"I don't know how you guys do it", Lizzie said with a sigh, throwing her arms up in frustration. "Do what, Liz?", Hope asked, drying the water from her hair. "Backstroke- it just feels wrong. Swimming backward? It's stupid, right Jo?" Josie shrugged, not looking up from the place where she was stretching on the floor. Lizzie and Hope looked at each other, the latter biting her lip nervously. It had been a week, and while Josie said that she had forgiven them for ditching her, Hope and Lizzie both knew that something was up with her. She had barely talked to either of them and when she did it was curt blunt replies. It scared them, seeing Josie act so out of character. Neither one of them wanted to admit it, but they wondered if maybe Josie's new attitude was because of something more than their mistakes. "Are you okay, Jo?", Lizzie asked, lightly squeezing her sister's shoulder. Josie, dazed, just nodded her head as a reply. "I'm just trying to focus, okay?", she snapped. Lizzie backed up quickly, snapping her hand back as if Josie's words had burned her. Josie sighed heavily. "Look, Our next meet is in two days and I want to be prepared.", She explained, standing up from the floor. "You two should be more focused on that then tracking my every move."
Josie walked away, leaving Lizzie and Hope in a state of shock. "What was that?", Hope asked rhetorically, crossing her arms across her chest. "I have no idea", Lizzie admitted, her concern evident. "Maybe she just needs some space. You know how she gets before meets." Hope shook her head, watching as Josie dived into the water with determination in her eyes. She wanted to believe Lizzie; She wanted to believe that in a few days, Josie would snap back to her self- the bubbly girl full of life, warmth, and light. The girl she knew. Unfortunately, Hope knew better.
Something was seriously wrong, and she was going to get to the bottom of it.
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Hope- 9:15pm- I'm outside your door. Come let me in.
Hope- 9:20pm- C'mon, Jo. It's fucking cold out
Hope- 9:23 pm- I know you're home. I see the light on in your room.
Hope- 9:27 pm- alright, Jo. You've left me with no choice.
Josie rolled her eyes, closing the messaging screen and turning over in bed. She had barely settled down again when she heard knocking at her window. When she turned around, Hope was balancing on a tree branch, one hand gripping the tree while the other banged on the glass. Josie groaned, getting out of bed to reluctantly let Hope in. The shorter girl hopped through the window with relative ease, sighing as the warmth inside the house heated her cold skin. Josie returned to the bed, crawling under the covers. She hoped that maybe if she ignored her, Hope would get bored and leave her; She had no problem doing it any other time. Instead, she felt the bed shift when Hope got in the bed next to her. They laid there in silence for a while; It had been so long since one of them said something, that Josie assumed that Hope had fallen asleep. Just when she was drifting off to sleep, Hope finally spoke.
"You know, I fuck up a lot", she says, almost to herself than to Josie. "I mean, I'm always the one getting us in trouble, Lizzie is my sidekick, and you are the one that gets us out of it." Josie turns over towards Hope, showing her she was listening. "It's always been like that, Jo. You're like, the good angel and me and Lizzie are the fallen ones. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve you because you're so pure and I'm...well, I'm broken. I have been since my dad died. It's easy to be around Lizzie; we're both a little evil, it seems. But with you? Sometimes I feel like I'm no good for you." Tears fell from Hope's lashes down to her cheeks, her eyes fixed on a spot on the ceiling. "We shouldn't have left you at that fair, Jo. It was wrong of us. And I'm sorry, Jo. We don't treat you like we should sometimes. I know it hurts you, and it hurts me seeing you hurt. But knowing I did it? That kills me, Josie." A strangled Sob escapes Hope's chest, and Josie pulls her into her arms, letting her cry into her shirt. She knew that she needed to hear this, but she also knew that Hope needed to say it. Hope was rarely vulnerable like this- and when she was, it was only with Josie.
"I know you're sorry, Hope. I meant it when I said I forgive you", Josie assured her, running her fingers through Hope's hair. "And you're not broken, okay? You're thoughtful and kind, and you're good, Hope." Josie sighed, holding Hope closer. "I love you, Hope; You're like my sister. And nothing- nothing, okay?- will change that." She wiped the tears from Hope's eyes with her sleeve. "We all stumble and fall, but I'll always be here to help you back up." Hope held out her pinkie finger to the girl. "Do you promise?", she whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. Josie smiled, linking her pinkie with Hope's. "I promise."
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"Ah! Lizzie!", Josie exclaimed, holding her hands up to shield herself from the wave of water Lizzie was splashing her with. "Stop!", she exclaimed, laughing despite her protest. Hope swam over to the twins, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Are we double-teaming Josie?", she joked, causing Josie to gasp. "This is betrayal!", she yelled, right before another wave of water crashed down over her. She enjoyed days like this; days where they arrived earlier than the other girls for practice and were able to enjoy just playing in the water for a while. As much as Josie loved competing, she liked the days where they could just be kids again, splashing each other and playing Marco polo. It reminded her of the times when they were younger when meets were fun instead of nerve-wracking. It reminded her of a time where she was truly carefree, in and out of the water. It made her feel like a child again.
"Oh my god", Hope whispered, looking over into the stands. Josie turned her head to look, but Hope stopped her. "Don't look now, but I think Penelope Park is watching you." Josie, curious, looked out into the stands. Sure enough, Penelope was sitting in the bleachers, that signature smirk on her face. "I said don't look!" "What is she doing here?", Lizzie sneered, frowning at the girl's presence. "She doesn't even go here!" "She's just scoping out the competition.", Hope inferred, kicking her feet out gently in the water. "I mean, there's no law saying she can't." "But it's an unspoken law, Hope", Lizzie expressed angrily. Josie lifted herself up and out of the water, standing up. "Where are you going?", Hope asked, her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "I'm going to go see what she wants.", Josie stated nonchalantly. "With any luck, maybe I can get her to leave." Hope and Lizzie looked at each other, then at Josie. "Well, good luck with your suicide mission, Jo." "Yeah, it was nice knowing you.", Lizzie joked. Josie rolled her eyes at their dramatics, walking over to the bleachers where Penelope was sat.
She expected the snarky Penelope that she had seen at meets, the infamous smirk annoyingly plastered on her face. Instead, she found Penelope alone, her arms wrapped self consciously around herself. She was not smirking- she wasn't even smiling. She looked wrecked. As she got closer, Josie realized something that shocked her to her core. Behind a veil of black hair, Penelope's cheeks were streaked with tears, her makeup smearing down her cheeks. It was a sight Josie never thought she'd see. Penelope- confident, sassy Penelope Park- was crying.
And she didn't know why, but it broke Josie's heart.
YOU ARE READING
Mermaid
FanfictionIf there's one thing Josie knows she's good at it's swimming. It's slightly annoying that Penelope Park just happens to be a little better. or Penelope and Josie are on rivaling swim teams, but they unknowingly share a special bond.
