𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

011. The Key.

     

     JOSIE ARRIVED home and walked up to the second floor, trying to be quiet to make sure no one realizes she's home. But then Nova sees her through his door wide open. "Hey! Didn't know you were coming back." He says and she stops outside his bedroom. "Yeah... just grabbing some stuff and heading back. Really need to be with my friends right now." She says and Nova nods, reading a book.

"Is Sarah okay? Tell her to call me or send me a text." He says and she nods. "Yeah, sure..." She tells her brother before walking away. In her bedroom, she packed up a backpack with some shirts, some pants and underwear before grabbing her tooth paste and tooth brush. "Josephine Anastasia Forbes. Can you come down here?" She hears her dad and tensed up, sighing quietly before leaving her bedroom, walking down the steps.

"Yeah, dad?" She smiled and he smiles back before it went away. "Go sit your butt down in the kitchen." He says and she knows he's being serious because of his tone of voice so she continued down the stairs, heading down to the kitchen where her mom was, taking sips of a green smoothie, sighing.

"Honey," she turned around and Fred gestured to Josie. "The woman of the hour, sweetheart." He tells his wife and Josie gulps. "What did you two wanna talk about?" She asked, sounding kind of quiet and her voice wavered.

"Honey, I know these past few weeks have been hard for you..." Helena says and Josie shrugs. "I guess." She whispered and Fred looks at Helena. "But... you're taking it too far, honey. Taking the side of a mur--" "don't call John B that." She cut off her mom. "Josephine, don't talk back to your mother like that." Fred says and Josie raised her eyebrows.

"Why? Not like she's my real mom." She said and she can tell the words really stung Helena who took a step back and her demeanour had faltered. There was a glimpse of something in her eyes. "Real mom? Baby, I'm more real than the woman who just birthed you and dumped you at some orphanage. Don't say that to me." She said, tears welling at her eyes and Josie nods. "Yeah? Why'd you lie then? You told me how painful childbirth was, just to find out it wasn't even yours." She says.

"Josephine, you're pushing it." Fred slammed down his hand and Josie flinched. "Or what? Gonna become like your psycho friend, Ward and murder me?" She said and Fred glared at her. "Take that back. Ward is a respectable man and he helped me out in my darkest times, times where you all would've probably starved because I would've lost my job, Josephine." He says, pointing at her and she sighs.

"You're on the side of a murderer! Rafe killed Peterkin, and they blamed it on John B, Mrs. Cameron helped with that by saying Rafe was at home but he wasn't! And if I had proof, I would show you but I just wish you would listen to me!" She raised her voice at them. "Stop lying!" Helena raised her voice back at her daughter. "Only when you do!" Josie stood up and Helena let out a deep breath.

"You really wanna know? You really wanna know why I lied about birthing you and Nova? It was because I am infertile!" She said suddenly and Josie stopped, backing away. "What?" She says, taken back by what her mom said and the tears finally streamed down Helena's face. "I was twenty-one when the doctor told me I couldn't have babies. At such a young age, I know... But your father understood that, and stayed with me, he agreed to adopting. That's when we found you, and Joseph, and Bellamy. And we gave you everything. And you still complain everyday!" She says.

"Because you don't listen to me! Rafe is a psycho! And I witnessed Ward shoot a man!" She said and Helena sighed, shaking her head. "I can't with you..." She turned around and Josie sat down, gasping softly as there were tears streaming down her face too and she couldn't really breathe that well. "I can't with either of you... even Bellamy. I'm gonna go, because I wanna support my best friend. Who was wrongfully accused of a murder committed by the psycho you guys just wanted to arrange me to get married to." She says.