CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

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"can you run through what happened for me?" i looked jj in the eyes as we sat on the pull-out couch in the living room at the chateau. pope and kie had gone home for the night, and it was just the two of us. 

"i brought the money to my dad," he began, "and he seemed... genuinely.... proud of me. but then he started talking about the shit he was going to buy with it. i told him that the money was for restitution, and only that. but he said it was the least i could do, for uh, being the way that i am. and then we fought cause i wasn't leaving there without the money. i was gonna hurt him. i almost did." immediately, i connected my lips with his, knowing how mentally-difficult the entire ordeal was.

"but after that, i just, don't know where my head was at," he shrugged, looking out the window at the hot tub. 

"jj, you gotta tell somebody what he's doing to you," i looked at the disturbingly large bruises scattered all over him. 

"no, he's a good person under there, i just-"

i cut him off, "jj. even if there is, you should still report him to somebody. then that way, he can get straightened out."

"elsie, can i ask you a question?" he suddenly changed the topic. 

"of course, what is it?" 

"do you really buy that shit from barry?" jj gulped, biting his bottom lip in uncertainty. in that moment, i realized that it wasn't only his father to blame for his breakdown; it was me too. 

"this isn't just about your father, is it?" i asked my boyfriend sadly, letting my head fall. 

"i don't want you to end up like him baby girl," he answered truthfully, secretly causing my heart to break. never in a million years did i want to end up like luke maybank. what separated him and i was the fact that i cared too much. to be honest, jj's dad didn't have as big of a heart as his son believed. he was too far gone, but my remark about him getting help could actually be beneficial. without help, he was never going to get better. 

"i'd never. don't take this the wrong way, but i'd kill myself before making you deal with me in that state," was my response, but he still had his questions. 

"gorgeous, i love you too much for something to happen."

"nothing's going to happen to me," i commented, as sure of myself as could be. "jj, you're the most important thing to me in the world. i care about you more than i care about myself." i looked at jj, who was now smiling from ear to ear. 

"holy fuck, you saying that, i just-" he started, but i kissed him to shut him up. it was a bit rough; our hands were tangled in one another's hair, and he bit down slightly on my lower lip. 

"okay," he said before kissing me again sweetly. "you wanna sleep?"

"sure, that way we can be well-rested for tomorrow," i agreed, laying down on the couch and drifting off to sleep. 

-

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it was extremely early, perhaps only 7 or 8 in the morning. usually i wouldn't wake up until 10 or 11. but i had to business to tend to. i carefully moved jj's arm that was slung across me in an attempt to not wake him up. looking around, i remembered that he had kept the gun in the couch cushions. snaking my arm quietly under the couch, i felt the cold shotgun against the back of my hand, and shivered at the feeling. 

"are you sure about this elsie?" i whispered quietly to myself, then realizing that i knew what had to be done. i couldn't just stand on the sidelines anymore. after watching the people that mattered most to me get hurt and put in danger repeatedly, i was sick of it. nothing was going to happen unless i stepped in. 

sighing, i cautiously pulled the gun out from underneath the couch, careful to not disturb my sleeping boyfriend; especially following the hell he's been through in the past few days. i grabbed some clothes of mine from a bag and got changed right there. nobody was around anyway, besides jj, but he was knocked out. i put on a pair of shoes, not in the mood to wear that goddamn boot. it wasn't bothering me much anymore anyway, so it didn't matter if i wore it. looking at the slight reflection of myself in the window, i brushed my hair so i didn't look absolutely awful. by accident, i lost a grasp of the hairbrush, resulting in it falling loudly on the floor. 

"whatcha doin' angel?" the raspy voice spoke near me, awakening at the sound. quickly, i hid the gun so that i wouldn't be questioned about it.

i took a hand and ran it gently through the blonde boy's hair, "morning, j." 

"it's early," he rubbed his eyes and opened them, now looking tiredly at my figure. "you look cute."

a blush creeping up on my cheeks, i decided that sitting there with him for a few minutes wouldn't be a big deal. "says you, jj. says you," i walked back to my spot on the right side of the couch. "i just have some, business, i need to tend to," i replied naturally, not wanting to alarm him or anything, "it's not a big deal."

"i believe you have some business here too," he pouted jokingly. 

"how are you feeling?" i inquired, referring to everything that went down the previous night. 

"pretty damn good, considering that i can call you mine, hottie," he winked, causing me to roll my eyes dramatically, even though i loved the words coming out of his mouth. 

"you know that's not what i was talking about."

"i'm over it, dead serious," he lied; it still bothered him deep down. 

"jj, it concerns me," i opened up for a second and looked at his hand reluctantly as he grasped it. like always, explaining my emotions was something i hated the idea of. 

"what concerns you?"

my expression turning cold, i shook my head. "nothing, wasn't thinking straight." jj's eyes softened with a sort of sympathy to them, knowing that i wasn't going to open up again. i stood up from the couch and let go of his hands. "alright, lemme get this errand done."

"are you sure? cause i can go with you," jj offered, grabbing my hands and kissing them. 

"i'm positive. pope and kie should be coming over soon. i'll be back."

"alright, love you princess."

