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❝ you have no fucking right ❞
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𝘚𝘺𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"Hey, pull up to Home Food here" JJ's dad tells us "I'm gonna need provisions"

Kiara shares a worried glance with me and she sighs, pulling off the road. She parks the truck outside the store and JJ gets out almost immediately.

"Crackers and baked beans and tuna, all right? And some salt and pepper" Luke tells him.

"Yeah. Five days' worth. I know" JJ retorts, walking away.

Once my boyfriend disappears inside the store, his father starts incessantly drumming his hands against the back of Kiara and I's chairs, clearly trying to irritate us. I take a shaky breath, willing myself not to give into the man and snap at him like he so badly wants us to.

"You're a terrible father, you know that?" Kiara snaps out, not being able to stop herself.

"Yeah, preach it to me" Luke chuckles, sitting back in his seat "Set me straight"

"Do you have any idea how special your son is?" I turn to look at the man in disgust, hating myself for seeing my own father in Luke when he scoffs at me "He's got the biggest heart and he cares about you far more than he should"

"He's a thief is what he is" Luke states matter of factly.

"What are you?" Kiara retorts "You're just a wasted local salt who never did shit but get messed up and hustle people. Not exactly impressive"

"You know, you sound just like your mama" Luke laughs in amusement "She was just like that in high school. Always thought she was better than everybody else"

"Kook princess" He says with disgust laced in his tone "You know, I bet you're a lot like your mama. Slumming with the bad boys"

"Are you an ungrateful shit like she was?" He asks her with a chuckle "I bet you are"

"That's enough" I snap at him in anger and he whistles lowly, grinning at me.

"I see that you've got your daddy's anger, sweetheart" The man taunts me, leaning forward "Do you have your mama's love for trouble? I bet you do. Must be the reason you've took a liking to my JJ"

"Leave JJ out of this. You have no fucking right to talk about him or my mother" I grit out, my jaw clenches in rage.

"You know, I wasn't surprised when I heard about your mama. It was only a matter of time before miss popular got sick of that perfect life and drunk herself into a noose" Luke comments and it feels like he's punched me in the gut.

Kiara abruptly swivels around and elbows him in the face so hard that he is sent reeling back with a pained groan.

"Don't you dare talk to her" Kiara spits at him.

I turn around in my seat and stare out the front windscreen, my vision blurring with tears that I try my hardest to make go away. My hand is gently intertwined with another and I look at Kiara who smiles at me reassuringly.

"It's not your fault" She murmurs quietly, knowing exactly where my mind went.

I squeeze her hand and smile at her gratefully, not knowing how else to thank her without crying.

"Hey" JJ whistles as he approaches the car.

He hands his dad a four pack and puts the grocery bag in the bed of the truck before climbing into the car himself.

"Let's get this over with, yeah?" Kiara speaks up, starting up the engine.

"Yeah" JJ nods, looking at me with a concerned frown but I smile at the boy in return, trying to ease his nerves.

Kiara drives us to the marina yacht club and JJ is the first to jump out to grab the supplies.

"Hey, why don't you tell your mom hi?" Luke smirks at Kiara.

"Shut up" JJ demands.

"Make it quick" Kiara warns him.

"Come on" JJ sighs, looking at his dad who follows beside him as they walk away.

"Hey, Luke!" Kiara hollers and they turn back to us in time to see her flipping him the middle finger with a proud grin on her face.

Luke moves towards us with an angry glare on his face but JJ grabs him, pushing him away in the other direction.

"Go. Go!" JJ snaps at him.

Kiara sits back in her seat smugly and I smile in amusement, shaking my head at my best friend.

The both of us sit in a comfortable silence until my anxiety eats away at me too much and I turn to the girl who I realise is already looking at me.

"You want to go after him?" She guesses and I nod, making her sigh with a smile "Come on then"

We both climb out of the car and make our way towards the direction we watched them leave in. Kiara follows behind me as I speed walk through the marina anxiously until I spot JJ and his father on a yacht, the older man's arms wrapped around his son.

