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Shoupe is still talking, but JJ isn't listening. Somewhere he can feel the pain from the loss of John B, and even Sarah, but there's a rushing in his ears that drowns everything else out. John B cannot be dead. He wouldn't leave them like that.
JJ hardly even knows what he's doing when he attacks Shoupe, and then it's hardly an attack, not when he's holding back tears and shouting stuff he can barely hear himself. Officers pull him away, drag him to the side, and JJ watches as Pope's parents and Kiara's parents enter the tent.
Pope and Kiara hug their mom and dad, hug each other, and JJ stands to the side because he doesn't know what to do. The gaps in the tent blow rain onto his face. He doesn't feel it. Nobody is paying attention to him, and it's not hard for him to walk out of there undetected. He couldn't stay, not there. Not anywhere now.
The rain is coming down so hard he doesn't even see the person he slams into until he is stumbling back. Anger ignites in him again, because that's apparently the only thing he can feel now. He's about to say something, maybe yell or scream or fucking run away, who knows, when he looks into the face of the person he ran into.
Apparently he can also feel fear.
His dad shouldn't be there. The possibility that Luke Maybank had been there to answer the phone when it rang, and then was sober enough to understand what they said and come down here was so low.
JJ's never had much in the luck department. This just feels like an extra slap to the face.
His dad is obviously on something, his eyes hard and his fist harder. JJ doesn't expect him to start talking.
"What the hell did you do?" Luke snarls. "Get us mixed up in all this shit with that bitch from figure 8 and-" JJ blocks out everything else because he refuses to hear his dad call his friends any sort of slur.
"Are you listening to me boy!" Luke nearly yells, and for a moment JJ worries that somebody inside the tent will hear him. He doesn't have to. The storm drowns it all out.
JJ tries to walk away. He can't do this now, never again, and if he doesn't leave now he already know's what's going to happen. His anger is still there, simmering below the surface, and he wants nothing more than to show his dad that he won't take his fucking abuse anymore. Instead, because he's a coward, he turns away.
Luke catches his shoulder, spins him back around, and immediately punches him hard across the mouth. Blood goes flying for the second time in a few days. That first punch breaks the dam, apparently, and suddenly Luke is yelling about the fight they had over the money, and then he screams "you think I didn't notice you stole the Phantom?!" It's the worst possible thing.
Luke draws his arms back and punches again, releasing JJ's shoulder just as he makes contact with his cheek. The force of it practically spins JJ around and he hit's the ground, automatically curling up in the familiar way he always does. A boot catches him in the ribs.
The fights gone out of JJ by now. Everything hurts, inside and outside, and he almost lets himself believe that maybe, maybe he should just let go because what the hell is there to stay for anyway? John B, his brother since forever, is gone. Pope and Kiara are never going to be let out of the house again. And there's no way he can go back to his own house after this.
JJ does his best to protect his head, but Luke's boots manage to get his temple, and coupled with the concussion from a few days ago, the world blurs. Another kick hits him in the stomach and all the air goes out of him suddenly and he can't get it back in.
He's laying in the mud like that, dizzy and disoriented and cold, when he hears somebody yell something. He think's it's Pope. It could be "Hey!" or "Stop!" or "JJ!" but he can't tell because his dad hauls him off the ground and wraps a hand around his throat. Vaguely, as he struggles to breathe, he wonders if Pope had come out looking for him, if he had noticed JJ was gone and had been worried.
Suddenly Luke is ripped away, his fingers peeled away from JJ's windpipe, and Heyward is there, standing in front of JJ like a protector or something. JJ crashes to the ground, back in the mud, but then Pope is kneeling next to him, saying things JJ can't comprehend.
It's hard to see, because everything is still blurry, but it looks like there are officers who are dragging his dad away. Heyward stands there until he's apparently certain Luke is gone, and then he turns back towards Pope and JJ, who is still gasping on the ground like he'll never get enough air again.
"JJ look at me," Heyward commands, and it's the first thing to cut through the rushing that is back in JJ's ears. He can't reply though, because he feel's like shit and he's suddenly worried he's going to pass out.
