𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄 , 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐄𝐍
𝟑𝟗:𝟒𝟎 - 𝟓𝟎:𝟎𝟎

❥

THIRD PERSON POV:

JJ follows Kiara and Pope as they're led by Plum and Shoupe through the crowd and towards a large tent. The three of them are directed into seats, and his head whips back and forth while he searches for Ava, but she's no where to be seen.

"Sit down. Don't move." Shoupe snaps, "We got a lot to talk about." He turns to a nearby officer, "Keep an eye on these kids."

"Where the fuck is she, Shoupe?" JJ snarls, but the man has already turned his back on the three of them and made his way over to the detective team.

Ava gets pulled out of a car, swallowing back an insult at the rough officer handling her as she's led through the large bustling crowd while bright red and blue lights flash into her eyes.

"In here," The officer directs.

Ava shrugs his hands off her arms, "Alright. Stop fucking touching me. I can walk by myself." She snarls, stepping into the tent and she breathes a sigh of relief when she notices her friends sat near the entrance. She's shoved into a seat beside JJ, and she attempts to get comfortable while her wrists are still cuffed behind her back.

"Can't you take those fucking things off her now?" JJ snaps at the officer, noticing her discomfort, "She isn't a murderer."

The officer ignores him, and JJ rolls his jaw, readjusting his position and resting a hand on Ava's bare thigh, squeezing it gently.

"You okay?" He asks.

She swings her head towards him, chuckling, "Absolutely amazing."

"THAT'S THEM! THERE THEY ARE!" A voice roars from outside the tent, causing Ava's back to straighten.

She shoots up out of her chair, but a solid hand on her shoulder throws her back down beside JJ and she sends a glare towards the guard. Letting a sob pass her lips, Ava hangs her head and JJ squeezes her thigh once more.

Almost half an hour later, Shoupe and Plum walk in and Ava goes to stand up again, but just like before the same hand places itself on her shoulder, but this time Shoupe waves it off, letting the four teenagers make their way over to them.

"What the fuck happened?" Ava rushes, "Did you find them?"

Shoupe points to her, nodding his head at Plum, "Uncuff her," He sighs, waiting until Plum is finished and Ava has rubbed her sore wrists before continuing, "No. We didn't find them."

"So they got away," Kiara tilts her head.

Shoupe hesitates, biting his lips, "We, uh, we lost them. I'm sorry."

Ava's face drops and a shaking hand makes its way up to her cover her open mouth. His words don't seem real at first, but she heard them, everyone heard them but they still don't make any sense.

"Lost them? What do you mean you lost them? Like, they're gone?" Pope rushes, "Wh— what are you talking about?"

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

"So, they're dead?" Kiara sniffs.

Shrugging, the cop sighs, "We don't know."

"You drove them straight through the storm, man!" JJ yells, throwing his body at Shoupe.

While JJ goes into a fit of rage, having to be detained by several officers, and Kiara calls his name, Ava stands motionless, tears streaming down her face while she stares at the floor. Even her finger had stopped tapping her leg. She's just still, and completely ignoring all the commotion surrounding her.

John B was that one person Ava always believed she would have by her side. Even though she went through periods of hating him, and a lot of the time he was a disgusting brother. They were still twins. It was their father who drew them apart, and she couldn't fault John B for wanting to be close to their dad. If she had been given the same chance as him, she would've jumped at it.

Spending two months away from him, she would've been able to handle, knowing that eventually they'd be side by side again. But forever is an unbearable amount to time to go without your twin brother. It feels like missing the other half of yourself. In Ava's case, the shittier half, but nonetheless. He's gone.

Ava's able to tell when Kiara's and Pope's parents arrive, but she continues to stay motionless, her chest pumping up and down while tears fall from her eyes rapidly.

"Ava—" JJ sobs, pulling off his hat and placing himself in-front of her. He grabs her cheeks gently, "Ava, fuck— baby, look at me. It's gonna be okay."

Slowly, her eyes flicker up to meet his, and they both crack further under the contact, causing each other to embrace each other tightly. She sobs into his shoulder while he cries loudly into the crook of her neck.

"Come here, kids." Heyward calls, pulling other two into a hug with the rest of the family.

❦

JJ had argued with Shoupe and the rest of the officers for what felt like hours. They all wanted to keep Ava overnight and question her about the runway, but it was more than obvious that she didn't want to cooperate with the same people that practically killed her brother and Sarah. Eventually, everyone came to a conclusion that Ava would be allowed to go back to the Chateau for a few nights, and then after that it would be decided where she would go.

Having no family remaining on the island only really meant one thing. Foster Care. The Routledge twins had spent the last few months avoiding foster care and doing everything in there power to escape it. But they only did that so that they'd be kept together, but now Ava's going through the same process alone.

JJ and Ava had walked back to the Chateau in complete and utter silence. Her face had fallen emotionless and the tears had come to a stop while her insides crumbled. The blonde boy's lip quivered and fidgeted with the rings on his fingers anxiously. Not only had he just lost his best friend, but now he was starting to lose his girlfriend. He knew how much she was hurting, he felt similar pain when her mother passed. She was there for him, and now he's going to be there for her, no matter what.

Trudging into her bedroom, Ava collapses onto her bed and JJ leans on the doorframe, watching her as she squeezes her eyes shut and sniffs. Police tape is still surrounding her room, and the majority of things are bagged up, but she doesn't seem to care.

"Ava, do you, uh, do you need anything?" JJ asks quietly, tapping his fingers against the door.

She raises her head, looking at him for a moment before patting the empty space of bed beside her. He sobs quietly, closing the door behind him before crawling beside her. She pushes her body into his side and he embraces her warmly, pressing a shaky kiss to her head.

Ava stares at her bedroom wall, her eyes burning into the shitty wallpaper that is still covered with her and John B's childish scribbles from when they shared a room at the age of four. Her eyes trace a certain sketch of him and her holding hands and their names are scribbled over there heads to indicate who is who. She raises a finger from JJ's chest, brushing it against the bad drawing and she takes a deep breath, dropping her hand onto the bed.

With his hand tangled in her hair, JJ massages her scalp slowly and gently while she lays motionless at his side. He stares down at her face as her eyes droop and her mouth hands slightly open. At the last moment, her eyes flick up to him, and he forces a smile.

"I'll be right here when you wake up okay," He soothes quietly, "I'm not going anywhere."

She nods and returns to staring at the wall, letting her eyelids fall close and he feels her body loosen up slightly when she finally drifts asleep.

Ava Booker-Routledge is single-handedly the strongest girl JJ has ever come across. She's not like Kiara, who struggles to express her emotions. She's incomparable to any of the Touron's he had spent years hooking up with, who go through life thinking very little of themselves and allow people to walk over them. Ava Booker-Routledge managed to stand up against her abusive ex boyfriend, she didn't let herself get too effected by her brother's gross words and most of all, she never stopped fighting. And, lord, he admires her for it, so so much.

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not proof read