ONLY ANGEL | JJ MAYBANK

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

•••

Charlie hadn't intended on losing his sister.

If he had known the kind of things that would happen after taking her to that party at the Boneyard, he never would've taken her. Because that's where this all started, wasn't it? Ever since that night, when all hell just happened to break loose, the one night she actually agreed to come with him to a party after declining his offer so many times, everything had changed.

Fights are pretty typical with a party, especially the ones where Pogues and Kooks are thrown into one big mixing bowl where heads are bound to butt against each other. But gunshots fired on the other hand, aren't the usual occurrences when it came to these keggers. All that was out of the ordinary had just decided to take place when Collins was there to witness it. Almost like the universe had planned it that way.

He'd spent years trying to get her to come out of her shell; encouraging her to socialize with others by attending social gatherings, supporting her when she joined clubs because she needed the friends. It actually kind of upset him that no one seemed to see how incredible of a person she actually was like he did. He'd always just brushed it off as oblivious little high-schoolers, too blind to see a good thing when it was right in front of them.

So imagine his surprise when it's John B and his little family of Pogues that take to his little sister as one of their own. They were nothing like who he'd thought she'd find herself involved with; aside from Pope, they weren't all straight A students, they had no interest in medicine, nor did they have any desire to go to college. They had nothing he thought would be in common with Collins, in fact, they were the exact opposite. He worried that because of that, they would be bad influences on her.

And so far, he was right. Look at where they were at now. She'd kept secrets from him, stayed out past curfew, gotten into actual fistfights, and now he wholeheartedly believed that she'd stolen money from someone, somewhere, because there was no way a free hot tub just happened to show up at John B's dingy little fish shack of a house.

But the biggest thing of all that Charlie never would've thought he'd ever have to worry about with his sister, was that she'd involve herself with someone who was currently wanted for the murder of a police officer.

He saw the poster on his way home from work as cops were crawling all around town, posting them up wherever they could find a blank space where people would see it. He'd snagged the sheet of paper and read the $25,000 reward pasted under John B's name and read the rest of the information explaining the reason for his arrest. Charlie had also seen the description of what he pieced together to be Kiara Carrera's car at the bottom of the page, figuring out that they all must've been together, aiding and abetting in John B's evasion of the law.

A sense of fury washed over him as he processed what the poster meant. Those fucking kids. They'd brainwashed Collins into thinking whatever they had to offer her was friendship, but in reality, they were just sucking her into their bullshit and getting her into trouble she had no business being a part of. He'd always thought they were just a bunch of mischievous, up to no good, averagely naughty teenagers. No worse than he was when he was their age. It went against all of his expectations that they would be criminals at sixteen, nonetheless accused of murder.

He had to find Collins. Nothing felt more important in that moment, than getting her back and taking her home, maybe even taking her away from all of this. When the ferries opened back up, they could just pack a bag and get off this Godforsaken island. Start fresh somewhere, begin a new life where they didn't have hi온라인카지노게임 lurking around every corner.

He didn't care if he had to pry her out of JJ's hands and drag her by her shirt in order to come with him. Charlie was going to get his sister back.

After their last fight, a night which he had regretted the moment she walked out the door, Charlie had been worried sick about Collins. He had no doubt in his mind that she'd slept over at John B's house, but every time he felt the urge to stomp over there and grab her, something just wouldn't let him make the move. Perhaps it was his anger, because by God, Charlie was livid. He didn't want to take the initiative to approach Collins because he was so angry, he didn't want her coming back unless she was crawling and begging for forgiveness. Why should he be the one to go out of his way when she was the one who left him?

That mentality alone is what allowed Charlie to still be able to go to work like any other day and go on as if Collins had never existed before. And it'd worked for a while, until night fell and he was home. Every walk to the bathroom he was reminded of her when he saw all the duplicates of hers to his. The hairbrush, the bath towel, the deodorant; the evidence was all still there. Every time he got up to blow the candle out before bed, he had to stop himself from subconsciously going to Collins's room to say goodnight to her, because that's what they always did and it had become habit.

