Savior (GXG)

Chapter 1

The way her room looks so empty, barren of life, it satisfies Josie. Her entire life felt like a never-ending house arrest, with the exception of school, and the few times her parents allowed her to go out with Ava.

She loves her parents, how could she not? They provided for her her entire life, she never missed out on anything because of money troubles, her parents made sure of that. They never really punished her, and if they did, it wasn't unfair. They chose their punishments with thought and didn't want to unnecessarily exhaust her.

They might have sometimes given her a feeling like two sergeants were raising her instead of loving parents, with the way her rules were set up and how many restrictions she had, but that didn't mean she couldn't acknowledge the stuff that they did do correctly.

Nonetheless, the restrictions and duties she had concerning literally everything like food, physical activity, screentimes, and outings, it all felt more like a job than an actual life. They had a reputation, and she'll be damned if she didn't uphold it to their standards.

"Josie! Are you finally ready?" Her father yelled. She hated when he did that. She would hear him perfectly with a leveled voice, but she always thought he did that on purpose to assert some type of dominance.

"Yes, Sir." She said, knowing better than to yell back, because that would be an improper way to speak to her father.

She grabbed her suitcase and bag, making her way downstairs. Both of her parents stood there with a perfect posture, one they made her adapt as well. Slouching was unacceptable.

She really didn't expect tears. She knew them better than that, but what she also didn't expect was their faces of disappointment.

Panic spread through her, though she made sure not to let it be seen in her expression. Did she forget to do something? Was she slouching? Did a strand come out of her braid? There were so many possibilities, and she was so very afraid one of them was actually true.

"You know we aren't very keen on letting you go live somewhere so far away, especially alone." Her mother started speaking, with a voice so carefully calculated to be just the right amount of emotional, as emotional as she let's herself be, which was minuscule.

What makes this worse is that she is speaking to her only child in that tone, always.

Sometimes, Josie wondered truly what could've possibly made her parents the way they were.

She was unsure what to answer, so instead, she opted to wait, which was, thankfully, the right decision.

"We have been discussing not letting you go..." Her father trailed off, and once again, she felt like crying.

She has been working so hard in high school, taking every possible A.P. class she could, doing community service, being the class president, and acing every possible test. She knew if she didn't get a scholarship, there was no way her parents would pay for it, not if it was as far away as John Hopkins. They'd make her go to a college right here, where they can still watch her every move.

She knows she could just leave. She didn't really need their permission, but she has never truly been on her own. Being controlled your whole life brings the disadvantage of not actually knowing how some stuff works. They almost made sure she couldn't easily leave them. Even if that didn't matter, they were still her parents, she can't bring herself to forget that.

"But we know you worked hard, we respect that. We are proud of raising such a driven young woman. You even got a scholarship, a testament to your sweat and tears you put into this. We believe you will not make us unhappy with your choices while we are absent." He eventually said, making Josie feel an immense relief.