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sincerelyjxyy · 10 months

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Gold Rush - Three

Invisible String - Gold Rush

Chapter Three - Being Known Is Only Terrifying In The Best Ways

Song Of The Chapter - Brighter Than The Sun by Colbie Calliat

✧ i was very young when I was cracked open. some things you should let go of, other's you shouldn't. views differ as to which. i keep hold of everything, just in case. — emily berry, the numbers game ✧

Summary: Hurricane Agatha makes it's way over Kildare Island, leaving the Pogues to take full advantage of the off day. But how are they gonna bode well when they stumble upon a mysterious, sunken boat?

Word Count: 11.9k

Gold Rush Masterlist

LIVING ON AN ISLAND OFF THE EAST COAST HAD ITS POSITIVES. Being away from the mainland meant that during most of the year, residents didn't have to worry about overcrowding. When vacation season was over, the bustle of the island was kept to a minimum.

Being surrounded by water on all sides meant that the population of Kildare got to know each other pretty well. If anyone needed something done, you could always count on someone who knew someone.

And, of course, it meant that surfing was a must-have hobby for most kids growing up in The Banks.

As Josie ran down the front steps of the Wreck, she couldn't help the excited whoop that left her mouth the moment she caught sight of the Twinkie. For the last half hour of her shift, she'd been bouncing in her shoes as adrenaline simmered in her gut. The promise of surfing an insane swell had her giddily excited.

Rain slapped down hard against the pavement, but it only aided in Josie's racing heartbeat. She all but sprinted toward the sliding door of her friend's van and yanked it open, throwing herself into the back.

"Hello boys!" She slid the door shut behind her, grinning widely as she glanced at the boys in the front.

Once settled, her eyes flittered around to note that she was the only one occupying the back. She knew Kiara wouldn't join them, as Josie had just bid her goodbye not two minutes prior. Kie had stayed behind to help her parents storm-prep the restaurant.

But the lack of a blond surfing fanatic had Josie reeling in confusion.

She crawled toward the front and leaned in between the seats. Her brows raised as she shot both boys a questioning look. The lack of chaotic energy was unnerving. "JJ's not coming? Since when does he miss a surf?"

"Since he got shitfaced so hard, he passed out on my couch." John B chuckled as he turned to greet her with a pogue handshake. She then turned to Pope when they'd finished, brows raised in query.

He raised his hands in surrender and shook his head. "Don't look at me; I told you when he texted earlier that he was smashed." Josie rolled her eyes; nevertheless, she accepted the explanation.

JJ had texted her during her shift to ask if she wanted to surf the swell coming in, and it was easy to tell that he'd definitely been drinking. All Josie could do was laugh, especially once she'd gotten the text from Pope confirming their friend's state.

Still, Josie, Pope, and John B had all made plans to go out and surf the incoming storm's waves. Josie had assumed that the incentive would've given JJ a reason to sober up, but due to the apparent absence of her best friend, she had been mistaken.

She raised a brow at John B once she registered his similarly giddy expression. "You sure look happy for someone who's supposed to get interrogated by DCS tomorrow."

John B's eyes rolled as he steered the van through the pouring rain toward the beach. Josie's focus moved to the seat behind him as she lifted off the top, searching for the surf housing case for her camera. She'd left it there the last time they'd gone out on the water, too tired to remember to take it with her when she'd gone home.

She pulled it from its hiding spot and listened as John B spoke. "You see that storm right there?" He nodded toward the front windshield. "DCS isn't coming by anytime soon, and we're about to get some of the craziest shots ever out there."

He shot a wide smile over his shoulder as his gaze flickered to the device in her hands. "I'd say that calls for a little excitement."

Josie hummed in agreement, pulling her camera from her backpack to check she had the correct lens. Once satisfied, she began assembling the case over the camera. She'd spent enough time in the water and with a camera to understand how dangerous filming during a surge was. It was important to protect her equipment.

Being on the water was one of the only times anxiety didn't absolutely consume Josie, so she couldn't find it in herself to care too much about what could happen. She was so much more focused on the addictive feeling the surf was bound to give her.

"Let's just hope the new housing lives up to the storm better than the last one did," Josie offered.

Her previous camera had been completely ruined by doing something quite similar to what the three of them were setting out to do. Not less than a year prior, the pogues had been surfing a small storm when the casing on her camera fell apart.

She'd been devastated as she watched her camera plummet to the bottom of the ocean. Not only had it destroyed her to lose such a prized possession, but she also had to endure a stern lecture from Kiara on the repercussions of littering.

Petunia, of course, had never been made aware of the true reasoning for the camera's disappearance. The teen had simply claimed that she'd dropped it off of Kiara's dock. For Josie's following birthday, her mother had surprised her with a better camera, and the incident was never mentioned again.

Josie did have to buy the surf housing on her own, though.

"It'd be better for you to hope that you don't wipe out again. We can't afford to lose our photographer to drowning," Pope joked.

In retaliation, Josie leaned forward and laid a smack on the back of his head. "For your information, dearest genius, it's not a wipeout if you do it on purpose. I did it to get the sick shot of Kie, which was totally worth it."

She continued to fiddle with the protective cover. "Also, I literally had a procedure done today. So, if I do wipe out, it's excusable."

Pope shook his head in disbelief. "It's insane that your mom called the doctor yesterday and somehow you got in. I'm pretty sure we have to wait like a month after my mom calls our doctor."

Josie paused her movements and tried not to dwell too much on how her mother's cutthroat reputation led them through life. "Yeah, well, when you have a mother as ruthless as mine..."

The conversation faded as she finally clicked the cover into place. Her gaze moved to the windows, watching the rain outside as it poured heavily over the island. Harsh winds blew the palm trees so much that they bent at the top.

The surge was sure to be insane—nothing like any of them had seen before. Josie smiled as her veins buzzed with exhilaration. "This is gonna be so sick."

Soon after, John B pulled the Twinkie to a stop on a short patch of gravel to the side of the road. The three of them stared out the windshield as the rain crashed around them, excitement dancing in their eyes. "Alright, we get in, get some sick hang-time, and get out before it gets too bad. Agreed?"

Josie and Pope verbalized their accordance, and that was all John B needed before he opened the door.

As the boys exited the van into the storm, Josie moved to shimmy out of her clothes and down to her bathing suit. She then pulled on a rash-guard top someone had left in the back. Once she was dressed, she pulled the camera strap around her neck and climbed out to join the boys.

She was immediately hit by hefty rainfall and took a moment to adjust to the chill that overcame her. After a few beats, she grabbed the pink board John B handed down from the roof.

The trio quickly darted toward the water with their boards, squinting through the rain to watch where they stepped through the dirt and sand. The last thing any of them needed during a hurricane was a trip to the ER for stitches.

John B led the group, which meant he was also the one who had the best view of what was happening out on the water. "It's a double overhead out there, guys."

"Double overhead?" The concern was prominent in Pope's voice as they stopped to survey the water.