Truth is, he missed her.

He missed her so much it made his blood boil, because this was all her fault for not listening to him, for not following through with her side of the deal when he said he'd be more lenient with her. She was supposed to be safe, to not make stupid decisions that would get her in the exact position that she was in now. When she left, anger took her place, but now the anger was gone, and Charlie still didn't have his sister. That's why he wanted her back so badly.

The whole manhunt on John B had escalated to new heights within a day of the police's statement to the public. It had become full blown investigation into tracking down this sixteen year old kid, leading to the SBI touching down and staking claim to a section off the beach solely designated for setting up shop to track John B's whereabouts. There could only be so many places to hide on a damn island, so what was with all the commotion?

Charlie watched as men in SWAT suits and men with button ups and ties on the collars walked around like ants on a hill, busy at work. He had his bike parked on the side of the road, close enough to the action while still trying to figure out what to do. Collins could've been anywhere. If they couldn't find Kie's car with everyone on the island searching for it and John B, hungry for the $25k reward, then what could he do? Right now, his best shot at staying up to date on the case was running surveillance of his own and keeping a watchful eye on the source of all the action. It was the best he could do with such limited options.

He was so busy mindlessly flicking his lighter on and off in his hand that Charlie hadn't initially noticed Sarah Cameron walking up to the tent of state officials like she wasn't walking into the line of fire. Charlie immediately straightened up at first sight of her, his eyes tracking her all the way until she disappeared into the tent, his curiosity burning with the desire to know what on earth she could be doing in there.

Daringly, Charlie started to approach the tent, despite the fact that there were officers surrounding every inch of the place. He had to know what Sarah was doing there. She and John B were involved, so did she know where he was? If she did then maybe he could follow that lead back to Collins because they had to be together, right? Wherever John B was, the rest of the Pogues followed.

But why would Sarah rat him out if they were supposedly in love? Charlie's mind automatically went to the idea that it was for the money. Of course, what's a Cameron if not awash with greed? She was going to throw their little romance right down the trash chute and collect her reward while John B choked on rotten banana peels and empty aluminum cans.

His ears burned to hear the words come out of her own mouth, waiting to prove himself right as he crept up to the tent and tried to make himself look like he belonged there. Looking over as inconspicuously as he could, Charlie realized that the reason he'd become so invisible was because Sarah was making a whole spectacle of herself. No one was giving two flying fucks about him because they were too busy watching the girl fight to get past an officer decked out in kevlar who blocked her path.

"Please! I just want to talk to someone!" She exclaimed, grabbing the attention of a nearby SBI officer who was minding his business before she'd interrupted him. "I was on the tarmac with Sheriff Peterkin, I know what happened!"

This piqued his interest for sure. Just as the SBI agent was walking over, Charlie felt something clip his shoulder as someone bumped into him while trying to get past. Charlie scowled, then quickly realized that it was Ward Cameron who'd blown past him trying to get to his daughter.

"Oh my God! I've been looking everywhere for you, sweetheart. We gotta get out of here and let these people do their jobs. I'm very sorry." He grabbed her and started to try and pull her away, but right as Sarah realized he was trying to silence her, she started fighting back.

"John B didn't shoot Peterkin!" She exclaimed, wrenching herself out of his hold.

"Sarah!" Ward scolded, then quickly glanced back at the agent who appeared more intrigued now than before to hear more. "I can tell you that is not true, I gave a sworn deposition to the sheriffs department. She wasn't there, she doesn't know."

Sarah's face morphed into one of horror at the falsity of her father's statement. "No, that's a lie! Everything he's saying is a lie!"

"Okay, fine!" Ward snapped, staring his daughter down. He finally released her and gave her the opportunity to speak, his gaze so intimidating, she shrunk beneath him. "Who was it then? Who killed Sheriff Peterkin?"

