Herophine: Second Chances

Chapter 11

Jo's POV:

Things between Hero and I have never been better. All that worrying and doubt that I had when I first arrived here before we saw each other has been gone for some time now. If I had to, it would be hard to explain what exactly it is that I feel for him. On one hand, it's pure lust. Sneaking around, careful to not let anyone else in on our little 'secret', our sex being like something you only read about. On the other hand, the nights we stay up way too late, embraced with each other just talking about things that I don't know if either of us have shared before leads me to believe that maybe there is something more the future holds for us, together.

Either way, I'm enjoying it so far. We usually spend every night together, mostly in my room because there's more space. Despite being tired from working all day, there's nothing I would trade for Hero and I's alone time together.

Today, we had the day off. The first one in nearly three weeks. Hero and I spent the day with our friends, exploring places in the city we hadn't before. We went to a few shops, stumbled upon a small festival taking place a couple blocks away from our hotel and ended up hopping from one bar to the next as the sun started to set.

Now that we've returned back to the hotel, it's a little after 9:30pm. Hero and I made a point not to make it obvious as we went our separate ways once on our floor, as did the rest of our group, and eventually I made my way down the hall to his room.

Hero gave me his spare key, as did I, only a few days after we spent that first night together. In his mind, it made it less obvious than knocking and waiting out in the hall before entering, making the possibility of being seen behind closed doors way less likely.

When we got back to the hotel, Hero had texted me saying that he was going to do a quick workout in the hotel gym and would let me know when he was headed back up to his room to shower, leaving the rest of the night open for the two of us.

As I enter his room, I can hear the shower running, the door to the bathroom slightly open. I close the door and make my way over to his bed, it's not been made today, and there's a few shirts thrown onto the end of it.

I lie down, nestling my head onto his pillow. Behind the sound of water, I can faintly hear sirens in the distance despite being so far off the ground.

Today was a long day spent outdoors in the sun, and that has made me tired. As I close my eyes for a brief second, it's interrupted by Hero's phone violently vibrating on the nightstand just next to my head. His phone is plugged into his charger and I look over at it as it moves ever so slightly over the hard surface it's resting on.

I sit up on the bed and glance at the screen to see who's calling.

'Viv' it reads.

I stare at the screen, watching it continue to ring, searching in the back of my mind for a memory of that name ever being mentioned. I know Hero's families' names, despite still not having met them yet. Maybe it's a close friend from back home?

As soon as the vibrating stops, the image of his home screen pops back up, revealing three texts along with two missed calls, back to back, also from 'Viv'.

*Heeerrrrroooooo*

*Why haven't you called me back?*

*I miss you*

As soon as I finish reading the screen, I feel a lump in my throat. Who is this? What is this?

A thousand thoughts flood my mind as I struggle to come up with any rational explanation for what these texts could be. Yes, friends miss friends. But they don't send handfuls of messages and call until you answer the phone.

Unless, this girl is somewhat more involved? Hero's never mentioned anyone by that name. Sure, I didn't come right out and ask him if he'd been seeing anyone else when we were apart or if he was even seeing anyone now. I figured it really was none of my business. But now? After everything we've been through in the last few weeks? Is there someone else?

I can feel my stomach start to turn into knots, the lump in my throat growing larger, and I feel as though the tears are going to start at any second. I didn't even notice that the shower had turned off, and Hero's voice startles me as he enters the room.

"Hey! I didn't know you were here," he says cheerfully. Before I have time to think, I turn to face him, ripping his phone from the charger.

"What the hell is this?!" I ask, waiving his phone in front of me.

His eyes change their emotion almost immediately.

"What's what?" He asks, in a much deeper voice than before. He stands there, his towel wrapped around his waist, muscles on full display in front of me. I can't even bring myself to admire his body like I normally do. Hell, I can't even bring myself to fully look him in the eyes. But I keep my gaze on him, watching intently.

"Who the fuck is Viv and why is she calling and texting you at 9:30 at night saying she misses you, Hero. That's what." My tone is cold, and the words are delivered much more quietly than those said before.

I watch as Hero places his hands over his face, rubbing them up and down a few times before removing them, exposing his green eyes again. The softness about them that I love so much has disappeared and they look at me not with disgust but with what looks like anger.

"Jo... It's nothing. I'm serious," he replies.

"Here then," I say, offering up his phone to him from across the room, "Call her back then."

"Jo, stop," Hero takes a step towards me. "It's not what you think." His voice has softened but his eyes have not.

"I don't believe you..." I can feel the tears welling up, but I won't give into them. Not here.

Our eyes never part from each other's', as if we are both struggling with what should be said next.

"I don't believe this," I say, almost in a whisper. I toss his phone in his direction and it lands in the middle of the messy bed. I remove his room key from the back pocket of my jeans and set it on the edge of the nightstand next to me.

I begin to make my way towards the door and Hero shuffles on his feet to try and interject between me and where I'm headed. As I try to exit the room, I shield myself from his hand reaching out towards me, trying to make me stop.

"Jo, please. Don't go..." he begins to say.

"Don't touch me," I say as I forcefully open the door and exit into the hallway.

As I make my way down the quiet hall, I hear Hero say something else to me, but cannot make out the words. There's a static ringing in my ears and I want to get as far away from him right now as I can.

I take my own key card into my hand before I reach my room and quickly unlock the door and enter before he can catch up to me. I close the door, locking the extra deadbolt on the side and make my way to the couch.

With my head in my hands, I begin to cry. How could this happen? Was he just using me this whole time? How could I possibly be so stupid?

The tears keep coming, and I'm finding it harder to catch my breath. Within seconds, I hear loud knocking coming from the other side of the door, followed by Hero's voice.

"Jo, let me in." He sternly says. He knocks a few more times and I stay silent.

Soon after, the knocking stops and my phone rings from the bedroom. I let it go and leave the couch, making my way to the bathroom. There, I hover over the sink, my crying has somewhat stopped now, and I begin to remove the makeup from around my eyes.

When I crawl into bed, I see that Hero has texted me as well.

*Jo please answer. Give me a chance to explain. Please*

I turn my phone on silent, making sure to set an alarm for the morning. Oh, God. I have to face him tomorrow. It's not like I can just leave and never talk to him again. I have work to do. We have work to do, together. I tighten my sheets around myself as thoughts how this could possibly play out flood my mind. Before I know it, my eyes begin to close and I fall asleep, alone.