Summer's Over

Chapter 16: Summer's Over

I love making gifs

~SiriusCatBennett

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It had been a week. A week of John B trying his best to accept his father's death, trying to act like everything was okay. CJ made that better, along with the rest of his family. The only family he had now. They'd spent every moment they could trying to cheer him up or just being there for him. The boy had gotten time off due to the discovery, Wade Cameron telling him to take all the time he needed. He's pretty sure JJ messed up his own bike just to give the boy something to do. The boys spent two days fixing her up, just happening to have the parts they needed.

Mike had invited them to dinner one night at the restaurant, whipping up a feast with his daughter. Even Anna was there, trying to hide her solemn expression around every turn. He'd had a good time that night and they'd even gotten him laughing. Mike didn't even say anything when a food fight broke out because John B was smiling and he'd smite himself if he was the one to wipe it off his face.

It was the next day when the Kooks decided to fuck around with the group. Rafe had gotten kicked out for being a stealing druggy and somehow found a way to blame it on people that had nothing to do with it. None of the boys had gotten the memo that Big John had been found, even though it was the talk of the town. As soon as they walked up, the twins both pulled weapons and Pope pulled John B behind him protectively. The expressions on all the Pogue's faces - other than John B - showed they weren't fucking around and for once, the Kooks were smart enough to leave it alone.

But, the week had come to an end, and true to Peterkin's word, she had to call DCS. They had shown up one of the only times John B was alone that week; the girls were at work and the boys went out to buy some pizza when John B told them he wanted cheesy bread. The boy had tried to duck and dodge past them but had inevitably been stuffed in the back of an SUV.

Luckily for John B, he was smart. And conniving. He'd managed to trick the workers and slipped past them, running for the hills - or, more accurately, the tiny cabin. Once there, he called JJ to tell him what happened. The boy immediately told Pope he had to take off and ran the pizza and cheesy bread over. As soon as CJ got off work, being dropped off by Kie, she took the dirtbike and met up with them.

She told the duo that Peterkin had already come to her work looking for John B. She'd questioned her about where he could be and in turn, where her own brother was. CJ told the sheriff she had absolutely no idea. The twins decided it would be best to stay at the Home of the J's with John B, not only to keep him company, but to give less opportunity for the cops to question them.

They'd all been there for two days now and CJ had packed a small icebox with food so they had things to eat. It was funny that they finally had power but were still living out of an ice chest. John B was just glad that he didn't have to work or after all of this was over, he'd be out of a job too.

Currently, JJ was doing god knows what while John B and CJ sat on some random branch of the tree that help up the tiny cabin. They'd been up there for a while now, just enjoying the sights and listening to the wind rustle the leaves. They were eating lunch at some point, one turkey and one ham sandwich.

"You know what I've always wanted to do?" John B questioned, looking into the distance before turning to the girl in front of him. She was staring at him with curious eyes, waiting for him to continue. "Carve our names into a tree. You know, like dumb sappy couples with the heart and stuff."

CJ smiled widely at him, making a tiny smile appear on his face as warmth filled his heart, thawing some of the ice that had encased in. "Yeah? I think that would be cool." Reaching to her hip, she pulled the knife that was always there off of her shorts. Flipping it open, she held it out for him. "You wanna do it first?"

"Y-yeah." He responded, stuttering just a little as he stared at her. The longer he did, especially with that big grin on her face, the more his heart warmed, the better he felt. He knew she was still sad but was so appreciative that she was smiling for the both of them.

Taking the knife from her, he carefully adjusted so that he could carve into the branch. He made sure to move his hand at an angle that CJ could also carve in, before growing slightly confused.

"Wait, should I put J.B or J.R?" He wondered, glancing up to see what she thought.

"I dunno. Whichever feels right, I guess." She told him, shrugging lightly as she sent him a look full of love and affection.

Nodding, John B adjusted his grip again and started carving the J into the tree. He'd forgotten curves don't really work with trees and after trying to do the loop the first time, changed to making straight lines. He carved it deep and thick so that the letter would always be there.

When he got to the second letter, there was no hesitation as he started on the R. He may have gone by John B but he was a Routledge and he was damn proud. When he finished, he flipped the knife in his hand and held it out to his beautiful girlfriend.

CJ didn't say a word when she grabbed it, just smiled at the carving he'd made. Her C was a bit of a pain in the ass, but she got it, and eventually, the J was engrained into the bark as well. Pulling back to look at it, it warmed her heart. When she looked up at John B, it was obvious he felt the same. Leaning back, she kept carving, having a difficult time but continued anyway. When she moved away once again, there was a heart connecting the R and C. It was much easier than a big heart and didn't seem so cringy.