Sarah looked fearfully up at her father, practically frozen in place. She could hardly move her chest to go through the motions of breathing from how frightened she was. Charlie watched in deep concentration as he waited to see what would happen. Why was Ward testing her this way? Why would he want to keep her quiet, what was he so afraid of her saying?

As Ward and the SBI agent waited expectantly for Sarah to answer, the girl never broke her father's gaze as she whispered, "Rafe. My brother Rafe shot Sheriff Peterkin. I saw. He had the gun."

Charlie refrained from showing too much shock in his expression as he was forced to process what Sarah had said. His initial reaction would've been to call bullshit on the whole thing. Sarah was just saying that to cover John B's ass and she was just as easily influenced to do wrong as Collins was to lie for a Pogue. He would've been the the first to admit that he was wrong, she hadn't been there to turn her boyfriend in and that was respectable. However, she was guilty of being incredibly naive to walk into the police station and make a claim like this when everyone just wants to see the Pogue locked up.

No one would believe the son of an affluent family with such huge ties to the community was guilty of murder. Charlie wouldn't have believed himself if he hadn't seen the look on Ward Cameron's face as Sarah actually outed him to the cops. His eyes had widened as big as saucers and he'd grit his teeth in an irritable way like Sarah had just imposed a great inconvenience to him.

Now he was left doing damage control to try and fix his daughter's mistake. "He was home. My wife can attest to that. I apologize." Ward told the SBI agent before moving back to Sarah to coax her into not saying anything more.

But Sarah just shoved him back with more power than Charlie would've expected a girl of her size to have based on how far Ward had stepped back to regain his footing. Betrayal fueled her movements. "What is wrong with you?" She cried. "How long have you been lying to us?"

As she sobbed while trying to recognize the man standing in front of her, Ward just stood there and tried to maintain his composure. He must not have known how much he'd given away when Sarah had first pointed suspicion over to Rafe. But Charlie had seen it. The mask had cracked, and while he was scrambling to make repairs, Sarah was trying to get more licks in to shatter it to pieces.

"Can I have a word with you in private?" Ward asked the agent, nodding over to the side where they could speak without Sarah interrupting. Much to Charlie and hers dismay, the officer agreed, and the two men went out of the tent to engage in conversation out of their earshot.

"No, he's just gonna keep lying to you!" Sarah called out as they left, just as another officer was walking over to keep her away. As her efforts to get past him proved futile, and Sarah quickly realized that she wasn't being taken seriously, the girl acted quickly and kicked her foot into the officer's kneecap. The man cried out in pain and clutched his joint while she made a break for it.

This was it. Charlie had to act now and exchange some words of his own with Sarah if he was going to get the lead he'd been waiting for on Collins's whereabouts. He caught sight of Sarah sprinting down the road and made a quick dash after her. She was faster than she looked, it took some time before he had caught up close enough behind her to call her name and have her actually hear it.

"Sarah, wait!" He called out, looking around as to make sure he wasn't drawing too much attention to them. No one seemed to be paying them any mind so he said her name a little louder.

At the sound of someone trying to flag her down, Sarah glanced back, half expecting to see her father chasing after her, only to be taken aback once she realized that it wasn't. She slowed down before jumping in between buildings where a narrow path was hidden from street view. Charlie hastened his pace to follow, meeting the girl in isolation.

"What do you want?" Sarah asked him apprehensively. She clearly didn't trust him based on the five feet of distance she put between them and the narrowed eyed gaze she held on him.

"I'm Collins's brother, Charlie." He made sure to make the distinction just in case she didn't know, and also as his way of building some rapport with her. The last thing he needed was for her to start screaming Bloody Murder because some random guy trapped her in an alley.

His strategy seemed to work as she visibly relaxed in her shoulders. "I haven't seen or talked to her in days." Sarah told him.

"What you told the cops earlier, is it true?" Charlie asked carefully. Maybe he was more wrong about things than he cared to admit. So John B may not be the murderer he thought he was, but there was certainly more to the 온라인카지노게임 that Charlie didn't know. Sarah needed to start giving up answers if he was going to be caught up on those things.

Sarah nodded. "Yes. I was there and so was John B, but I swear he didn't do it. Peterkin was about to arrest my dad and Rafe just came out of nowhere and shot her." She started to get teary again replaying the memory, but she pushed it back with sniffles and dabs at the corners of her eyes.

Charlie released a slow breath at the revelation. So that's why Ward wanted to keep her quiet. He was saving his son's skin and his own. "I believe you." But that still didn't tell him what Collins's role was in all of this. "Look, all I care about is my sister. Please, if you've heard anything about Collins I need you to tell me right now. Clearly, Rafe is dangerous and she could be putting herself in danger."

The blonde girl pursed her lips, looking away as she was torn between divulging their plan to Charlie and keeping it a secret. On the one hand, if she kept quiet out of fear of him turning in John B, Charlie would probably just follow her anyways and get all the answers he needed on his own. Then again, just because her brother was a conniving, volatile, son of a bitch, didn't mean that all brothers were. Based on the genuine nature Charlie showed in his soft gaze, Sarah could sense that he was telling the truth, and all he wanted was to find his sister. If only she and Rafe had that kind of sibling relationship; she didn't know where things went wrong, but they'd never had that kind of bond. If they did, maybe they wouldn't be in this situation because a brother capable of holding a caring and loving kinship could not be as compulsive and psychotic as Rafe was when he had a gun in his hands.

"She and the others are getting a boat for John B and I." She admitted quietly. Her heart was racing, thoughts running through her mind that wondered if she had just made an awful mistake trusting Charlie. "JJ's dad has a boat or something. We're supposed to meet them at the docks at three."

"Thank you." Charlie told her, and he truly meant it. She had just done him a huge favor and he had a lot of respect for her because of that. She didn't have to trust him, but she did and now he knew where to find Collins.

"Please don't make me regret telling you that." Sarah said softly.

"I've known John B for a long time, and an unspoken rule on the cut is that we don't rat each other out. I don't particularly like whatever my sister's been involved with, but I won't throw that kid under the bus over it. Especially if he's innocent."

"He is." Sarah quickly replied.

Nodding, Charlie took a step back as he began to move away. "You better get back to him then."

With a small smile on her lips, Sarah acknowledged Charlie's suggestion with a tip of her head then slowly began her own departure in the opposite direction.

As Charlie turned to head back to his bike where he'd left it, he started formulating a plan of his own. He knew as well as any other local that if John B was caught, there was no way he was getting out of cuffs and not ending up behind bars. The circumstances only worsened due to the fact that it was the Sheriff's murder charge hanging over his head. Charlie was a man of his word, so his plan couldn't involve anything that would get John B caught. He could dislike the kid for getting his sister caught up in his issues, but he wouldn't be the reason why he spent a lifetime in jail for a crime he didn't commit.

Sarah had told him that they were meeting at three. That gave Charlie a clear idea on where to expect her since there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they would stick to that schedule, and Collins wasn't going to miss it. But there was one way he could catch up with her before and try and get her out of this whole giant mess, Charlie was just going to have to make sure he got his facts right along with the timing.

Hopefully everything else fell right into place, because Charlie was counting on it.

•••

There was nothing more foreboding than the drive over to JJ's house.

During the whole ride, Collins had felt a churning sensation in her stomach that nauseated her with every turn and bump they hit on the way there. This is necessary, she kept telling herself. That's the only reason why she would ever willingly let JJ go back to this place that had no sense of home to it that could ever be seen or experienced.

They needed the keys to the Phantom so they could get John B off the island, and of course, the only place that JJ could recall the location of those keys being, was at his house with his father- his abusive, bottom-feeding, addict father at that.

Collins might've felt a bit better if they had more manpower to back them up, but they had long split ways with Pope so he could retrieve some gas for the long trip John B had ahead of him. Not that she and Kie couldn't hold their own, especially with three against one in these circumstances, but a man like JJ's dad wasn't going to be intimidated by them. It was times like this where Collins sort of wished she could call her brother and ask for his help.

