I Wish I Wish Upon a Star

Chapter 7: I Wish I Wish Upon a Star

Iz ma gif ^

~SiriusCatBennett

The next day came with a rough wakeup call. JJ was the first up, stretching out as he grumbled from the mild headache he had. The Maybank twins rarely got hangovers, but the boy wasn't surprised he'd drank enough to have one.

After John B left to find his sister, JJ dipped into the vodka he knew his best friend kept in his room. The bottle had been a few shots to empty and JJ was sure he'd get chewed out once John B saw it now was. His plan was to just run into town and steal a new one. Replace the old one before Johnny noticed it was gone. Once the hard liquor was gone, he drank a few more beers before passing out on the pull-out.

Turning to the right, JJ's arms dropped and his expression softened. There was his sister; safe and sleeping soundly. John B was on her right, arms wrapped around the blonde. He wondered when the boy would have the balls to ask her out. He knew one day the boy's feelings would outway the 'no Pogue on Pogue macking' rule he hid behind. He just wondered when.

As if hearing his thoughts, the boy stirred in his slumber. It seemed like he might just fall back to sleep, tucking closer to CJ, but then he stirred again and his eyes opened.

"Mornin', cowboy."

Slowly looking up, John B's eyes squinted from the light filtering through the living room window. Catching sight of an awake JJ, a small open-mouthed smile crept onto his features. "Hey, comrade. I found CJ." As if demonstrating, he nodded down to the sleeping girl. He would've pointed, but he didn't feel like removing his arm from around her waist.

"Yeah, I can see that." He responded smartly, jumping up from the couch. Walking over to the dining room table, he grabbed the bottle of ibuprofen from it and threw two in his mouth. "How was she?"

Letting out a sigh, John B carefully moved his left arm from under her pillow and ran it through his hair. "Not as bad as it could've been. I think she was too worked up over the Topper thing to really think about anything else." Turning to JJ, he cocked his head. "Kie needs to get over here, man. Or at least Pope. She's freakin' out."

After that, the conversation fell flat. CJ had groaned and rolled slightly onto her stomach. Hand pressed to her head, she hid from the light pouring into the room.

"You good?"

"Go away." She grumbled; the only response John B would get. The boy simply chuckled, removing his arm from around her to rub her back. When he started to run his fingers through her hair, she noticeably relaxed and let out a relieved moan.

Grabbing a cup of water, JJ brought it and some pain meds over. Climbing into the bed, his legs sprawled out as he held out the little orange pills. "Here, take these."

CJ made no motion to move, so reluctantly John B stopped massaging her scalp. With an angered growl, CJ raised her head and glared painfully. Squinting at her brother, she grabbed the objects from him and downed the meds. Once she took a few drinks, she fell back on John B's chest and grabbed his calloused hand. Picking it up, she laid it on top of her head lazily. The boy chuckled before continuing to play with her hair, making her hum and relax.

"What are we doing today?"

The plan had been to clean. While the two were gone, John B had made sure to check on the treehouse, but it still needed to be cleaned up. The house still needed quite a few things done as well. Seeing as neither Maybank was in any shape to be working, John B figured they'd just want to relax. He went to explain that when he froze.

In the new lighting and with time passing, CJ looked a lot worse. JJ did too, but John B wasn't as worried about him. The girl was a mess. Her hair was in disarray and her clothes were ruffled. Tear streaks were dried on her face and dirt coated her body. Most of those things were quite normal and wouldn't look so disheveling if it weren't for the bruises and cuts littering her body.

The day prior, she'd donned a pair of shorts and a bandeau covered with one of John B's open shirts. Still dressed in the same clothes, it was easy for anyone to see the wounds. There were two splits in her skin; one on her bottom lip and another on her left cheekbone. A harsh bruise stained the skin of her cheekbone and another dotted her temple. The two decorated the outside of her eye. Her left rib cage was black and blue and the Routledge boy wouldn't be surprised if the bones were bruised.

The worst of it all were the bruises wrapped around her neck. Reaching from side to side, John B wasn't sure if it looked so bad because it was actually worse or because it meant she'd been choked. Eyes trailing over her body, his expression continued to drop. When her eyes popped open again, having gotten no answer, he fixed his features into a smile.

"So?"

JJ cringed at the sound, his sister's throat obviously sore. In response he just tapped the cup in her hand, making her look at him strangely. He did it again, gesturing toward her with his head and she took a sip, making him smile to himself.

"I dunno. Figured we'd hang out here for a while and then go fishing. What d' you think?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice." Shutting her eyes once again, she rested against John B with a tiny smile. His fingers running through her hair felt so nice and it calmed the pounding in her brain. She was grateful for him. Not only for this, or for coming out for her last night, but for everything. He was always there for her, even when she used him as a punching bag.

