A groan crawls its way out of JJ's throat. The cause being his parched lips that are cracked and bleeding, he's absolutely starving. The empty cup of water in front of him did no justice. He was sore everywhere. Like everywhere. Bruises covered his face, torso, back, legs, and arms. Some scrapes and cuts had formed but had clotted quickly after the beatings stopped.
What had woken him?
JJ listens and his crusted over eyes widen once he hears his father coming up the stairs. JJ tries to change his posture from the half laid down half sat crouch that he'd been stuck in. His hands were both chained to a metal handle in the wall and despite all efforts, wouldn't budge. The bloody wrists made themselves known. This time, his father had taken it too far.
He was severely drunk, unlocking the lock from the outside door with a ton of struggle. He stumbled in with a large cup of water, He threw it all over JJ. Who, shoving his pride down, is greedy for the drops that drip down his face and catch on his tongue.
"You greedy bitch" His father laughs."You're so weak son, can't even stand up. Those are your mother's genes right there, I don't give no weak genetics." The words are very slurred, putting JJ on edge. It's hard to figure out the intentions of a very drunk Luke, but it didn't seem like today was going in JJ's favor.
JJ had been stuck there in his room, chained to the wall and even if he could get out, he probably couldn't leave because he'd watched his dad nail the windows shut and the door was locked from the outside. Although maybe he could knock it down, if he could actually get up and out of the cuffs. JJ would estimate it's been about a week, all without food cause his father was a selfish bitch. Not only that, but he took JJ's phone and smashed in under his boot. It still lays on the floor out of reach, crushed and broken.
"Dad please." He whimpers. "m'hungry." Luke leans closer, the smell of beer sharp in his breath. "See there it is, so needy and whiny. Shut up!" Luke's fist made contact with his son's face, throwing him backwards into the wall. Kicks followed towards his already bruised/broken ribs and he cries out, attempting to curl in on himself at the hard angle he's stuck at.
Minutes later, the fight's over and when JJ opens his eyes, Luke is gone. He risks relaxing, but it just ends with him falling unconscious.
...
"Guys where's JJ?" Kiara asks. It was the first real Pogue hangout in just over a week because both Kie and Pope were grounded. "Hasn't he been with you?" She asks John B. He just frowns. "No, I thought he'd been staying with Pope, helping your dad with deliveries and stuff." Pope frowns as well. "Nah man, he hasn't been at my place at all."
"Shit" They said in unison. Without a word, the three of them hopped into the Twinkie to head to the Maybank household.
"How long has he been there do you think?" Kiara asks worriedly. "It's had to have been since we've last hung out cause no one's seen him. Didn't he say he was gonna check in with his dad anyways?" Pope responds, but he doesn't like it. John B presses the gas pedal to the floor.
They roll to a bumpy stop in front of the old beaten house. Kie was out before the van even stopped. She ran towards the doos. "Kie wait!" Pope shouts from a couple feet behind her. John B is on his tail. "We don't know where Luke is okay, we gotta be careful." John B says, but they quickly go in anyways. The urge to see their friend overrides their senses.
"JJ?" John B whisper shouts. He comes to a stop in the living room, going silent. Kie and Pope almost bump into the back of him. There's Luke, lying on the couch absolutely wasted. There are empty pill bottles and empty beer cans surrounding him. Kiara scowls in disgust towards the man.
John B holds his finger to his lips, signaling to be silent, but the group makes their way upstairs to where John B knows JJ's room is.
There's a large padlock on the door, which surprises him. But no key in sight. "I think there was one of Luke's chest." Pope hesitantly announces. "It was on a necklace."
"Shit dude. There's no way we're getting that without him waking up." Kiara says, already searching her surrounding for a solution. She spots a wire clothes hanger, picking it up and handing it to John B. "Will this work?" He nods silently.
Within a minute, the lock is popped open and the three of them tiptoe through the door, unable to grasp what meets their eyes.
JJ is lying against the side wall passed out, blood mats his greasy blond hair down. His shirt cover the extent of the bruises but they make themselves known everywhere else. What immediately caught their eyes was the two pairs of metal chains that kept the kid in his room. They were wrapped so tightly around JJ's wrists that the skin was bloody and torn from his movement. It had dripped down his arms and left a brutal sight.
