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The restaurant quickly picks up, and we're busy until the end of our shift. I haven't heard from JJ or John B since they came by this morning. I'm debating on texting one of them as I make my way back to the house, but all plans go out the window when I pull up to my house and there's a cop car out front. I head inside cautiously. I find my parents in the living room with Deputy Shoupe.

"Sunny, Deputy Shoupe is here for you," my mom says. "He says you have first hand information on an assault?" She looks at me with questioning eyes.

I sigh. "Yeah. Um, what do you need to know?" I ask Shoupe.

"I actually need you to come to the station with me and answer some questions, make a statement." He rises from the couch. "It won't take too long," he assures me.

I glance at my parents. They look at me with wide eyes. "What happened?" my dad asks.

"Ms. Blume, I really need you to come with me now," Shoupe says.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming," I say, dropping my backpack off my shoulder.

"I'll have her call you guys when she's done, you can come pick her up," Shoupe tells my parents. He motions for me to lead the way out the door. Concern fills my parents' eyes as I walk with Deputy Shoupe out to his cruiser. He opens the passenger door and I climb in.

I ride in silence down to the station, wondering what the scene will be when I get there. Shoupe lets me out of the car and he leads me inside. We go into his office, where JJ and Sheriff Peterkin wait for us.

"Sunny! Thank god, tell them what really happened, Tyler's been making up shit," JJ says as I walk into the room.

"Thought I told you to stay quiet?" Peterkin says to JJ. He looks down at the ground.

"Ms. Blume, if you could, walk us through what happened at the Routledge residence after Tyler Mason arrived." Shoupe takes a seat in his desk chair, and Peterkin moves behind him.

"Okay, so Tyler said he wanted to talk in private, and we went out into the back yard. We were talking and I made him mad, so he slapped me across the face. JJ and John B had been watching us from in the house, and when JJ saw what happened, he came running out and shoved Tyler, and they started fighting. I got in between them to try to stop the fight, and Tyler grabbed me by the arms and threw me into the picnic table. I hit it with my ribs," I say, lifting my shirt to show them the bruising. They both grimace and look at each other. I put my shirt back down. "JJ threw Tyler on the ground and punched him in the face a few times, but John B pulled him off. Tyler left not long after that."

"See, that's exactly what I told you!" JJ says.

"I said quiet!" Peterkin warns.

"What was the intent of the conversation with Mr. Mason?" Peterkin asks.

"Uh, he and I used to date, and he wanted to get back together. I rejected him," I tell her.

She nods. "Has he ever hurt you before?" she asks.

"Not physically, no," I respond.

She nods and looks at Shoupe. "Sounds like this boy was just defending you," she says, turning back to me.

"Yes," I tell her. "What did Tyler say happened?"

"That he was attacked unprovoked," Shoupe answers. "Seems to me he's just embarrassed he got his ass beat by your new boyfriend here."

"Oh, umm..." I start awkwardly.

"Okay, well, we've got all we need here. If you'll just sign this, it's a summary of what you just said, signature indicates I didn't make it up." Shoupe slides me the paper and a pen. I scribble down a signature and slide it back to him.

"You're both free to go," Peterkin says. "Try to stay out of trouble." She walks over to the office door and opens it, motioning for us to leave.

The four of us file out of the office and they walk us into the main waiting area. "Phone's there if you need it," Shoupe says, pointing to a phone on the counter.

I walk over to a row of seats and sit down. "Thanks," JJ says as he sits down beside me.

"For what?" I ask.

"For telling them I was just reacting to him hurting you. They didn't want to believe me at first. I don't exactly have the greatest record with Kildare PD."

"All I did was say exactly what happened. It's not assault if it's defending someone," I tell him. "I can't believe Tyler tried to lie and say it was unprovoked."

"Can you really not? He's an asshole, Sunny. I've said that since day one," he says.

I sigh. "I know. I should've listened."

"You're listening now. It's good enough," he says.

We're both quiet for a second and I pull my phone from my pocket. "I'm gonna call my parents," I tell him as I unlock my phone.

"Do you think they'd give me a ride home? I don't really want to call my dad and ask him to pick me up from the police station. Probably best if he never knows I was here," he says solemnly.

"Yeah, of course. Hold on."

