smooth seas//john b

twenty two

John B and I keep running away from the burning church and the cops. I turn on my flashlight and see a for sale sign with my mom's face on it. "We can hide in here."

"You sure this place is empty?" John B asks.

"Yeah, it's my mom's listing," I tell him. I can still hear sirens in the distance as I walk towards the house. I start to put the passcode into the lock. "Zero, two, one, five. My dad's birthday." I put the key in the lock.

I hear a police officer, "Let's check this street. They can't be far."

"Shit." I open the door and rush in. "Come on."

"Go," John B says.

I close the front door and we both sit down and lean against it.

"Nothin' here," the cop shouts. "Check the porch. I got this one. You go check next door."

John B holds his finger to his lips. "Sh."

"Okay, will do."

"I'll go around back."

One of the cops knocks on the door before walking away. I let out a sigh.

"All right..."

"He's probably headed over to the Cut."

"Let's go." John B gets up. "Let's go. Come on. Let's go upstairs."

I look out the window of one of the upstairs bedrooms. I can see Rafe and Kelce walking down the street.

"Hurry up! This way!" Rafe shouts.

I shake my head. "I can't believe that's my brother."

"They're headed to the cut," Rafe states.

"Let's go down Banks Road," Kelce says before him and Rafe take off.

John B and I lie down in one of the beds. I sigh as my head hits the pillow. I shine my light on the ceiling that is painted with constellations.

"Wow," John B remarks.

"Sweet, right?" I say.

"Yeah," John B agrees. "Hey, did you know the, uh..." John B points at the stars. "The bottom two stars in the Little Dipper point to the North..."

"The North Star?" I finish. I smile at John B and he does the same. "Yeah. That's the center point. What everything else spins around."

A dog starts barking and a man starts shouting, "Hey, you headed..."

John B gasps as he sits up straight in the bed.

"Sh, sh, sh." I pull him back down by his shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay." I put my head in the crook of his neck, holding him close. "It's okay. It's okay. I've got you."

John B sighs. "Could you remind me of the happy ending?"

I nod my head slightly. "Yeah. We're gonna meet the crew at the dock tomorrow."

"Yeah," John B agrees.

"Then they're gonna have the getaway boat," I remind him.

"Then we go to Mexico," John B states.

I smile slightly. "Yeah. And you're gonna be a fishing instructor."

"You're damn right," John B agrees.

"And I'm gonna have a sandwich shop. And we're gonna have a house on a beach... and a dog and a boat. We'll remake the Pogue. And everything's gonna be okay," I assure John B.

I jump slightly when I hear shouting outside. John B doesn't move and I can see that he is already asleep.

I wake up before John B. I need to tell someone what happened. I need people to know the truth that John B didn't murder anyone. I head to hopefully find Shoupe. My best chance is getting him to believe me. He knows me and he knows John B.