CHAPTER TWENTY TWO: ALL ALONE AGAIN
( episode seven: dead calm )
✲*'。

The image Arden has conjured in her looked nothing like she imagined. First of all there were no warehouses in sight, just crumbling homes nestled into clusters of trees and tall grass. It looked like no one lived out here. Second of all, the road had no end in sight, the road appeared to be endless, with no beginning's in sight.

"Wait, so they keep money out here?" Pope said, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he stared at the scenery around them.

"Well, that's what she said," JJ shrugged before smirking to himself. "Hah, that's what she said."

"Stop."

Arden reached over to rub JJ's arm in comfort, as he shot a glare in the other boy's direction while Pope just shook his head in disapproval. "I thought it was a good joke."

"Ard, you think everything's a joke."

Arden just whistled through her teeth and raised her hands in surrender, a smirk playing on her lips. "Touchy, touchy."

From the corner of her eye, Arden could see Sarah glancing back at the group from the passenger seat. She discreetly reached forward, rubbing her back, as she smiled affectionately at the side of her head before speaking up. "I've never even heard of Resurrection Drive."

"That's because you're rich," JJ replied in a huff.

"Oh, please," Kie hissed, rolling her eyes. "You've never heard of it either."

"Thank you."

As they endless drive continued on, Arden could see Haven staring out the window in annoyance. "Guys, there's nothing but weeds back here," she grumbled.

JJ narrowed his eyes on Haven. Fuck they still weren't on a good note with each other, Arden would have to do some more meddling. "Alright, just 'cause it's just weeds doesn't mean it's, like—"

A siren blared right behind them. Arden winced, curling in by JJ's side, just imaging what her mother would say when she saw her daughter was arrested for no fucking reason. This was the last thing Arden needed right now.

"Cops? Out here?" Kiara questioned skeptically. Something wasn't right...

"That's not normal." Haven muttered with furrowed eyebrows.

Arden burrowed her head further into JJ's side as she could hear him huffing to himself. He ran a frustrated hand down the side of his face. This was the last thing they all needed. "God, are you kidding me?"

"What did we do?" Sarah pointed out in confusion, sharing a look with her.

Arden couldn't work it out either, the only thing that came to mind was speeding, which John B was known to do. "John B, were you speeding?" She accused, staring at him pointedly.

"No," John B scoffed, like he couldn't believe she was asking him that. When Arden raised an eyebrow in disbelief, he repeated, "No, I wasn't, I swear."

"Okay, this is weird," Haven declared. Arden would have to agree with that very astute observation. As the others ripped into JJ about the gun and weed, Arden closely watched the panicking Haven. "John B, drive."

"What?" he frowned at her.

"Drive, he's not—"

There it was. The unmistakable click of a loaded shotgun pressed right against John B's head.

Nobody moved for a moment. Seconds stretched into minutes as John B stared down the barrel of their captor's shotgun, his eyes wide as the others sat frozen.

Finally, the man's patience wore thin. "Why don't I just go ahead and see them hands in the air, right now?"

John B was apparently too slow for his liking, for he waved the gun around, shouting, "All of y'alls hands up in the air now!"

Arden didn't hesitate in easing her arms, sharply nudging Haven in the ribs when didn't do the same. Now they needed to stay alive. Arden tried her best to hide her fear, she wasn't the only one. This was different to the confrontations with Rafe or those men. Rafe was a teenage boy with his fists and daddy's bank account. And they always managed to just escape the square groupers. This man, he had a gun at close range and wouldn't hesitate to shoot.

But the real question of the hour was why. What did he want from them?

"You," he snarled at John B. "Out of the car! Let's go!" This time around, John B moved a lot quicker. He slammed the door shut behind him, slowly following the man as he led him to the other side of the car, right where the door to the others were.

"Let them out. Well? What are you waitin' on? Let them out!"

Sarah was the first out, whimpering to herself as she stood beside John B. Then Haven, Pope, and the rest with Arden last of all. The man stared at her stomach with disgust, latching onto her shoulder and shoving her when she was just that bit too slow.

"Hey," JJ growled as Haven stopped Arden from falling. They quickly raised their hands again when the gun was trained on them, but JJ stepped in between them with his jaw clenched. "Hey, man--"

Oh fuck, JJ was going to get himself killed.

"Did I say you could speak?"

"Alright, alright," he shouted back. "Just relax."

"I said, shut the hell up! Or I'll blow your damn head off."