I call the house and my mom answers. I let her know I'm done at the police station and that I'm ready to be picked up. She doesn't even bat an eye when I ask if she can take JJ home, too.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," she promises before we hang up.

"Okay. My mom's coming. She said she'd give you a ride," I say to JJ as I slide my phone back in my pocket. "Let's go wait outside."

We head outside to the parking lot to wait for my mom. "Thanks, by the way," I say as I watch the road. "For defending me."

"I wasn't going to let him get away with hurting you," he says as he looks at the ground. I smile at him even though he's not looking at me.

Mom arrives quickly, and we climb into her SUV. "So what on earth was this all about?" she asks as we buckle in. "Who assaulted who? And how were you two involved?"

"First off, there are no assault charges," I clarify. "This was about Tyler being an asshole."

"Language! But Tyler, like recent ex-boyfriend Tyler?" she asks. I nod. "So what happened?"

"Well, to make a long story short, he showed up at John B's wanting me to get back together with him, I told him no because he's an asshole, he slapped me, andโ€”"

"Tyler hit you?" Mom interrupts.

"Mom, I'm fine, JJ took care of it," I tell her.

"I beat his ass, Mrs. Blume," JJ pipes up from the back seat.

"Oh my god, Sunny, why didn't you tell me this sooner?" she asks.

"Because it was already taken care of," I explain.

She sighs. "Okay, go on," she says.

"Well, I mean, that's pretty much it," I say, hoping JJ doesn't chime in with the fact that Tyler threw me against the table. "JJ and Tyler fought, JJ won, Tyler was clearly embarrassed over getting beat up, so he lied and said JJ assaulted him so he could press charges. They just needed me there to confirm JJ's story."

Mom sighs again. "JJ?"

"Yes?" he answers from the back seat.

"Thank you for taking care of Sunny," she says sincerely.

"Don't mention it," he says back to her.

"No, no. I really appreciate it. I know I'm the peace and love type, but you absolutely had the right response. So thank you," she says sincerely.

"You're welcome," he replies.

We pull up in front of his house. His dad isn't home. I hear the seatbelt unbuckle. "Thanks for the ride home, Mrs. Blume," he says as he climbs out of the car.

"Anytime, sweetheart," she says.

He shuts his door and stands beside my window. "See you later, Sunny," he says, and he leans in through the open window to kiss my cheek before turning away to walk inside. I sit there stunned as I watch him close the front door behind him.

"Ooo, what was that?" Mom asks as we back out into the street.

"Um..." I feel the blush creeping into my cheeks. "I don't... I don't know?"

"You're blushing," she observes.

"No I'm not," I say as I turn away from her. I let my hair fall in front of my face to hide the redness.

"I think he likes you," she teases.

"Mom."

"Okay, I'll drop it. But one last thing," she says as she turns on to the main street that runs through the cut.

"What?"

"You could do a lot worse than JJ Maybank," she says with a sly smile.

***********************************
John B๐Ÿคก
Picking you up at 9:00 for a
house party, be ready.

John B texts me this the following evening. It's currently 8:00. I head downstairs to the living room where my mom and dad are watching tv on the couch.

"Is it cool if I hang out with John B tonight?" I ask.

"Yeah, sure, baby. Just keep your phone on you," mom says distractedly.

"Okay, thanks," I say, running back upstairs. I text John B back.

See you @ 9, bitch

I open my closet to look for something to wear. I put on frayed jean shorts and a black cropped tank top. I slide my phone, some cash, and my house key into my pocket. I sit at my vanity and plug in my straightener. I put on a few pieces of jewelry and then use my straightener to iron out the kinks in my hair. I had taken a nap with wet hair earlier, and it was looking a mess. I head back downstairs after I finish getting ready. Mom gives me a once over.

"You look cute," she says before looking back at the tv. She and dad have been obsessively watching true crime documentaries lately, and tonight was no different.

"Thanks. So who's died in this one?" I ask, settling into the empty recliner.

"This lady's husband went missing and he turned up dead a week later, and it was initially ruled a suicide by the police department, but the autopsy was inconclusive and the crime scene didn't make sense. He supposedly jumped off the top of a building and went through a roof, but the trajectory of the jump doesn't match." Dad explains all this without looking away from the tv.

"Interesting," I muse.

"So what are you and John B doing?" Mom asks casually.

