Gap Year • JIARA •

chapter 19

Kie's POV:

We were at the hospital and the three of us walked into her room. My mom was awake and she seemed totally normal. She looked at us and said, "There's my baby girl"

I ran to the side of her bed and hugged her. I told her how much I loved her and how sorry I was for everything.

"Baby girl, don't be sorry for anything. You know that I love you and I'm so proud of you and the woman you've become"

Mike and Anna hugged and talked for a minute then Anna looked at me and said, "Come here, JJ"

She gave me a quick hug and said, "Thank you for taking care of my daughter and my husband"

"It's the least I could do" I said not wanting the attention on me

They did a bunch of tests and exams on Anna and she was going to be fine. However, she had a long recovery ahead of her. She was going to have to have another surgery on her foot in a few weeks once. I heard Anna and Mike talking about what to do about work.

Kie and I were back at her house and she said, "Now that my mom is okay, you can go back and travel"

"No, I can't. I'm going to stay here and we're going to work at the Wreck together while your mom recovers"

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I know you want to be here for the recovery and I want you to be. We're staying in the Outer Banks for a few months"

Kie hugged me and whispered, "Thank you"

I kissed the top of her head. I knew this was the right thing to do. It's what Kie needed and what her family needed. Besides, I was kind of getting used to the kook life staying with her family on Figure Eight. I knew I needed to tell Kie about the good money, but I had no idea how to tell her without it being a big deal, especially right now. I decided to keep it a secret until the time was right.

I was working six days a week g the Wreck. Kie was working there too, but she was with her mom a lot. She visited her in the hospital until she was able to come home and then she was at home taking care of her there.

I honestly didn't mind working at the Wreck. Mike insisted on paying me and I had to accept because I couldn't tell him about the gold. So I kept it all separate to give back to them.

Tonight, I was closing when Kie walked in. Her dad was gone with her mom and she said, "My dad said he's impressed with how well you're doing here and that he's sorry for not hiring you in high school. I didn't know you applied"

"Of course, I applied. I wanted to work with the beautiful daughter of the owners"

She laughed and I said, "It's a good thing that your dad didn't hire me back then. I would have gotten fired so fast"

"What are you going to do? Are you going to keep traveling? Or eventually settle down somewhere?"

"I want to travel and have new experiences but I'm down to do whatever you want. You want to stay here, I'll buy us a house"

She was blushing and she said, "I love how you just go with the flow. But JJ, where do you have the money to just travel the world like this? I love you no matter what, but at just want to prepare myself. At the end of this traveling, are you going to be a ton of debt?"

"Kie, everything is okay. There is no dezbt. I got some money from something with my dad and I was stupid and gambled with it all. It ended up paying off and the cash just burned a hole in my pocket. I've got enough left for some more traveling and then I'll have to get job but right now so just need to enjoy life"

"Okay" Kie said kissing me

Yeah, so that was a lie but I couldn't tell her yet. It has been two weeks and Anna just had her that other surgery on her foot. Mike and Kie were busy helping her recover and then Friday night rolled around. It was packed and the three of us were working at the Wreck together.

Kie was the waitress, Mike was cooking, and I was helping Kie serve and doing dishes. It was insane in here tonight. I went to a table to drop off their food and Rafe was there with Ben, his Kook bestie.

"If it isn't the fucking loser" Rafe said stopping me

"Leave me alone, Rafe. I'm busy working" I said not wanting to get into a fight in my girlfriends parents restaurant

Kie walked passed us and Rafe whistled at her and said, "Hey sexy"

We both squared up and I had a tight grip on his shirt and one fist in a ball ready to swing.

"Do it" Rafe said trying to instigate a fight

"Don't fucking talk about to girlfriend like that or whistle at her" I said firmly

The whole restaurant was watching now. Rafe threw the first punch and before I could hit him, Mike saw what was going on and he came out and said, "Enough!"

"Looks like your ass is about to get fired" Rafe said smirking at me

"Rafe, get your ass out of my restaurant and don't come back" Mike said backing me up

Rafe left and everyone was watching me. I dipped as it was way too freaking weird to be in there. I walked outside and within seconds, Kie's arms wrapped around my body.

"I love you and I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" I said

She spun me around to see my face and she lightly kissed my cheek where a bruise was forming. I didn't want to go back in there but I knew I had to. Thankfully, Mike allowed me to stay in the back for the rest of the night. We closed and after we cleaned up, Mike sent Kie home and asked me to stay.

He poured us each a glass of beer and I was so nervous. He sat down and he must have known I was nervous because he said, "Don't worry, you aren't in trouble. I'm sorry about what happened with Rafe today but thank you for standing up and protecting my daughter"

"I'll always protect her, I love her. I know sometimes my emotions get the best of me but I just hate seeing the people I love get hurt" I spoke the truth to him

"You have quite the reputation and I've heard all the rumors. To me, that's all they are because I have no proof. I've got apologize because when Kie first told us you were dating, I was pissed. But I see the way you treat my daughter and you treat her better than I've ever seen a kook treat her. Kie's never been this happy before and I guess I have you to thank for that."

"I love her, sir. I'd do anything did her"

He started talking about his life growing up on the cut and then he brought me home. I went and took a shower and then I crawled into bed with Kie and kissed her forehead as she was already asleep and said, "I love you"