Mermaid

The Inevitable

Penelope- 1:17 pm- Josie?
Penelope- 2:20 pm- We need to talk.
Penelope- 2:45 pm- C'mon, Jojo. You know I'm right.
Penelope- 2:47pm- Please?
Josie- 3:43pm- Fine. I'll meet you at the school in 20 minutes.
Josie- 3:49 pm- JUST talking, Penelope.
Penelope- 3:50pm- Noted. C u soon.

  Josie took a deep breath, finishing getting ready to go out. She shrugged on a jacket and put her hair up. She wasn't sure what was going to come out of their conversation, but she couldn't deny that part of her was dying to see Penelope again. All of the past week her mind had been stuck replaying their hook up in the locker room. She shivered at the mere thought. She had no idea what had gotten into her lately; Normally she had more self control than this. Something about Penelope, however, made all of her morals fly out the window. She was still wary of the girl, but if Josie was being honest, anything was better than being at home. Her mother hadn't returned from her stay at the Mikaelson house. According to Hope, she had no plans to either. Hayley had returned a few days ago from her business trip, and Josie had assumed her mother would come home, But she was wrong. Her father didn't seem to mind his wife's absence either- it worried Josie deeply, and she constantly felt sick with anxiety that something was building up ever so slowly, threatening to rip her family apart.

  "Hey, dork.", Lizzie greeted, leaning in her sister's doorway. She raised an eyebrow at her sister's ensemble. "Where are you planning on going?", she asked, arms folded across her chest. Josie swallowed hard, turning away from her sister so she couldn't read her features. "I'm just hanging out with Hope. She asked me to come over." Lizzie mulled over her sister's words, and for a second Josie was worried she was busted. Instead, Lizzie just shrugged. "Well, don't be out too late. Supposedly, mom is coming over tonight to dinner. I think they're finally figuring their shit out." Josie sighed with relief, both for the fact that her sister believed her lie flawlessly, and that it was looking like her parents were ending their feud. "Alright; I'll be back by six.", she said, departing from her sister and heading out into the early winter air.

  The drive to where Penelope was waiting for her was short- too short, in Josie's opinion. She tried to plan out their conversation in her head, figuring out what she wanted to say to Penelope before she ended up being a wordless, unnerved mess. She was so anxious that she could feel her hands slipping on the steering wheel. She pulled into the school parking lot, taking deep breaths to steady herself. What was so scary about talking to Penelope? She had done it a thousand times before. Yet, something in Josie knew that this conversation would be different. In a good or bad way, she had yet to decide.

  A knocking sounded at her window, and Josie looked up to see Penelope standing by the car door. She unlocked the safety lock, and Penelope entered the car, bringing in with her the cold winter air. Penelope looked over at Josie shyly. "Hey", she greeted her, leaning back against the car door. "Hey", Josie mumbled, looking anywhere but at the girl. If she looked at her, she wouldn't be able to keep acting like she was pissed at her. Penelope sighed heavily. "I was surprised when you agreed to meet me.", she stated, trying to break the tension in the car. She chuckled to herself. "For the past month, I've been going over what I wanted to say to you. What I could say to make everything turn back to the way it used to be- before you knew who I was. When I was just a voice through a screen. But that's silly, isn't it? We can never go back to where things were before I so royally screwed up." Penelope swallowed hard, her eyes squeezing shut to stop the tears threatening to escape. "I came up with this great speech- practiced it over and over again on the nights I couldn't sleep. But now I don't remember a single word; You make me speechless, Josette. All I can think of to say is how badly I missed you, how much it hurt me to see how pained you were that day at the meet. How much I hated myself for screwing up what we had, and for building it on lies in the first place." 

  Penelope's hands shook as she spoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I should have told you. I-I should have been honest." Josie reached forward and grabbed hold of Penelope's hand. "Why didn't you tell me?", she asked, though she already knew the answer. Penelope sighed. "I didn't think you'd want me anymore when you knew who I was. Every time I almost said something, I didn't because I was terrified of losing you completely. I know I lied about who I was, but everything else was real, Jojo." Josie rubbed her thumb over the back of Penelope's hand, not being able to do much more in the cramped space. "The more I knew you, the more in love I fell.", Penelope admitted. "I still do; I love you as I've never loved anything in my life." She glanced up at Josie through teary eyes. "I know you probably don't feel the same anymore. I know you feel like you can't trust me anymore. I have no right to ask for another chance, but I swear to god Josie if you allow me one I will never lie to you again. I promise to make up for all my mistakes- for the rest of my life if I had to." She touched Josie's cheek gently. "Please, Josie. Let me show you how real this is to me."

  Josie leaned forward, her anger withering away as she met Penelope in the middle. She could taste the salt from Penelope's tears, but she didn't care. She was tired of fighting with Penelope, but more importantly, she was tired of fighting with herself. She pulled away, wiping away Penelope's tears with the pad of her thumb. She touched her forehead to Penelope's, holding both her hands in her own. "I forgive you.", she whispered to her. "You made a mistake. I forgive you, and I love you - all sides of you. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that." Penelope breathed a sigh of relief. "No more secrets, okay?", Josie said, and Penelope nodded against her. "I want this to work, but only if we're both honest." "No more secrets.", Penelope agreed, smiling softly. "Thank you." Josie placed a kiss to Penelope's forehead. "Do you think we can ever go back to what we had again?", Penelope asked timidly, her face falling when Josie shook her head no. Her worry fell away, however, when Josie pushed her hair behind her ear and kissed her once again.

"We might not ever be the way we used to be, but maybe we'll be something better."
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  Josie returned home hours later, a smile still on her face. She felt lighter than she had in months. Everything was falling into place, and now she had Penelope. She felt like nothing could hurt her; like nothing could ruin the happiness she felt. That feeling soon dissipated, however, when she saw her family sitting together in the living room, her sister's face red and blotchy from crying. She entered timidly. "What the hell is going on?", she asked angrily, coming to Lizzie's side. Her mother sighed heavily. "Come sit down, Josette. Your father and I need to talk to you." Josie looked from her tired mother to her angry father, then to her sullen sister. She did as her mother asked. Her parents were quiet for a long moment before her mother spoke. "Your father and I have decided it's best for everyone that I don't live here anymore." Josie stared at her parents in confusion- her mother's words made no sense, her brain not catching up with the reality of the situation. "What do you mean you're not living here anymore? We're a family. I don't understand." Her father broke his silence, her words making Josie's heart drop.

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce."