III.   seems you cannot be replaced

Bridger hated JJ Maybank

That's what he told himself repeatedly all night and leading to the next morning. If he told himself that he hated him enough then he would forget about thinking of him on the boat the other day. That part of his life was over. He worked too hard to go back to the what it was. Besides, he was perfectly content with his life. He still had his friends and he had Inez. That's all he needed, really.

Bridger trudged through the sandy beach where everyone was joined to help clean up trash from the Hurricane. Inez spotted him walking and she jogged away from their friend group. "Hey, baby!" She greeted cheerfully.

He instantly smiled. "Hey," he greeted back and her arms wrapped around him when they collided. He quickly kissed her lips. "Who's all here?"

"Kelce and I got here a little bit ago and Topper and Sarah just got here."

"Yo, Bridge, come try this man!" Kelce's obnoxiously loud voice called at him. He waved his hand over frantically.

Inez dragged her boyfriend by his hand. Bridger spotted the clear jar in Kelce's hand and he narrowed his eyes. "What the hell is this?"

"Just try it, man." He insisted and shoved it in his chest.

The brunette sighed and took a gulp. Instantly, he spat the liquid out on the sand and gaged. "Dude, what the fuck is that?" He coughed.

Topper and Sarah bursted into laughter. "Hell yeah!  That's how we do it, baby!" Cheered Kelce.

Topper took the jar and held it out to Sarah. "Come on, Sarah." He encouraged his girlfriend.

"Judging by that reaction, I don't think I want to." The girl grimaced and sniffled the substance. She cringed.  "What did you do to it?"

Bridger begged her not to while Topper continued to try and get her to do it. Ultimately, she took a big sip and they were shocked when Wheezie swooped it and snatched it from her, chugging it herself.

"Damn, Wheezie." Said Bridger with a surprised laugh. The others laughed as well while Sarah have her sister a look of disapproval.

"You guys got it under control?" One of the men on the beach asked when he saw them grouped together.

The teenagers immediately tried to play it cool. "Yes sir. Just clearing the stretch out!" Kelce quickly said.

"Just hydrating! Almost finished!" Sarah added.

"We've been working hard, sir!" Bridger called out with a big smile.

Topper scoffed and shoved his face. "You just got here, asshole."

"Good job. Keep it up!" The man complimented before walking away.

When he was out of sight, Bridger snorted and wrapped his arm around Inez. "Suckers."

Days at the Pharmacy were usually slow and quiet.  When his father was gone or busy in the back, Bridger handled the front with the customers. Nobody knew this about him but the young boy was always interested in becoming a pharmacist. He always excelled in math and science in school. He, like his mother, was academically smart. Street smart, not so much. He valued partying and getting drunk more than anything that had to do with school.

Bridger sat at the front desk of the Pharmacy with his feet propped up. He was playing Subway Surfer on his phone, which was difficult considering the connection on the cut was trash, when the bell on the door rang.  He immediately straightened up in fear of getting in trouble. He groaned when a familiar head of blonde hair walked in. "JJ Maybank." He greeted nonchalantly.

JJ wanted to die. "Bridger Fitzgerald," he responded with.

Bridger almost smirked. "Can I help you with something? Or did you plan on swiping something?"  He questioned abruptly.

"You're not worth stealing from." The Pogue said through his teeth. "I need to pick up medication for my dad."

"What did daddy order? Sleeping pills? Something to help with his hangovers?" Bridger taunted him. He ensued to get a rise out of him, to see the red flush his face like it always did when he got mad. 

JJ's jaw clicked in anger. "Just get it." He seethed,  trying to keep his anger at bay. The brunette smirked and went to the back. JJ squeezed his fists together and inhaled sharply.

Bridger searched for the last name Maybank in the m's section. When he spotted Luke, he picked out the bag and examined it. Paroxetine: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (ssri). Prescribed to Luke Maybank. Take once a day or when feeling an attack coming on. He frowned as he read the label over and over again. 

He knew damn well they weren't for Luke.

He walked back up front and JJ was drill standing there with his arms crossed. The cut off gray shirt he was wearing revealed his skin, the color sun kissed as always. "Uh, it'll be $19.84." He spoke awkwardly.

JJ pulled a crumbled $20 bill out of his shirts pocket.  Bridger grabbed it and quietly put it in the register, grabbing the remaining change and dropping it in his hand. "Don't let daddy take too many at once." He said with another smirk.

JJ glared at him. "You're such an asshole." He scoffed.

"Real original. We already knew that."

"What is wrong with you?" The blonde's voice almost cracked. He took the bag of prescribed pills and stormed out of the pharmacy.

Once he left, Bridger's smirk disappeared and he frowned deeply. He sat back in the chair and stuffed his head in his hands. "Fuck." He muttered. He knew that JJ suffered from panic attacks. Living with a man like Luke Maybank was bound to fuck him up somehow. Bridger understood because JJ told him about it. He told him about his father, his feelings about his mother, how he felt every day having to live in that house. He knew things that others didn't, not even the Pogues.

But Bridger was still too proud to act like he cared. He didn't want to care. It was easier to not care about anyone than to have them use it against you.