John B's claims were confirmed by the tall, crashing waves that made their way ashore. The cacophonous sound of thunder and lightning added to the ambiance of the rough waves that begged to be surfed. Wind guided the water inward as if to taunt the teens.

Josie would never admit it out loud, but her heartbeat fastened as the adrenaline began to kick in.

Ever the levelhead, Pope conceded his previous desire to surf the swell. "Those aren't surfable waves, bro."

But the other two weren't backing down.

"Says who?" John B laughed as he made eye contact with Josie, who stood on Pope's other side. His gaze bore a question into her, brows raised in anticipation.

Are you up for it?

Josie glanced back out at the raging water, and she tried to make her voice audible against the storm. "In 1778, Captain James Cook caught sight of Tahitian surfers riding the waves of the Pacific; it was the first time Europeans had ever witnessed surfing." She smirked at John B and nodded. "The Tahitians were able to do it because they knew how to hold their own in the water, just like us."

John B's grin widened in response. "Well then, RJ, let's make those surfers proud!"

The two of them raced into the water; Josie stayed further inland so that she wouldn't get swallowed by the giant waves while sitting on her board. She removed the camera from around her neck, utilizing the casing stand as she paddled back and forth to get the perfect shots of her friend.

Josie was aware of how ridiculous she probably looked as she photographed John B. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was grateful that it'd ended up only being the two of them out there.

She stood and rode a few small waves further inland to get some cool in-motion shots. It was a bit difficult to keep her balance while at a standstill, but she tried her best not to topple over as she crouched down on her board.

The easiest photo she'd taken was when he'd stopped for a few moments to sit on his board and stare out at the storm. She wasn't exactly sure why he'd done it, but it made for a simple and picturesque shot.

It wasn't an hour before Pope made his way to where the water met the shore. He flailed his arms around to let them know it was definitely time to move back in. Once John B began paddling his way toward them, Josie started her own journey back in.

"Get anything good?" Pope, who newly sported a hoodie and no board, yelled as Josie jogged her way to him.

She shrugged in response as he took the board from her arms and glanced back down at the camera that hung from her neck. The rain slammed down harder than when they'd first arrived, and she had to squint just to see the friend right in front of her.

Considering the strain it took her to figure out what he was saying, she figured it was probably the best time to head home. Her mother was probably having a freakout at Josie's delayed arrival.

"Guess we'll see, right? There's gotta be something in there!" Josie's shouts were carried away by the storm, and she could only hope that Pope could comprehend her words. The nod he sent her confirmed that he could.

She felt a passing pat on her shoulder and turned to catch John B motion his head toward the Twinkie as he ran past them. "Let's go, before it gets any worse."

The duo hastily followed and made the short jog through the violent rain. Once they approached the van, Josie immediately pulled open the sliding door and climbed in. Desperation to shield herself from any more wet torment outweighed any desire to help the boys.

John B and Pope strapped the boards to the roof, and Josie could make out their petty arguing as they tried to secure them. She had to squint through the bellowing storm as she slightly leaned out the open door.

Once they pulled the last safety strap, Josie hastily shut the door to rush around the back and look for her clothes. She retrieved them from the seat she'd stuffed them in and packed away her camera away. As she pulled her clothes back on over her suit, the boys piled into the car and slammed their doors shut.

Josie scurried toward the front as she buttoned her shorts. Her pleading gaze shot to John B. "I know this is probably the last question you wanna hear, but is it too much to ask that you drop me off at home?"

Josie grimaced as John B's eyes widened and looked back out into the rain. Guilt clenched in her stomach, and she knew it was a lot to ask him to go out of the way. Pope's house was on the way back to The Cut, whereas he'd have to go all the way across Figure Eight to get Josie home.

Still, Josie was nothing if not persistent. She pouted out her bottom lip and folded her hands together in front of her. Once she added a bat of her eyelashes, John B groaned in acquiescence. "Fine, fine, but only because I don't want your mom to kill me. Or sue me for kidnapping."

Josie pursed her lips in agreement and nodded, before she slid back to sit behind him.

John B's claim was anything but irrational. It was very possible that her mother had already called the National Guard because she hadn't arrived home. The fact that her phone had died during her shift didn't help her situation either.

Luckily, with John B's anxious driving, the ride to Josie's house was cut into a short six minutes.

Josie instructed him to pull to the front curb rather than into the driveway, both for the sake of her mother and her friends. She could see the debate in his eyes, torn between being gentlemanly or doing what his best friend asked of him. Ultimately, he complied with Josie's request.

She smiled and leaned in to give them both half-hugs, one at a time. "Love you guys! Be careful and text me when you get home, or if anything happens, okay?"

Both boys responded with their own acknowledgements and "love yous."

She moved back to place her bag over her shoulders, before she hurriedly opened the door. After taking a second to hype herself up, she climbed out and yelled a quick "bye," slamming the door closed behind her.

Without sparing another glance at the van, she raced to unlock the front gate. The water and wind falling down caused her hands to slip from the latch a few times, but she was eventually able to get through and relock the gate behind her. She didn't even second-check the latch before she desperately raced across the rounded driveway and up the front steps, repetitively chanting go as she went.

She audibly pleaded for the door to be unlocked, and she let out an elated thanks when she turned the knob and was able to push it open. The warmth of the home swarmed her as she rushed in.

The harsh slam of the front door caused her to wince; the sound echoed through the foyer. She was immediately greeted with a surprised shout of her name, and she knew her original plan of sneaking up the stairs was a bust.

Through the doorway to the left of the foyer, she could see her mother marching toward her from the living room. The harsh rain and wind outside loudly slammed against the house, but it was nothing compared to the thunderous energy that Petunia Shoupe exerted.

Josie cringed, trying to bypass her mother and sprint toward the stairs. To no avail, because her wrist was instantly caught in her mother's grasp. "Josephine Margaret Grey, where have you been?" The emphasis on each of her names caused Josie to sink back and grimace.

"Do you know how many phone calls I've made in the past half hour looking for you? I called Anna and Mike, Max, and even Rose because you didn't answer your phone!"

Petunia's eyes scanned Josies to finally take in her drenched state, along with the rash guard under her shirt that she'd stupidly forgotten to take off. "Josephine, you did not go surfing." The older woman's jaw set in undeniable anger as her eyes closed. "Do not tell me you are that stupid."

Josie kept silent, fiddling with her fingers, as she listened to her mother's angered breathing. There was no hiding where she'd been; she was quite literally wearing surfing gear. And she couldn't exactly tell her mother she wasn't that stupid because, technically, she was.

She mentally cursed herself for being naïve enough to assume that she'd be able to sneak up the stairs before her mother caught her. A mistake on her part.

She should've climbed through her bedroom window.

Her mother's face reddened with rage as she scoffed at Josie's silence. She yanked the bag from her daughter's shoulders, and Josie helplessly watched as she unzipped the bag. It wasn't difficult for her to find the camera that Josie had left in its protective case.

