Chapter Twenty-One

face the light

3rd person pov

juno woke up and rolled over in her bed with a sigh and a stretch. she looked over at her cat marley and she smiled as she leaned over and pet her. she sighed and sat up as she grabbed her brush from the side-table and she brushed through her hair. she turned on the tv in her room and saw that the news was talking about a group of teens who had bought the old maybank property and they were making something out of it. she smiled at the tv and sighed as her aunt walked into the room and turned to the tv

" have you figured out if you're ever gonna go back?" she asked and juno sighed as she shook her head and fell back on the bed. she sighed and looked at the ceiling that had tapestry on it, she turned her head and looked at the photo of her and the group next to her bed and she shook her head 

" i mean i don't know, they're clearly doing fine without me and im just... im a murderer now, i murdered someone and thats not gonna go well. toppers grandad is a lawyer and hes been missing for eighteen months now, they probably already announced him dead but theres no way he would have killed himself and they know that" she told her and her aunt sighed as she sat down on the bed and she ran her hand over her nieces hair 

"junebug, i get it but you have to go back and see them at some point. just to tell them you're alive and remember that you're not the only one who lost saylor. i'll bring you home, you can see your mom and your dad and you can talk to them and you can have your feelings. moving here was a good idea, you have money now and you have me and i'm here for you no matter what. but you have to face the light at some point" she told her and juno nodded her head and then she sighed 

"fine but only because i want to, not because you told me too" she stated and her aunt laughed as juno got up out of bed. her aunt kissed her forehead and she left the room to let the girl get dressed. juno got dressed and she packed up anything she needed. she was bringing marley with her because she loved the cat and her aunt said she could. she grabbed her suitcase and she grabbed any clothes, photos and anything else she needed but this was her room so she left things she would need if she ever came back. she walked down the stairs and saw her aunt standing at the door holding her keys and she smiled at the girl 

"you ready?" she asked and juno nodded as she walked down the stairs with the cat carrier and her suitcases. her aunt helped her put them in the trunk whereas marley sat in the back of the car and juno got in the passenger seat. she put one of her headphones in and she looked out the window with a sigh as she watched the women start the car. she put her hand on the girls knee for some comfort and they started their drive home. juno stared at the window as she thought about everything she was about to face. 

her mother had called and told her that they had a funeral for saylor and they understood why she wasn't there and they supported her completely. john b kept telling her that the cops searched for topper but never found him. jj and pope were going strong, kiara and cleo sort of had a thing going and sarah was still working on the idea of being alone after saylor had passed. juno watched the trees and the leaves pass. 

"you okay junebug?" her aunt asked and juno turned to the girl and sighed as she heard marley let out a meow and she laughed as she opened the carrier and let the cat crawl into her lap and she laughed before she turned to her aunt and she kept petting her 

"i mean i think so but i don't know, what if they hate me for leaving?" she asked and her aunt sighed as she rubbed the girls arm and shook her head 

"they won't hate you junebug, im sure that they'll understand" she said and after about 3 hours, they were finally back in the outer banks. juno looked at the states of her house and saw the memorial that people had set up for saylor and she sighed as she got out of the car and looked around 

"ill be right here, if you need anything junebug" her aunt said and juno hugged her aunt tightly as she heard the door opening and she turned to see julie standing in the door and she smiled at her 

"hi mom" she said with a sniffle and the women ran down the stairs as she hugged the girl and juno hugged her as she cried into her shoulder and her mom ran her hand down her back 

"im so sorry for running, i didn't know what to do" she cried into her mothers shoulder and julie shook her head as she kissed the girls forehead and she sighed 

"don't apologize j, he was your best friend, its okay" she cried and juno cried harder as she held her. they went into the house and talked about the last eighteen months and the things that had changed. her mother was happy to see a change in the girl and juno was happy too

"have you seen the others yet?" her mother asked and juno shook her head 

"no, i just got back" she said and her mother nodded as she told her to go see the others so juno did just that. she grabbed the keys to her car that her mother had been taking care of and she walked outside as she got in the car and she drove to the maybank house. she got out and she looked at all they had done. she smiled at the sight and she walked around as she stared at everything and she walked into the house 

"hello?" she called out and soon enough, jj walked out from around the corner and he looked at the girl in shock. she smiled and waved at him as the others followed close behind her. 

"junie?" she heard him say and she nodded as jj ran over and hugged the girl. she laughed as she hugged him back. he took in a breath of her scent and she let him as he put her down and soon enough the others followed after hugging her, she laughed as she hugged them and when she finally pulled away from the others there was john b in the doorway 

"junebug?" he asked and she smiled 

"hi jb" she said and he ran over as he lifted her in the air and hugged her tightly, she laughed as he held her close and she smiled as he pulled away and kissed her. she kissed him back and the others whistled as they all smiled at the sight of the couple together again and juno laughed with a sigh as they pulled away and she brushed john bs hair out of his face 

"when did you get back?" he asked her and she smiled 

"like an hour ago" she exclaimed and jj spoke up 

"we have so much shit to tell you, i have one question though" he asked and she turned to him as john bs hands rested on her hips and she smiled at jj 

"whats the question j?" she asked and he shrugged 

"did you kill topper?" he asked and the others jaws dropped at the question as pope nudged his boyfriend and juno turned her head to the other before she scratched her head and she nodded with a sigh

"yeah that was me but you seriously can't tell anyone" she exclaimed and they all stared in shock before they moved onto the other shit and in that time, she had found out about blackbear and the gold and the auction and jj betting the gold and groff and she found out jj and pope gets the bends. and thats when she realized that this was unlike anything they had done before and they were truly fucked

what the hell had she come back to? 

-ABBYS NOTES-

TEEEHEHE i love writing little entrances for the characters