If We Were Perfect (herophine)

Chapter Nine: Anything We Wanted

Josephine

It's been two days since I left my family in Chicago and school starts back up today. I was still staying with the Washington's, since Mom still hasn't come home. Even then, I didn't want to go home yet. I didn't want to deal with Mom's lies.

As bad as it sounds, I didn't want to go home, and I wasn't planning on it. Mom was going to be gone half the summer anyway. Her and Aunt Jess are going to Europe. Jamie would most likely be with his girlfriend, and I'd be alone.

So, I made the childish, yet adult choice to move out during those two days. Hero and Hadley's dad used his work truck to move bigger things over, and everything else went in our cars.

I didn't have much. My bed. Dresser. Clothes and electronics. They moved me into Hadley's room. It was a dream come true, at least for 13-year-old me. We had always wanted to share a room and dorm, but when Hadley got accepted to UCLA for Filmography, our dream of being roommates went down the drain.

While their parents helped me move, Hero and Hadley re-arranged her room so another bed and dresser would fit.

Her bed now sat against the wall, the small, thin dresser against the wall. I still haven't gotten used to the fact I left Mom. She still hasn't come back.

I stumble my way down the staircase and pull my messy blonde hair back, joining Mrs. Washington in the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?" I ask shyly, she jumps, startled, then turns around and looks toward me.

"Josephine, good morning," She tells me while cleaning up a few pans. She was definitely struggling and I knew I should help. It's the least I could do since they let me move in.

I move over to her and take the pans from the oven, moving them over to the sink.

"Mrs. Washington, go get ready, I can clean up a little. You have to be at the school earlier than we do." I tell her, turning on the sink and pour the soap bottle over the dirty dishes.

"Oh, dear, you don't have to."

"You let me move in with you, it's the least I can do." I reply with a smile and she wraps her arms around me in a hug.

She whispers a quiet thank you, then walks back to the staircase.

Once I finish off washing off the dishes, I search the kitchen for a towel to dry my hands off. A few seconds later, I find one next to the microwave. It was orange and white, the material was soft as I rubbed it around my hands, it absorbs the water from my hands.

A few seconds later, Hero walks out into the kitchen. He rubs his tired eyes, then wraps his arms around my waist, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Good morning, Hero." I whisper, turning my head slightly to the left. The tip of my nose brushes against his cheek. He smiles and spins me around quickly, leaving me momentarily dizzy.

"Every morning will be a good morning now that you live here." He replies cockily and I look down at his torso, then back to his eyes. We stand there in awkward silence for a minute, my arms around his waist. I look down to his collar bone and chest, seeing the slowly fading hickeys across his warm skin.

"Go put a shirt on before your Mom sees the hickeys." I tell him, tracing one with my finger. He chuckles, then slowly pulls away. It gives me a little more room to look at his abs. He may say they aren't perfect, but they look as if they belong to a greek god in my eyes. I feel my entire body tense. Shit...