Not out (On Hold)

Always and forever

Hope POV

It was a few hours before Josie woke up. She looks confused, and sad. "Where are we going?" she asks. "My house. I know I technically kidnapped you, I hope you don't mind" I reply. She glances to the back seat. "You brought them?" she asks, referring to her pet ducks. I nod, then say "I figured they could be like your emotional support. That, and I don't think leaving them with Lizzie would the best option". She nods, then lays her head on the window, quiet the rest on the ride.

~Time Skip~

We arrive at my house a couple more hours later. The ride was painfully silent, and unnecessarily slow. Since she already knows where my room is, she grabs the ducks, and I tell her I'll meet her upstairs. I grab our clothes and belongings, then head in too. I was greeted by my mom, who gave me a hug, and a kiss on my forehead. I noticed diner was already made. I wonder if Josie's hungry.

I make my way up to my room, where Josie is sitting on the edge of my bed. She looks spaced out, which I understand. "I, uh, told Lizzie I'd have you call her when we arrived...if you want to call her now, you can" I tell her. "Can I take a shower, please?" she asks, in a low tone. "Of course, love" I tell her. I go downstairs and grab her some food while she showers. I'm not really hungry, so I didn't get me any.

By the time I came upstairs, she was already out and laying down. "I got you some food" I say softly. She sits up and grabs the plate from me. Though, she didn't start eating. She just kinda...stared.

I took a quick shower. I got dressed in the bathroom, then walked back into my room. She was silently eating on the bed. She looks upset, which I understand. I'd be upset too, but my job as her girlfriend, is to make her happy.

I sit next to her, and take some of her food off her plate. She didn't seem to care at first, so I kept taking more. After like 4 more bites, she turns her head to me. Silently telling me to stop eating her food. I say a quiet "sorry". "What?" she asks after a few minutes of me occasionally glancing at her. I give her a confused look. "You look like you want to say something, so, what?" she says.

"It's just...you're, like, really pretty, and I tend to get nervous around you" I say. "Actually, I was wondering if I could get your number ?" I continue. She blushes, and smiles. "Sorry, I'm married" she tells me. I look down at her hand, then say "I don't see a ring". "That's because they haven't gotten me one yet" she tells me.

"Well, they're a piece of shit. If it was me, I would've gotten you a ring years ago" I say. "Maybe you should" she says, a little above a whisper. "Maybe I will" I tell her. I try to take another bite of her food, but she knew what I was abt to do. She hurriedly moved the plate out of my reach. "Go get your own" she tells me. "Just let me-" I start. "No" she says, sternly.

I roll my eyes, then say "Fine, hurry up". "For what?" she asks. "It's a surprise" I tell her, then walk out of the room. I make my way downstairs, to the kitchen. My aunt Freya was putting the food away. She gives me a sad smile.

Freya: "You're mom told me what happened. How is she doing?"

Hope: "Not great, but...I don't think anyone would be doing good after what she just went through"

Freya: "You're right. I can't imagine what she's going through, but I'm sure as long as she has you by her side, she'll get through it"

I nod, then leave, but not before telling her goodnight. I started walking back towards the stairs, but Josie was walking down them. She had her plate in hand, so I let her go put it away. "So, what's the surprise?" she asks when she walks back into the living room. I motion for her to follow me. I take her outside. "Hop in" I tell her. We both get into my car, and I pull out of my drive way.

In minutes, we make it to a large hill. I bring the car as close as I can, then we get out. "Now, we climb" I tell her. We both start walking. I grab ahold of her hand. She smiles at me, and I return it. She starts lightly swinging our arms. It wasn't long before we made it to the top. I took a seat on the ground, and she layed her head in my lap.

Josie: "So..."

Hope: "So?"

Josie: "This the surprise?"

Hope: "Uh, yea. I know it's not much, but I wanted to do something simple. Just want to make you feel at least a tad better"

Josie: "Thank you, I really appreciate it. And I do feel a lot better"

Hope: "Good"

Josie: "This is perfect, by the way"

She does a cute little smile. I pluck a daisy from the ground, then put it in her hair. She looks up at the sky, watching the sunset. I continue to stare down at her. After a while, she glances up at me. "Aren't we here to watch the sunset?" she asks. "You're better than the sunset" I tell her. She blushes, and looks away.

She goes back to looking at the sky. After a while of watching her, I look up too. The sky was beautiful, and it literally lit the clouds up. They were a orange-purple color. I feel a few raindrops come from the sky. "Looks like it's time to go" she says, and sits up. We carefully make our way down the hill, and into the car. I was about to start the car, but she put her hand on mine, then asked "Can we just stay here for a bit?". I give her a small nod, then intertwined our fingers. It wasn't long until it started pouring raining. I asked her if she wanted to cuddle in the back seat, and says yes. I climb over the console, and into the back seat with her following close behind.

Josie gently layed her head on my shoulder. I give her a kiss on the forehead, then rest my head on hers.

Hope: "Are you ok?"

Josie: "No...but I'll be fine"

Hope: "Alright. Just know I'm here for you, always"

Josie: "I know"

Josie: "I love you...so, so much"

Hope: "I love you too, Josie...more than you know. Always and forever"

She sniffles, and doesn't say anything back. She snakes her arms around my waist. I put my arm around her shoulders, and use the other to draw random shapes on one of hers. It wasn't long before she fell asleep again.

I know this is a bit short, I apologize. The story is coming to an end, but let me know how you guys think I should end it. The end will probably be in Josie's pov, but for now it'll be in Hope's. I hope you all enjoy and have an amazing day/night