Wolf Woes

Chapter 2: Friends (pt 1)

Josie was sitting on the couch in her mother's living room watching a movie with her mom and Lizzie when her tablet dinged. She picked it up to find that Penelope had messaged again, asking how she was. She ignored it, just as she had for the last twenty. She wasn't ready to deal with her just yet. She had just set her tablet back down when it dinged again. This time it was from MG, probably because she wasn't answering Penelope.

For the last three days, it had been the same with those two. Penelope would message her, then, when she didn't message back, MG would try. It didn't take her long to figure out what they were doing. She stopped answering MG's messages the day after they arrived in London. He still sent updates, every now and again, but they always came right after Penelope's fail attempts.

Being with her mom was amazing, but she was having a hard time with everything that happened. It was great to get to spend time with her, especially after not seeing her for so long, but there was a part of her that felt guilty every time she looked at her for grieving the loss of Jo. Caroline was supportive, though Josie never expected her not to be. That made her feel even worse though.

Her tablet dinged again. She sighed in relief because it was Hope this time. "M and P are driving me crazy. They are collectively plotting to run away to London to make sure you're okay."

Josie chuckled. Once a day, Hope would send her a massage like that one. Messaging Hope was still strange to her, as anything new is. Hope had kept her up to date on what was happening at school. Which she appreciated. She found talking to Hope was easy. She didn't expect anything from her, she just wanted to talk. Which was nice, considering all the times she had refused to do so over the years.

"Tell them to relax. I'm fine."

"Yeah... And tell them you're answering me and not them. No thank you. It would crush both their hearts."

Josie chuckled again. Hope was right, it would. "Alright. I'll answer them back, but you owe me one."

"LOL... What would that be?"

"That when I get back, this doesn't stop."

"I promise."

She sent MG and Penelope the same generic message, telling them that she was fine, that she just didn't want to talk, then spent the rest of the evening working on homework. Apparently, her parents didn't understand the concept of being on a vacation. They still expected her to keep up with everything that she was missing. Not that she minded... Much. It helped to keep her mind off everything that happened.

Usually Hope would message her once she was finished with her classes, letting her know everything she missed, but she never received one. She messaged her, asking if everything was alright, but never received a response. It shouldn't have worried her as much as it did, but Hope had told her she'd been having wolf issues. She hadn't elaborated on what those issues were, but it seemed like it could be a big thing.

She messaged MG, but even he wasn't responding. So, she tried Rafael, who also didn't respond, so biting the bullet, she messaged Penelope, who did message back. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen Hope or MG since classes ended, but did tell her that Rafael was dealing with his dead-not-dead girlfriend.

The Necromancer had struck again.

Josie waited nervously for word of what was going on, but nothing came in until the next night. She was lying in bed watching a movie on her tablet, when she got a notification. Eager to finally find out what was going on she paused the movie and went to check her messages. Her heart sank when she saw what Hope had sent.

"I screwed up. Your dad's never going to forgive me."

"Why? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I let him get to me. Your dad was right. I should have stayed away."

"Who? The necromancer? Pen said he brought Raf's girlfriend back. Is he okay?"

"He's dealing. I'm going with him to the cemetery for the letter spreading."

"What happened?"

"I thought I could get the answers we needed, but he played me, and because of it, he got away with the knife."

"Did you get any answers out of him?" She didn't get a response right away, which made her think Hope did get something out of him. "Hope? What did he tell you?"

"He told me my dad watches over me every day, but he won't find peace until I do."

"Do you believe him?"

"I want to. At least the part where he watches over me, but I want him to find peace. I don't want him waiting on me."

"That's what dads do. Your dad loved you. I saw this for myself. He would want you to find peace."

"I don't know how to do that. How do I find peace with knowing I'm only alive because he sacrificed himself?

"I don't know... Maybe start with a letter. That seems like a good place to start."

"Maybe... How are you doing today. I'm sorry if we worried you."

"It's okay. You were dealing with a lot. Honestly, my worrying over you kept me distracted from my own drama."

"Are you feeling better?"

"About the same. I love spending time with mom, but I still feel guilty for caring about Jo."

"Are you sleeping any better?"

"A little. Lizzie cuddles with me when I have a nightmare, which helps."

"Do you know when you're coming home yet?"

"Nope. Lizzie's enjoying it here. I don't want to force her to come home until she's ready. She misses having Mom around all the time."

"You're a good sister. Listen. I'm gonna go. We're heading to the cemetery soon, and I think I'm going to take your advice and write my dad a letter. I hope you sleep well."

"Thanks Hope."

Josie set her tablet on her night stand, and rolled to face Lizzie, who was already sleeping soundly in the bed next to hers. She liked how Hope didn't tell her she needed to do for her and not Lizzie. She understood where she was coming from and complemented She tried to fall asleep, but her mind was racing with thoughts about Jo and Caroline and being buried alive. She didn't think the Necromancer would come after her again, now that he'd gotten what he wanted, but there was a part of her that couldn't shut the fear down. So, she decided to take her own advice, and write a letter to Jo.

When she finished the letter to Jo, she decided to write one to her mom. She knew her mom was still technically alive, but she had a lot of guilt built up, and writing a letter would be a good way to sort it through.

It took her most of the night, but once she was finished with them, she felt a little better. She decided to leave the letter for her mom to find after they headed back home. This way Caroline could understand her a little better.