josie walked down the stairs, completely forgetting everyone was still here. she was in a silky two piece without a bra on. her eyes remained glued to her phone as she walked towards the fridge. jaden cleared his throat which made josie quickly look up at the group of guys who were eyeing her. she quickly folded her arms over her chest.
"i forgot y'all were here." josie said awkwardly before she looked at jaden. "can i use the car? i need to go get my medicine."
"i'm about to go to a movie with the guys. sorry sis." jaden said before he turned around and continued to eat his waffles.
"i can take you." anthony spoke up which made everyone look up at him. "i have already seen the movie they are seeing so i'm not going."
"i'd rather walk. thanks though." josie gave a sarcastic smile before she walked back up the stairs and went towards her closet.
the girl grabbed a pair of her black jeans with a rip on the knee and a white tank top and her nike air forces. she switched clothes and made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and put deodorant and perfume on. she ran a brush through her straight hair before she grabbed her purse and quickly made her way to the front door.
"bye jaden, love you." josie yelled out before she ran out the door and towards the sidewalk.
josie walked with her headphones in her ears and her hands in her pockets. she kicked a rock along the sidewalk to make time pass quicker. the girl walked for about ten minutes before a black car slowed down next to her. she looked over in confusion as she took a headphone out and waited for the person to roll the window down so she could see who it was.
"get in." anthony said before josie rolled her eyes and kept walking. "it's not safe for you to walk by yourself. you're a pretty girl."
"you can stop with the compliments now." josie snapped, her eyes still avoiding anthony.
"just get in." anthony said once more.
josie looked over at the other side of the road where an older man was eyeing her down. she let out a small sigh before she opened the door and sat down.
"see? not so bad is it?" anthony asked with a smile.
"don't flatter yourself. there was an old man staring at me." josie said, her eyes finally meeting anthony's icy blue ones.
the two rode in silence before anthony turned the radio up. he approached the pharmacy and and went through the drive through.
"i need to pick up for josie hossler. birthday is may twentieth, two-thousand and one." anthony spoke to the attendant before he gave josie a smirk as she rolled her eyes.
"what? was it supposed to impress me that you know my birthday? you were only my best friend since we were in diapers and you're only my brothers best friend. but sure, whatever helps you sleep at night." josie snapped as she reached for the medicine the attendant was giving.
anthony rolled up his window and began his way back to josie's house. the two didn't say a word to each other. anthony would occasionally glance over at the girl who seemed she had no interest in being in the car with him. the car came to a stop at the end of the small driveway and josie quickly gathered her things and walked towards the front door. the house was empty when josie walked in and she quickly made her way to her room and shut the door and slipped off her shoes. josie walked over to her dresser and dug through all of her socks before she grabbed an old picture from the bottom. she looked at the picture with a softened expression. it was an old picture of her and anthony holding hands on a swing set in elementary school. her dad took it the day before he died and as much as she hated the person in the photo, she loved the memory behind it. because that day was the last she ever seen her father. the door quickly opened and anthony walked in. josie shoved the picture back into her dresser and looked at anthony with a confused look on her face.
"jaden asked if i could stay here until he gets back because whenever you start your medicine again, he said your emotions get all out of whack. some days it's worse than others and i just want to make sure you're okay." anthony spoke as josie shut her dresser. "what are you hiding?" he asked as he walked over and opened the dresser and pulled out the picture. "you still have this?"
"yeah. it's not because you're in it. it's because of the memories behind it. it was the last time i ever saw my dad." josie spoke with tears in her eyes. "i need to take my medicine." the girl quickly changed the subject and took the small pill.
"i'm so sorry, jos." anthony said with a softened expression.
"yeah, me too. i just wish jaden would have learned from my dad. i wish when he was drinking, he wouldn't go driving places. because he knows a drunk driver is exactly what killed my dad." josie said, a tear falling down her cheek.
"from now on, i'll keep him in check." anthony said supportively with a wide smile which made josie let out a small laugh.
"that's why i'm so motherly as you guys like to call it when you guys are drinking. because if i wasn't home, i wouldn't know what to do. you guys are family." josie said as her eyes met anthony's.
"i'm family?" anthony asked, clearly confused.
"you have family you hate." josie added. "look, you really don't have to stay here. i'll be fine. i'm probably just gonna go to sleep anyways."
"then i'll go to sleep right here too." anthony added as he watched the girl crawl into her bed before he decided to as well.
josie had her back facing anthony as she stared at the wall. she wanted to roll over and feel safe, but she knew she would only get hurt again. fuck it. josie rolled over and wrapped anthony's arm around herself and laid her head on his chest.
"jaden definitely didn't lie about this medicine." anthony laughed out.
"shut up."
••••••••••
vote for the next chapter to be published !
