Just Go With It (Hosie)

XXIV

As Maya sleeps peacefully, a soft smile on her lips, and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, her auburnette fiancé lays wide awake, contemplating the past week and what's to come tomorrow, and the rest of her life.

The thought of a possible future with Maya is what started this whole charade that she enlisted Josie and her kids to help her pull off. She thought that Maya was the perfect girl, perfect for her.

But now, doubt continues to creep into her mind.

What if this isn't the right thing to do?

What if she isn't my person?

Hope sighs softly before giving up on getting any sleep right now. She has too many thoughts circling her brain, and she can only think of a single person she could possibly talk to about it, maybe get some advice...

She carefully peels her body away from her fiancé, rolling out of bed, slipping on a robe, and grabbing her phone before stepping outside on their balcony.

——————

Josie lies awake, staring at the ceiling as her daughter sleeps soundly beside her.

Josie can't help but feel stupid for ever thinking that maybe Hope felt the same way as her. She probably imagined that Hope was about to kiss her in the hall before her kids came outside the suite. She definitely imagined it.

Her heart aches.

Nobody could ever love her and treat her the way Hope does. Nobody will ever know her as deeply as Hope does.

If it's not Hope, it's not anybody.

And perhaps what hurts the most, is that Hope is about to marry another woman.

And she can't even blame Hope. Maya's great and young, and Josie's a single mom, raising two kids, working all the time to provide for them, and she's not getting any younger.

Every time Josie thinks they might...something—someone gets in the way.

Josie's thoughts are interrupted by the buzzing sound of her phone.

She furrows her eyebrows as she looks toward the nightstand, picking it up and seeing the name of the person invading her mind, so she clicks the screen, putting the phone up to her ear as she whispers quietly.

"Hello?"

"Hey, were you up?" She hears Hope's slightly raspy voice, indicating that she's tired but can't sleep.

Josie's gotten to know almost every single tone of voice that Hope uses, and she knows how to read her without even seeing her.

She leans back against the headboard with a small smile on her lips, a natural impulse every time Hope calls like this, "Hi—Yeah, I was..I'm glad you called."

Unbeknownst to Josie, Hope wears a small smile at that confession, "Are you?" Typically that might sound like a tease, but for whatever reason, Hope actually sounds disbelieving this time.

And that tone makes Josie realize exactly what she said, so she tries to quickly cover up her mistake, "Uh—Yeah, I was just looking at flights for your family tomorrow—"

"No, that's okay, you don't have to do that. Her parents aren't coming in, and she wants it to be kind of...elope-y."

Josie furrows her eyebrows. She would never imagine Hope Mikaelson getting married without her family being there. Her family means everything to her, and when Rebekah finds out, she'll be super pissed,
"Elope-y...got it...So um, are you all set for what you need to wear tomorrow?"

She hears a pause on the other end of the line, before Hope asks, "Jo, do you think this is a good idea?"

Josie furrows her eyebrows even more now. That's not what she was expecting to hear from Hope when she answered the phone, "What? The wedding?"

"Yeah, the wedding, and just the whole Maya thing..."

Josie's not sure what she's supposed to say to that.

Selfishly, she wants to say it's the worst idea in the world. But the part of her that really just wants Hope to be happy thinks that maybe she shouldn't be selfish.
"Well, that's why we came out here, right?"

She hears a sigh on the other end of the line, "I guess...You don't think it's crazy?"

Hope's not even sure why she's asking Josie.
She's not sure what she wants the answer to be.
She's not sure why there's a small part of her hoping that Josie tells her not to go through with this.

Josie closes her eyes as she bites her tongue, before forcing out a soft reply, "Hope, you don't need my permission, okay? If this is what you want, then you should go for it."

"I know, I just—I don't..." Josie waits patiently on the other end of the line, knowing something must really be bothering the auburnette, "If I do this, do you think it'll make things weird between you and me—I mean at the office...?"

Josie softens. She's not sure why Hope is concerned about that, of all things, but she knows that won't be an issue...and her heart breaks at her next admission, "You're not gonna have to worry about that, Hope..." Before she musters up the courage to say it, Hope reads her tone like a book.

"You're going to LA...? You're taking the job with Dr. Sowande..."

Hope wants to be completely wrong, but she can tell by the pause on the other end of the line that she's correct.

"...Yeah," Josie whispers regretfully as Hope runs a hand through her hair, wondering how things could've gotten so messed up, "I just, um...You know, as much as I was looking forward to you, some day, reconstructing my face," Josie tries to lighten the mood, but she's far too solemn to be successful, "I—I really just need to start fresh, you know?"

And Josie doesn't know it, but Hope only shakes her head, falling silent on the phone.

"Hello? You still there?..You understand, right?"

Hope still shakes her head. She isn't okay with this. She's devastated. She doesn't want to be on opposite coasts of the country. She wants Josie to stay and for them to be partners still. She doesn't know what she'll do without Josie by her side everyday.

But she doesn't want to discourage Josie if this is really what she wants, so she forces out a reply, "I guess so..."

Josie sighs, "There's an awful lot of guessing coming through this phone, Hope..." First about Hope's wedding and now this, "I'm divorced. I have two kids. I don't—I don't have time for guessing," The last part comes out as a more broken whisper, conveying so much emotion to Hope that Josie has been trying so desperately to hide, especially this past week. And it breaks Hope's heart, knowing Josie is hurting and tearful right now, but the brunette continues, trying to hold her composure, "You've got a big day tomorrow, Doc, so why don't you just get some sleep, alright?"

And with that Hope hears the line cut out, and she sighs as she pulls the phone away from her ear, rubbing her temple.

And Josie sets her phone back on the nightstand before wiping away a single stray tear.

She never imagined that she'd ever leave Hope, but she can't bear to stay and watch Hope live out a full life with someone else. It's too hard, especially after finally admitting to herself just how much Hope means to her.