Petunia slowly pulled the camera out of the bag, before she tossed the bag on the floor in anger. She pointedly glared at Josie, who actively avoided her mother's enraged gaze.

"Did you really go out, in a hurricane, to take photos?"

The way she spat out the words with so much venom made Josie flinch away from her mother. The teen wanted nothing more in that moment than to shrink to the size of a mouse and scurry away to the safety of her bedroom. She wouldn't even be mad if Sparrow, their cat, ended up eating her.

At least she wouldn't have to deal with this interrogation.

"Who was it?" Her mother questioned.

Petunia grew even more irate as Josie continued to evade her eyes. Huffing, she slammed the camera down on the entryway table. "Josephine Grey, you answer me this instant! Was it those-" Her eyes shut firmly once again. The amount of anger radiating off of the woman was terrifying. "If you were with that Maybank boy, so help me God, you will never see the light of day-"

"I wasn't with him," Josie quickly butted in as she vigorously shook her head, finally meeting her mother's gaze. It wasn't technically a lie; she hadn't seen JJ all day.

Her mother stood unimpressed, hands on her hips, with an expression that commanded Josie to continue.

"I went by myself. I borrowed a board from Kie and thought it would be cool to get pictures of the storm on the water. You're right, it was stupid; I'm sorry."

Her mother huffed in incredulity, looking around as if to check that someone else was there to witness Josie's words. "I cannot believe this. I did not raise you to be this disrespectful and reckless."

Josie stayed silent as her mother scoffed. "I mean, do you realize what would've happened if you'd died and no one knew where you were? So many people would have to take time out of their days to look for you because you were being stupid."

Josie nodded, and she watched as Petunia pulled out the fake waterworks card. As the tears slid down her mother's cheeks, she had to refrain from reciprocating the tears. Because, despite knowing they weren't real, they still felt real.

But Josie had to stand firm and stick to her story. If her mother found out that she'd been with the boys, the woman wouldn't stop until she figured out how to ruin their lives for enabling her daughter.

The tears were an act—something used to victimize herself in this situation. It was something that Petunia Shoupe was particularly good at.

"I'm sorry, mom, okay? I knew it was stupid and reckless, but I did it anyway. It was entirely my fault. And I'm sorry I didn't text you; my phone died at work." Josie carefully moved to pick up her backpack from the ground. She gently placed her camera back into the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Petunia wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks and immediately straightened. It was like a switch had flipped in her brain; her emotions changed as her jaw tightened. "No, you know what? I refuse to believe any of this. Who were you with?"

Since the tears failed to work, it was back to the interrogation. "I dropped you off at work today, so someone must have driven you to the beach and back home."

Josie's eyes widened as her mother smirked, seemingly successful in backing the teen into a corner of her lies.

Josie had completely forgotten about the fact that she had no alibi for getting home. She hadn't been given any time to grab her Jeep after her OBGYN appointment on the mainland. Her mother had driven her straight to work and dropped her off, expectant of Kie to drive her home.

Max had also been at the club all day, so there was no way she could claim it was him. That, and the fact that her mother had already said she'd called him to inquire where Josie was.

But, like an angel whispering in her ear, the answer was clear.

"Okay, okay." Josie sighed like she'd been caught in a lie. "It was Kie. I didn't want to say anything because I don't want her to get in trouble with her parents. I convinced her to take a break when I got off work, and she drove me to the beach. When I realized things were getting bad, I called her. She'd been leaving work when she stopped by to pick me up."

Petunia shook her head disappointedly, and Josie had to hold in her sigh of relief. Crisis averted.

"Please don't tell her parents, Mom. She was just being a good friend; it was me who made her skip work."

In all fairness, she wasn't entirely lying; Josie really didn't want her mom to call the Carreras. Because if she did, Petunia would be made aware that Kiara had, in fact, been with her parents all day.

"Okay, okay, I won't tell her parents, just this once." Once Petunia looked away, Josie sighed from relief. "But you will call Kiara and apologize as soon as you get up to your room. Do you understand me?"

Josie nodded and went to push past her mother and race up the stairs. But once again, her wrist was caught before she could get far.

"And I promise you, Josephine. If you ever do something like that again, you will not see the outside of this house until you graduate." Her mother's glare was austere as her words spilled out of clenched teeth. "I will not let you make me look like an unfit mother who doesn't have a handle on her children just because you're going through a phase. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Josie mumbled.

Petunia harshly removed her grasp to rub at the bridge of her nose, before she quickly stopped to smooth out the same spot. She waved her hand to send her daughter away and turned to head back toward the kitchen.

Without waiting, Josie sprinted up the stairs and out of her mother's presence. She was so focused on getting up the steps that when she made it to the landing, her form slammed into someone at full speed. She stumbled back on the step from the force, steadying herself before she tumbled backward.

"Woah, dumbass, watch where you're going." Naomi irritably backed away and expectantly stared at her older sister, waiting for the redhead to move.

Narrowing her eyes down at her sister, Josie crossed her arms and leaned against the railing. "Wow, okay, grumpy pants. Someone's in a mood." Josie chuckled, but it faded when her sister glared up at her. "Oh great. Why are you mad at me?"

Naomi faked in-thought, sarcastically placing a hand to her chin. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you had Mom flipping out today." She blankly stared at Josie as if she'd asked what color the sky was—like it was a nuisance to answer her.

It stung a little.

"I get that you want to hang out with your stupid friends in peace, or whatever, but do it in a way that doesn't affect both of us. Because if you make her mad, I'm the one who has to hear about it."

Josie sighed and nodded, sympathetic to her sister's wishes. She knew all too well what it was like to be the younger sister, taking the brute of a mother's anger toward the older sibling. She grew up with not one, but two older sisters who tested their mother's patience every day.

"You're right; I'm sorry." Josie's gaze was apologetic as she uncrossed her arms. "I'd never want to make you feel the same way the twins made me feel, ever."

"I know," Naomi huffed as she followed, uncrossing her arms.

They stared at each other, sharing a mutual understanding of the reality hidden behind their words. It was no secret that Lily and Daisy were the family jewels, starting from childhood. Having fraternal twins had been a dream for their mother—a blessing in an otherwise terrible experience.

Lily was Petunia's princess, and because of her hearing disability, they'd spent so much time together growing up. To appease their mother, she'd ended up going to med-school at UPenn, no surprise.

Daisy, on the other hand, had always been Peter's favorite. Because while Lily looked similar to him, Daisy looked like a carbon copy of him. Everywhere they went, people always mentioned how much Daisy looked like their father, and he ate it up every time.

It was no surprise, then, that Josie, a carbon copy of Petunia, was her father's least favorite.

As she'd gotten older, Josie realized that the distance between them had always stemmed from the resentment he possessed toward her mother. He'd always claimed that Petunia had baby-trapped him and kept him away from his true calling in life. And because holding it against her wasn't enough, he held it against Josie too.

