If We Were Perfect (herophine)

Chapter Twenty: Take Us Away From Here

Hero

I wake up and look into Josephine's eyes. She was awake, playing with my hair, staying silent.

"I'm ready to go." She whispers, her finger moves down to my chest and traces the outline of my abs. Her finger glides over my belly button and I grab it, bringing it to my lips and kissing her knuckles.

She flushes and I wrap an arm around her. She's wearing adidas gym shorts and a baggy sweatshirt. My sweatshirt. It was my school sweatshirt I got my Junior year.

"Let me get up and get ready then we can go." I reply and go to grab my phone and check the time. I pick it up and read the time: 5:30 A.M.

Holy hell.

"Why so early?" I ask, sitting up and wiping my hand across my chest. It's sticky with sweat.

"Because I want to find a hotel by 8:30 and I want to see how far we can get." She replies and I get up out of the spare bedroom's bed.

Obviously, we shared it because her bed is in Hadley's room.

I haven't talk to her in a while. Not since graduation. No. Scratch that. The open house.

I pull on the shirt I was wearing yesterday and grab a pair of jeans from the floor, I'll change later if I get too hot. I walk out of the room and she follows me down the hall and to the bathroom. I shut the door and do everything I need to do. Brush my teeth, go to the bathroom, all the daily necessities.

Josephine was waiting for me down in the kitchen, her phone pointed right at me, "I want to make videos of our journey there, I can't travel so far without anything to cheer me up."

I nod and chuckle, approaching her phone camera and crossing my eyes, then sticking my tongue out.

She stops the video and sets her phone down on the counter, I kiss her once, then go to the fridge to grab a drink.

My options are: Sprite, Milk, or Water. I choose water. I'll get coffee later.

"I'm ready." I tell her and she nods, filling her small purse with everything she would need. Wallet, keys, feminine products. We walk out of the house, locking the door behind us and she climbs into the car.
~
Three hours into our journey and Josephine already fell asleep. She's snoring softly in the passenger seat. Her entire body cradled up like a baby in their mother's arms.

Kinda ironic. Since we're looking for her Mom.

I pull up at a small rest stop. I park the car and tap her shoulder, "We're at our first stop, if you need anything come on."

She slowly wakes up and stretches, then unbuckles her seatbelt, getting out of the car. I take her hand and lead her into the building. There were two places for food and drinks inside, Starbucks and McDonald's.

Instead of picking either of the restaurant, we go to the shop and she gets a can of pop and a bag of Little Debbie Doughnuts. I fill up my coffee to about three fourths of the cup, then pour the cream and sugar into the cup until it's filled to the brim.

"I'll pay, you go fill up the car with gas and I'll be out in a minute." I tell her and she pushes open the glass door, going to the car and climbing in the driver's seat.

I watch from the small window as she slowly pulls up to a pump and gets out.

The lady begins to scan our items, "And Gas on pump four."

She nods then taps the keyboard a few times. She nods and hands me a receipt and I exit the building. Josephine gets in the driver's seat and I sit where she was sitting.

I put her drink in her cup holder and my coffee in the one on my side. She pulls back onto the highway, cutting off a small Kia.

"Babe, watch out." I whisper, making sure she doesn't damage my car. I bring my coffee to my lips and slowly pour it into my mouth. It's a little strong, but it isn't horrible.

I slowly turn up the radio and smile as a upbeat song comes from the sound system. I recognized the song, we made out to it a few months ago. The song brings me back to the time I was kissing her lips. Her hands caressing my bare skin. The first time she touched me. Holy shit.

"Hero? Is everything okay?" Josephine ask, breaking me from my daze. I look up and toward her, nodding then turning to my window. We're surrounded by farm land, miles upon miles of it.

"This is so boring." She whispers and I chuckle.

I take her hand as she drives, letting myself fall into a silenced cycle of staring out at the window, watching the yellow fields fade into the azure skies.

A few hours pass before we see anything remotely interesting, a small town with a corner store, bar, and post office all in one road. Within a minute, we're out of the town and on the freeway.

"This is actually the most boring drive I've ever driven, find out how far we are from the nearest city." She whines and I nod, pulling out my phone and looking up where we are. I don't even know what state we're in, so I zoom out and see we're in Alabama. Only 40 minutes from the capital of Alabama, Montgomery.

"We're about forty minutes from Montgomery, Alabama. Just follow the signs." I reply and point toward the signs. Josephine gets into the right lane and follows the lane for about for miles before getting off and driving into downtown.

"I'm hungry and since I'm driving, we're stopping for food." She tells me, then scans the area for restaurants to pull into. She stops the car and turns into the parking lot of a small burger joint on the edge of the city. She hands me the keys and we get out. I stretch my legs, yawning in defeat.

We enter the small building and stop in front of the little waitress stand, "How many?" The young woman ask, winking at me softly. Josephine gives her a dirty scowl and I take her hand.

"Two. Dinner for two." I reply and she grabs two menus, signaling for us to follow her past other tables. She stops in front of a small table and I sit across from her.

We order drinks, then Josephine looks up at me with a gleam if sadness in her eyes.

"What's wrong Jo?" I ask, playfully kicking her leg with my leg. She shrugs, not showing any emotions.

"What if we don't find her, what if it's too late?" She looks down, playing with a small sugar packet.

"He wouldn't hurt her. Not if he wants his daughter." I reply, but wait. Did I tell her this yet? Or is this new information to her?

"What?"

That answers my thoughts. She didn't know. I slowly get up and slide into her side of the small booth, the dull lighting made it hard to see her from across the table.

"Hero? My dad. He took her? Why? How do you know?" She ask faster than a bird chirping and I put a finger to her lips slowly.

"I'll explain, but you need to ask one at a time and ask slowly." I reply and the waiter sets down our drinks, walking away without asking what we want to eat.

"My Birth father took her?" She ask, a tear forms at the corners of her eye.

"Yes. Even your Aunt Jess and Dad think so." I exclaim, taking a sip of the water. It's cold and taste of an old sink.

"Why would he do it?"

I look down, then back up at her, "I looked him up. He's in the system. He got caught selling drugs, then got bailed out. That's when he met your Mom and got her pregnant," I pause, unsure of how to tell her, "He was arrested after you were born for sexual assault, five women. Four of them got pregnant."

She picks up on what I'm trying to say immediately. I see her jaw drop and tears fall down her cheeks.

"I'm a rape baby?"

I gulp away any words I have left to say. I can't go and tell Josephine she's a baby born from rape. It would wreak her trust with me. I'd lose my lifeline.

And she would lose the only person she had left.

SAD CHAPTER😭 IM SOOOO SORRY IF I LEFT YOU CRYING, IM LITERALLY CRYING TOO.