He guided them over to a ditch on the side of the road, demanding for them to lay down. Arden curled herself in between Pope and Kie, forcing her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to fact the reality of the situation. Arden didn't care about herself. Arden didn't care that she could die right here and now. The only thing she cared about right now was protecting Logan and JJ. They are all that matter to Arden Kim. She needed to———

"Hey, hey, hey," Kie gently shushed into her ear, startling Arden out of her head. "You're safe, jellybeans safe." Kiara promised in a very quiet voice.

"Who's talking?" the man suddenly snarled, evoking hushed whimpers from Haven on the other side of the line. He just looked Haven over in disgust before forcing the back of JJ's head back down. "Stay here just like that! Head, down! And don't let me see you look up again."

"It's a setup, guys," Kie hissed, her arm gently reaching out to rest on her elbow.

"That old bat shanked us," JJ spat as he slammed his other fist into the mud.

"Hey Ard, remember when you promised to give me dating advice?" Pope whispered into her as Arden began to shake at the sight of John B bolting over to the man's 'police vehicle.'

"I was thinking you could help me pick out a nice dating outfit for after my interview. I want to take a nice girl out." He continued in a very soft voice, distracting Arden momentarily as she fearfully waited for the man to come back.

"You and me, we'd find me a nice outfit don't you think?" He continued in a soothing voice. Blearily Arden met his gaze, nodding slowly as Pope shot her a soft smile. However the smile disappeared and the fear returned as the man returned, no John B in sight.

"Alright, y'all stay just like that," he screamed. "Unless you want your brains blown out all over this road. Don't move your goddamn heads, okay?"

His car door slammed shut. Not even a second later, commotion erupted as John B revealed himself, the two males tumbling back outside and prompting JJ to release Haven to run over to them. Everyone else followed, all wanting to get their own piece of revenge.

As JJ and John B knocked him out, Sarah effectively slumping him to the ground with the car door, Arden repeatedly kicked him harshly in the ribs. This fucker deserved so much worse.

"Have, come over here," JJ crowed. "Make this guy pay for scaring you, yeah?"

Arden stepped away from the man and grinned at her. Haven didn't hesitate to kick him where the sun didn't shine. Once all of them had gotten out their anger, Pope leaned down to snatch the scarf away from his face. JJ immediately gasped. "I know this piece of shit. Barry. He's a basehead!"

"Probably knows my brother," Sarah sneered.

"He sells coke to my dad," the blonde boy added.

"Hey, listen," the man who they now knew as Barry groaned. "Listen, I couldn't hurt any single one of y'all--"

JJ cut him off by furiously pounding the barrel of the gun into her stomach. Barry groaned and keeled over, allowing him to snatch his wallet from his pocket despite the other's anxious protests. They'd gotten their revenge. It was time to go before anyone else showed up and assumed the worst.

"Come on, let's get outta here," John B insisted.

JJ said nothing in response, just rifling through Barry's wallet before he found a form of ID. He nodded happily to himself, tucking it into the pocket of his shorts before shoving John B aside and marching back to the van.

"We've got one last stop."

"Where's he going?" Haven sighed, though nobody knew what to say. JJ's anger was understandable but not entirely excusable. He was known to go too far sometimes, and after what Barry had just done to him, to his cousin, his pregnant girlfriend, he wasn't going to let it go so easily.

"Let's go see where this son of a bitch lives."

And so they left Barry on the side of the road, screaming pointlessly after them, no gold and no dignity. No matter what any of them said on the way there, JJ didn't change his mind. He wanted his last hurrah, something he could hold over Barry's head in future. Haven wasn't sure what he thought he'd find when the man was nothing but a Southside crackhead, but she sat in silence until they pulled up at their location.

"Welcome to Crackhead Wasteland," Sarah muttered as the group took in the trailer Barry called a house.

"I don't know about this, man," Pope told JJ uneasily. The blonde ignored him, pulling out his ID and nodding to himself once he saw it was the right place.

"Dude, why are we at Barry's?" John B asked from the passenger seat.

"This'll only take a second."

With that, he got out of the vehicle and headed over to the front door, his footsteps confident despite the fact he was literally about to break in.

"Someone follow him," Kie sighed as the rest of the pogues exchanged frustrated looks. "Before he gets us into even more trouble."

In the end, John B took one for the team. Neither Haven or Arden were in any state to move, Kie and Pope wouldn't get through to him and if they didn't then Sarah definitely wouldn't. This just left John B, JJ's voice of reason since they were kids. "Where are you going?" he called out as he followed the blonde boy outside.

"Yo soy justicia."

Well, that explained so much.