"Oh my god." Kiara whimpers out, her hands going up to her mouth. She felt like she was going to barf. John B went into action, moving closer to their unconscious friend. "JJ!? Hey JJ bud, you hear me?" The only response is a twitch behind the eye lid and a soft groan.
"Hey Jay, okay man you gotta wake up." John B makes the mistake of laying his hand on his shoulder. JJ flinches back violently, his eyes not even open yet and he doesn't even seem to be aware that he just reacted. "Shit sorry, can you open your eyes?" John B tries a more gentle approach, no longer touching JJ.
But JJ's breathing starts getting labored and his eyes open sluggishly. They're wild and flitting between the three of them. "No! don't-don't touch me!" His voice is raspy with disuse and hard to listen to. His whole body was trembling with fear.
"I'm not going to hurt you. It's me, John B, and Kiara and Pope are here too." John B says softly, he gently takes JJ's hand and holds it firmly in order to ground him. JJ's eyes meet his. "Listen Jay, you're safe now, we're here. Luke isn't gonna hurt you anymore." Eventually JJ's panic recedes with the comforting words, tears form in his eyes as the recognition sparks.
"thank god." His incredibly raspy voice says. That's when they notice his parched, chapped, and dry lips. The skin around his mouth is red with irritation.
Using the same wire hanger as before, they unlock the shackles. "Ready?" John B questions. After receiving a nod, they hoist up JJ who almost falls down again with a low grunt. Of course, they catch him. Sweat beads on their foreheads in the summer heat.
They have to literally drag JJ down the stairs, his feet thumped on the hard wood making them freeze. "Jay, I know it hurts but can you try and not do that? Please. I don't wanna wake your father up." John B whispered at him with urgency that fueled them all. "Mhmm '' was the response. The thumping stopped but was replaced with a sliding sound because JJ's limp legs struggled to take steps. He just wanted to pass out again but knew he couldn't.
The slow pace continued until they were just about to leave the living room. Luke rolled over and groaned from the couch. They froze, hoping to not wake him further. "JJ?" He growls lowly from his spot, his eyes fluttering open.
"Fuck it" John B whispers hastily to the Pogues. They dragged JJ out because Luke had started to wake and was dragging himself to a sitting position. "JJ! You get your ass back here now!" Luke was up and running towards the group, who were thankfully way far ahead of him.
Quickly but still trying to remain gentle, they managed to get JJ's battered body into the back of the van before John B took the wheel and they skid out, leaving the abusive father of their friend in the dust.
It takes about a minute for JJ to gather his bearings and actually realize he's out. "...water?" He says quietly. It's the first words spoken among the group. "Uhh yeah yeah, I think there's a case behind Kie." John B says while looking in the rearview mirror. He's probably gonna end up with whiplash with how much he changed his position from looking at the road to looking at his friends.
True to his words, there's a case of off-brand plastic water bottles behind the beaten up chair. She hurriedly grabs one, not even knocking his choice of plastic. With the help of Pope, they get JJ to sit up, he winces as his ribs jostle and he ends up leaning his back into Pope's chest, which was literally the only thing keeping him upright.
Kiara uncaps the bottle and raises it to JJ's mouth, the bumpy car makes it hard but they manage to do it. JJ sips greedily, humming in appreciation once the bottle's empty. It made Kie wonder, "When's the last time you ate?" The discussion between Pope and John B stops, they look expectantly at the blond. John B peers through the mirror.
"JB's house, starvin' right now." As if on cue, his stomach cramps and releases a small gurgle. "Jesus" John B mutters under his breath. Pope whistles and Kiara gapes at JJ. "It's been what like 10 days?" She says, horrified.
"Guess so" He responds with a shrug.
"Do you need a hospital Jay?" John B buts in, unsure of his friend's condition but has an undying faith that JJ would tell him the extent of the injuries and if a hospital was needed. "Nah, just bruises. Nothing too serious." John B nods, but mentally he's very relieved. He takes the turn towards the Chateau.