Sure, he'd tried to be there for her and be her father growing up—key word tried. They'd had their moments, and there were times when Josie thought that maybe their dynamic had changed. But that was all wiped away when her parents divorced, and he disappeared.

Because of everything, it was well known that Josie heavily resented her older siblings for their childhood. Josie was glad that it seemed like Naomi understood that she'd never want to enable that cycle to continue. They might not have been super close, but they both could recognize the fucked-up family dynamic they were born into.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go shower." Josie pointed toward her bedroom door and moved aside for her sister to walk down the stairs.

Naomi nodded and offered a blunt, "don't get struck by lightning."

"Will do." Josie fake saluted, before she made her way down the hall and through her door.

The door was shut behind her as soon as she entered, and an immediate sense of comfort enveloped her. The roaring sound of the wind slapping tree limbs and rain against her window continued, but she paid no mind to it. If anything, it added ambiance to her place of solitude.

That solace was shattered with a hammer as soon as her gaze drifted across the room.

She was greeted with the form of someone's back. Standing at her desk to the left of her room was Cory, her mother's aggravating boyfriend. He shifted through a stack of papers on the wood, and he paid no mind to being caught in the action.

Glaring at his form, Josie sat her backpack down beside the door. "Do you mind? Or are you just gonna continue invading my privacy?"

Cory wasn't fazed by Josie's hostility, turning to face her with a raised brow. He leaned against her desk and raised a sheet of paper toward her, as if she knew what it was from the other side of the room. "This is my house; I can go through whatever I want."

Josie rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms and made her way across the room. "Please, this is the house my mother pays for. You just mooch off her, sleep in her bed, and use her name to filter through jobs." She snatched the paper from his hand and didn't bother to look at it, placing it at the bottom of the stack.

She swiftly glared back up at him. "Speaking of, how's the academy going? Heard from a little birdie that Peterkin made you cry doing push-ups the other day."

She couldn't help the smirk that grew on her face as he clenched his jaw. She found small pleasures in his obvious distaste for her. She hoped that she'd made him mad enough to disengage from further conversation.

Her little birdie had been Naomi, who'd overheard him fussing about his mishap with the sheriff to their mother and uncle. He had apparently wanted Petunia to sue Peterkin. They both had to inform him that, legally, there was nothing Petunia could do because it was what he'd signed up for.

According to Naomi, he'd bawled at their refusal.

"You little fucking brat," Cory hissed as he stood to his full height. He sought to intimate Josie by towering over her, but it failed to work. Josie had seen him blubber when his father told him they couldn't rent a yacht on vacation, so the intimidation act had already lost its effect after she'd turned fifteen.

She stared up at him, unimpressed, as her arms returned to their crossed position over her torso.

"You know, as soon as I put a ring on your mother's finger, you're out. Permanently." Cory's obnoxious audacity caused Josie to scoff and roll her eyes.

Her overbearing mother would never even consider letting Josie out of her grasp without a fight. Not that Josie wasn't already planning to move out the moment she turned eighteen.

Still, she entertained his tactics. "Watch it, Cory. You'd have to actually make money to put a ring on her finger."

The rouge color of his face was enough to satisfy Josie, and she backed away from him triumphantly. His nostrils flared as he huffed down at her, but she smiled unbothered. "Now, please leave my room."

Josie grew a bit surprised, and a little impressed, with herself as she watched Cory stomp out of the room and slam the door behind him. There weren't a lot of people Josie felt like she could stand up to, much less be objectively mean to.

The list was small and few, and while Cory wasn't at the top, he was definitely on the list.

Once he was out of sight and out of mind, Josie made herself busy by grabbing a set of pajamas and heading into the Jack and Jill bathroom. She made sure her sister's door was locked, before jumping into the shower.

She let the warm water wash away both the salt and the tension from her entire day.

❁

mandatory pogue meeting. attend not optional. b on the dock and ready by 9 :)

Josie smiled down at the text from JJ, squinting and covering her eyes from the blistering sun overhead as she stared at her phone. She'd been pulled from a hectic morning of hurricane cleanup when she received the text, and she was more than happy to leave the suffocating nature of her house.

She couldn't think of any better way to spend a post-storm day than with her favorite people.

Her backpack weighed heavy on her shoulders, filled to the brim with snacks and her Polaroid camera. She could already tell that the day was going to be a hot one too, so she prayed that Kie brought good drinks. The last she'd heard from the brunette was the confirmation that she'd pack Josie's favorite, so the redhead was hopeful.

She continuously peeked over her shoulder as she waited on the dock, praying that her mother wouldn't peer outside and catch her. Agatha had hit the island hard, and Josie hoped the bustle of the post-storm cleanup crew would distract her mother long enough for her to hop on the boat. It'd been Petunia's only focus all morning.

Josie's attention was ripped from her phone once she heard the approaching sounds of whistles and whoops. All three pogue boys smiled and waved as they neared the Shoupe dock.

She grinned and repeatedly motioned her hand downward, instructing them to duck down out of her mother's potential view. They all complied, but John B struggled to steer the boat and hide at the same time. She snickered at the sight, rolling her eyes at the sound of his voice.

"Good morning, princess!"

"Mornin' fair lady, care for a boat ride today?" JJ's put on the most dramatized accent in his repertoire, greeting his best friend with a smile so wide that it met the creases by his eyes. Josie had to hold herself from cackling at his attempt at an accent.

"Only if your gorgeous face is there." She snorted at the redness she could just make out creeping up JJ's neck, and she refrained from teasing him about it.

The weight that had been on her shoulders all day began to slowly slip away. The mere presence of her friends provided more security than any house or bedroom ever could.

"My mom's gonna kill me if she finds out what I'm doing." Josie chuckled, shielding her eyes from the sun, as she walked alongside the boat at the end of the dock. As soon as John B pulled close enough without stopping, JJ stuck his hand out to help guide Josie onto the boat.

With ease, thanks to the golden-haired boy's assistance, she was able to step onto the boat without a problem.

"Well, let's keep her from finding out then." JJ's brow lifted in query, and she nodded her head in agreement.

For a few moments, they both stood in their spots, smiling at each other. JJ sported that goofy grin of his, blue eyes swimming with mischief as they always did. Josie giggled as she habitually reached out and playfully pinched his stomach, overwhelmed by her admiration for her friend.

Scoffing good-naturedly, he reached forward to pinch both sides of her waist. It wasn't uncommon for the duo to start playfully fighting one another. The wars ranged from many things: biting, pinching, slapping, wrestling, or tickling. JJ and Josie were both physically inclined beings, and therefore, any playful messing around with each other usually had something to do with touch.

Josie swatted at his hands, glaring at him playfully, as she squirmed away from his wandering fingers. "Truce, please." She raised her hands as if to surrender, and he narrowed his eyes at her—not one to back down so easily. She groaned, looking up at him through her lashes. "Please, Jay. Pope is over there burning holes in my face because I haven't said one word to him."