"What do you think?" She asked, looking up at him. The boy had his gaze on that little heart and he almost cried right then and there. But he didn't. He looked up at her and smiled with all the appreciation and care that he could.

"I love it."

That made CJ grin again, loving to see the smile on his face. She hated that he was in so much pain, that they were all suffering from the loss of a man that died too soon. All she wanted to do was smoosh him with love and affection until the pain of his father's passing was nothing more than a dull memory.

John B grabbed her hands in his own once her knife was safely put away. He just sat there and he looked at her, memorizing every detail of her face, her neck, her torso. The flowy crop top she wore made her bellybutton visible and he wasn't really sure why it made him chuckle, but at least he was laughing. After a while of just examining her, he tugged on her hands lightly.

"Come on. Let's go inside."

Getting up, he walked carefully along the branch before dropping to the porch. CJ did the same, being helped onto the deck with John B's outstretched hand. He led the two of them inside when he pulled her down on that trusty piece of styrofoam that was still spewing tiny pieces all over the place.

He wanted her to play for him, something she'd been doing a lot lately, but not yet. He just wanted to enjoy her laying on top of him, her fingers trailing his side while his played with her hair. It was peaceful, despite everything. He felt bad that the start of their relationship was ruined by the news, but he couldn't think like that because it wasn't any of their faults. He couldn't do anything about it but lay here with her and try to find any happiness that they could.

CJ hummed as he massaged her scalp, leaning her head into him. The boy was warm and so incredibly cozy as she nuzzled into him. She loved just laying here in his arms, able to hear the birds chirping from an open window. She wondered momentarily about what they were supposed to do about DCS being after John B but pushed those thoughts away. She didn't need to worry about it right at the moment.

Pulling away after many minutes, John B stared down at CJ as she looked up at him. They just looked at each other, sharing so many thoughts without any words. With a soft hand to her cheek, John B leaned in to kiss her.

A small sound left her mouth at the incredibly soft kiss. Both of them knew it wouldn't lead anywhere and that wasn't the point, the point was just to love each other. Be there for each other. Show each other that they weren't alone.

John B's arms wrapped lightly around her, pulling her closer to him. He hummed lightly as she kissed him slowly, enjoying the soft feeling of her lips on his. CJ moved back slightly, nudging his nose with hers before going back to kissing him. He smiled into the kiss, blood pumping warmly in his veins.

CJ was always taken slightly aback whenever they kissed. It was still a bit new and the boy was such a good kisser and every time they even got close to each other, her heart sped up and her breath hitched. It was so different from how she used to normally act when he got close and yet she wouldn't trade it for anything.

Pulling away with a tiny hum, John B looked up at her with glimmering eyes. CJ sent him a sweet, slightly delirious smile in return.

"You know I love you, right?"

Tilting her head at him a bit curiously, CJ nodded. "Yeah, of course. I love you too. A lot."

John B grinned, all his teeth showing as he sat up. The girl on his lap was forced to move her legs until she was straddling him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Good. We'd have a bit of a problem if not." CJ giggled, leaning closer to nuzzle into his neck. "Will you play for me?"

Nodding into his neck, she hummed and pressed a small kiss to his neck before pulling away. Kissing his lips softly, she moved to his forehead before getting off of him. The boy maneuvered until he was leaning against a wall, leaving the girl space to sit in front of him once she grabbed her guitar.

"What do you want to hear?"

"Dunno. Just like to hear you play." CJ nodded and sat back on the bed, being pulled to sit in between John B's legs. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, adjusting so that the guitar wouldn't hit him.

Strumming a few chords, she didn't play anything in particular, just let her fingers go as John B massaged her shoulders. Every once in a while, a small moan would bubble up from her throat from the feeling of her knots disappearing. It felt wonderful.

She loved being able to spend this time with him, especially given the circumstances. Things could've been much worse and she was just glad that he wasn't shutting them out. Especially seeing as they'd all been stuck together for the better part of two days. Kie and Pope were both wondering where he was but the twins just told them he was hiding out somewhere.

Eventually, JJ came back, bringing with him some dinner for the night. They all ate around the kerosine lamp, JJ making funny shadows on the wall to make John B laugh. All in all, it was a good night. One where they didn't worry about tomorrow or think about the past. That is, until tomorrow actually came.

With the new day came new news and JJ was the one to find it. He'd been spending the day with Pope while the new couple spent the day on an empty piece of beach. Both of them had greatly enjoyed soaking up some sun and taking a dip in the cool water. John B even found a sand dollar for them to take home. CJ was still marveling over it, even once they'd gotten back to the cabin. She'd always thought they were so cool.

