Mermaid

The Gym

  "Holy shit, I feel like I've been hit by a semi-truck", Hope groaned, her hands covering her eyes to shield them from the bright lights. Josie sighed, sliding the packet of Aspirin over to the hungover girl. "You know this is your fault, right?", Lizzie stated, causing Hope to give her an offended glare. "MY fault? You're the one that downed those tequila shots like they were fucking juice boxes!" "Well, sorry I'm not a lightweight like you. Two cups of vodka and you were practically swallowing Landon's face.", Lizzie hollered, shuddering at the memory of Hope and Landon making out on a random couch at the party. Hope opened her mouth to say something else in her defense but was cut off by an annoyed Josie. "Will you two stop it? You're both at fault.", she said, looking from her sister to Hope. "You shouldn't have gone to the party when we were supposed to be hanging out together.", She reminded her, pointing at Lizzie accusingly. She turned back to Hope. "And you shouldn't have had Raf drive her there!" Both of the scolded girls grew quiet, not having a good enough argument to defend themselves. Josie let out a heavy sigh, grabbing the car keys from the glass bowl by the door. "Where are you going? Josie!", Hope implored, but Josie was too annoyed to give her an answer. She closed the door behind her, making it known to both Hope and Lizzie that she was still angry with them. Hope and Lizzie looked at each other guiltily. They had fucked up badly this time. They only knew one way to say sorry to Josie, and show her they meant it.

They were going to have to bake a pie.
__________________________________________________
  Josie upped the speed of the treadmill, pushing herself harder than she usually did when she was this tired. With every mile that the treadmill counted, Josie felt a little lighter- both physically and emotionally. She needed this. Between the stress of starting a new school year and dealing with Lizzie and Hope, she could feel every muscle in her body aching with pent up stress. Normally she would stop at just a few miles, but she decided to hold out just a little longer before taking a water break. Every time she said one more mile, she had run it before she knew it, and she pushed for one more. By the time she was done, she had run 15 miles, and her lungs burned with the effort of breathing. She had pushed it too far; She knew that. But the satisfaction it gave her made her believe that her suffering had been worth it. If her swimsuit fit just a little bit looser, it would be worth it. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. She ignored the burning in her legs, reminding herself that running was healthy and that the pain would go away soon enough. She took another sip of water, preparing herself to go back to the treadmill.

  "Putting in some work, huh Saltzman?", a familiar voice said, causing Josie to look up. Penelope Park stood in front of her, wearing just a sports bra and a thin pair of leggings. If Josie wasn't already out of breath, she was sure that the sight would take it away for her. Josie hated to admit it, but Penelope Park was gorgeous, and she cursed herself for the blush she knew was spreading across her cheeks. She prayed to god that Penelope would just assume she was flushed from running. "Uh, yeah", Josie managed to get out between pants. "D-do you come here a lot?" Penelope chuckled, and the sound made the butterflies in Josie's stomach flutter about. "No, not really. I was visiting my cousin Rowan- she's a huge "gym rat".' Josie nodded, swallowing down another drink of water. Penelope looked at her quizzically. "Are you okay? You're, like, really red." "I uh...I think I might have pushed a little too hard today, that's all." Penelope looked over at the treadmill, hazel eyes widening when she saw the number of miles Josie had run. "You think you pushed yourself too hard? Josie, you just ran more than a half marathon."Of course, Josie already knew this, but it sounded bad coming from someone else's mouth. "I'm okay", she assured Penelope, who was not convinced. "I just need to get home and eat something." She grabbed her bag from the floor, slinging it over sore shoulders. "I'll see you around, Penelope", she said, but Penelope grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Don't do this to yourself, Josette. Just trust me- it's not worth it." Josie pulled away, rougher than she had meant to, and walked away from the concerned girl. She got in her car, closing the door and leaning against the steering wheel.

  What was she doing? She had pushed herself so hard, not even realizing it. Yet, it felt so good; She hadn't felt this light in years since she was a kid. Working out wasn't bad for her- it was healthy for her. What did Penelope know? She didn't even know who Josie was. Josie shook her head, berating herself for thinking so stupidly. Josie was fine. She was just overthinking, just like her sister always said she did. She started the car, turning the radio up to drown out her thoughts. She didn't need her mind working against her right now. She was fine. There was nothing wrong with her.

Josie was fine.
_____________________________________________________________________
  "Aren't you going to eat, Josie?", Caroline asked, passing the bowl of mashed potatoes over to her husband. "Or at least take some of the pie Lizzie and Hope worked so hard to make today?" Josie shook her head, moving her fork around her plate. "I'm not hungry.", she lied, pushing the plate away from her. Caroline looked to Alaric, then to her daughter. "Well, alright. You may be excused, Josette." Josie got up, taking the plate with her. She scraped the contents into the trash, placed the dish in the sink. She jogged up the stairs, collapsing into her bed. She had a major headache, and her body was sore. She ached for sleep. Just as she was dosing off, a new message popped up on her phone. It was from Mermaid.

Mermaid- 7:19 pm- "Can't you see how I ache for you? How I smile when you smile, how I laugh when you laugh, how I cry when you cry? Can't you see how I long for you? How I dream of you? How my heart is touched by your pain? Can't you see how I love you, and every aspect of your sadness too?"
Mermaid- 7:20 pm- I wish you saw you as I do, Jojo. One day you will, but until then I'll love you for the both of us.

  The tears began falling down Josie's cheeks like waterfalls. She needed a hug, but not from her mom, or Hope, or Lizzie. No, she wanted a hug from a person she had never met, but who she felt she had known her whole life. She felt so alone, but knowing that her Mermaid was just a text away comforted her. It would never cease to amaze her how in sync they were, how they were intertwined while so far apart. It was like they vibrated on the same frequency. And Josie liked that.

No, she loved that.