She looked past JJ to wink at Pope, who, sure enough, was playfully glaring at the interaction between the two. It was no secret that JJ was her favorite, but she still owed the others their greetings.

If JJ had anything to say about it at all, neither of them would ever speak to anyone else.

He turned to look behind him and smirked back at Pope, who rolled his eyes at the blond. The boy then turned back to Josie, tapping a finger on his chin in fake thought. "M'kay, I'll call truce. But you have to give me a back massage the next time we share the hammock."

Josie narrowed her eyes and scrunched her face up at him. Typical JJ.

He stared down at her, a perfect grin ever-present among his sculpted face. The smugness of his stare clearly showed that he knew he'd already won, but of course he wanted to hear her say it.

And as much as a part of her wanted to wipe the confident look off his face, she concurred. "Okay, okay. I'll give you a back massage, you freak."

He accepted the withdrawal and, without further teasing, grabbed an old fishing hat from atop his backpack on the floor. He placed it on her head and winked down at her, pulling a few strands of air out from under the hat to fall around her face.

Josie chuckled and nudged his stomach lightly with her elbow. She was relieved that one of them remembered her tendency to easily burn in the sun, because she never did. But she had Kiara and JJ, who would never let her go anywhere with sunscreen and a hat.

She fleetingly sent him a grateful smile, before she made her way over to Pope and dramatically embraced him. She rocked him back and forth, laughing, until he shoved her off of him. She greeted John B with a hug as well, which he returned with only one arm in favor of steering the boat.

"Nice to see ya!" Josie drawled in a Midwestern accent as she patted John B's check.

"Wow..." JJ whistled, crossing his arms and pretending to huff.

His brows raised over his wide eyes as he watched his best friends' interactions with each other. Josie inwardly cooed at the pout on his face. JJ playfully glared at her. "These two idiots get a hug, and all I get is assaulted? What kinda crap is that?"

Shrugging, Josie rolled her eyes and placed her backpack on the floor of the boat. She stood up and stretched her arms out, letting out a groan of pleasure as her joints clicked.

She was incredibly unaware of the heart eyes cast in her direction as her shirt lifted slightly above her belly button.

"These two idiots didn't get the cops called on me the other night; now did they?" Josie shot him a smirk, and the younger boy playfully winced. He nodded his head and raised both hands in surrender, as the aforementioned boys oohed and jokingly grimaced.

"Yeah, fine. I deserved that."

Josie hummed in agreement and bent down to dig through her bag. Once she found what she was looking for, she pulled out the Polaroid camera and placed the strap around her neck.

"By the way-" She looked up toward JJ, the corner of her mouth quirking once she realized he'd already been staring down at her. She stood to her full height and chuckled at the curious expression on his face. "You know that mandatory and attendance not optional mean the same thing, right?"

She snorted through a giggle as he rolled his eyes, pshing at her as he sat down. He raised his hand to help her down, and once she was settled to his left, he responded. "'Course I do, was just seein' if you'd notice."

Josie was not at all convinced, but she let him nudge her shoulder with his and flash his gentle smile at her. She skeptically hummed and nodded as she looked out past the front of the boat. They slowly made their way up the coastline, and not much further was the Carrera house.

"So, how's your mornin' post-Aggie been?" JJ asked, motioning his head back toward the house they'd left behind. Josie groaned in response, throwing her head back as she leaned back, palms flat on the boat.

JJ chuckled and leaned into her, allowing their shoulders to brush as they spoke. "Parents laying down the law?"

"My mother went into momzilla mode at five a.m. this morning. She came into my room shouting about a tree outside that was blown over, followed by a meltdown because a branch landed on her car." Jose rose off her hands to slap them against her cheeks, and she softly mimicked her mother's pitched scream.

"She and Cory have been arguing all morning about paying the cleanup crew and what they were gonna do about stuff around the house. So, I told her I was going to Kie's to help and booked it out back."

Pope snorted as he shook his head in disbelief. "Can't believe your mom hasn't dumped him yet."

The many awful qualities of her mother's boyfriend were well known amongst the group of friends. Josie had complained many times about the man living in her house, and she had no shortage of choice words when doing so. "Yeah, well, guess that's her type. Deadbeat, who can't keep a job and has no redeeming qualities."

Josie took no notice of how her blond friend's shoulders tensed after she spoke. Nor did she see the pitiful look John B sent JJ as she lifted from her spot upon seeing Kiara down the way.

She sent her female friend an enthusiastic wave before looking back at a preoccupied JJ, who was too lost in his own head. "Just look at my dad."

"Think she'd go for me then?" John B joked, doing his best to divert attention away from the ever-growing tension radiating from their other friend.

Josie scoffed in disgust and picked up a stray can to hurl at his head. The brunette tried his best to duck away from the attack, but it hit him square in the chest and fell flat at his feet. Josie flipped him off and ignored the grin he sent her, instead turning to face the friend they approached.

"Oh, top o' the mornin' to ya," John B greeted Kie as she stood at the dock with a cooler and her backpack.

Josie beamed at her, wiggling her fingers in a teasing wave as they got close. "Hiya, beautiful."

"Good morning, boys and lovely lady."

Despite having FaceTimed her only hours prior, Josie was incredibly happy to have the group completed. She was also very grateful for the opportunity to leave the conversation of her parents behind her.

Pope and JJ greeted Kie as they passed, and John B chuckled as he steered the boat as close as possible to her dock. "What'cha got? You got some juice boxes?"

"You know, just some yogurt, some carrot sticks."

Josie reached out her hand toward Kie, who smiled gratefully as she grabbed it. As they did so, JJ spoke from below Josie. "How 'bout my kind of juice boxes?"

The green-eyed girl's nose crinkled in humor as she glanced back down at him. As she did so, the corner of his mouth lifted.

"Brace for impact," John B once again cracked as Kie climbed aboard the boat. Once she was fully on, she placed the cooler down on the floor of the cockpit, and Josie immediately pulled her in for a greeting that was happily accepted.

Once they'd separated, the group situated themselves as Kie passed around drinks. "So, how'd you get away from the Addams family today?" Kiara quipped, handing Josie the pink lemonade Smirnoff that she'd specifically requested.

She coked her head to the side, sending Kiara a look that asked, what do you think? "I'll give you two hints; it starts with Y and rhymes with boo."

"Always the scapegoat," JJ teased humorously as he tilted his unopened beer bottle towards Kie.

Josie scoffed and reached over to hit him in the stomach. Startled, JJ let out a choked laugh through his gasp for air as she did so. He bent over and dramatically held a hand to his stomach.

"I can't exactly use the rest of you, can I?" Josie sarcastically asked, watching as JJ rubbed his stomach. She turned to look at Pope, who nodded in agreement.

Realistically, she could probably get away with using Pope if she played her cards right, or John B under extenuating circumstances. But if Josie ever were to even utter JJ's name, her mother would put both of their heads on pikes.

