If We Were Perfect (herophine)

Chapter Sixteen: Take Me Home

Hero

Around eleven, we begin pulling on our shoes and and getting ready to leave the hotel. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and her glowing blue eyes were filled with excitement.

I move across the room, taking her in my tight embrace. She kisses my collar bone, the looks up to my eyes, smiling.

"Where to first?" She ask, grabbing her phone and putting it in her small purse.

I take her hand and lead her out of the room, closing the heavy door behind us.

We walk down the hall to the elevator with no worry in our minds, all that mattered was.

We walk out of the building, and instead of getting an Uber or taxi, we walk in the direction of the restaurant, Josephine not even speaking.

"Is everything okay?" I turn to her, asking with a soft smile.

She nods, "Yeah, I'm just thinking of what I should say to Mom."

I look to the sidewalk and then back up to her, she frowns and looks to the sidewalk.

"What if she doesn't want to talk to me?"

"Why wouldn't she?" I reply, why would Josephine think that?

Josephine looks away from me and toward the busy street.
~
We arrive at the restaurant earlier than what her mother told her, the waiter takes us to a medium sized booth toward the back of the building and we slide in. I put my arm around her waist as we order.

"Can I have a water please?" She ask softly, her voice is so quiet, it's almost mute.

"Baby, you don't have to get water, I'll pay." I tell her, then look back up to the waiter, "Can I have a coke or Pepsi, whatever you have?"

"No, Hero, it's fine. Water please, with the lemon on the side."

I take her hand in mine than bring it up to my lips, kissing her knuckles and squeezing it once.

"When will your Mom get here?" I ask, opening up the menu and looking through all the options I can choose from.

"Not sure, she said One, but she'll probably be late." Josephine replies, and as if on que, her phone goes off. She pulls it out and reads the screen, then reads it aloud to me.

"Aunt Jess and I will be there soon, I want a coffee and she'll want a Mountain Dew." She reads the text, Her Mom's words seem static, as if they have little emotion.

"How far are they?" I ask, leaning back into the soft material of the booth and crossing my arms. She rest her head on my shoulder.

"Dunno, maybe a block or two, they must be close if she wants us to order a coffee for her."

We sit in silence, waiting for Josephine's mom to arrive to the restaurant. We look around the room, time slowly passing.

With the ding of the bell at the front door, Josephine turns around and looks to the door, watching as her Aunt enters the building, but something was off.

Her mom wasn't with her

I slide out of the booth and Josephine hugs her Aunt, then looks around, waiting for her Mom to jump out.

"Where's Mom? Is she parking?"

Aunt Jess's face twist into a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"Aunt Jess, didn't she come with you?" Josephine responds softly.

"No, I thought she was with you guys?"

As the words come from her Aunt's lips, her jaw drops, realizing that her Mom tricked us. She lied.
~
Josephine

"No, she texted me and said she was with you." I reply hastily, trying to wrap my head around what was happening.

"She told me she was going back to you, to see your Graduation then she was going to come back. So when you told me you were coming, I assumed she was going to be with you, then she told me she had a later flight." Aunt Jess tried to explain, tears coming to her eyes. I wrap my arms around her again, my heart beating out of my chest.

"She lied. She isn't in Florida and she isn't here. Where could she be?" I ask, grabbing my purse and leaving a ten on the table, "Come'on, we're going to file a missing persons alert."