Fight For Me

Unsteady

Within minutes of the announcement, Josie was out the door and running blindly into the woods. She wanted to put as much distance between her and her parents as she could, not caring where she was going as long as it was away. She thought that if she could just run, fast and far then maybe she could outrun her fate.

"Josie! Josie stop!"

The brunette didn't want to stop, she wanted to run until she couldn't run anymore. But what she wanted and what she would get, those were two entirely different things.

Hope speed in front of Josie and pulled her into her in a tight embrace. This both stopped the girl and caused her to nearly collapse. The feel of Hope's arms holding her tight was both exactly what she needed and too much all at the same time.

"Josie, I know that this was a lot to take in. It's your whole world crashing around you. I know, but I promise you, I promise, we will get through this together and we will find a solution. I'm here with you."

The words that should have brought her comfort had the opposite effect. Shaking her head, Josie started to slowly back away from the girl that was holding her trying to protect her from the world. The fear that she was showing on her face was enough to shake Hope. She reached out, but the girl evaded her touch.

Josie couldn't do this to her. It was already too much that she was going to have to loose herself or her twin to The Merge, she refused to let it take Hope's life too.

"No Hope. We can't do this together. You have to stay away from me."

"What! Jo, what are you saying? That makes no sense. Why would I stay away from my fiancé?"

Looking into the beautiful blue eyes that she loved, she knew that she would have to do something that would break both of them, something that they may never recover from, but was for the best in the end.

"Hope, I love you, more than I ever thought that I could love anyone. You are my heart. And because I love you so much, I can't marry you. I can't make you suffer another loss, another death."

Ice ran down the tribrid's back and froze her in her spot. The feeling, like she had just been hit by a truck going a thousand miles an hour and then run over by it, those words killed her. She could feel her heart shattering into a million pieces. This had to be a mistake, this couldn't be real.

"No! You don't get to do this. You don't get to decide my life. You don't get to ruin my life and break my heart and then tell me that it is for me."

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down, Hope looks into Josie's eyes. She knows that her's are glowing and she squeezes them to regain control. Reaching out she genteelly grabs Josie by the shoulders.

"I love you Josie. I love you with every fiber of my being. You are my heart and soul. You can't get rid of me. You don't get to tell me that you love me more than anything and then leave me. This is my life too. We are engaged! I love you!"

Looking at the tears that were streaming down Josie's face as she sobbed, Hope took a calming breath and moved closer to her love. Raising her hands to wipe away the tears, Hope leaned in and gave a soft and sweet kiss. Leaning her forehead onto Josie's, she began to speak again.

"You and me forever. That is the promise that I made when I gave you that ring. You and me against everything and everyone. Now, you can push me away and hurt us both, but I will continue to be right by your side."

Josie didn't know what to say. She knew that she should let Hope go. She didn't want her to have to go through everything that was to come. She had lost so much already in her short life. Too much pain and death.