"I don't know. He just said he was picking me up at 9:00." I don't know why I lie to her. They're both pretty cool about me going to parties. They always assume I couldn't do anything worse than they ever did growing up, which is true considering their partying days included a lot of cocaine and acid. Alcohol, weed, and nicotine are a far cry from their days of debauchery.

"Oh. Just you two?" she asks.

"I don't know. He didn't say," I tell her. "Guess I'll find out when he picks me up." She nods and looks back at the tv.

At promptly 9:00, my phone dings in my pocket. "JB's here," I say as I view the message on my screen. "I'll see you guys later."

"Okay, have fun!" Mom says as I go out the front door.

I bound down the porch steps and across the yard to John B's waiting van. JJ is riding shot gun. "There's my girl," JJ says as I yank open the sliding door and climb into the back of the van.

I blush at his word choice. "Here I am," I reply, making myself comfortable on the bench seat. "So, house party?" I question as we back out of the driveway.

"Yeah, this kid from school I don't think you've met. And just us. Well, actually, Sarah is coming. We're going to pick her up after we go to the liquor store," John B informs me.

"Oh?" I say, intrigued at the fact that Sarah has made plans with John B.

"They broke up," he says evenly, but the way he grips the steering wheel tells me he's excited about this fact.

"I see," I say, matching his tone. "What are we going to the liquor store for?" I ask.

"Liquor," JJ answers.

"Well no shit. Did one of you get a fake?" I ask.

"Nah, I'm just gonna run in and steal it," JJ says, turning around to look at me. "So think about what you want, because I gotta grab it quick," he says with a laugh.

"Jesus, kid," I say as I roll my eyes.

We make it to the small liquor store in town quickly. The place is busy. John B backs into a spot at the far end of the parking lot. "Open your door, Sunny," he says as JJ starts to get out.

"Right." I slide open the door. John B leaves the van in gear so we can peel away quickly.

"So what am I getting?" JJ asks as he leans into the open door.

"Whiskey," John B says.

"Um, something clear? Dark liquor makes me emotional," I say, remembering a party a few months back.

"Oh yeah," JJ says with a laugh. "We don't want you crying at the party," he teases. "So whiskey and something clear... what about Sarah?"

"She requested vodka," John B says.

"Okay. Got it." JJ takes off his hat and empties his wallet, keys, and phone into it as it rests in the floor of the van. "Be ready," he says as he walks off towards the store.

Once he's inside, John B speaks again. "JJ told me he kissed you."

"Did he?"

"Mhm," he confirms.

"Did he say anything else?"

I see his smile in the reflection of the rear view mirror. "Maybe."

"And you aren't going to tell me, are you?"

"Nope." He cranes his neck to look in the rear view mirror. "Oh shit he's coming back already," John B says as he watches JJ's reflection.

"Go, go, go, go!" JJ is yelling as he runs towards the van. He jumps in the back with me and slings the door shut as John B punches the gas and takes off. JJ cackles loudly as we speed away. He begins pulling liquor bottles from his pockets. "Okay, a pint of whiskey for John B." He lays the Jack Daniels on the floor of the car. "Vodka for Sarah." He places her bottle beside it. He pulls out the last two bottles. They match. "And silver tequila for both of us."

"Tequila, huh?" I say, raising an eyebrow at him. "I you want me to flash you so bad, just ask me," I joke. John B lets out a laugh from the drivers seat.

"You're funny," JJ says, sliding the two pints of tequila back in his pockets, along with his belongings. He adjusts his hat on his head.

"Funny Sunny," I muse, laughing at my own lame joke.

We go to pick up Sarah next. It seems odd watching her climb into the passenger seat of John B's van. "Hey guys!" she says excitedly as she settles into her seat. "I've never been to a party in the cut before. The boneyard's as far as I've been," she says, turning around to look at me. "Anything I should know?"

"Um, don't mention that you're a kook," I say, and she laughs. "Just use your first name if you introduce yourself to someone."

"Is that what you do?" she asks me.

"Most people in the cut know me because so many of them either work for my parents or know someone who works for my parents, so..."

"They're cool with her because she's with us," John B says, chiming in. "And it'll be the same for you," he promises. He reaches over and pats her knee.

"I trust you," Sarah says as we make our way out of Figure 8.

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