"i love you more blondie."

as jj started to doze back off, i rolled myself a couple blunts, knowing damn well that i'd need them for the day to come. while i was at it, i grabbed myself a beer from the refrigerator and chugged it rather quickly. taking notice of jj, who was now fully asleep, i gathered my things, including the gun, into a backpack to take with me. 

-

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jj's house was extremely close, only a few minutes on the motorbike that i drove there. walking initially seemed like a better option, but if things got bad, i needed an easy escape route. someone needed to set luke maybank straight. 

i had almost made it to the house, nerves practically running through my veins. the last time i saw jj's dad did not end well. 

-

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"what the hell are you doing bringing a girl to my home?" 

"it's literally just elsie!" jj yelled back as i stood against his bedroom door, listening to the two arguing in the living room. 

"and your point? she's probably sleeping with you and all of your friends whenever she gets the chance!" luke shot back at his son loudly. i didn't take the comment too personally, simply because i knew how he was. "i'm just trying to look out for ya, you little shit! hell, you should be thanking me."

"i don't need to thank you for anything," i heard jj's tone lower. he was gonna regret that. sure enough, i heard a huge bang, most likely due to them now physically fighting. going against jj's wishes for me to remain in the room, i went to find the two and stand up for my best friend. 

"hey, speak of the devil! it's the little slu-"

i rammed my fist against his cheek, causing luke mayback to fall backwards. since i was ahead, i kicked the man in the side repeatedly, causing him to groan in pain. 

he straightened back up as i caught my breath, and shoved me roughly, resulting in me hitting my head on a countertop. standing back up, i took notice of jj standing over his father, who appeared to be unconscious. 

"elsie, i told you to not get involved!" he seethed, but not because he was angry at me. he was angry and nervous that i would get hurt badly, which i didn't. 

"i'm fine, j," i replied nonchalantly, rubbing my hand against my head where i hit it. looking at my hand, i noticed the blood on my fingers. "let's just go before he wakes up."

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shaking the memory away, i hopped off the bike, now at the maybank residence. taking his usual spot on the porch, there sat luke maybank, a beer in hand while listening to the radio. 

"excuse me, mr. maybank?" i stood just outside of the porch, seeing the hole in the screen. perhaps it was from the father-son fight from the day prior. 

he whipped his head around, a scary look on his face, "who are you? wait, are you one of jj's hookups or some shit?"

"elsie," i muttered, thinking that that would strike up some familiarity. 

"name rings a bell," he grunted, "what do you want?"

"i uh- just wanted to talk to you a bit. about a couple things, is that okay?" i asked him, even though i was going to stay regardless. 

"i guess," luke spat, standing up from the couch and making his way outside of the porch. how was i going to escalate this?

"why do you do drugs?" i blurted, genuinely curious as to how he'd respond. i knew the scenario about jj's mom, and how he blames jj for her leaving. but i just wanted to hear his side. 

"cause i gotta deal with the little shit that you call a friend," he responded simply, not seeing the issue with that. 

i brought the idea up to him, "maybe he's a little shit because you treat him like shit?"

"and what makes you think you're entitled to that opinion?" he rebutted, beginning to grow frustrated. 

"cause you didn't see what happened last night," i started, "he finally broke down. he's been holding it in for all of these years, all of the abuse. i've known forever, though. the way that you treat him, you piece of filth. you wanna know what he said?"

"i couldn't give two fucks about what he said, kid!"

"he said that you're still a good person! luke maybank, his father!"

the man was growing angrier at me raising my voice. before something happened, i stepped away, grabbed the gun out of my backpack, took the safety off, and pointed it at him. "what the hell, you psychopath!" he shouted. 

"that kid, your son, is the most forgiving person in the world! all he wants is to be accepted by you! there's still time to fix this," i yelled back at him, still clutching the gun in my hands tightly. 

"i don't owe jj shit," he cursed, "he's the reason his mother left!"

"don't even start. you're the one who couldn't keep it in his pants before he was born. why do that if you're not ready to own up to the consequences?" i fumed, earning a harsh glare from jj's dad. 

"listen," my tone softened as i began to speak more from the heart, "maybe jj's not the most intelligent or successful kid, but he's compassionate, and funny, and strong, and kind-hearted. and you'd get to see that side of him if you just got help. just let him in. it's not a sign of being weak, it's showing strength and admitting there's a problem. do it for jj's mom, your wife. he's not asking for a kook lifestyle or anything like that; he just wants to be loved. that's all. i know it's hard. for fucks sake, i'd be the first person to admit that, but at least think about it?"

"whatever," his face remained stone-cold after standing there quietly for a few seconds. but in a way, maybe it was getting through to him?

"thank you for listening, i guess," i replied, surprised it wasn't as bad as i anticipated. putting the gun back into my bag, i walked back to the bike to leave. 

"hey elsie?" i heard the voice call out to me. 

"yeah?"

"you might be onto something. you're a smart kid," he gave me an unusual response, which was quite shocking. 

smiling slightly, i hopped onto the motorbike to leave. i wasn't sure if something was going to be done about it, but at least it was my best shot.

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{2246 words}

i uh- 

i am almost done the sequel to this book, but i-- i haven't even finished writing this one. 

interesting

anyway, thank you all for 3.5k reads!

ally