Chapter Text
Jj POV
I feel someone start to shake me. I look up through my haze to see Pope. “We need to go before the Corsairs get here Jay. If they see us with the crown they won’t hesitate to shoot.” I stay glued to the ground “I don’t care, let them shoot me.” I mumble. “We already lost Kiara, we can’t lose you too.” John B says sadly. “Please Jay. The baby needs you.” Sarah begs. I use all the strength left in me to push myself off the ground. I can barely stand and I feel exhausted from the crying. I lean on John B for support and we leave the hotel. We have to stick to the dark alleys so no one notices the blood that paints my clothes. Rafe stashed the crown away beneath his cloak. The walk is long and tiring, probably due to the fact that I barely have enough energy to put one foot in front of the other. When we reach the boat I fall onto the deck, no longer able to support myself. I lay on my back staring at the darkening sky as the boat leaves the dock. I stare at the sunset and all I can think of is how much Kie loved sunsets. Whenever we were at the Chateau Kie would always pull me outside to watch the sunset with her on the hammock. We would sit in silence and she would admire the sunset. I would admire how beautiful she looked. How the falling sun would paint her features so beautifully that no artist could do it justice. I hear voices pulling me out of my daydream. “What are we going to do now that we have the crown?” Cleo asks. “All we can do now is go home.” Rafe says. I stand up suddenly and it makes me dizzy. “No! We can’t just leave Kie in Morocco. Pogues never leave another Pogue behind.” I yell. “Jj-“ I hear John B start. “No John B! She hated being alone. She would’ve hated this. Please. Just let us bury her at the beach.” I plead. I watch John B’s features soften. “Okay.” He says softly. “We’ll get her from Morocco.” “You should probably shower.” Rafe suggests. “We don’t want to draw too much attention and the blood covering you wouldn’t exactly be inconspicuous.” I nod and head off to the bathroom. I lock the door behind me and stare at the mirror. My reflection looks just as bad as I feel. The bags under my eyes are so dark they look like shadows. There is light scruff on my chin and blood splattered on my cheeks. My features look weary and it’s as if i’ve aged 20 years. I turn away and turn on the shower. I step in and push the water to scalding. Maybe it can burn away the pain. I let the water cascade down my body as I let my mind wander off to better memories.
-3 months prior-
“JAYGE GET IN HERE!” Kiara yells from the bathroom. I rush in. “The water’s freezing! I can’t believe you used all the hot water!” I smirk. “Well if you had taken up my offer and joined me then this wouldn’t be a problem.” “I needed to actually shower Jay. And God knows I would never accomplish that if you were in there with me.” She rolls her eyes but the slight smile on her lips shows that she’s more amused than annoyed. “How about I make it up to you?” I step forward and place a kiss on the base of her neck. I hear her moan slightly. “As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, we’re on breakfast duty this morning.” She reminds me. “John B and Sarah probably won’t be down until noon with how much they’ve been going at it. Besides, Cleo and Pope could learn some patience.” I point out. I kiss her and feel her ease up behind me. Yeah breakfast will have to wait, well at least for the rest of them.
