jump the fence by herself, before he was extending out a hand for her to take and she was grabbing it without delay. They worked together to pull her up high enough to where she could handle the rest on her own and JJ was jumping down to land with his feet solid on the ground before her so he could be there to help her down.

Like they were both thinking on the same wavelength, Collins aimed towards JJ's vicinity when she pushed off the top of the fence to fall close enough for him to catch her and soften her landing. His arms were wrapped around her waist and her hands had found themselves on his shoulders and their bodies were so incredibly close to one another that Collins was no longer sure if her heart was only beating so fast from the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"Guys, help! I'm stuck!" Pope exclaimed from where he sat on top of the arched gate, his shorts had gotten caught on one of the rods.

Kie had immediately come to his rescue and just before Collins was about to go and assist, she spotted in her peripheral vision, JJ whipping out a gun from seemingly out of nowhere and pointing it Pope like he was about to shoot him free.

"Pope, don't move, okay?"

"Are you high, JJ?" Collins exclaimed in shock before she pushed his arms down to aim the gun away from Pope and scolded the blond boy.

JJ frowned in dismay but it was short-lived once Kie had pulled Pope down from his entrapment, but not without totally ripping his shorts at the seam right down the middle. His eyes widened and he burst out laughing hysterically at his friend while Collins instantly shielded her eyes from the sight in embarrassment for the boy. Her hands covered her face and her eyelids were closed for good measure.

"Collins, how can you not look? It's like a little tootsie roll!" JJ snickered while they proceeded to desert the scene, and Collins tried her best not to laugh at Pope's expense but she couldn't help the flush in her cheeks and the sympathy on her face.

They all clambered into John B's van with exhilarated smiles, Collins once again, trying her very best to avert her eyes away from Pope's lack of pants and flinching every time she caught a glimpse of his white boxers in the corner of her eye. She was pretty sure that she was almost as embarrassed than him by the whole situation because of how hot she felt her face get.

And so the rest of the ride home went with recounting of the events that had just occurred, from JJ's idiocy when it came to snake taming, to Kie pretty much sacrificing her soul to enter the tomb of death, and of course, Pope losing his shorts in their escape act which JJ just couldn't forget any time soon nor could he let anyone else.

They took their little group back to John B's house, where Collins was somewhat nervous to walk back into, but for some reason, felt much safer in when she had the others around. No one else feared the home even after it's invasion, so Collins figured, why should she?

It'd been a pretty long day, and everything that had gone on had taken a toll on them, but there was still much left to discuss. Most significantly, the package from John B's father that awaited his opening.

However, JJ was starving and he couldn't stand to go on any longer with the grumbling in his stomach persisting, without first having to fix himself something to eat. And as Collins watched him pull out too slices of bread practically dyed green with mold, she snatched away the jar of peanut butter from the counter before JJ could grab it and frowned at him in disapproval.

"JJ, you can't eat that, you'll get sick. Look at it, it's not even bread anymore, that's just pure culture."

"I'll just pull off the bad parts." He shrugged, moving to take the peanut butter out of her hand, but she continued to deny him of the spread.

"You can't pull bad parts off when the whole entire thing is made up of the bad parts." Collins insisted.

"Mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism." JJ argued. He was about a head taller than her and was staring her down with a playfully indignant expression on his face.

"Yeah, naturally pathogenic. Unless you want splitting headaches, excessive vomiting, and to be on the toilet for five days straight, I wouldn't eat it."

"Look," JJ sighed, "we can keep going back and forth on this, but just so you know, I'm sort of enjoying this little banter we got going on where you try to scare me straight and I don't listen because I just love seeing that little nose wrinkle you do when you're bothered."

He mimicked the look he was referring to and Collins quickly relaxed her face out of the aforementioned expression that she had no idea she had a habit of pulling. She blinked at JJ before regaining her composure and pushing the jar of peanut butter into his hand in surrender. "Your funeral."