Things had also been sort of tense between Pope and Kie ever since the night before. Something had happened when Kie snuck into enemy territory and tried to make contact with Sarah with Pope assisting her. While Collins and JJ had stayed in the car playing getaway drivers, the other two had left like normal and come back with a strange aura in the air around them that was hard not to notice. They barely looked each other in the eye or said a word to each other, doing practically everything in their power to avoid the other person.

Collins wouldn't have questioned it if the events of that morning hadn't gone down, primarily consisting of Pope storming out of the Wreck, which was where they'd bunked for the night, using his errand as an excuse to get the hell out of there. He and Kie had exchanged not so much as words, but words that led nowhere and accomplished nothing so it was almost like nothing had been said. But the heat of the argument was scorching and all Collins and JJ could do was sit back and try not to get burned because it really wasn't any of their business and it all just seemed too fresh to dive into when they had much bigger problems to tend to.

But essentially, that's why they were down to three as they went to retrieve the keys, and because of that, Collins was hating every single moment that they spent just in the general vicinity of JJ's father. The last thing that she wanted to do was let JJ walk in there but what else could they do? There was only one set of keys and this is where it was.

As Kie pulled up to the front of the house, they looked over at JJ with reluctance to let him go inside.

"Home sweet home." JJ said sardonically, swallowing back the lump in his throat. He glanced back over at the two girls, trying to avoid their pitying gazes. "This'll only take a second."

He stepped out of the vehicle, but once he shut the door, Collins felt a heavy urge to follow. Was she really just going to let him go in there by himself? From where she sat in the backseat, her eyes met Kie's in the rear view mirror and instantly, the two girls reached the same understanding that they couldn't sit by and let JJ do this alone.

It just made sense that Collins be the one to follow, so without another moment's hesitation, Collins climbed out of the car and took off in a jog to catch up to JJ.

At the sound of the car door shutting after him, JJ turned halfway and immediately stopped in his tracks. Collins made it to him just as he was moving to usher her back into the safe confines of Kie's car which thanks to Pope, had a giant dent in the bumper, but it was still safe nonetheless. Anywhere away from his dad was safe.

"I know what you're going to say but—"

"Then don't make me say it, Colls." JJ interrupted before she could finish her sentence while holding her by the sides of her arms and walking her backwards back to Kie.

Collins huffed before shaking her head dismissively. "But I can't just let you walk in there after everything that's happened. He's dangerous and maybe if I'm there, he won't—"

"Won't what? Won't hit me? It doesn't matter who's there, he doesn't give a shit when he's on something, whether it's booze or benzos or both." JJ sighed heavily when Collins finally dug her feet into the ground and stopped him from pushing her back any further. He was realizing that she was becoming more and more stubborn with time. It was both incredibly attractive and extremely frustrating. He wondered if this was the kind of stuff Charlie dealt with often when it came to his sister and something she had her mind set on.

"At least just let me go inside with you. I don't even have to be in the room, I'll hide around the corner out of sight if that's what I have to do to get you to let me be there." Collins brought her hands up and held his face in her palms as she begged him to give in. "Please, he'll never see me. Just let me be there for you, just in case."

JJ hadn't officially done it, or even pledged to do it, but he told himself that he would stop breaking his promises. The idea had come to him after he'd recovered from his self-destructive episode and Collins had been there for him when he'd come to his senses. He promised himself that he would never let her get hurt, and most of all, never be hurt by the hands of his father. That was a vow that he never ever planned on breaking, and so this moment was no exception.

But the way Collins was looking at him, so pleading, so vulnerable. He knew then more than ever that he could never break that promise. He could never let his father ruin what he saw and adored in Collins. No such evil should ever touch such purity. Not if he could help it.

"I can't let him hurt you." JJ said softly, his voice so quiet but loud enough for just the two of them. "I just can't."

Collins shook her head. "I'm never any safer than when I'm with you."