-Now-
I feel a cold shock on my back and realize that the water has gone cold and I haven’t even used soap. I grab the soap bar from the shelf and quickly scrub off whatever dirt is left that the hot water didn’t wash off. I get out of the shower and notice a new pair of clothes on the floor. John B must have put it there while I was in the shower. I throw on the clothes and walk up above deck. I notice that it’s now pitch black outside and the stars are shining brightly in the sky. I notice that the deck is empty save for Rafe who is steering the boat. I sit on a deck chair and stare up at the stars. I can hear the waves hitting the hull and the familiar sound is almost like a warm blanket pulled over my mind, clouding my thoughts. I can feel my eyes starting to close. And then it all goes black. I feel someone shaking me and shoot up. I blink my eyes open and survey my surroundings. I realize that it’s bright outside. I must have fallen asleep. “Hey man, we’re here.” Cleo says. And then I realize what here means. Here means Morocco, the place that took everything from me. We dock at a beach instead of a port just in case the cops are looking for the boat we stole. We follow the map on Rafe’s phone to a land mark near where we buried her. We will find her grave from here. I can barely hold back my tears, but I know I need to be strong. The walk is long, miserable, and excruciatingly hot. When we reach the landmark we spot the rock that marks her grave about 200 feet away. When I see her grave I feel like I can’t breathe. I’m no help digging up the grave. I can’t stop my hands from shaking enough to properly hold a shovel. My chest is heaving. When we see the tarp I want to reach out and hold her, but I can’t. It’s not her anymore, it’s just a body. I wish she was back. Wait, wish, doesn’t the crown grant a wish. “Rafe do you have the crown?” I ask quietly, my voice trembling. “Yeah, why?” Rafe asks. “I need it. The crown is said to grant a wish. Well I want my wish.” I snap at him. “Jj, magic isn’t real, she can’t come back, she’s gone.” Pope states. “AT LEAST LET ME TRY!” I yell. Rafe hands me the crown. The pogues stare at me, worry covering their faces. I hold the crown and stare at the tarp that holds the love of my life’s body. “If anyone is out there, any God, any deity, just anything. Please bring her back. I don’t have anything else. After the life I’ve had I think you can grant me this one request. I wish for Kiara to be alive.” I wish quietly. It’s silent for a moment as we stare at the tarp. I can feel my heart begin to break all over again as my last hope fails. I feel tears prick at my eyes but then I see it. The tarp is moving. Barely, but it’s moving. “GUYS THE TARP IS MOVING!” Sarah yells. So I’m not the only one who sees it. Suddenly the tarp is thrown off and Kie is sitting up with her eyes open. “Jay?” She asks and then she falls back and promptly passes out. “KIE!” I rush forward and grab her and hold her in my arms. She’s dead weight and her breathing is so shallow it’s barely there, but it’s there. I notice that there is no cut on her neck, not even a scar. “She’s alive.” Sarah breathes out quietly. I look up and notice she is right next to me. “We need to get her to the hospital.” Pope yells. John B and I carry Kie. The only thing that keeps me going is the steady rise and fall of her chest. The nearest hospital is about a mile away. At one point in the walk Pope has to help us carry her as well. When we finally reach the hospital I immediately feel relieved. We rush her in and yell for help until two doctors pull out an ambulance cot and take Kie away from us. We keep on trying to ask what is wrong with her but none of the doctors speak English. The moment they shut the doors I start to pace the room. “How is she alive? Magic isn’t real there’s no way.” Pope stumbles on his words. For the first time ever, Pope is completely and utterly shocked. “Pope. I know you don’t want to believe in magic but my girl just came back from the dead. I’ve seen some damn crazy things, but nothing like that. Magic is the only way to explain it.” Cleo explains. “I need her to be okay.” Sarah says softly. “We barely made it without her.” I stop pacing for a moment and look at Sarah. “I can’t lose her again.” I say softly. “I felt like I died with her, I can’t stand losing her twice.””She’ll be okay. Kie’s a fighter.” John B states. We sit in silence before I stand up again. I walk over to the table and grab a magazine off the table. I hate reading, but if I don’t do something I’m going to die. I start tearing at the edges of the magazine and ripping pages. It gives me something to do with my hands. By the time I’ve torn out half the pages someone is tapping my shoulder. I look up and see John B. “The nurse told us what room she’s in. The woman barely spoke any English but she said that she can get us one of the doctors who’s fluent to explain her condition.” I follow him and the