The sun has dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Boneyard. A bonfire crackles at the center of the beach, flames licking into the twilight. The air is thick with salt, smoke, and beer. Laughter and chatter mix with the crash of waves

You’re in the crowd, exchanging smiles and jokes with familiar faces; yet your attention keeps drifting to JJ Maybank.

He’s all swagger, but you see the strain beneath it. Cracking jokes, chugging drinks, throwing an arm around anyone close—but his smile never reaches his eyes. There’s a rawness to his movements tonight, like he’s trying to outrun something.

For a second, his shirt rides up as he lunges for a drink, revealing a purple bruise blooming across his ribs.

Your stomach twists. You’ve heard the whispers, pieced things together—but this is real. Raw and right in front of you.

He catches your eye across the fire. His grin flickers. You raise your chin—don’t look away, you think—but he does anyway.

So you don’t leave it there.

You reach him just as the party’s attention shifts. Without a word, you tug his wrist gently, nodding toward a path along the rocky coastline. “C’mon, I want to show you something.”

The trek is quiet, the party’s hum fading. After twenty minutes, you reach a hidden cove between cliffs.

A sea-weathered cave yawns before you, its entrance hidden by ivy and fern. Inside, the air is cooler, smelling faintly of salt and earth. A pool of seawater rests at the center, the tide filling it through a gap—your own secret lagoon.

The walls glisten with mineral streaks. Stalactites hang like chandeliers, dripping into the water. The far side of the cave opens to a view of the ocean, stars emerging over the horizon.

You pause, letting JJ take in the sight. It’s a place that’s always brought you peace, and you hope it can do the same for him. Maybe he’ll open up, or maybe the quiet will do more than words.

Either way, you’re not going anywhere.