Their voices faded as JJ swung the door open, leaving all of them to wait in suspense.

JJ returned quicker than expected with a bag evidently full of cash cradled in his arms. The motion was exactly how Arden used to imagine JJ would hold their daughter. John B was not far behind him, eyes narrowed angrily on the back of JJ's head. Arden didn't even hesitate in leaping out of the van and over to where the others were standing.

"Alright," JJ exclaimed breezily. "So we're looking at five grand each for reparations for putting us through that bullshit. Sorry about that, y'all."

"So that's what we're doing now?" Kie cried. "We're robbing drug dealers?"

"This Barry guy's gonna find out, and he's gonna come after us," Sarah said.

JJ just shook his head, causing Pope to sigh in annoyance. "Yes, he will, okay? This is not the time to start wild n' out."

"How'd you like having a gun pulled on you?" he snapped, turning to look at Haven when none of them spoke. "Haven? I know you were freaking out. Was that a nice feeling?"

"JJ, come on, maybe--" But Arden was just cut off with a glare as he turned away from a frowning Haven to stand-off against John B instead. "He had it right here on you, bro."

"Look, we've gotta go get the gold, okay? Just give me that shit."

It took just one little move for JJ to lash out. He shoved John B against the side of the van as he attempted to snatch away the stolen bag, his eyes narrowed against John B's taunts.

"You feel like a tough guy, huh? What are you gonna do when he comes for us?"

"We punch him in the throat."

"Yeah, good fucking idea, JJ," John B scoffed. "Are you seriously willing to put Arden at risk? You're gonna be a dad, man, dad's don't act like this--"

Why the fuck would John B bring her into this?

"Don't you tell me how to act around my own kid," JJ snarled, his face just inches from John B's. "You don't know shit about Logan."

Arden's face changed, her hand dropping down to clutch Haven's as all eyes flitted to her. Logan. The long-awaited name they had chosen for their daughter. What a way for it to be revealed, in an argument with their closest friends. Just like the fucking gender. Arden could never have a nice moment could she?

"I know you're thinking about no one but yourself right now."

The silence was suffocating. JJ eventually let the boy go, but he held onto the bag with stubborn intent. "I'm not putting it back." He climbed into the back of the van and sat down, though nobody else moved, not even Arden. All life had been drained out of her as she clung to Haven's hand, part of her wanting to defend John B while the majority didn't want to upset JJ. She'd only just gotten him back. Could she lose him again? Could her daughter?

"You guys getting in or what?" Still, nobody moved. "Okay, what?"

"We're sick of your shit."

"Oh, my shit?" he laughed.

"Yes," Kie piped up with a scowl. "Your pulling guns on people shit."

"You acting like a freaking maniac--"

"Okay, Pope, I took the fall for you," JJ screamed over him. "You know how much money I owe because of you?"

"I'm going to pay you back," Pope insisted. "And I didn't even ask you to do that."

"I just did pay it back. Right here, right now, by myself." His eyes met Haven's then. If it was possible, his scowl deepened even further. "You got something to say, cousin? Might as well tell me since everyone else apparently has a problem."

"JJ..."

"You know what?" he interrupted her with a hollow chuckle. It was hard for her to hear. "That's exactly what I'm gonna do. Go off by myself."

"Hey, wait a second," Arden exclaimed with wide eyes. The first words she'd said that entire time. Must've been a new record. "JJ, seriously..."

The further she seemed to get to him, JJ continued to move away, not once listening to her pleas to come back. "JJ come on!" She begged, finally catching up to him. Arden didn't hesitate in reaching out to grab his shoulders, clinging to like a leech as he tried to shake her off.

"Baby please look at me," She begged. Instead of turning around JJ continued to stand as still as a statue, not saying a word. "JJ please!"

"It's like he said, you and Logan will be better off with me," JJ hissed, all bite to his words.

"No we won't JJ!" Arden hissed. In response JJ whirled around, anger burning bright in his blue hues just like that night a few days ago.

"You kept her from me once, you obviously knew what you were doing." He snarled, finally ripping himself out of her grip.

Arden was left standing in the middle of the road with tears streaming down her face. All of her fight had backed down at his words. Oh god ... oh god ... what had she done ... she ... she thought this was ....

She was forced out of her thoughts as Haven slid up beside her. Arden didn't even hesitate when she threw herself into Haven's arms.

"Hey, I'm here," Haven murmured into her ear. "It's alright, Arden."

They stood that way until JJ eventually faded out of sight, taking their hearts along with him.

✲*'。