others to a door. We see a doctor standing in front of it who stops us before we enter. “Hi. I’m Dr. Idrissi. The girl’s main doctor didn’t speak much English so she explained to me what’s wrong. Basically your friend is extremely malnourished and dehydrated. By how bad it was we estimate she hasn’t eaten or drank anything in three days. We had to put her on a feeding tube and an IV. Good news is she’ll be okay, but she’ll need time to rest. When she wakes up she likely will be extremely exhausted and out of it so just be prepared for that.” The doctor explains. “Thank you Doctor.” Pope says. The doctor leaves and we look at the door for a moment before opening it. The room is white and sterile. There is no decor and a simple bed in the middle. The bed is hooked up to multiple machines. I look at the bed and see Kiara. She looks tiny and frail, but she’s alive. I rush forward and sit in the seat next to her bed. The rest of the pogues grab chairs and pull them up next to me. I don’t look away from her. Seeing her like this is so hard but at least she’s alive. The sound of the heart monitor might be the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if the crown didn’t work. I was so lost without her, my life was full of darkness but her light pulled me out of that. When her light burned out it shoved me right back into the thick darkness that swallowed me whole. I didn’t see any way out of the suffocating darkness apart from revenge. Once I got that, I realized that it would only go away if the light came back or if I gave in to the darkness. And now my light was back. I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t notice the tiny voice calling out to me in the background. Suddenly the voice grows louder and I’m thrown back into reality. “Jay?” I look down and see Kiara’s eyes open. She looks absolutely exhausted, like even the motion of opening her eyes exhausts her. “You’re awake girl!” Cleo yells. She runs forward and hugs Kiara. I watch Kiara weakly hug her back. “What happened?” Kie asks. “Where’s Groff?” “He, well, he killed you.” Sarah stutters. “I don’t feel dead- what do you mean I died. I don’t remember,“ she stops and looks around, “I’m in the hospital.” “It doesn’t matter what happened Kie, what matters is that you’re alive.” John B says. He walks forward and hugs her. Pope rushes forward and joins the hug. “Don’t ever do that again.” Pope mutters. After a moment they step back and Sarah steps forward. “I didn’t know how I was gonna do it without you Kie.” She cries into Kiara’s chest. “I- I need you. You’re my best friend Kie. The baby needs you.” Sarah is starting to blubber. Kie weakly tightens the hug. “Hey it’s okay. I’m here now and I’ll never leave again.” She rasps. When Sarah’s crying slows down she steps away and wipes her eyes. The group looks at me and then at Kie. “We’ll leave you two alone so you can talk.” John B says. I watch them leave the room one by one until it’s only me and Kie left. “I lost you.” I say softly. “You were the one person I couldn’t lose. I needed you.” I feel myself start to cry but I hold back my tears. “I didn’t want to leave you Jay. I never want to leave you again,” she gestures toward herself weakly, “I’m getting tired, could you please hold me?” “As long as you promise to never leave again.” “I’ll never leave you.” She swears. I climb into the bed next to her and hold her tightly into my chest. And for the first time in a long time I feel at peace. I don’t fight it when my eyes slip closed, because I know that I’m safe as long as I’m with her.
-17 years later-
-Marley POV-
“So after all of that, I asked your mother to marry me. And she agreed on one condition, that we go on our surf trip. We got married six months later and headed off on our surf trip for our honeymoon. We went to Australia, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, Bali, and Yucatan. You know, you were conceived in Yucatan.” My dad winks. “Eww gross dad.” I cringe. “Sweetheart having you was the best thing that ever happened to your dad and me, let him have this.” My mom mediated. “Fine.” I sigh. “And after your mom got pregnant we headed back to the Outer Banks and opened our Surf Shop/ Turtle Sanctuary. Then we had you. Our beautiful Marley Sarah Maybank.” My dad smiles. “We had Marley?!” My mom teases, “You almost passed out in the delivery room while I did all the work.” “Fair, but she did get her Maybank charm from me.” He smirks. “More like her habit of trouble.” Mom scoffs. “I never get in trouble!” I huff. “Oh really? And what’s that I heard from your teacher that he caught you and Val smoking weed?” She questions. “Don’t act like you didn’t mom!” I reply. “Well I want you to be better than me. Regardless, as annoying as that maybank charm can be, I feel like we have a good thing going here Jayge.” “Yeah. I wouldn’t trade this family for all the gold in the world.” He replies. “Not even El Dorado?” My mom asks. “Not even El Dorado.”