"You know I don't mind. If it means having you here, it's worth a little white lie to your mom." Josie jutted out her bottom lip appreciatively and clinked her bottle with Kiara's.

JJ's mouth curved into a smile, and he lifted his bottle towards them in cheers. "I'll drink to that."

"Salud." "Sante." "Skoal."

Once the boat diverted from the landline, John B was able to pick up speed and steer them up and through the marsh. But despite the ease of navigation, the pogues were still slow to move through the marsh.

They all laughed and drank as they spent the morning together without a care in the world. The boys alternated driving through the water, while Kie and Josie laughed at whatever stupid idea they could concoct. And when JJ excitably pulled two joints from his backpack, the day got even more enjoyable.

It was everything that made sneaking around her mother worth it. The absolute freedom that Josie always felt when she was surrounded by the people she loved most in the world.

They didn't care about how she dressed or if she stuttered when she spoke. They didn't scold her when she nervously fiddled with her fingers or chewed on her nails. None of them had any problems dealing with her anxieties and pushing her to do the things she'd otherwise be too sheltered to even think about.

They'd been her best friends for what felt like her entire life, witnessing and comforting her at the highest and lowest points of her life. And mornings just like that one further proved that Josie's life was best when she was with those people.

Her people.

"Let me show you a party trick," JJ declared as he moved to stand up at the front of the boat.

Josie leaned back and groaned as Kie teased him. "Terrifying."

"Hey Pope. Can you go a little faster, please?"

Josie watched her best friend find his balance at the bow, and she giggled from her spot next to Kiara. "JJ, please not again."

She looked to Pope for some sort of refusal of the blond's request, but he shrugged and looked up at their friend in dubiety. John B declared his spot away from the action, and Josie helplessly watched as Pope concurred.

They began to pick up speed, and Josie inquisitively smirked up at the boy. John B's complaints sounded from behind Pope. "Doesn't work; we've tried this like six thousand times." Nevertheless, he watched their friend with mild amusement.

Josie knew how the situation would end, and she couldn't deny the bit of anxiety that grew in her belly. Regardless of knowing that it would be funny when they looked back, she really didn't feel like calling a water ambulance out into the marsh again.

But JJ would do what JJ wanted.

"It got this. It's gonna work!" JJ placed his foot on the edge of the boat, and Josie immediately grabbed at his other ankle to keep him steady. She peered back at Kiara, exasperation clear on the redhead's face.

The younger girl only smirked in response, and she tilted her bottle up at JJ as if to say, your circus, not mine.

"Sunny, this isn't gonna go any differently than the thousands of times you've already tried!" Josie's pleas were of no use, and she watched as he grinned down at her over his shoulder.

A small part of her wanted him to do it. Either way, something interesting was bound to happen.

He raised his bottle in her direction and winked. "You just gotta believe, baby!" He adjusted his stance on the front of the boat, wind blowing his hair back, as he tilted his head back slightly and held the bottle in front of his mouth.

Josie plainly resided in the splash zone, but she opted to keep her left hand's grip firm on his calf to keep him from face-planting on the water. In her right hand, she gripped her drink, which she anxiously sipped from as she stared up at the ridiculous boy.

She watched as he attempted to have the wind blow the drink into his mouth, and she groaned when sixty percent of the beer missed his mouth and splashed out behind him. "JJ!"

"Oh my god, you're getting beer in my hair!" Kie complained and tried to duck away from the liquid. Josie folded into herself to try and keep the beer out of her eyes, laughing when John B and Pope also got splashed.

"Alright. Alright! You're done-stop!" Pope admonished, and the boys continued to do their best to talk JJ down from his position at the front of the boat.

They both continued to yell out sternly, but the blue-eyed boy completely ignored them. Josie giggled as she looked up toward the side of his face, his blissful and focused expression contrasting the reprimands behind him.

It was only a moment later that the boat veered into a sharp jolt to the right, and the whole group flung across different ends of the vessel. The girls squealed as they crashed into each other, foreheads colliding while their sides rammed into the top of their seats. They immediately grabbed at each other to steady one another.

Kie was the first one of them to speak. "Jesus, Pope!"

As John B groaned out, Josie quickly realized that there was one person missing from the batch of groans. She no longer held a grip on JJ's leg, and he was absent from his previous post.

Without a moment's hesitation, she scrambled to lean over the side of the boat and look out into the marsh for her boy. "JJ?"

He was quick to pop up from the murky water, and Josie sighed out in relief. She leaned her forehead down against the edge of the boat, hoping that the cool metal would ease the burning headache from colliding with Kiara and worrying about JJ. Her best friend was an idiot—so, so stupid. But if something had actually happened to him, Josie couldn't even begin to think of what she'd do.

But he was fine.

Still an asshole, but fine.

"You okay, JJ?" Pope called out to where their friend was groaning in pain.

Josie rubbed her stinging side and huffed at JJ's idiocy, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She repeatedly reminded herself that he hadn't maimed himself flying off of the boat.

"I think my heels touched the back of my head," JJ coughed out.

With the confirmation that JJ still had enough of his brain to make stupid commentary, Josie's head fell back in relief. Feeling confident that he was fine, she lifted her camera to capture the boy in the water and only provided a short "told you not to" as an explanation.

With the flash and the sound of a camera, a chorus of pained chuckles followed. Josie turned away to sit with her back against the boat and finally took a moment to catch her breath, shaking the photo around to develop. Once she was satisfied, she placed it on the seat beside her.

"Kie, you okay?" John B groaned from where he'd been flung, not having yet moved.

"I'm alright," she responded.

Josie slightly moved over to grab Kiara's hand and help her situate herself. Josie scanned her for any scrapes or bruising, and they shared a breath of laughter when Kie subconsciously did the same.

The moans of pain around them grew apparent, as the adrenaline of being thrown around wore off and the sting of the jolt settled in. Josie leaned back to rest her head against the boat, and she rubbed at the spot on her ribs where she could feel a bruise already forming.

How she was going to explain that to her mother, she had no idea.

"Pope, what did you do?" JJ asked from the water as he made his way back toward the boat. Josie watched him swim to the front end, and she lazily made her way up the bow to meet him.

"Sandbar. The channel changed," Pope answered through his strained voice.

"No shit," JJ chastised.

Josie rose to her knees on the front of the boat, lifting her arms above her head as she tried to stretch out the kinks in her body. She shared a pained look with JJ as his eyes scanned her for injuries.

"Ugh, this is probably gonna mess this whole place up." John B groaned as he looked around the marsh, doubting that he could correctly navigate through it in its current state. So much for fishing today.

"Hey, I saved the beer though," JJ affirmed. He lifted the beer in his hand, thumb pushed into the opening to stop marsh water from entering.

"Congrats, JJ," John B let out in pained sarcasm, and Josie grimaced in disgust.

"Yes, because the beer is worth more than your legs, Jay, of course." Josie extended her arms towards him, rolling her eyes when he handed her the beer first. She placed it down and went to extend her arm again, but Pope reached out to stop her.