She tilted her chin up and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips, mouths moving ever so slowly as they basked in the pure bliss of each other's touch. JJ's hands pulled her closer while hers held the curve of his jaw to keep his lips pressed firmly against hers, never wanting them to leave. It only briefly occurred to them that Kie was still present, although in the car, she had a perfect view of the two from where she sat, hiding a small smirk on her face while trying not to stare.

As they broke away from each other, Collins held hints of a smile on her face while gazing up at JJ in admiration. His blue eyes looked bluer than ever, and his lips were pinker than before as a result of her show of affection.

"We're in this together." She told him, squeezing him so slightly she might as well have not moved at all.

But the small gesture hadn't gone unnoticed and JJ felt his rigidness gradually start to relax under her fingers. "Don't let him see you. We'll make this quick."

Nodding furiously, Collins agreed. "Of course. It'll be like I'm not even there."

Reaching down to grab her hand, JJ turned back towards his house and started leading her to the creaky screen door that resembled the one at her house.

The air inside felt just as humid as it did outside, the same lack of air conditioning applied to JJ's house as it did to every other household on the cut. The layout upon the first steps into the house was open, not much division in term of walls between the kitchen and the living room. As JJ walked in front of her, he stopped abruptly, causing Collins to bump into his back from the sudden unexpected movement. He glanced back at her and pressed a finger over his lips to signal her to stay silent. One quick look over his shoulder and Collins caught a glimpse of who must've been JJ's father, lying passed out on the couch.

Releasing his hand from hers, JJ touched her arm in a sort of reassuring manner, just before he gestured for her to hide behind the wall where the back porch door they'd came through was located.

She tucked herself behind it like a shield, only allowing as little of her face and body as she needed in order to still watch while JJ proceeded on forward into the house.

"Dad, I need the keys to the Phantom." JJ said, trying to wake his father. He stood over his father's resting body on the couch, but the man never even stirred. It was better that way. Snores continued to sound from his mouth, knocked out cold. JJ picked up a prescription bottle with a couple tablets still rattling inside, and he realized that his dad was so drugged up he couldn't be awoken. He didn't know where his dad could've gotten the meds when he had abused the system so much that they'd practically blacklisted him from the pharmacy. Must've been some rookie doctor, not quite caught up with the regulars who wouldn't hesitate for a second to take advantage of fresh meat.

Thinking that maybe it was safe to come out, Collins took a careful step out of hiding. At the sound of her movement, JJ turned up and held his hand out to stop her. He glanced back over at his dad then shook his head at her, not wanting to risk his father somehow waking up and even laying eyes on her.

Setting the medication back down on the table, JJ studied his father for a moment before spotting the unfamiliar metal chain hidden around his neck. He pulled back the collar of his father's shirt and saw a pair of keys peeking out.

"JJ, be careful." Collins whispered, so quiet because she didn't want her voice to wake his father that she wasn't even sure if he heard her.

The blonde boy just nodded, twisting around in search of something before his eyes landed on a pair of tweezers and a wooden pencil. He spun the tools around his fingers before holding them above the set of keys hanging off of his father to get ready to swindle them off him. He steadied his hands while hovering over his father when he suddenly froze in place.

His fathers slowly blinking eyes looked up at him as he unexpectedly roused from his sleep. JJ didn't dare move a muscle. Like a grizzly bear, he feared that any slight movement would set him off. To his surprise, there was a gentleness in his father's gaze as his fuzzy mind recognized that it was JJ standing over him. "You're back. I didn't expect to see you." His father said sleepily.

JJ backed away while his father moved to sit up. "Yeah, no," he stuttered, "I'm just checking in."

His father picked up the beer bottle on the table and took a big swig out of it. "School out already? Did you ditch?"

Clearly he was out of it, completely disoriented to time, either that or he was just clueless. Summer break started a while ago. JJ stared at him, flabbergasted. "What?"

"It's all right, you can tell me." His father told him with a small smile.

