Inferno Part 3

~192~ Draco

I have to skip out on Saturday's update—So sorry! I'll be back Monday. I purposely did NOT leave this on a cliffhanger, cause I know ya'll wouldn't be too happy with me 😇😇😘

Josie's POV

I'm staring at the letter, finally opened, after four days of it sitting on my desk.

It's not what I was wanting.....

I got accepted

I feel like such an evil person, because so many kids would've sold their souls for the chance to go to the school. The school that I dreamt about when I would lie in bed as a little girl.

A school that would be my safe haven—Take me away from the hell I was living in.

Little did I know that my safe haven wasn't the school at all, but my brother. The thought of finally leaving the only secure and safe place I've ever known seems asinine.

Who would do that?

I stare at the letter, and wonder what the hell I'm doing. If I turn this down, I'm turning down my dream....Was it my dream, or just a desperate wish to hold onto late at night.

I get out of bed, and look at my phone.

It's 1:30 am.

I'm wearing comfy sweats and a crop top, and decide to go downstairs and sit outside on the porch for a while. My brain is so fogged up, that I don't know where I'm going—I can't see past my hand.

I get downstairs, and it's dark and quiet—Exactly what I was hoping for.

I sit on the porch, and listen to the crickets. I hold the letter in my hands, and silently cry.

I don't want to leave Mason. Have I become too dependent on him?

Gosh why is life so hard?

As I'm swinging, letting my tears fall silently, I don't notice Mason, wearing only sweats, watching me from the door.

It's not until he closes the door and sits next to me, that I see him. Once we start swinging again, I look at him.

"I don't want to leave," I get out as I hand him the paper.

He glances at it, folds it, and puts it back in my lap.

He silently pulls me into him, and I rest my head on his bare chest.

"Remember a long time ago, when you were struggling with Sasha so bad?" He asks after a few minutes.

I nod as I look out at the billions of stars. It's such a pretty night tonight.

"I told you that you were a bright star in my sky. Remember? That I wasn't going to dim a star so another one could shine brighter. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do"

"Jocelyn, you can live here forever if you want to. This is your home, and that room will ALWAYS be yours—I mean that...But Jos, you're dimming, girly. You're starting to dim, and I can't take it anymore."

I lift my head up and look at him. "What?"

He sighs and shakes his head. "There's so much more for you in this world. There's so much more for you than me...Than Dylan...You stay here, and I will continue to love you and support you. You stay here, and I will help you do whatever it is you're wanting...But Josie, you don't want to, do you? You want to go, but you're too scared."

I am scared

"I don't wanna be away from you," I say as I start to cry. It's humiliating to say that, and I swore to myself that I'd never admit that to him.