He jut his bottom lip out to pout at her while she turned to walk away and join the others in the living room. John B had been sitting there for a while with the package staring at him, a nervous thump in his chest with every second that passed awaiting the moment when he finally opened it.

"Hot damn. Let's do it." JJ prompted as he soon came in with peanut butter sandwiched between two Petri dishes for bread.

John B didn't waste another minute before he was tearing the pull tab on top of the package and ripping an opening into the side.

Meanwhile, it only took one bite for immediate regret to cross over JJ's face and he was spitting out the mouthful of mold that he had tasted on his tongue while holding back gags. Collins shook her head at him and redirected her attention back on the piece of paper John B was unfolding out on the table.

As she scanned the printings and Sharpie marks intentionally scrawled over it, Collins studied it in amazement as the realization of what John B's father had left for him dawned on each of them. It was a map; a real freaking treasure map with arrows pointing to land markings and a big ol' 'X' marks the spot crossed out on a spot located in the ocean with coordinates listed next to it.

"Wait, there's something else in there." John B felt deeper into the package before pulling out his hand to reveal a small rectangular device.

"What's that?" JJ asked.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass." Kie deadpanned.

John B clicked the button that said play and a red light flashed on. "Dear Bird," A deep voice sounded from the speaker.

"Sorry, but who's Bird?" Collins questioned confusedly.

"It's what my dad called me." John B answered quietly.

"I hate to say 'I told you so,' but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

Collins felt her lips part in astonishment from the shocking news. The famous Royal Merchant, the one people came to the Outer Banks obsessed about and fantasized about finding the treasure lost in its wreckage. John B's father had found it.

"You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly father of the decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar shack down in Costa Rica, living off of passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what this map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll see you on the other side."

And with that, there was on final click before the tape went silent.

John B placed the recorder on the table and stood up from his chair, moving out of their little circle and to the open doorway where the fresh air wafted in. He held onto frame for support and Collins could feel her stomach turn from how sad she was to see John B so sad.

"Holy shit, he did it! Big John-- he found the Merchant--" JJ started to exclaim, and while Kie threw her hands up in exasperation from the boy's insensitivity, Collins was quick to place a hand on JJ's shoulder to calm him down and shake her head as if to say, 'now's not the time.'

He quickly pressed her lips together and closed his mouth shut and muttered a quick 'sorry.'

Kie then proceeded to console John B with a gentle hug, and as his sobs echoed in the quiet room, Collins felt her own chest ache with sorrow.

She could never seem to remember all that much about her dad. Like John B's father, he had been gone with the wind, except it had been on his own terms. However, Collins would never be sure of whether or not he was still alive since he'd taken after the same habits that their mother had before her untimely demise. For all she knew, he had passed and her and Charlie had probably spent that day as if it were any other, unknowingly going about their lives while the man who helped create them went lights out. He could've been watching them for all they knew, in spirit at least.

That is, if he would even bother to in the after life, which Collins didn't have a whole lot of confidence in him doing.

But even though she didn't have the fondest memories of her father that didn't involve him bribing her with gifts that were usually just meant to keep her busy while he and her mother got high in the other room, Collins still felt for John B. It seemed that he didn't have the best relationship with his father when they were still in each other's lives either, but despite that, there was still love in his heart for him, love that ached with the realization that something terrible had truly happened to his father. Otherwise, like he'd said in the tape recording, they'd be in Costa Rica living very comfortably.

And as much she hated to admit and she would probably never have the guts to say aloud, if Collins's dad came back the next day, alive and well, sober and responsible, she would probably forgive him. Like Charlie said and like he'd taught her to live by: life's too short to hold grudges. Who knows though, maybe their deadbeat dad didn't apply to that rule in Charlie's book.

When John B had spent his tears and his grief had passed for the time being at least, the Pogues decided that a relaxing hangout on the dock with a couple of brewskis was in order after the long day that they'd had.

