─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
my lips are sealed.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

        Kennedy stumbled a little as she walked, ripping her head back whilst sipping on the bottle of vodka she had taken from the party. She had found herself down at the beach, walking along the pier with her shoes and socks off. Each step was hasty, almost tripping over and having to grab onto the banister for support every so often but she didn't care—she had no plans on going home or sobering up.

         She stopped at the edge of the pier, looking down at the high jump, her eyes glazed over. Throwing her head back, she downed the contents of the vodka bottle before launching it into the ocean, not giving a shit about how it could affect the environment. The environment was the last thing she gave a fuck about.

           "You planning on jumping?" A voice called out from behind her, sounding slightly nervous.

             Kennedy turned, her eyes landing on JJ Maybank as he approached her, hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his cargo shorts. She shrugged, "Would only probably sober me up." She said, turning away from him to stare out at the dark ocean, the moon being the only light around her.

             "And that would be a bad thing? You seem pretty wasted." JJ questioned, daring to step closer to her.

            "Maybe I want to stay wasted." She quipped, not bothering to look back at him as she spoke, leaning her weight onto one foot, holding her arms out and balancing herself, her foot inches from the edge.

            JJ tilted his head, "That sounds healthy," JJ chirped, making her roll her eyes. "Why don't you come away from the edge, drunk girl? Wouldn't want the Kook Princess falling in." He suggested, closer to her than before.

             Kennedy groaned at the nickname, turning around to face him, "What do you want, JJ? Don't you have something better to be doing?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed, heels brushing against the edge of the pier.

            JJ took another step closer, "Was on my way to The Wreck when I saw you out here—thought you might be considering the jump." He told her as he stopped in front of her, looking her up and down, taking in her disheveled and clearly distressed appearance.

             "Just go away, JJ." She groaned, turning her back on him, staring down into the water.

            JJ stared at her back, "You were gonna jump in, weren't you?" He asked in realisation.

             Kennedy spun back around to face him, throwing her hands up, "So what if I was? Why do you care?" She demanded in exasperation, willing the Pogue to just leave her the hell alone.

            "Because you're drunk and it's high tide—waters unsafe," He pointed out, glancing down to the waves that were crashing beneath the pier. "You jump in there, you're a dead girl, Princess." He told her, locking his eyes onto hers.

            Kennedy watched him for the longest of moments before shaking her head and turning away from him, wrapping her arms around her body. The silence between them only lasted a few seconds, "Alright," JJ chirped, suddenly stepping in line with her, making her head snap towards him. "If you jump then I jump. Let's just fucking do it—it'll be fun, right?" Kennedy stared at him and if he had grown a second head, her eyes wide, mouth agape.

            "Are you stupid?" She demanded. "You said it yourself. It's dangerous and—"

            "Well, if you're going then I'm going," He spoke over her, giving a determined nod of his head. "Come on, Kennedy Thornton. Let's just fuck it and jump right in—might make you feel a bit better." He urged, but it was obvious to Kennedy what he was trying to do, even in her drunken state.

            "You can't reverse psychology me, JJ." She told him, earning a chuckle on his behalf.

             "Yeah. Nothing gets past you," He agreed, looking down at her with a smile. He turned to her, offering his hand. "Let's just back away from the edge then, huh?" He suggested as she blinked, looking down at his extended hand and then glancing back to the water.

           She thought about it—debated why she had even considered jumping in the first place. Truth was, Rafe wasn't her only form of release—taking risks was too. Doing anything that would give her an adrenaline rush made her feel alive—in the moment. If she had jumped from that pier, the fear and anxiety would have steered her away from all of her other problems.

            Sighing heavily, Kennedy reached out, taking JJ's hand, "Atta girl." He praised as she took a step closer to him. But at that exact moment, her foot slipped, her heel sliding off of the back of the pier.

           She flailed for a moment, a scream of panic leaving her lips before it was subdued when she tumbled backwards and into the water. The scream she tried to let out was silenced by the water filling her mouth as she kicked and flailed her arms, trying to fight her way to the surface—but the waves were as strong and treacherous as JJ had told her, making it impossible for her to fight against it and find her way out.

            She swallowed in seawater, her eyes burning as she tried to figure out what was the bottom of the ocean and what was the surface—but it was no use. The water was too dark and she couldn't see the moon anywhere. Just as she was about to give up hope, someone was grabbing onto her and steering her in the right direction, pushing her up towards the surface.

          The moment her head broke through the water, she gasped in the air her lungs were craving, her hands splashing in the water as she kept herself afloat, "You're alright. I've got you." JJ assured her, grabbing ahold of her and helping her swim to the shore.

           The moment she could walk in the water, she collapsed, coughing up the water that had gotten stuck in her throat, "You're okay." JJ assured her, sitting on his knees behind her as he rubbed at her back, helping her cough up the rest of the water.

           She sat on her hands and knees, her body dripping wet as she breathed in and out, eyes squeezed shut. The moment her body had made impact with the water, she had sobered up, realising how much of a foolish idiot she had been. Jumping from Widow's Peak during broad daylight and sober was one thing—but wanting to jump from the pier into treacherous waters was another. She was cursing herself inside and out, pleading for god to tell her why she was the way she was.

           Taking one last inhale, she turned to JJ, her hair soaking wet, mascara running down her cheeks, "You didn't have to..." She trailed off, realising she shouldn't be scolding him for saving her. She sighed heavily, reaching up to wipe her hair from her face. "Thank you." She breathed out, giving him a nod that he returned as he sat himself down in the shallow end of the water.

