JJ sprinted down the never-ending hallway, dodging piles of laundry and trash clogging the dingy floor.

"Where the fuck is it?" A voice snarled out behind him. His foot caught and he tumbled forward, falling onto his stomach. He flipped around to face the darkness behind him.

His stomach clenched in fear as he slowly started moving away, scooting backward on his hands. He tried to speak, but his throat felt like it was closing up and he choked on the words.

A hand emerged from the darkness, tendrils of blackness clinging to it in a ghostly fog. The hallway behind him lengthened as JJ continued to back up, sweat drenching his shirt, his heart hammering.

A pair of red eyes popped into existence in the darkness.

He finally was able to speak, hearing himself stammer in a disembodied voice, "I don't…..I don't have it….."

"LIAR!"

The word reverberated through the hallway in a booming echo. JJ's heart jumped into his throat.

"You filthy, fucking LIAR!"

A figure stepped partially into the light, revealing a monstrous version of his father. A set of seething, bright red eyes glared down at him angrily, pulsing fury into the air between them. Luke towered over him, his upper body swollen and distorted in a grotesque caricature. His skin was a dull gray, and the tendrils of blackness from the hallway behind him swarmed around him like a tornado. When Luke spoke, his jaw fell open too wide – too off-center – making a gravely, grinding noise.

"JJ…." Luke sang tauntingly.

"Dad," JJ gulped, frozen in place. "I don't have anything."

"I didn't raise you to be to a liar." Luke's monstrous arm flashed forward, pinning JJ to the ground by his throat. "Where. Are. My. Pills?"

"I didn't take them!" JJ rasped out, clawing desperately at the heavy, leathery arm tightening against his throat.

Luke laughed, his red eyes dancing. "Lie, lie, lie. That's all you're ever going to be, a liar and a thief. A worthless piece of shit. Your mama knew." The monster's face began to morph, swirling into a thinner, prettier face – a face he barely remembered. His mother's face.

"That's why she left." The face spit out, laughing cruelly. Still pinning JJ to the ground, the monster's other hand came up to carefully brush the hair off his forehead. A thick, black talon traced down the side of his face. His mother's monstrous red eyes pierced into his own, "She always knew."

…

JJ jerked upward from the bed in a panic, the hospital sheets wrapped around his legs in a sweaty mess. He groaned as a wave of pain tore sickeningly through his torso. Feeling like he was about to throw up, he closed his eyes and focused on his breath until the nausea passed.

What the fuck was that?

His heart was still slammed through his eardrums and he felt a thin sheen of sweat cover his body. Embarrassment bloomed in his chest as he realized he had probably been writhing around and moaning in his sleep, and he glanced around self-consciously, hoping no one had seen.

God, he hadn't had nightmares like that since he was a kid. He thought that he had grown out of them.

He laid back down slowly and looked around the room, his attention drawn to the IV in his right hand and the bag of fluids hanging above him. The steady beep of a heart monitor pulsed rhythmically behind him.

A feeling of dread started to pit deep in his stomach and he closed his eyes to think. If Luke had to foot this hospital bill, he may actually kill JJ. Hospital stays were not cheap, and Luke was already going to be strapped for cash scraping together money for bail. He only hoped that what Sheriff Peterkin said was right and that the bill would go to the state since he was a minor without health insurance.

Sheriff Peterkin.

His mind jumped back to their last conversation and he groaned inwardly. A cop had asked him to live with her. What was he supposed to do with that? And not just a cop – Sheriff Peterkin. The same cop that had hauled him in for questioning half-a-dozen times over the years and had come to call on his house when he'd had the shit kicked out of him. She knew what he was like, I mean, she knew the trash that he came from. So why would she ever ask JJ to live with her?

"Because you remind me of a friend I used to have." Her voice echoed through his mind. Yeah, fucking, right. No one does stuff like that for people they don't know. She had an angle or something that she was playing, maybe trying to get some information out of JJ or get him locked up for good.

But what other choice did he have? Luke had been probably thrown into the tank for the night to dry out and was going to be furious when he woke up realizing he was going to have to find some bail money. Most times when he got arrested, JJ borrowed some money from Kie and picked up doubles the next couple of weeks until he could pay it off. Kie always asked him why the hell he bothered bailing him out at all, and JJ could never really come up with a good answer. What else was he supposed to do? He couldn't just let him rot in some jail cell. Kie never prodded further, just hugged him and found out a way to get him the money anyway.