The corners of JJ's lips turned up and he nodded hastily. "Yeah, I hit the brake, you know."

His father giggled at that. "I hated school, too. My boy!" He looked at him with pride before standing up to pull JJ up close. His hand was on his shoulder, giving him the ol' dad pat like he was actually proud of him. "Hey, look, I know I'm hard on you sometimes, but sometimes I see your mother in you and it gets me a little tweaked, you know? You're a good boy, and I love you, son."

JJ looked back at his father with a gut wrenching pain in his chest upon hearing the words he never thought were even capable of leaving the man's mouth. If he wasn't so strung out on meds, JJ was pretty sure he would've believed this was genuine. A part of him wanted to believe so badly that his father could actually feel and express some emotion without the aid of drugs holding an influence over him, that it was willing to push past all of the pain his father had inflicted on him mentally and physically. He would convince himself that it was all just a passing phase and he'd made it through the hell his father had put him through.

The moment felt even more real when he felt his father pull him into his embrace, hugging him for the first time in his life, JJ's pretty sure.

From behind his father's head, JJ spotted Collins still hidden away, but she could see clearly from where she stood. A sort of sad smile was rested on her face as she watched the scene play out between father and son. Nodding to JJ, she encouraged him to return the gesture, his arms were still hung slack at his sides as he was still taken aback by the whole thing.

The truth is, Collins could hate JJ's father as much as he did, but she didn't want him to miss out on a moment like this. It didn't matter if it was only temporary, and when the drugs wore off JJ's dad would return to the belligerent asshole that he's always been. He was being a father right now, and she would be damned if she didn't let JJ take advantage of that. If there was ever a moment in time where she could go back to when her mother was sober, Collins would want to savor that last hug a little longer, she'd want to ask for one more song for her to sing her to sleep to. JJ could actually have that right now.

Wrapping his arms around his father to squeeze him back tightly, JJ's voice cracked as he said, "I love you, too, Dad. I'm sorry."

"Ain't nothing to be sorry for." JJ's dad replied, shaking his head. His body suddenly felt very heavy in JJ's arms, and his eyes started to droop as his consciousness began to slip away from him.

JJ realized that the drugs were pulling him back out of his transient euphoria and so he dropped his dad back into the couch so the man was slumped back against the cushions, a ghost of a smile on his face from the high he had no chance of coming down from anytime soon. He took a shaky breath while looking down at the man who hardly even raised him, and wasted not a second more before snatching the keys off his chest and ripping it off of the chain on his father's neck.

Clutching the item securely in his hand, JJ turned his back on his dad and headed back over to Collins with his head down. Just before he was able to blow past her, Collins caught him by the shoulder and in an instant, the boy was burying his face in her neck while they held each other like the world depended on it.

Collins could feel a wetness on her skin like tears, but she didn't make a big fuss out of it, her only priority being her focus on this boy and his well-being. Stroking the back of his head soothingly, Collins buried her face in his hair while kissing it to try and comfort him. She wasn't sure what words would've been right to say, so she decided on silence. There was no room for uttering words without meaning, and Collins didn't want to ruin the moment by doing so.

As JJ's eyes dried and he'd been up to his limits being there in his home where only terrible memories remained, he gently pulled away from Collins and gathered himself. "We should get out of here." He said, nodding towards the door.

Collins quickly agreed, the two of them heading out the way they'd came, moving side by side with each other as they trekked through the yard and back to Kie's car. At first sight of them, Kie started her car back up again and waited until they both got in before looking at them inquiringly.

Dangling the chain off of his hands, JJ flashed it at Kie with a tight lipped smile on his face before sitting back in his seat. Glancing back at Collins, Kie raised her brows for confirmation that everything was okay, which Collins responded to with a short nod, silently assuring her that everything was fine and it was okay to proceed.

JJ didn't have to say anything. With Collins being there for him like she was, it felt like someone was holding the boulder hanging over him.

He just hoped that she didn't get crushed under the weight of it like he'd nearly been so many times.