I choose you.~Hosie~

chapter 17

The next day, as Hope rounded the corner, she found herself face to face with Josie. But instead of the usual warmth in Josie's eyes, there was a fiery anger that sent a shiver down Hope's spine.

"What do you want, Hope?" Josie's voice was cold, her tone laced with barely contained fury.

Hope took a step back, her heart sinking at the sight of Josie's anger. "Josie, please, let me explain," she pleaded, reaching out a hand in a futile attempt to bridge the growing distance between them.

But Josie recoiled, her eyes flashing with betrayal. "Explain what, exactly?" she spat, her words dripping with venom. "How you kissed Landon right in front of me? How you shattered my trust into a million pieces?"

Hope's heart clenched at the raw pain in Josie's words, her own guilt threatening to suffocate her. "I made a mistake, Josie," she admitted, her voice trembling with remorse. "But I never meant to hurt you. I love you, you have to believe me."

Josie's laughter was bitter and mocking, her anger boiling over as she shook her head in disbelief. "Love? You don't get to talk about love after what you did," she snapped, her words cutting like knives. "You betrayed me, Hope. And I'll never forgive you for that."

Hope felt a surge of desperation welling up inside her as she watched Josie's retreating figure, her heart breaking with every step she took away from her. "Josie, please," she called out, her voice filled with anguish. "I'll do anything to make this right. Just give me a chance."

As Josie turned to walk away, her rage boiling over, she suddenly stopped and spun back around, her eyes blazing with fury.

"You're a cheater, Hope," she shouted, her voice echoing through the corridor. "You betrayed me in the worst way possible, and now you think you can just apologize and make everything okay?"

Hope flinched at Josie's harsh words, her heart aching with guilt and regret. "Josie, I know I messed up. I know I hurt you, but—"

"But nothing!" Josie cut her off, her voice cracking with the intensity of her emotions. "You can't just undo what you did. You kissed Landon right in front of me. You made me feel like I was nothing, like our relationship meant nothing to you."

Hope's eyes filled with tears as she listened to Josie's words, each one a dagger to her heart. "I made a terrible mistake, Josie," she said, her voice breaking. "But our relationship does mean everything to me. I love you more than anything."

Josie's laughter was bitter and hollow, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Love? You think this is love?" She shook her head, her voice trembling with anger. "You have a funny way of showing it, Hope."

Hope took a tentative step forward, her hands outstretched in a desperate plea for forgiveness. "Please, Josie, I know I don't deserve it, but I need you to believe that I regret what I did. I'll do anything to make it right."

Josie stared at Hope, her face a mask of hurt and betrayal. "There's nothing you can do to fix this, Hope. You broke my heart, and I don't know if it can ever be mended."

Josie stopped for a second and began again.

"Go back to Landon, Hope," she spat, her voice trembling with anger. "That's what you really want, isn't it? You never really cared about me. You just used me to fill the void when he wasn't around."

Hope's eyes widened in shock, her heart aching at the accusation. "Josie, that's not true," she protested, her voice pleading. "I love you. What we had was real."

Josie's laughter was bitter and hollow, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Love? You don't even know what that means," she retorted, her voice cracking. "If you did, you wouldn't have kissed him right in front of me. You wouldn't have broken my heart."