But this time, JJ didn't see how he was going to be able to bail Luke out. His dad would probably have to ask one of his grungy, low-life friends to borrow some money. Maybe even blame it on JJ, who would then have two people looking to beat the shit out of him. It looked like his only option was going to be to lie low until the whole thing blew over, and what better place to do that than at Sheriff Peterkin's? It would be the last place Luke would ever expect. And if he could make it through until he could get emancipated, he may never be forced to go back there again.

But still…three months living with a cop? What a fucking nightmare.

"Knock, knock." Called a voice softly. JJ's eyes snapped open to see Sheriff Peterkin standing timidly in the doorway, carrying a single balloon. She shifted her weight to walk forward, but paused, seeming to wait on JJ's response.

"Oh, ummm…hey." JJ said awkwardly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm not Spanish." He pointed to the balloon, which said "Aliviate pronto."

Sheriff Peterkin laughed lightly. "Sorry, I've been on shift all day and there was a Hispanic gift shop on the way. Not much, but they were out of comic books." She walked forward, putting the balloon down on the counter.

Comic books? How old did she think that he was?

"You didn't have to get me anything." JJ said flatly.

"No, no, it's fine." Sheriff Peterkin said before they fell into an awkward pause.

Three. Months. He could do this.

JJ forced a smile and joked, "Well, thanks. So…uh…arrest anyone else I know today?". Sheriff Peterkin did not look impressed.

She shrugged. "Not since yesterday. But the night is still young." She paused tentatively, then asked, "Did you think about my offer?"

"Yeah, I did." JJ said. "I mean, it was tough. I had to field so many other offers from people looking to house delinquent kids of felons, but after some careful consideration, I think I would like to accept. That is, if the offer is still on the table."

The side of Sheriff Peterkin's lip hinted at a smile. "We're gonna have to work on that mouth of yours. But yeah, it's still on the table. Once you get out of this place that is." She walked over closer to him. "How are you feeling?"

He gave her the okay sign. "Oh, great. Like I just got out of a spa or something." She continued to stare at him, deadpan. He sighed. "I feel pretty shit. My ribs are fucking killing me and it hurts to move." She nodded, and he continued. "So….do you know what happened with my dad?"

"He's still in the holding cell, I believe." She said carefully. "He shouldn't be up for bail for a couple of days until we get the charges figured out. Not going to sugarcoat it – he's probably going to get a charge for domestic battery and assault of a minor. Not including the ones we could file for the illegal drugs found on the residence."

"Oh." JJ's heart felt heavy in his chest. "I guess that's a good thing then." If it was a good thing, why did he feel himself frowning? Why should he care? He should be happy. "But he's going to be up for bail in a couple of days?"

"Yeah, we won't have the felony charges ready for a couple of months." Peterkin sighed. "Sometimes, these cases take time, even up to a year. That's why I think it might be best for all of us if you had a safe place to stay for a while."

JJ raised his arm, beginning to speak when Peterkin cut him off. "And, no living in a tent under a bridge does not count."

"Someone should've told me that ages ago." JJ said. "And here I was thinking that was a great way to live."

Sheriff Peterkin rolled her eyes. "Another thing I wanted to talk to you about. This whole process with your dad might go a little faster if you agreed to testify against your father. Now, I don't want to pressure you at all, I'm just laying out the facts."

JJ gulped, not able to think of anything to say.

"Don't worry about it now." Peterkin said. "Just, think about it, okay? I know it's a lot to ask."

JJ nodded.

"Now some of us gotta work, so I'll let you get back to resting up. I explained our situation to your case worker and she should be up sometime tomorrow to get the paperwork sorted with you." She turned, beginning to walk towards the door. "And JJ?"

"Yeah?"

"This business about your living situation, that's between you and me, alright? I know you got a group of little friends that you run around the island with, but it's up to you if you want to tell them or not. I'm not going to. It's none of their business if you don't want it to be."

"Thanks." JJ said. "I really appreciate that."

"Take care of yourself." Sheriff Peterkin nodded and walked out of the door.

"Bye, roomie!" JJ called after her.

He leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes. He hadn't even considered if he was going to tell his friends or not. He didn't even know if they'd figured out if he was in the hospital. He looked around the room, locating his flip phone on the side table. He flipped it open, revealing a list of unanswered text messages and missed phone calls from the pogues.

Shit.

He needed to decide what he was going to do, but he was so tired. Tired of his life being a fucking trainwreck and his friends being worried about him. He closed his eyes a moment and laid back on the pillow.

It was going to be a long three months.