She watched him, confused, as he stared down at the water below them. "Guys...I think there's a boat down there."

"Shut up," John B chided. The girls expressed their disbelief as Josie's eyes skimmed the water under JJ for any sigh of what their friend was claiming. She saw nothing.

"No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's like a boat down there, for real."

Pope's insistence made Josie inclined to look again, using his pointer finger to navigate her gaze through the water. It was then that she made out the faint light color contrasting against the dirty water of the marsh. "Holy shit."

"It's a boat!" Pope exclaimed persistently, while the rest of them realized that their friend actually wasn't crazy. At least, not about that. There was, in fact, a sunken boat resting in the water.

Kie immediately turned to change out of her clothes. "Holy shit, he's right. Let's go."

Josie didn't need any more confirmation before she kicked her sandals off and shimmied out of her shorts. She haphazardly threw them behind her, same with her shirt, and returned the grin the boy in the water sent her. She jumped in, followed by John B's dive, and swam towards where they'd seen the boat.

"You think there's a dead body down there?" Pope excitedly asked from where he undressed on the boat, which caused Josie to laugh and simultaneously cringe.

"God, I hope not! I will throw up."

She smiled at JJ, who swam closer to her, as they watched Kiara cheer as she jumped in. A frantic Pope pleaded for them to wait as he threw his hat off. After taking a moment longer, JJ couldn't help but tease him. "Get your ass in here, Pope!"

They all cheered him on as he cannonballed into the water. Once they'd grouped up, they looked around to confirm everyone was on board.

Josie caught JJ's eyes, wildly grinning from the adrenaline newly pumping through her veins that vastly contradicted the anxiety she'd felt only moments prior. She felt like she looked like an insane person, laughing at the possibility of finding a boat wreck. She wondered if she was being dramatic in her excitement.

But JJ simply returned her grin, staring at her as if she held the answers to everything he'd ever felt.

He winked at her, before looking around at everyone else. "Last one down's a smelly kook!" He quickly submerged himself, and the rest of them followed.

They all swam down toward the boat, which stuck out like a sore thumb given their new perspective.

The group moved around the cockpit of the boat to confirm that it was, in fact, a fucking sunken boat. Josie couldn't wrap her head around the fact that they'd actually stumbled upon that. Who knows how long it'd been down there, given how inconspicuous it was. It could've been sitting there for months, only just being found because of the hurricane's channel change.

Josie's stomach sank once she considered the possibility of them actually seeing a dead body. She would throw up.

A tug on her arm caused Josie to turn to JJ as he motioned his head upward. She nodded, and the pair followed the rest of their friends up. Their gasps for air rang out as everyone broke the surface.

"You guys saw that, right?" JJ exclaimed, looking over at Josie in elated bewilderment, before he turned to the rest of them. Affirmations sounded from everyone, incredulity prominent as they took in what they'd just seen.

"What the..." John B was at a loss for words, shock filling his clouded mind.

Josie couldn't help the noises of excitement that fell from her lips at the giddiness she shared with her friends. "Holy shit, was that-"

"A Grady-White?" JJ excitedly finished for her as they swam back to the boat. Josie shook her head in bewilderment as he continued. "A new one of those is like five hundred Gs, easy."

Once they approached the side of the boat, Josie waited for everyone to climb over first so that the boat wouldn't tip over from them clambering on all at the same time. Pulling himself up to stand on the boat, JJ scanned around animatedly and set his eyes on Josie in the water, reaching out to help her up.

"That's a primo rig."

He pulled her up and bent to meet her eyesight as she stood. She chuckled at the look on his face—like he was a kid in a candy store.

Almost no one Josie had ever met knew as much about boats as JJ did, so it was no surprise that an expensive boat would garner that type of thrilling reaction from him. The fierce joy shining behind his bright blue eyes was infectious, and Josie couldn't help but return the emotion as she stared into them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the boat I saw when we surfed the surge." John B glanced over at Josie, who shook her head in confusion. He hadn't told her about any boat, much less one similar to the one below them. "Maybe it hit the jetty or something."

"You guys surfed the surge?" Kiara questioned, looking between the two guilty parties in disbelief.

Josie avoided the concerned look Kie shot her, feeling even worse knowing she'd used her as an excuse to do it. She was certain that wasn't classified under Kiara's list of things that were okay to use her as an alibi for. John B, however, was happy to confirm their deathly activities from the day prior.

"That's my boy and my girl. Pogue style, guys." JJ praised the both of them, pogue-shaking with John B before wrapping his left arm around Josie's shoulders.

Josie stared at Kie apologetically and tried to ignore the appraisal from the boy beside her, no matter how much she found herself relishing in it. She turned to JJ with a lopsided grin, and he peered down at her with so much pride that she felt like she could combust. The gleam behind his eyes was addicting.

"Got some sick ass shots too." John B smirked at the entwined duo, and Josie shot him a quick glare. She narrowed her eyes at him, confused since he hadn't even seen what the photos looked like.

What was he playing at?

That detail didn't seem to matter to the blond beside her, who squeezed her closer to him. "You're so fucking cool, y'know that? You gotta show me all of 'em later." He placed a fleeting peck to her temple and headed toward the bow.

Heat crept up Josie's neck as he walked away. She wanted to interject that it was his idea. That he probably didn't remember, but he was the one who'd given them the idea to surf the storm. He was the cool one with the tendency to be impetuous.

But the way Kiara glared at her was enough to make Josie abstain from saying anything, and she instead picked at her nails. Kie shot her a look that Josie was quite accustomed to.

We'll talk about this later.

"Wait, wait. Do we know whose boat that is?" Pope questioned, watching as John B bent down to dig the anchor out of storage. JJ crouched down at the bow and observed the boat in the water.

"No, but we're about to find out," John B asserted, and Josie's eyes widened at him. He was in no way qualified to go searching around underwater for that long, and he could only hold his breath without assistance for so long.

In her concern, she failed to notice Kiara gaping at them all as if they were lunatics.

"Dude, it's too deep," JJ admonished as he stared down into the depths of the water. If JJ was saying something was a bad idea, Josie had no idea why anyone would want to follow through.

John B rebutted through a groan as he lifted the anchor, the smile ever prominent on his face. "Oh, for the weak and feeble, JJ."

"Alright, well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear upfront," JJ warned.

Josie rolled her eyes and patted John B's back reassuringly. "Don't worry. If it comes down to it, I'll resuscitate you."

John B smirked over his shoulder as he climbed up onto the front of the boat. "Is that just because you wanna kiss me?"

Josie scoffed and lightly shoved him forward, recalling anything she said about helping him. "I'm spoken for, buddy-boy. I think it's you who wants to kiss me." Josie held up her wrist to show off the golden bracelet Max had given her.

John B satirically nodded, pulling a face to look like he'd been caught in a lie. "Every night in my dreams." He concededly shrugged, and Josie chuckled at his stupidity. She flipped him off, earning a loud laugh from the boy.