            The pair sat in silence, focusing on getting their breaths back as they looked out at the ocean. Kennedy swallowed hard, her throat tasting of saltwater, shivering slightly. JJ glanced at her, "So..." He started, making her glance at him. "Why would you wanna do something so dumb in the first place? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know all about the fact you're a total adrenaline junkie but... I don't know, that seemed typically more dangerous than your usual stunts." He asked her in concern.

             Kennedy sighed, "If I told you, you'd only think I'm even more ridiculous—I mean, what's the Kook Princess got to be depressed about, right?" She said, giving a scoff as she looked away from him, fiddling with the ends of her wet hair.

          JJ shrugged, "I don't know. You tell me." He said.

            Kennedy turned to look up at him, scanning his features. She hadn't forgot how he'd put a gun to her brother's head—but she also didn't really give a fuck about it anymore. She was sick of defending people that didn't deserve it and people like her brother and Rafe certainly didn't deserve it.

            She swallowed, diverting her gaze, "If I tell you all of this I want a little tit for tat, alright? I tell you this, you tell me something in return," She bargained. She rose a brow at him. "Deal?" She urged, offering him her hand to shake.

            He stared at it uncertainly for a moment before taking his ring-glad hand in hers, "Deal." He agreed.

            Kennedy nodded, blowing out a breath, "My dad had an affair a few months ago," She began saying. "None of us suspected anything, not even in the slightest. I was using my dad's phone to text Sarah because mine was dead when a text from this woman popped up on the screen. I couldn't help myself, you know? As far as I was aware, my dad didn't have any female friends in his life who would be texting him to meet at a hotel at midnight'," She shook her head, remembering exactly how she'd felt when she'd opened that text thread. "It was me who revealed my dad's affair and things haven't been the same ever since."

            "My mom chose to stay with him which fucking sucks because I know how much this whole thing hurt her—and it hurts me that I was the one who told her," She continued. "But I couldn't just sit there and let my dad get away with it. And ever since then, things just haven't been right. I can barely look at my dad now—and Topper, he immediately took my dad's side and that's when I started growing a lot of resentment towards him."

             "And then the thing happened at the Boneyard—just all of this shit piling up, making me hate my own brother, though I'm pretty sure he hates me too," She said, blowing out a small laugh as JJ watched her speak. "And then there's Rafe... things are always so up and down with us. And tonight, shit really went down and I don't know if I can be with him anymore." She admitted, twiddling with her fingers anxiously. Truthfully, she was no longer shaking from the cold, and instead the anxiety of opening up to none other than JJ Maybank—a Pogue.

           "I'm just," She paused, tipping her head back to look at the sky, "I'm just so sick of everything. Nothing in my life feels right and I'm sick—I'm so sick to fucking death of pretending like everything's perfect when it's far from it," She confessed. She turned to JJ, shrugging her shoulders to her ears. "And that's it. Feel free to laugh at how ridiculous all of this is." She told him, throwing her hands up.

          But JJ didn't laugh, "That sucks, Kennedy," He said, surprising her. Mostly because of how sincere his tone was, and for the fact that she was sure it was the first time he'd ever called her by her name. "Really, I mean it. That really fucking sucks." He insisted when she stared at him like she didn't quite believe him,

           She shrugged, flicking her hair out of her face, "It's whatever. Nothing much I can do about it," She told him. "Just gotta suck it up." She said, though her own words pissed her off. She didn't want to suck it up. She wanted to scream, and shout and tell everyone to fuck off.

            She sighed, giving a small smile, "You're turn," She reminded him. "There's something I want to know."

            "Shoot." JJ said, leaning back.

            "Why were you really at the hotel?" She inquired, making him look at her in surprise. He'd expected her to ask him something else entirely—something deep for all that she was sharing. But she wanted to know why he and his friend were at the hotel?

            He furrowed his brows, "Why?" He asked her.

            "Just answer the question, Maybank." She prompted impatiently—she had just spilled her guts to him. She was going to get her fucking answer.

            "I don't think you're gonna believe me even if I tell you." He said, eyeing her from the corner of his eye.

            "Try me." She tempted.

            JJ stared at her, pursing his lips before he sat up a little straighter, "We were looking up coordinates," He began saying, making her nod her head eagerly. He paused, then after a long moment, added. "For the Royal Merchant."

            Kennedy stared at him, her eye momentarily twitching, "That boat that sank a million years ago?" She asked in a high voice. That was what they had been up to? Trying to find some wreck of an old forgotten ship?

            JJ nodded, "Mhm."

           Kennedy stared at him, blinking slowly, "Why the hell would you be looking up coordinates for a boat that sank forever ago?" She asked him, reading his expression. He diverted his gaze, refusing to make eye contact with her. Then she realised. "The gold. The Merchant—it sank with a shit ton of gold, right?"

           JJ nodded quickly, turning his full body to face her as he grabbed onto her shoulders, taking her by surprise, "You can't tell anyone, alright? Not a fucking soul—you can't tell anyone," He warned her. "You're the only other person who knows about this. You can't say shit, alright?"

            Kennedy narrowed her eyes, "Why does it even matter? The gold sunk with the ship—its like, balls deep under the ocean," She reminded him. "There's no way anyone's ever finding it." She said.

            JJ nodded solemnly, "You're right," He agreed. "But still, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone what we were doing, alright? You promise me this and I promise I won't say shit about your cheating bastard of a dad." He bargained, holding her gaze as he spoke.

            Kennedy stared at him, looking into the blue of his irises, "My lips are sealed." She assured him.

            JJ sighed in relief, "Good," He said before standing to his feet and offering her a hand. "Now let's get you home before you die of hypothermia."

( authors note )

        hi , guys! sorry for the inconsistency with this book but my memory is so bad i forget that i have chapters to publish! anyways, hope y'all enjoyed this one x

         — taylor xx