However, once Collins had been able to catch a glimpse of the time on the battery-powered watch she'd found in John B's house, she'd realized that she was probably presumed kidnapped, if not dead by Charlie by how late it was.

"I've gotta go." She told everyone while they were in the midst of grabbing drinks to take out with them. "I had a really fun time today, though. I appreciate you guys inviting me and being nice and all that." She smiled tightly while she dug the toe of her shoe into the floor.

"Pogues gotta stick together." Kie stated with a gentle grin, before she raised her can of beer in cheers. John B and Pope followed in suit as they raised their drinks up to Collins in concurrence.

The girl felt her heart swell at the gesture and as she was in the middle of walking out the door, JJ came to her side almost out of breath like he had almost missed her. "I can walk you home. It's dark and scary out there, I wouldn't want you to lose your way around the cut."

Chuckling softly, Collins just looked up at JJ with endearment before she declined his offer. "Thanks, but I've lived here my whole life so I think I can manage. Besides, I think you should stick around here for John B, he needs all of his friends with him to get him through this, more than I need you tonight."

JJ pursed his lips and gazed down at the ground as he nodded his head in agreement. "Do you think that maybe we could read again sometime soon?"

Collins could hear in his voice how tense he was to ask her that question, almost like he felt embarrassed to say it, but not in a way where she'd assume that it was because he was being forced to. More like, it was hard for him to make a request for something that he hadn't fully expected to like, but for some reason, he trusted her enough to be able to ask her. Like he said, he wasn't much of a reader, but listening to Collins read, was a whole different experience, one that he thoroughly enjoyed and wanted to experience again. Plus, the part where he'd get to spend some more time with her didn't hurt either.

"Of course we can. You know where to find me." She smiled at him one last time, and JJ could swear the air had been stripped from the earth because he felt like Collins had quite literally, stolen his breath away. And so he was left gasping for oxygen while watching Collins depart with a flashlight she was borrowing from John B to light the way, until she disappeared beyond the trees and out of sight.

They were each left to reminisce on their time spent together that day, because much to her surprise, Collins had probably had one of the scariest, greatest, and most memorable day of her life, all in one. She felt like that was largely because she'd never really known what it was like to embark on thrilling adventures and experience companionate friendships. But JJ had shown those things to her and the Pogues had invited her in with welcoming arms, which was enough for her to want to cherish the memories from that day forever.

And not to mention the butterflies she felt in her stomach when she was near a certain blond haired Pogue, who was yet another new facet to her life that she was thoroughly enjoying. Collins knew she shouldn't get caught up in JJ's flirtatious advances. He had always been a pretty cheeky guy and she was almost sure that his charms were affecting her ten fold since she'd felt neglected by male attention for the majority of her life. Being complimented and seen in the way that JJ was treating her so far had made Collins realize how nice it was to feel admired. And she didn't want it to seem like she was turning into the kind of person who lived off of desire, but it sort of helped her see why some people needed that kind of constant validation in their lives. It was nice.

Collins had always imagined what it'd be like to meet her first love. She'd read countless romance novels and pictured herself in the female lead's place, fantasizing about her own meet cute and happily ever afters. She'd watched in subtle longing as couples waltzed around school like fairy tale sweethearts and wondered if she'd ever find the same love that they shared.

Though she'd never imagined that it would be someone from their little island, not when there was a whole world of people past the ocean that she had yet to meet. That's what made it so hard for Collins to believe that anything real could come from this little budding crush she was developing for JJ. No one falls for another person overnight, which is what felt fairly similar to what JJ had done for her with his sudden interests in spending time with her and his flattering remarks. He'd had so many opportunities in their life to approach her before and it was only now that he felt no one could compare to her? That she was the daisy in a field of dandelions?

No, Collins Jacobson was a mere infatuation of JJ Maybank's and it would soon come to pass. Maybe not tomorrow, or the day after that, but eventually, the realization would come to him and Collins was prepared for that. She couldn't let herself fall for his tactics and feel things back because she knew herself better than anyone and Collins knew that she would fall hard.