Her smile was bright as she looked over at JJ, but it quickly fell when she saw the unimpressed look he gave the both of them. She shrugged and watched as he bitterly rolled his eyes.

"John B," Kie warned, voice soft as she gazed at him concerned.

"What?"

Josie acknowledged that Kie had a point to be concerned. John B really planned to swim all the way down and search the boat with no diving gear in sight. Not to mention that he was the exact person who was the most prone to life-threatening situations out of all of them.

"Diver down, fool." Pope saluted up at John B, who sighed and returned the gesture back at them.

"Diver down."

"Yeah, he is," JJ playfully declared, shoving the brunette off the bow.

Josie's fingernails flew to her mouth as soon as he hit the water, undeterred by the fact that they'd just been in the marsh. She was much more focused on the status of John B's safety than her dirty fingers.

The four of them gathered at the side of the boat, keeping an eye out for any bubbles or signs of a struggle under the water. The air was tense as Josie tried to concentrate on watching the movement of John B's faint form swimming around.

Somewhere in her brain, Josie implored that she probably should've been the one to go down, had she been given the option. John B probably wouldn't have let her, but it still seemed like the more logical choice. They'd done a plethora of playful challenges that proved she could hold her breath for a considerably longer time than the rest of them.

She couldn't help but consider the worst as she stared down at the water. It was unnerving to think about John B struggling to keep his mouth shut. His body would eventually take that last involuntary gasp for air, letting the water sink down into his lungs.

The boy beside her must've noticed her extreme concern, because she felt JJ remove her hand from her mouth and wrap his hand around it. "Stop stressin'. He's gonna be fine."

Looking over to him, she accepted his nod of reassurance and the squeeze of her hand. She returned the action and turned back to the water, but she withheld from releasing his hand.

"Should we go get him?" Pope asked.

Josie was fully prepared to jump in, when the boy resurfaced with a cough. She let out a long sigh of relief and released JJ's hand, smiling as John B shook the hair from his eyes. From beside her, JJ let out an "ah, geez."

"Oh, my god. That took forever." The worry was clear in Kiara's voice, a sentiment shared by both the girls.

Pope, however, had more concerning matters to press. "Any dead bodies?"

"Looting potential?" JJ added, and Josie slapped his shoulder.

John B denied their questions but lifted up his hand to show what he'd found in the boat. "I found this motel key." The keychain he held up was long and yellow, and Josie figured it wasn't rusty enough to have been down there for too long. Which negated her previous assumption about the boat being down there for a while.

JJ pulled up the anchor as Josie backed away from the side. She couldn't believe that all he'd found down there was a key. After all of that excitement.

Obviously, Pope felt the same way. "A key?"

"Yes, a key, Pope," John B stated matter-of-factly, climbing his way up the side of the boat.

"Great! We salvaged a motel key." JJ leaned over the side to look down at the Grady-White once again, as if wads of cash were going to float up from it. A boy could dream.

"Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard," Kie spoke up, as Josie plopped herself down on one of the seats, hands pressed to her heart to calm the racing pulse in her chest. After Kie checked that John B was secure in the boat, she moved to sit closely beside her friend.

"I second that. There's a huge possibility that whoever was in that boat is still out there," Josie concurred.

"Alright, we'll go report the wreck; see if anyone's out lookin' for a sunken boat," John B agreed, nodding at Pope to start the boat back up. Pope made his way toward the wheel and cranked the boat, before he lurched them to head off around the island.

Josie twisted in her seat to look around for something in particular, and she grinned as she picked up the Polaroid that had fallen to the floor. She turned to smirk at JJ and mischievously waved the small picture around. He approached her with a raised brow and a playful glare as she cheekily spoke. "I was thinking this would be a perfect replacement for the wallet photo."

JJ snatched the Polaroid from her hand and couldn't help the chuckle that fell from his lips as he looked at it. The pain from bending like a pretzel was evident from his expression in the photo. She immediately knew that the photo was going on her wall, despite the joke about his wallet.

"Yeah, right. Why would I carry this thing around when there's a perfectly good photo of you instead?" He reached down to dig into his own bag, but Josie instantly slapped his hand away to stop him from pulling out the leather item.

She dared not to think about the hideous photo of her stuffed into a pocket of JJ's wallet.

It'd been taken on a random night when they were all hanging out together. Her camera had been passed back and forth between the friends as they all wasted the film on anything they wanted to remember. Josie had been mid belly laugh when JJ took the picture of her, red faced and her hair a mess as she looked like a madman.

She'd immediately demanded that he burn it, but he'd adamantly refused on the grounds that it was his picture, and he decided what to do with it.

For almost two years, JJ had been carrying around that same stupid Polaroid of Josie in his wallet. It was arguably the most embarrassing photo of herself that Josie had ever seen, and she felt the candid did her no justice whatsoever.

And because of such, JJ, of course, declared it his favorite. He'd been adamant about keeping it on him at all times, because he couldn't dare risk it falling into the wrong hands or, God forbid, being ruined by Josie herself.

She rolled her eyes and snatched the photo back from his hand, smiling down at it. It was a funny thing to look back on, even if it had been the root of her consuming anxiety in the moment. Her heart filled with admiration at the sheer adrenaline-fueled pain tolerance of her friend.

"I'm keeping this forever and ever," Josie teased as she looked up at him with a goofy grin. He rolled his eyes, but Josie could see the corners of his mouth tilting upward.

"Good, 'cause I still look hot as fuck."

Josie gently elbowed him in the stomach, but let the conversation fall as they made their way over the water. She bent back down toward her bag, fishing out her journal and pen in an effort to pass time. As they made their way toward the channel, Josie had a sudden thought pop into her head.

The previous summer, a tourist named Clyde Hayes had found the local fruit vendor, Leroy Scott's, boat off the coast of Figure Eight. He'd gotten something like a three-thousand-dollar reward for finding it. "Y'know what, guys? Maybe we'll get a finder's fee!"

"Yeah, and not work all summer," JJ pointed out. It was a blunt reminder that they were going to spend all summer cleaning up the mess made in one night.

"Thanks, Agatha, ya batch."

⋄ ⋟⋆ june 18, 2020

as I sit on a boat caressing the waters of the atlantic ocean, I cannot help but stop to think about tim kreider's quote about the mortifying ordeal of being known. and whilst I agree with the notion of it being terrifying for others to know you; I cannot help but simply disagree as I look around to the people surrounding me. nuture is siting to my right, brushing her curls into a make-shift ponytail as her hair blows in the wind. responsibility, benevolence, and loyalty smile as their laughter rings out among the water. and I can't help but think that being known is terrifying only in the best ways. because sometimes a loved one mentions something you never considered about yourself, or looks to you when they tell a joke to make sure you're smiling along. you can't help but feel like your heart is cradled in their hands, but it's held with such care. it makes life so beautiful; the idea that people could be so delicate.

- josephine grey ⋄ ⋟⋆

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