Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 33: Ghost

Hope stayed true to her word, keeping her distance from the school and from Josie.

She would text in the super squad group chat every now and then. She would answer if Josie contacted her separately, but that only happened a few times, when Josie felt like Hope was the only person she could possibly talk to.

Josie grew so accustomed to reaching for her phone to call Hope when she woke in the middle of the night, texting her anytime something funny was said, going to her bedroom when she wanted to see her. This new level of distance and lack of regular conversation has left Josie a mess.

It's almost haunting, her thoughts constantly being about Hope. She'll be lying in her bed at midnight, awakened by a dream of Hope, swearing that she sees the other girl's silhouette in her room, causing her to reach for the lamp on her nightstand, only to realize it was all her mind playing tricks on her.

Josie will hear a noise in the halls, following it as she falsely recognizes it as Hope's voice, but she quickly realizes it's just an empty hall and no one's there.

She feels like Hope is her very own ghost story, keeping her awake at night, consuming her thoughts and dreams, making Josie long even more to get another moment with her.

Josie thinks it would be a lot easier if she could be angry at Hope, but she can't. Hope is just doing what she has to do to keep everyone safe, giving up her friends and the person she loves in the process.

Josie just wishes they never had to say goodbye, that Hope wasn't forced to let her go. But their threats kept piling up, and with Hope's biggest fear being loss, she felt backed into a corner, with absolutely no other option but to push Josie away.

Josie finds herself constantly wondering what the other girl is doing, how she's feeling. She's even talked a few of the squad members into sporadically texting in their group chat to ask these questions for her, so that she won't seem too desperate to Hope.

Josie knows that Hope told her she could reach out at any time, but Hope had also left and broken up with her. She doesn't want to be a bother or make things even more difficult to bear.

However, that doesn't stop her from asking Lizzie to video call Hope, so that she can hover beside her just to see the other girl's face.

Lizzie doesn't hesitate to pull out her phone, wanting to talk to her friend anyways. The phone rings a few times before Hope picks up, and Josie can't help the smile that forms on her face from seeing her, "Hey Lizzie! Is everything okay?"

Lizzie smiles warmly at the girl on the phone, "Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to check in and see how my favorite were-witch is doing. Have you had any monsters show up yet?"

Hope nods, "Yeah, there's been a few. Luckily, I was able to call your dad for info each time. They've been fairly easy to kill...How are things at the school? How's the squad?"

Lizzie gives Hope a reassuring smile, "Everything's fine...Everyone misses you."

Hope sighs on the other end of the phone, "Yeah, I miss everyone too." Hope pauses for a moment, "How's Jo?"

Lizzie glances over at Josie, who sits with wide eyes at the mention of her name. Lizzie quickly brings her eyes back to Hope, "She um—she misses you too, Hope. But she'll be okay, she's strong."

The corners of Hope's lips turn upward, "Yeah, yeah she is. I just um—I hate that I hurt her." She bites her bottom lip, and Josie tears her eyes away from the screen, swallowing thickly.

Lizzie nods to Hope, "I know. This sucks, but I also know you just want to keep her safe, keep everyone safe."

"Yeah..."
Josie looks back at the screen to see Hope's eyes aimed somewhere past her phone, it sounds like someone is talking faintly in the background.