I make my way down the wooden pier with Kiara and JJ doesn't notice us, getting off the yacht to untie it from the pier. The blonde unties the rope and holds it in his hand, just staring it in a little daze of deep thoughts.

Leaving Kiara's side, I walk over to JJ and gently wrap my hand around his wrist. He snaps out of his thoughts and drops the rope, looking at me in surprise as his dad peels away from us.

"You came after me" He points out.

"Always" I smile reassuringly.

✯¸.•'*¨'*•༻❁༺•*'¨*'•.¸✯

"Where the hell were you guys?!" Pope shouts at us in disbelief as we climb out of the truck.

"Paternal complications" Kiara says vaguely.

"Luke was at the Chateau" JJ elaborates bluntly.

"Oh, great! While you were having family time with your pops, John B got bit by a gator" Pope declares.

"Like, for real?" JJ asks in surprise.

"John B got bit by what now?" I repeat in disbelief.

"Does it look like we're joking?" Sarah retorts.

"Okay, what the hell happened?" Kiara snaps.

"What happened? I got bit by a gator!" John B shrieks.

"He got bit by a gator!" Pope says in unison with John B.

"I dunno why I'm being yelled at, because I put my ass on the line!" Kiara sasses them.

"You're being yelled at because it was 20 minutes-" Pope starts but he's cut off.

"We got here as fast as we could!" Kiara yells.

"Guys!" I groan but I'm ignored.

Everyone starts shouting at each other to the point that our words jumble together and I can hardly hear a single thought running through my brain.

"Shut up!" JJ screams and we all pause, looking at him "Seriously, guys, I can't take it anymore, all right? Everyone just cut it out for a second"

My boyfriend leans against a tree and runs his fingers through his hair in frustration while we all stay silent, taking heavy breaths.

"Look, I just helped my dad leave this island for good. Like, he's not ever coming back. He's straight up like the Spanish. Just, 'Bon voyage'" JJ explains.

"That's not the right language" Sarah mumbles under her breath and I snort in amusement, moving to his side.

"All we got... And I know for a fact all I got is you guys, okay? You're it" JJ declares and I wrap my arms around him, his arms hugging me closely "And I've come too close to losing you, all of you"

"I mean, shit, like you almost drowned" JJ points at Kiara before looking down at me "Your brother tried to drown you. Pope, you were kidnapped. Sarah, you've been shot. John B, you were almost dinner for a freaking gator, bro!"

"So, this blaming each other is some Kook-ass bullshit, all right? We don't do that. Okay? We're Pogues" JJ tells us all sternly "Sorry, that was a lot right now. I didn't mean to..."

We all start clapping, smiling at the blonde boy proudly and he grins, relaxing into me.

"Yeah. All right" He laughs.

"Well done" Pope congratulates the Maybank boy.

"I gotta be honest. That was the best freaking speech you have ever given" John B declares "Also, you should think about, like, a Rosetta Stone because your Spanish and French are flip-flopped"

JJ flips his best friend both of his middle fingers and I let out an amused laugh, JJ sweeping me up off my feet as he presses a kiss to my forehead.

"We should bon voyage out of here" Sarah announces.

"All right, let's get this damn Twinkie out of here" JJ agrees, placing me on my feet to go get the winch set up.

It's not long at all before we're successfully towing the van out of the swamp and back onto the road.

"Keep it coming. Keep her coming. She's almost out" JJ directs "Keep it going. Easy! Easy! Easy!"

"Sarah, to the right. Straighten out" He warns her.

"I am!" She retorts.

The van is fully pulled onto the road and my sister turns to me with a wide grin with I return, holding my hand out to her. Sarah high fives me and I make a fist, offering the same hand to John B who fist bumps it with an amused smile.

"Whoo! The Twinkie lives!" JJ hollers.

"Whoo!" Sarah and I howl.

"The Twinkie lives! Let's go, boy!" JJ screams, making us all laugh.