My Heart Skips a Beat

"Wow."

Hope sat on her bed and watched as Josie and Cleo talked by her bathroom. "Again I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly. One of my sisters is having a crisis on her wedding week and I need to go help with that." She handed Josie the first aid kit. "No it's fine. Thank you for all of your help tonight. It was nice meeting you Cleo. I hope we can meet again sometime." Josie says as the two girl walk over to the door.

"It was nice meeting you as well." Cleo looked over at Hope. "I have a feeling we'll definitely be seeing more of one another." Cleo smiled and said a final goodbye before she left the room.

Josie sighed as she walked up to Hope. When she reached in front of the bed she laid her walking stick on the floor and sat on the bed next to Hope. Josie opened the kit and felt around and got out the alcohol wipes, small gauze pads and hand raps.

"Give me your hand." Josie says as she rips open the alcohol wipes. Hope lifted up her right hand and placed it into to Josie's. It was silent for the most part. Besides Hopes quite grunts here and there when Josie wiped down her hand.

Hope was the first to break the silence. "I'm sorry." Josie just nodded and continued wrapping the other girls knuckles. "I'm not a violent person. I just-when she started talking about you like that and then about my family something in me just snapped. I usually have control over my anger." Hope said nervously. 

"You may not have done it in the best way but...I know in some way you did that partly for me. And I'm thankful for that." Josie gently grabbed Hopes other hand that rests on her lap. "But I do have to know...what finch was talking about. Something that happened freshman year? Does it have to do with why you didn't want to talk about freshman year?" Hope sighed. She really didn't want to tell Josie in this way.

She knew she had to at some point in their relationship. She just really hopes that it doesn't change anything. That Josie doesn't leave. "Ok." She says with a sigh. "Ok?"

"Yeah. You deserve to know the truth." Hope took a deep breath. "I'm intersex. Freshman year I was on the girls soccer team here after Maya convinced me it would be a great idea. I usually stayed out longer than everyone else and waited until the girls locker room was empty to change. But one day after practice when I was changing something happened. I guess I didn't hear them but someone came into the room and saw me. After that news spread fast about me being intersex. I got kicked off the soccer team after that. I lost a lot of who I thought were my friends. The torment and bullying from finch and her group of friends started shortly after. I never understood why but I guess people hate what they don't understand. It was mostly verbal abuse from them mainly her and sometimes it would be physical too. I just learned to take it and not fight back. It was hard but Maya, Cleo and Ethan were helping me through it all. So, yeah. I'm intersex and I, uh, I hope you're ok with that."

Josie didn't know what to say. It was a lot to take in. I mean the girl she really liked- likes -is intersex. She plays back everything that Hope said in her mind. She's not disgusted or freaked out. It was just a lot for one to processes. Josie may have been thinking for longer than she thought because Hope started nervously rambling. "I-I mean I completely understand if you need time to process all of this-" "I a-also understand if you don't want to see me again after this or if-"

"Hope!" Josie says as she takes the aburnettes bandages hands. "I'm not freaked out or disgusted or anything negative that you have playing around in your head. I like you, ok. Like, like like you. And you being intersex doesn't change that. I can't say it doesn't shock me but what you have down there doesn't matter to me. I like you Hope and I'm not going anywhere." Josie says with a wide smile and lightly squeezed the other girls hand.

This was better than anything Hope could have ever asked for. Josie accepts her; she's staying. Hope smiles and brings Josie into a hug. "Thank you Jo. You have no idea how happy I am." When they break apart from the hug they don't go far.