CHAPTER THIRTY-ONEWE MADE IT — DAVID HUGO
I can't believe we made it
Oh God, I thought I might lose you
Hang on to love, sin, and your youthTHE NEXT MORNING, JJ didn't leave Stella alone. His guilt kept him planted by her side, constantly asking if they could talk about the conversation they had the night before.
He was still in disbelief that he forgot about how hurt she was the last time someone ghosted her. Stella was a wreck for months after she and Sarah had a falling out, questioning her self worth over a friend she only had for a year. He had been best friends with Stella since they were ten years old. He couldn't imagine how badly he hurt her.
The only thing that brought him comfort was that she still acknowledged his existence, even if it was to tell him to fuck off. The sharp edge of her tone surprisingly filled him with hope. There was a fine line between love and hate and he knew if he got a second chance to explain everything to her, he could get her to cross it.
Driving to the Limbrey's was difficult. Every so often, JJ would find his attention floating over to Stella. He'd watch as she stared out the window of the truck, no doubt swimming in the ocean of her thoughts.
Their friends said nothing about it. Maybe they heard last night's conversation or maybe they didn't. Regardless, Pope and Kie sensed that there was a suffocating tension between the pair and chose to act as a buffer between them, both metaphorically and physically.
"So," JJ started, glancing over at Stella before looking at the boy sitting next to her, "you sure this is the place?"
The car rolled to a stop and it was like a dark cloud of negative energy shadowed over them. The four teens turned to the house standing before them. Through its towering gates, they could see the overgrown garden spilling onto the weathered cobblestone path, a small shed tucked away in ivy vines, and the carved stone and pillars that looked more like a mausoleum than a house.
Pope nodded. "Pretty sure." He read the letter again. "Twenty-seven King Street."
The other three let out a collective sigh before exiting the truck.
"They're fancy people," Kie stated, reading off her phone. "They've had three governors in the family. They've run Charleston for, like, three hundred years."
"These Kooks make our Kooks look like Pogues."
Stella surveyed the property, her eyes following the tall pickets of the metal fence before giving a subtle nod. "This place is giving me bad vibes."
"Talk about home security," quipped JJ after following her gaze. "Are those spikes to keep people out?"
Pope shook his head and his body tensed. "No." A heavy sigh fell from his lips as he pointed to something past the fence. "The slave quarters are over there. These spikes were to keep people in."
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𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 | jj maybank
Fanfiction𝙄 𝙆𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙒𝙀𝙍𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙔 𝙏𝙊𝙊 𝘽𝙍𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙈𝙀. If Stella and her friends knew what they were getting into when they stumbled upon a sunken shipwreck, they probably would've brushed up on their treasure hunting skills. season 1...