AFTER JOHN B WAS ALMOST OUT OF SIGHT, THE FOUR TEENAGERS JUST STOOD ON THE DOCK. They stared in the direction that he was going in just in case something else happened. JJ walked off the dock, leaving the other three, but when Kie gave Bree a look that said she wanted to talk to Pope alone, the Callaway girl backed off as well.

That did not stop the two on the ground from being nosy. They watched, shooting each other occasional glanced as Pope and Kie talked for a second before she gave him a hug. They stayed like that for a second, but when they pulled away, they're faces were dangerously close together.

Then, she kissed him.

Bree and JJ whipped their heads back and forth between each other and the kissing pair in excitement. However, the celebration lasted a total of about five seconds because sirens approaching interrupted them.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry to ruin the party, but, uh, we gotta go right now. Come on!" the blonde boy called to them as they broke apart. They all started toward the car, but it was too late. The police vehicles were already pulling up, and Shoupe climbed out of one.

Some people with fancy vests and guns came out as well, and they pointed them at the teenagers. Everybody but Pope, who just kept walking, put their hands up. Kie yelled, "Pope! Pope, hands."

"Hands up! Hands up!" one of the men with the guns said, and Bree assumed that he was the leader.

"We're too late. He's gone. God damn it! Bratcher, have your guys stand down. Let me talk to these kids," Shoupe exclaimed as the seemingly important man got closer to the group with their hands up. The police pushed past them and toward the dock as their very own police officer looked to them. "All right, where the hell is he? Where the hell is he? JJ? I see you're livin' up to your name. Pope, how about you? This isn't a fucking game! You can do the right thing now! Where'd he go?"

Bratcher, from what the Callaway girl gather, spoke into his radio. "Suspect has just left Station 26 in a small boat. Need marine patrol to respond."

The Kildare County Police Department and the SBI took the four teenagers to some set up they had near the ocean. Bree guessed that it was so that they could have eyes on the water at all times. 

"Right to your left here," Shoupe directed, leading them into one of the many tents that were there. "Sit down. Don't move. We got a lot to talk about. Keep an eye on these kids."

They heard another officer talking. "Blockade is up at the marsh and Masonboro and all other inlets from Shem Creek to Breach Inlet. I want eyes on all coastal access points, people. Let's get this guy."

From then on, they didn't get another word about what was happening. They just had to sit there, knowing absolutely nothing, and it was torture. Bree was bouncing her leg up and down nervously, and her hands were shaking on top of her knees. 

JJ, noticing this, reached over and wrapped his hand around both of hers and laying them in her lap, causing her legs to stop shaking to. She shot him a grateful look, and he nodded.

"I just hate not knowing what's happening," she told him.

He nodded, rubbing circles on the back of her left hand in an attempt to comfort her. "I know."

Then, all of a sudden, there was a lot of shouting, and the Pogues all knew that that could be either really good or really bad. With their luck, it was probably really bad.

"What's happening?" they all asked the officer that was guarding them and stopping them from going anywhere. Bree stood up and tried to walk to one of the openings or windows of the tent to see, but the guard grabbed her and pulled her back. She exclaimed, "What's happening?"

"Don't touch her!" the blonde boy yelled, shooting up from his seat when he realized what was happening, and the rest of the group got up with him.

Kie tried pulling on the guard's arm and the Maybank and Heyward boys got ready to throw some punches. "Let her go!" They all stood back when another officer came in and pointed a gun at each of them.

"All right. All right," Pope gave in, and the guard with the gun gestured for the other one to let the brunette girl go. He followed the orders, and they all sat down again, back in the torture of not knowing.

From then on, it was silent, but they were all thinking the same thing. What was happening? Did they make it? The storm was so loud that they were not able to eavesdrop on anything either, especially with Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum guarding them.

It seemed like hours before they got any news, and by the time they did, Kie was already in tears. Bree was also on the verge of crying as well. Shoupe came into the tent with a couple of officers behind him. They pulled their hoods off, and the Pogues stood to meet them.

"Did you find them?" Pope questioned.

The man had a solemn look on his face as he glanced down at the ground and answered, "No."

