Hope You Love Me

Chapter 28

Josie chewed on her thumbnail as the phone rang in her ear again. From this angle, she could just see her father in the other room soothing Lizzie as she cried. She watched them as she anxiously waited for Penelope to answer. 

Voicemail. Again.

Josie sighed and hung up. She didn’t want Penelope to see that she had about twenty missed calls from her, but she was getting the impression that Penelope was ghosting her after what happened. She slumped into a dining room chair, resting her head on the table. It was no use. Penelope was gone. She’d finally found someone she was proud to say was hers, and that stupid video had to go and mess it up. 

Onto the next one, she supposed. She thumbed through to that little folder of dating apps. Her finger hovered over it, like it was waiting for her to change her mind. She tapped it before she could.

She swiped through face after neverending face. She swore she’d seen all these people before. Maybe she’d really cycled through everyone in Mystic Falls. Maybe she’d lost her chance. Maybe love just wasn’t in the cards for her. 

But she refused to believe that. Love had to be in the cards for her. If it wasn’t, she would make it. 

“Really, Jo?” 

Josie jumped a little, turning to look at her father sheepishly before she shook her head. “I already tried to help her. She’s off her meds.”

Alaric took a deep breath as he kept his voice calm. “Could you help me look for them?” 

“We already looked everywhere.” She sighed and set her phone down. It was no use arguing with her dad too. She glared at Lizzie, curled in a ball on the couch, wiping at her eyes and her nose, as the two of them looked for her pills for her. 

It just wasn’t fair. Everyone only cared about Lizzie. Lizzie’s meds are missing. Lizzie’s very upset. Lizzie is trying but she needs help. What about her?

Nobody seemed to care that she had just lost another partner. Nobody seemed to care that her sex tape just got leaked. It was all about Lizzie and her brain chemistry. 

“Any luck? Wait, what’s wrong?” MG caught the scowl on Josie’s face. 

“Nothing.” Josie shook her head quickly, putting the pillows back on the armchair. 

“Come on, Jo. Something’s up.” MG crossed his arms and planted his feet. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

Josie glanced at Lizzie over her shoulder. “I just … We go through this all the time. Lizzie falls off taking her meds, she spirals, Dad comes rushing to her rescue, somehow I’m the bad guy in all of it, and no one else seems to see that letting her crash is the only way things will ever change.” 

“But if we let her crash, Lizzie’s going to hurt herself …” MG furrowed his eyebrows at Josie. She of all people should know that. He expected her to take it back or explain herself, but instead she just drew up all her height and set her shoulders.

“Then so be it, if that’s what it takes.” 

MG watched in shock as Josie huffed away. He knew she was upset, that she was obviously hurting about something else, but he couldn’t believe she’d say something like that about her own twin.