The three laid there for a while, JJ at some point grabbing the bong from John B's room. The boy loaded a bowl and they smoked it, followed by another one. Once they were gone, CJ was cognizant enough to actually think and speak.

"Shit, JJ are you okay?"

"You worry too much." JJ chuckled, turning his head to face his sister who was now looking at him with worried eyes. "I'm fine, Indie."

CJ didn't believe him, but she let it go. She knew if the boy wanted to talk, he'd start ranting eventually. Now able to see him though, her expression dropped as she saw all the injuries he'd sustained. His stomach and ribs were littered with bruises, along with one on his face and a split lip. She knew he was full of shit then, looking up at him with a troubled expression. She didn't even look at her own wounds, despite feeling the pain that defied the ibuprofen.

"Ceej, I'm fine." He strained, also not looking at his own bruises. He'd rather pretend they weren't there. "Why are we even talking about me? You look like you fought a bear."

Typical of JJ, the conversation was infiltrated with humor. It was his preferred method of defense, along with his sister's. Distractions and humor.

"Oh my god, shut up." CJ laughed, her eyes sealing shut. JJ smiled at the sight. "It was a tiger, thank you very much."

And like that, the day progressed like any other. CJ pulled the dried clothes down and threw them in a laundry basket, the three cleaning up and changing into fresh clothes. After that, they just lounged around the house secretly waiting for the rest of their group. They never showed. Covering up the pit forming in her stomach, CJ joked with the boys and pushed the HMS Pogue out into the ocean.

The three spent hours on the water. By the time they pulled up to the Chateau, finished with their day of fishing and pretending Luke Maybank didn't exist, it was dark outside. JJ carried in an ice chest of fish destined to be passed onto Heyward, filling it with ice. The man may not like the kids, other than CJ sometimes, but he liked their fish. No contract, no hassle, just fish for food or money. Whenever he didn't need it, they just kept the fish and cooked it instead. It's not like they were picky.

By midnight, the teens were all passed out. Once again, they had all fallen asleep on the pull-out, CJ in the middle. The girl was turned to the right, curled up on John B's chest like the night prior. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on him this time. In her sleep, she'd rolled over and snuggled into him. Likewise, he had no idea he'd wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.

At some point around two a.m, the back door creaked open. The kids never locked it, hell usually the screen door was the only thing closed. There was no reason to when they were there. The house was off the beaten path and anyone in their right mind knew not to rob Big John's place. Whether he was missing or not. There was a group of teenagers that would jump you at the very least.

Unaware of the person walking through the living room, no one stirred. The person in question climbed up onto the bed, resting on her knees in the space between the twins. She waited for a second, questioning herself, before she reached forward and lightly shook the blonde.

"CJ, wake up." She whispered. Once the girl stirred, beginning to roll over, she began her very thought over rant. "I'm so sorry, my parents wouldn't let me leave and-"

Words cut off, her eyes scoured the Maybank's face before they immediately began to water. Looking down, she spotted the bruises on her torso, causing her guilt to strengthen.

"I'm fine."

"You are not fine." She whispered assuredly, catching sight of the bruises on CJ's neck. "What the hell did he do to you?"

After asking, her focus moved to the other Maybank. Her eyes raked over the bruises covering his body, the split through his lip. Before she could say anything more, CJ grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the porch.

"Kie, what are you doing here? It's late."

"My parents wouldn't let me leave. I'm sorry, I really wanted to come, but they needed help cleaning before the tourists started rushing the restaurant again. I snuck out so I could talk to you before work tomorrow." She explained, focus never leaving the injuries on CJ. "Now, answer me. Please. What happened?"

CJ sighed, gesturing Kie over to one of the couches. The girls settled in, legs tucked under their bottoms as they faced each other. "Peterkin came and picked us up for what happened on the beach. Told her I was the one that shot the gun. Took the charge."

"You guys have got to stop taking charges for each other."

