Marked (Hosie Fanfic)

[21] Can't Stop Thinking Of Her

A/N: Alright, so I know that I said that I wanted Quinn to have D.I.D but I revoke that statement because it has been incredibly hard to write her character and I just can't. I don't know enough and I don't want to offend anybody. So, from now on, she's gonna be deaf. Just pretend that Penelope hasn't gone on a date with her. They met at the dance and Penelope knows that Quinn is deaf. I changed the parts with Quinn in it so if you want to reread them feel free. I know it's confusing but eh, whatever. Alright, enjoy.

Penelope POV

After telling Hope about Josie's absence the room plunges into silence and she goes into the bathroom. A few minutes later I hear the shower running and I assume she's getting in the shower. I sit back on my bed and grab the stack of papers from the little table near my bed.

I spread them out and lay them in their correct positions. Various music notes and signs stare back at me along with little sections that are crossed out. The piece was supposed to be a whirlwind of emotions but I can't seem to fit the sad part in, correctly. It's supposed to sound of loss and grief but the notes just don't seem to carry the emotion through and it ends up just sounding... boring.

I've been working on this for a while now and it just doesn't sound right. I look over the music again and after a few minutes of thinking, I give up. I gather the papers and put them back on my nightside table and instead, I start packing. I dump all my clothes onto my bed and I start neatly folding them into my bag. It all fits in nicely and I'm basically done when Hope walks out of the bathroom with damp hair and a towel wrapped around herself.

She pauses her movement as soon as she sees me packing.

"What are you doing?" I look up at her and stop folding to focus on her. "Well you made a deal, if Josie doesn't forgive you, then we're going back to New Orleans. Since she already made it pretty clear what she thinks, I'm just getting ready to go." She stares at me for a moment with a blank expression and I worry that I was too blunt.

But after a moment, she just shrugs and moves to change. She pulls some black sweats over her legs and a shirt over her head. I turn around and get back to packing. There's not much to do since I was pretty much done when she came out. So, I move over to the shelf and start stacking my piano books but I halt when I hear a quiet sniffle.

I turn around to see Hope hunched over her duffle bag with shaking shoulders. I put my books on the edge of my bed before quietly walking over to Hope. I gently grab her shoulders and pull her into a hug. Her arms come up and hold onto my back while she sobs into my embrace.

I just lightly trace patterns onto her back to try and comfort her by whispering "You're okay. You're gonna be okay," repeatedly. I let her cry for as long as she needs without worrying about the time. When she finally finishes I lead her to the bathroom to clean her face. She just stares blankly at whatever's in front of her.

After I wipe her face off, I lead her to her bed and I lay her down gently. I tuck her in and then turn most of the lights off, leaving only the lamp near my bed as the only source of light. I enter the bathroom to take a quick shower since her tears and snot were on my clothes and my neck.

I turn the water on and wait for the water to warm. I check the water occasionally and when I'm happy with the temperature, I plug the drain up so that I can take a bath. I pour the soap into the tub and stir the water a little so that the bubbles form. I then quickly strip and my clothes lay in a neat pile in the corner. I get into the tub and I sigh in relief. I let my head rest on the edge of the tub. I imagine that mud is pouring all over my mind and any thought that surfaces gets quickly drowned by the heavy mud. I just let the mud smooth over every corner of my mind and any bubbles or thoughts are quickly forgotten.