"Is there food here?" JJ asks once they pull up. He hisses and shuts his eyes when he starts to pull himself out of the van. John B helps him up while answering. "Yeah, there's some pizza I can heat up." JJ nods his thanks.
"We should probably clean you up first dude, you look like you just came straight out of a horror movie." John B wasn't wrong. JJ's blonde hair had blood in it and his wrists were gruesome and gory. The bruises littering his skin made him look very pale, weak, and fragile that went so against JJ's normal characteristics.
"Yeah." JJ looks at his hands, flipping them around to examine the damage. It hurt, not that he'd willingly admit. The cuffs had dug deep and left mangled and marred skin behind. It was quite painful whenever he moved his hands, which was a lot. He didn't;t even realize that John B appeared next to him until there was a hand on his shoulder. His hardly concealed flinch did nothing to ease their worries.
By the hand on his shoulder, he is taken to the couch and sat down. "Gimme your hands." John B demands, but with a nice tone because he didn't want to scare his already frightened friend. He lets out a whistle but is very gentle when he starts rubbing a wet towel on the skin in hopes to remove the dried blood that covers all the way up to his elbows.
"Yo Kie and Pope, you guys mind settin' up the pizzas for us? I'm pretty sure there a couple boxes in the kitchen." Kiara is grateful to have an excuse to leave, although she is hesitant. They leave though.
"Pretty rough this time huh?" John B says, a soft tone in his voice that he reserves for moments like this. JJ nods, not trusting his voice. For some reason, he felt his mask breaking since it was just him and John B now. The pain and fear he'd felt building up the last 10 days had peaked and his walls that he'd built up seemed to be collapsing. A tear falls down but John B expected it, easily lifting his hand to wipe it away. The two look each-other in the eye.
"You're okay now Jay, I'm am so so so sorry that I wasn't there sooner but it's okay now. You were so strong." JJ's eyes well up with tears and leans in for a man hug. His tears dampen the shoulder of John B's shirt. But neither of them mind, they're just there to comfort each other. And it works beautifully.
JJ manages to push himself off of John B a couple minutes later and relax backwards into the cushion. The scent of pizza that wafts into the room has his stomach cramping painfully with hunger. It growls loudly and his mouth waters.
By the time Pope and Kiara return with three pizzas in large cardboard boxes, most of the blood is scraped off of him and JJ already looks better, other than the bruises of course. He looks fresher.
Non-stick gauze pads were bandages around his wrists tight enough to stop the blood flow but loose enough to not cause much pain. It took a while for JJ to get used to them, especially because he would wake up that night thinking he was back at his house and try to rip them off with a scream. But of course the Pogues acted quickly and calmed him down before any more damage was done to the hardly scabbed over deep scrapes.
Weeks following the incident, JJ still has yet to return home and has no problem keeping it that way for a long time.
His bruises have healed physically, and most mentally. He had gained some healthy weight on him and went back to his regular self, which was receiving for everyone involved.
The scars that wrapped around both wrists was a newfound self-consciousness for JJ because to him, it reminded him of how weak he was. He didn't see how the others did, how strong it showed he was.
Pope was understanding towards the painful memories that the scars brought his blonde friend, so he didn't mind spending a couple dollars to buy some cheap, but well made, bracelets to cover them up. JJ was incredibly grateful for them, they matched his styles perfectly. One was a crudely made braid made of some sort of fabric and the other was a thick chevron designed one with the colors he loved.
He never took them off.
Okay, here's what I gotta say about OBX3.
I kinda lost the plot halfway though, especially evolving John B and Big John but it was still wicked good to watch. I loved the earlier episodes better, and episode 9! And I'm not completely sure about the whole Blackbeard thing they left off on, I don't know how I'm gonna feel about it. Also, I honestly was kinda upset that John B didn't spend much time with the Pogues, he was with Big John and Sarah the entire time.
SPOILER: Also, The Chateau! I'm gonna cry, I loved that place. But technically now that they're "kook rich" where do you think they live? Do you think they all live separately or together? Does JJ have his own house?
AND omg, Mike Carrera disappointed me so much bro. I thought he'd be more understanding towards JJ because he literally grew up in the Cut bro, but NO. He literally insulted him to Kiara like he wasn't even there. I wanted to cry.