But when they got home, JJ was pacing in between the tiki torches and had apparently been doing it for so long that he'd worn a path into the dirt. CJ thought he might've been kicking at the path as well because all of the leaves were gone from those spots.

When the boy heard people approaching, he tensed up and stopped before whipping around in their direction. A giant sigh left his lips as he walked forward, grabbing them by the shoulders. Apparently, he'd been waiting for them for an hour. CJ just found it funny that he hadn't called them.

Apparently, they'd found out that one Ward Cameron had been arrested for the murder of John B Routledge. After the man had shown up dead, Scooter Grubbs' wife came forward and told the sheriff what she knew. The police had been working for days pulling together all of the evidence they could, even finding an assault charge from when Ward was a teenager. The record had been expunged, but the damage he did was extensive.

Peterkin had arrested him today and he was currently in booking. They were transferring him out tomorrow after questioning. Apparently, Peterkin was going to be talking to everyone Ward was even remotely affiliated with over the coming weeks. After all, things like this didn't happen around here often and if there was evidence against Ward, no matter how small, the woman was gonna find it. Ward Cameron would go to prison for this.

John B had taken the news hard, after all, he'd worked for the man for two years. He'd seen him day in and day out and had respected the man for not being quite as trashy as the other Kook's. It left him wondering if the only reason Ward was really nice to him was because he'd killed his father. Even if he'd worked for him long before that happened, the thought still crossed his mind.

After John B had gotten over the initial shock and disgust, he had a new emotion to overcome: anxiety. That had been his only job, his only means of making income. He doubted with the stigma of Ward killing his father that Rose would continue employing him. If only for the fact that who even knew what was gonna happen to that family.

The next two days passed without much happening. On the second day, JJ had brought the other Pogues to that piece of beach they found so that John B could see them again. They'd spent all day on that beach, sharing old stories and drinking beer Kie had snagged from her dad's cooler. John B laughed the most that day than he had since his father's body had been found. Things almost seemed normal despite the fact that they were on an secluded strip of beach because he was on the run from child services.

On day five of being under treehouse lockdown, CJ had to work. None other than the Kooks she hated the most in the world came into the restaurant and had to be physically escorted out by Mike. Rafe had come straight to the back when he saw she was working and got in her face, going off about how they were a bunch of liars and his dad was innocent. He'd started saying a bunch of nasty things and Mike had gotten there right when CJ had grabbed a kitchen knife, not as an offense, but as a defense to the snarling boy that had backed her into a wall. The girls didn't tell John B about that.

It was on day six, August second, that the twins decided to go for a night stroll after John B had fallen asleep. CJ was craving something sweet and JJ suggested donuts. The local bakery didn't close 'till twelve due to being run by a sweet, but meth-addled woman and hoarded by hungry teenagers (or drunk adults) at any time of day. CJ was excited to have a cinnamon roll for the first time in a while and told JJ to remember to bring John B some maple bars.

They were walking down the street, giggling about something stupid and nudging each other's shoulders while they ate donuts, when a car rolling down the street came to a sudden stop. It sketched both teenagers out, and with good reason, causing them to stop and stare at the dark blue vehicle. Both of them were ready to run when the driver's side door opened and revealed the sheriff. They let out simultaneous sighs of relief, looking at one another and wondering when seeing a cop gave them relief.

"JJ, CJ. I need you to come with me." She told them, her face looking a bit pinched as she walked across the empty road to meet them.

CJ's brows furrowed, wondering why the sheriff, under any circumstances, would just leave her car running in the middle of the road. "Why?" She questioned, leaning back slightly as she took an apprehensive bite of her donut.

Peterkin sighed, looking between both of them as she wondered why bad things kept happening to kids in her town.

"Your father's been in an accident. He's in the hospital."

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What up this is the end ahh. Okay, so this was supposed to have more chapters and this is a wack ending but I have my reasons (plus I'll be editing this whole book at some point and will hopefully add some stuff that's lacking). There will be two epilogues for my lovelies and most likely some bonus chapters featuring lots of fluff and that will hopefully make up for this lousy conclusion.

Question of the chapter: can you guess whose sandwich was whose?

Also, PSA, Peterkin knows Luke is a pos and the twins are probs better off without him, but she also knows that now they'll have to deal with child services and may be separated and taken off the island. (Don't worry, you'll see what happens to them in the epilogues.)

Kisses,

~SiriusCatBennett