"What hurts?" Heyward asks him, and JJ want's to say everything, because everything does hurt, inside and out, but instead the world tips over and what little progress JJ had made to sit up is ruined when he finds himself practically face down in the mud. Somebody catches him just before he face plants, but it doesn't help the disorientation.
Part of him acknowledges that he's feeling this way because of shock, and definitely the concussion his dad had made even worse, and then Heywards face in front of him begins fading.
After that there's nothing but darkness.
.................................................................
The stiffness of the hospital sheets are what he feels first, before he even opens his eyes. Then there's the steady beeping of the heart monitor he's sure they've got him hooked up to, and the smell of, well, hospital. If he really concentrates, he can hear the sounds of at least two other people breathing in the room. Maybe three. He doesn't want to open his eyes, because if he does it means he has to face that what happened wasn't a dream.
He opens them anyway.
Pope and Kiara are both curled up on opposite sides of the windowsill, both obviously asleep. It's dark outside, still raining, and JJ assumes it hasn't been that long since, well, everything happened. On his other side, Heyward is sitting in one of those hard plastic hospital chairs, reading from some sort of magazine that doesn't look the slightest bit interesting. He looks up when JJ moves his head.
Heyward has never liked JJ. He thought he was a bad influence on Pope (and he wasn't wrong about that). But he's sitting here, in JJ's hospital room, and JJ doesn't know whether he should be scared or relieved. He settles for just being tired, because he is. Every muscle in his body aches, and his eyes keep threatening to close. Still, he doesn't want to go back to sleep.
"Where'd they take my dad?" he finally murmurs, when Heyward doesn't say anything. He doesn't want to wake Pope or Kiara, knowing they were just as exhausted as he was. And maybe he's scared they'll want to talk about it. He doesn't want to even think about it yet.
Heyward looks at him carefully. "You won't have to see him for a long time," he says, and he speaks carefully too. Everything about him is quiet, cautious, careful. It puts JJ on edge.
JJ rolls his head back toward the center of the pillow, staring at the ceiling. He doesn't know how to feel. His dad hurt him, but he was his dad. And JJ was terrified of what came next.
"They're going to put you in a foster home for a little bit," Heyward says. JJ doesn't turn back toward him.
"I know," he replies. It's what he's been afraid of for years.
"We'll get you back," Heyward says then, and there isn't a response for that. JJ's always had a hard time trusting.
They don't keep him in the hospital for long, releasing him into the care of a DCS worker as soon as his mind clears a little bit. She's ready to take him to the mainland. JJ has never wanted to go anywhere less in his life.
"They can't take you," Kiara says to him, desperately, as they're saying goodbye. She's clutching his hand tightly, and Pope presses their shoulders together and holds onto their other hand, and then they're all connected.
JJ learned a while ago that he loved them both. However they feel about him, he doesn't want to leave them. He pretty much wants to be around them all the time which is maybe not good because they're taking him away, but fuck that.
Kie kisses his cheek, and then Pope kisses his cheek, and then JJ grabs both of them and hugs them like he'll never be able to let go. He doesn't want to. He'd rather stay with them forever, and he could live with them doing their whole kind of dating thing without him as long as he gets to stay. Instead, his DCS worker takes him away.
His foster parents on the mainland hit him.
He's not surprised, really, he's never going to be surprised about a shitty foster home, but it's not the same furious anger his father used to hold. It's not mindless anger either. They only hit him when he's done something wrong, if he takes too much at dinner, or accidentally wakes them up too early in the morning. JJ learns the rules, and follows them, but sometimes things don't go as planned.
The fights gone out of him by the time his foster mom walks into his room late at night and tries to take his shirt off. JJ shoves her away, automatically freaking out. There's no window in his room. He's in the basement.
He doesn't even hear what she says to him, her nails scratching against his chest and he's panicking, looking for an escape, and terrified of what might happen if he tries. In the end, she pushes him back and he goes, biting the edge of his pillow and staring at the ceiling. He cries. This is a whole new type of hurting.