But that didn't mean she couldn't at least enjoy it while it lasted.

As Collins snuck up to the front of her house, she sighed at the sight of a dim light from behind the curtains covering their window. Carefully twisting the knob of the door to walk inside, Collins instantly felt like she was the rebellious teenager and her brother was the overprotective dad waiting to scold her for staying out too late.

"Where have you been? I've been worried about you for hours. No note, no nothing from you telling me where you were or what you were doing. I stopped by the library and you were no where to be seen." Charlie huffed disappointedly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I know." Collins cringed, understanding his reaction perfectly. "I should've left you a note, I just forgot and time seemed to just fly by, I lost track of it. I'm sorry for stressing you out."

Charlie shook his head at her and paced the room while trying to contain himself. "Where the hell were you?" He asked in a more calmer tone, which Collins was feeling extra appreciative of at the moment.

"With John B and them." She replied quietly, her lips pressed together tightly.

At her answer, Charlie felt so overwhelmed that he had to sit down and clutch his head in his hand to ease the headache wracking his brain. "After everything that happened that night, why would you want to hang out with them?"

"What happened that night is exactly why I went to see them." Collins contended. "I just wanted to make sure John B was okay and maybe I stuck around with them for a while because they were nice enough to let me."

"JJ pulled a gun out on a Kook, Collins." Charlie argued bluntly. "He and John B were stupid to go after that kid and they're lucky he didn't rat them out to the police for it because he easily could've. If that doesn't scream reckless and dangerous to you, then I don't know what will."

"They're not that bad." Collins insisted. "When you think about it, nothing they did wasn't without provoke. They're good friends and they're good people if you just give them a chance."

"I like them, too, I really do, Collins. They're cool guys, but not the kind of guys that I think you should be making friends with. Out of everyone else around here, you could've picked the ones that aren't magnets for trouble like they are."

Collins just sighed and felt that she didn't want to continue the conversation any further. She didn't want to fight Charlie, even though he was being quite unreasonable, and she didn't want to keep listening to him rag on the Pogues. "I'm going to bed. I really think you just have to trust me on this one, Charlie. When have I ever let you down?"

She disappeared into her room with her rhetorical question hanging in the air as her final words, leaving Charlie to reconsider his faith in his sister.

He knew that she was right. Collins had never given him any reason to not trust her to do the right thing and she'd never do anything that could jeopardize her future. She'd always played on the safe side of things and never dared to wander into the danger zone, unlike him where he could recall multiple instances in which he had certain regrets about. And even when she had tiptoed critically close to trouble, it was always under his own supervision so he really couldn't blame her for any poor choices, unless he was criticizing his own guidance.

Maybe it wasn't the fact that Charlie didn't trust his sister because he was afraid that she would make poor choices under the influence of delinquents like JJ and John B; he wasn't worried so much about Pope the non-alcoholic scholarship candidate or Kie the turtle-loving environmentalist. No, what he most feared above all was the fact that because Collins was inexperienced in the antics of your typical OBX teen Pogues, that she would be dangerously naive to the consequences of their actions.

She was a walking flashing red-light sign for manipulators and low-life crooks to sink their teeth into. Charlie was scared of the things people like that would do to his innocent little sister, things that he'd tried to protect her from for as long as he could remember.

But as much as he hated to admit, she was grown up. He hadn't realized that it had happened at first, but Collins wasn't the little girl that used to drag a baby blanket behind her everywhere she went because it made her feel comforted. She had developed into a soon-to-be adult, and the time was approaching when she was going to have to leave him behind and be forced to make her own choices under her own regulation.

Charlie had to accept that learning from her mistakes was the only way in which she was going to be able to do that. She needed to know what it was like to fall when there's no one there to catch you.

He just hoped that those mistakes wouldn't be the ones she'd come to regret in the long run.