"Never." CJ answered, a small rueful smile appearing on her face before it disappeared. "Our dad couldn't pick us up, which really meant he was too pissed to pretend to be normal, so Peterkin drove us home. He realized JJ stole his gun. Went after him. I tried to get him off but he uh, he elbowed me in the face." She told her, pointing at her split and slightly swollen lip. "He kept hitting JJ, he was kickin' him and I just hit him. In hindsight, that wasn't the best decision, but it got him off of JJ." She laughed lightly, no humor really present in the sound. "He punched me in the face," she motioned at her cheekbone, "and then started choking me. Hit me in the ribs." She vaguely gestured toward the injuries. "Hit me again." CJ pointed toward the bruise dotting her temple. "I was-I was gonna kill him. I just- I knew if I didn't do anything that he wasn't gonna stop. I opened my knife and that was when JJ tackled him off of me. I don't really know what happened but JJ managed to get the upper hand and he was punching him and he almost hit him with a wrench..." CJ trailed off, her voice trembling slightly as she imagined how their lives could've changed if she hadn't stopped him. If JJ had been a second late and CJ had stabbed him. The thought permeated through her usual mindset when talking about things like this; aka distancing herself and pretending she was talking about someone else. While she got lost in thought, Kie looked over all of her injuries. On top of the ones from her father, CJ still had a light bruise on her stomach and the bridge of her nose was stained yellow from the fight with Topper. The girl was like a walking pin cushion and Kie fleetingly wondered how she dealt with it.

"I'm fine though. I'm fine. I'm used to it. I can- I can deal with that but I can't deal with not knowing what you're thinking..." CJ said, her head hanging as she picked at her cuticles nervously. "About Topper."

Kie inhaled sharply, momentarily forgetting about the twins' shitty home life as the Kook was brought up. "I just...I don't judge you or anything. I just don't get it. I mean, you hate him."

The air was still around the two as CJ slowly looked up at her best friend. Kie had always been there, listening to anything CJ had to say with an open mind. She was the one CJ went to when she needed an honest opinion. The girl was always nice with her words but was still bluntly straightforward. Just like usual, Kie sat there with an open expression, no trace of judgment or anger on her face. Not even disappointment clouded her features. It made CJ relax, a sigh of relief leaving her parted lips as she sunk into the couch cushions.

"I was really drunk." She started off, tilting her head with an expression that showed her disappointment with the situation. "Luke grabbed me and smacked me one day when I got home from school and I hit my head on the wall. He was screaming about how I had an F in one of my classes. I went to a party at the Boneyard and just drowned myself in booze and avoided you guys all night. I don't really remember talking to him or leaving, but I remember what we did. John B found me afterward in some secluded part of the Boneyard. It was like five months ago."

Things were quiet between the two as Kie processed the story. It made sense. Kie had been spending the last two days trying to figure out how it had happened and the only thing she had come up with was they had to be drunk. Drinking + a spiraling CJ was the perfect recipe for disaster. Especially if she was angry. Sometimes it was only internal. Bubbling under the surface. Sometimes she was alone and just ranted at the air and hit things. When she was around people, she stayed away from her friends and danced and messed around with strangers at parties. Even with her addled brain, CJ usually managed to stay away from fights and people that would truly matter in the morning, but she'd been too far gone that night. Despite the burning hatred she'd had for Topper since grade school, she'd slept with him. And now she hated herself for it. And she hated her father even more for being the reason it happened.

"Come on."

Confused, CJ turned her attention back to her friend. Kie was already up on her feet, her hand stuck out to help the Maybank up. With a raised eyebrow sent toward the mocha-skinned girl, Kie pulled her to her feet. "Where are we going?"

"Not far."

Pulling her down the stairs, Kie dragged her to where John B had hung the hammock back up. He loved that thing, it was no surprise to CJ that it was already reattached to his favorite tree. Without another word, Kie gestured toward the material and helped CJ onto it before crawling in next to her. The twos' sides pressed together as Kie pointed up at the stars. Despite the large branches hanging above them, you could see the night sky perfectly.

"There's the big dipper."

CJ followed her finger, finding the constellation she was pointing toward. From there she found her favorite constellation, Orion's Belt, and gestured toward it. Within five minutes, CJ's mood had significantly improved and she was smiling. Her heart was filled with warmth and hope as the two nudged each other and laughed.

Stargazing was one of their favorite pastimes. It was something that calmed every single one of the Pogues, made them think about how much was out there. How many opportunities they had to make it. How there was beauty even in the simplest things. For Pope and Kie specifically, it made them think of how much more there was outside the island of OBX. It also made them think about invisible people. For Pope, it was how many of his ancestors were watching out for him, while it made Kie think of Astraios, the god of astrology. It was the opposite for the J's. It made them think of the people around them and how just like the constellations, they would forever stick together, revolving around one simple goal; living. It made them think of home and how despite its many faults, much like black holes and zero gravity, it was beautiful and it was theirs.

Kie knew this. Kie knew what the girl needed after a rough week and she was determined to make her friend feel better. So she laid next to her and ranted about greek gods and pointed out a thousand constellations that CJ already knew and relished in the laughter that fell from her lips. And when CJ passed out, her head resting on Kie's shoulder, the teenager let herself fall asleep, a smile plastered on her lips.