JJ stops sleeping. He's worried, constantly, that the woman will come back. It only happens that one time. He never feels clean of it. Two days later she holds a plate out to him, for breakfast, and he drops it. His hands are shaking. He gets a black eye for that one.
DCS comes back the day after. JJ hasn't spoken since it happened. He doesn't speak now. His social worker explains that the Heywards had been working toward their foster license, which means that in only a few days he'll be able to go back to the Outer Banks. JJ thinks of Kie and Pope, and missing them hurts. He want's to go back, he's not even sure why the DCS worker is asking if he wants to stay. He shakes his head adamantly.
"Where'd you get your black eye JJ?" she asks. He shrugs. She can't convince him to speak, and so finally she leaves. JJ goes back to hiding.
He only gets one more injury while he's there, a split lip from the ring she wore. He knocked over a cup. The slap is nothing compared to what she already did to him.
Heyward shows up almost a week later. The bags under JJ's eyes have gotten darker. He hasn't said a word in almost a week. His DCS worker who's name he never learned asks what happened to his lip. JJ looks at Heyward. Then back at his social worker.
"Am I ever coming back?" He asks. His voice is rough from not using it.
Instead of the DCS woman answering, Heyward cuts in. "Never," he promises. And JJ is under no obligation to protect this family, and he won't let that woman do anything to another boy.
"They hit me," he says, practically monotone, and then he shuts up. His DCS worker starts talking immediately, about investigations and exams, and it's only on the last word that JJ looks back up.
"I"m not going to another doctor," he says, and the social worker exchanges a glance with Heyward. They walk away a little bit, and JJ doesn't hear what they're talking about, but when they're done Heyward comes back alone.
"C'mon kid," he tells JJ, and JJ climbs into his truck automatically.
He falls asleep on his way back to the Outer Banks.
He wakes up because suddenly someone is on top of him. He panics, because he doesn't know where he is and he doesn't know who's on top of him, and then he smells Kiara's vanilla lotion and force himself to relax. Kie is crying, face hidden in his neck, and JJ wraps his arms around her, searching for Pope.
Pope is on the other side of the room, apparently letting Kie say hello first. JJ throws his arm out and Pope grabs his hand tightly.
He doesn't freak out at the touch.
Kie has to leave, and Pope doesn't want to leave, but Heyward says he needs to talk to JJ. JJ tenses immediately. Pope squeezes his hand as Heyward explains that JJ needs to get an exam to gather evidence about the abuse he endured while at the foster home.
JJ thinks it was barely abuse. It was nothing compared to what his dad used to do to him, but if he wants those foster parents in jail then he has to be willing to work with the system. JJ's never worked with anything before.
He remembers the exam after his hospital stay. He was poked and prodded and they took pictures of all his bruises, and JJ just wanted to leave. He doesn't want to go through that again.
He does anyway.
The doctors examine him, and there are pictures taken of his black eye and split lip, and then a few of the older injuries under his shirt. JJ pauses when the doctor asks if they need to run a rape kit. They had asked him that before. He said no then, confidently. This time he's scared that he'll pass something on to Kie or Pope whenever they move past the stage of "newness" that Kie had called it.
"It's been over a week," JJ states carefully. "But you should test me for STD's." Admitting it feels disgusting.
He has no idea what they told Heyward, but the man is silent when they drive back to his house. JJ wished Pope had been allowed to come along.
A few days later his results come back. They come straight to Heyward. He's clean. But by the way Heyward reads the file, he's realizing what it means. JJ doesn't meet his eyes when he looks up.
They're both standing at the counter. "JJ," Heyward says. JJ bites his lip, willing the tears not to come. He's not a baby.
Suddenly Heyward is standing in front of him, closer than before. JJ flinches before his mind catches up with his body. He's 80% certain Heyward won't hurt him.
"You're going to be okay now," Heyward says. It's enough to break the dam. Heyward hugs him then, pulling him in so JJ can hide his face in his jacket. He cries silently.
Later than night, as he lies on Popes bed with Kie on one side and Pope on the other, his fingers laced with theirs, he's safer than he's felt in a long time.