"So, they got away?" Kie realized, looking around at everyone else in the room with a hopeful expression, but Bree knew it wasn't true by the look on Shoupe's face.

"We, uh...we lost them," he told them after a moment of silence, and the Callaway girl let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."

The Heyward boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and denial. "You lost them? What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone? What are you talking about?"

"They took an open boat into a tropical depression, Pope," Shoupe exclaimed.

Kie scoffed, "So, they're dead."

"We don't know," he replied, and that was when Bree finally let the tears fall. That set them off.

"You drove them straight through the storm, man!" the Maybank boy shouted angrily, and he lunged at the officer. "Are you kidding me? Come here! I'm gonna kill you."

Bree and another guard grabbed his arms. "JJ, stop!" The yelling continued between everyone, and when JJ finally stopped struggling, he was released into the brunette's arms.

She sobbed as she saw Pope's and Kiara's parents running through the rain and under the cover of the tent. As soon as they saw each other, the families reunited, running into each other's arms.

The blonde boy watched them as Bree stared at the opening, hoping and praying that her mom would walk through there and hold her and tell her that everything would be all right, but she didn't. So, she just turned to JJ and embraced him. They sobbed together and squeezed each other like they were scared that the other would just vanish any minute.

When they pulled away, they turned to the Heyward's and the man already had his arm outstretched for them. JJ joined the family hug, but when Bree didn't move, Heyward pulled her into it. It felt nice to be comforted by a family.

"It's okay. It's okay."

《✵》

JJ WALKED HER HOME WHILE THE OTHER'S WENT HOME WITH THEIR PARENTS. Bree didn't know whether she wanted to punch her mom or give her a hug after everything. When they reached her driveway, she turned to him. They were both still crying a little bit.

She wiped a tear off her face and looked up at him. "Um, you can...you can stay here if you, uh, don't want to be alone or anything?" She had no idea what she was saying. All that she knew was that she wanted him to stay.

"It's okay," he told her, shaking his head, and her stomach dropped. She needed him. "I need some time to think, you know?"

"Yeah, of course. Well, good night," she muttered, keeping her eyes on the ground so that he could not see the heartbreak in her eyes as she began to back toward her house.

He nodded. "Night."

Then, he just stared at her as she unlocked the door and stepped in, shooting him one final glance. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment before scanning the immediate area.

"Mom?" she called into the dark house, and she took a couple steps inside, looking around for any sign of the woman. However, she couldn't find any. "Mom? Are you home? Mom!"

She furrowed her eyebrows as she stepped into the kitchen and saw a piece of Callaway stationary sitting on the counter, folded neatly. She picked it up, opened it, and knew what it was before she even read it.

Dear Gabby,

When you read this, I will be gone. Don't worry. I'm okay, and I am so very sorry. I just couldn't handle the stress of supporting a child anymore, and I just needed a fresh start. I'm going to get some help hopefully, and I promise that I'll make my way back to you someday. I hope you can understand. Once again, I'm sorry, and I love you so so much. 

Love, 
Mom

By the time she was done reading, her hands had crumpled the letter into a ball. She wrapped her fist so tightly around it that her nails punctured holes in it as he sobbed harder and slid to the ground.

She ran her hands through her hair and rocked herself as she almost screamed at how angry and upset she was. There was no way that that was happening, not after everything she went through.

She heard a creak in the floorboards, and her eyes shot up to meet the blue ones of JJ Maybank who was standing above her a couple yards away. He pointed to the door as he explained, "The door was unlocked and I though I heard a yell."

"She's gone..." Bree informed him, tossing the ruined letter his way, and he caught it before opening it up and reading it. "She fucking left. She fucking left her only fucking daughter."

In response, he threw the letter over his shoulder and kneeled next to her, grabbing her head with his arms and cradling it as she gripped his shirt and cried into it. He rubbed her head and muttered comforting words. "I'm here. It's okay. It's okay."

But it wasn't. John B was gone. Sarah was gone. Her mom was gone.

He held her as she grieved, though, and that was all she needed. She knew then and there that no matter what, if she had him to hold her and cry with her, she would be okay.

"I've got you. I'm always gonna be here. No matter what."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

that's a wrap, folks! (i totally did not cry while writing this)