We solemnly swear we are up to no good

23

I laid there for at least another hour, trying to process everything that had happened. I looked at my left arm, the words 'slut', 'bitch', and 'whore' carved into my arm.

Those words made me cry harder. I was stuck with these words on my arms forever. I know they're going to scar. I'm just going to have to live with them I guess.

You can't lay here all day. You need to get up. Get up and go to the common room. At least you won't see her there. She can't get in there.

I stood up, wiped the blood that dripped down my arm, pulled my sleeve down, grabbed all my books, and walked to the bathroom to clean up. Every time I wiped my arm it stung more and more.

I walked into the common room and the only people I saw were George, Chloe, Harper, Fred, and Liam. They all look up when I came in, and George ran over to me with a worried expression on his face.

"Where were you?" George asked, his hands on my arms.

"You missed class." Harper said.

"You never miss class." Liam said.

"You were gone for 3 hours." Fred said.

"When we went to the spot you weren't there." Chloe finished.

They continue to look at me waiting for an answer. Should I tell them what happened? I can't.

"I just went for a walk around the grounds and must have lost track of the time." I shrugged and walked past George.

"Lost track of the time!? You were gone for three hours! We had no idea where you were! And you just lost track of the time!?" George yelled at me.

"Yeah. I did. I'm sorry." I said plainly with a hint of anger and continued to walk.

"Shit." George whispered. "Josie," he grabbed my hand and spun me around. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just worried about you." He said.

"We all were worried about you." Liam chimed in.

"I'm sorry." George said.

"It's fine. I think I'm going to skip dinner, I'm not really hungry." I gave George a quick kiss and walked away.

George's POV

"Where's Josie?" Fred whispered into my ear. I looked around Flitwick's class and Josie was no where to be seen.

"I don't know." I said confused.

"Josie doesn't just miss a class." Liam said joining our conversation.

Class dragged on for what seemed to be forever. Immediately after class I went and found Chloe and Harper to ask them if they knew where Josie was. They lead us to an isolated hallway, but still Josie wasn't there.

"Let's go back to the common room. Maybe she's there?" Harper suggested.

We sat int the common room for 45 minutes and waited for her to show up. The door opened and we all looked up to see her.

"Where were you?" I asked, my hands on her arms.

"You missed class." Harper said.

"You never miss class." Liam said.

"You were gone for 3 hours." Fred said.

"When we went to the spot you weren't there." Chloe finished.

She just stood there silently.

"I just went for a walk around the grounds and must have lost track of the time." She shrugged and walked past me.

"Lost track of the time!? You were gone for three hours! We had no idea where you were! And you just lost track of the time!?" I yelled out of anger.

"Yeah. I did. I'm sorry." She said a little angrily.

"Shit." I whispered. "Josie," I grabbed her hand and spun her around. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just worried about you."

"We all were worried about you." Liam chimed in.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's fine. I think I'm going to skip dinner, I'm not really hungry." She gave me a quick kiss and walked to her room.

...

"Did Josie seem weird to anyone else?" I asked.

"Yeah. She never ever misses any classes." Liam said.

"And she didn't really talk to us when she came back. She's usually really talkative." Harper said.

"Did anything happen earlier when you were together, Harp?" Fred asked.

"No, she was perfectly fine. Something must have happened after I left. But no one ever goes there." Harper said.

"Hey guys." I turned and saw Josie coming up behind me.

"Hey, babe. Here, sit with me." She sat down and I gave her a kiss. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Something was just, on my mind." She said.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"No, I figured it out. No need in worrying you." She kissed my cheek and leaned against me.