After Josie had cried her eyes out on a park bench she was now heading to the bus stop. She wanted to go back and forget that this ever happened. It wasn't her plan for her Saturday, it was not supposed to go like this.
Having memorized and knowing Mystic Falls like the back of her hand, Josie decided to go through a shortcut on the way to the bus stop. She wasn't scared as she always knew that the town was rather safe.
She had been walking until the lights of the town's centre got dimmer and dimmer. She couldn't see the glowing neon red sign of the Mystic Grill. The route she was headed to was darker, secluded, there were fewer buildings and houses. There wasn't much noise all throughout her walk apart from a black car she had seen earlier, a few streets away from her father's house, passing through.
It got to the point where the streets were only lit up by a few lamp posts, still, she wasn't scared.
Muttering the words, 'Mystic Falls is a rather safe town.' over and over again, was not a sign that she was getting anxious, not at all.
When it had started to rain, Josie found a small waiting shed on the side of the street. She decided to take shelter there and wait for the rain to stop or at least get weaker.
It did neither of those things.
She pulled out her phone. It was almost out of charge. If ever, god forbid, things went a little south than it already was at least her mom would know where she was at. She dialled Caroline's number.
As Josie was waiting for her mom to pick up the phone, she observed the area around her. The waiting shed was lit up by a large lamp post on its right side. The street and the back of the shed were surrounded by the woods.
What the hell did I get myself into? She thought before the phone had stopped ringing and her mom's voice sounded on the phone.
"Hey, sweety."
"Hi mom."
"What's wrong?" Caroline asked as she was suddenly concerned by the different tone of her daughter's voice. Sure it had only been two words but she always had a special talent about knowing her daughters' real feelings.
"I just got back from dad's house," Josie said.
"What did he say?" Caroline groaned, "I told him to behave!"
She knew that Alaric and Josie had planned on having dinner tonight. She was currently out of town on a business meeting regarding things about the school. The dinner initially was supposed to be the three of them but as those plans were interrupted by work, Caroline thought about scheduling the meeting for another time so she could be with her daughter. But Josie insisted that Caroline go through with her meeting and that having dinner with her father for one night was going to be alright. It obviously didn't turn out that way.
"Are you okay?"
"I am."
There was silence on the line but Josie broke it off when she asked, "Mom why did you transfer me to Whitmore?"
"It's a great school."
"That's not only it, why all of a sudden?"
Caroline didn't answer.
Josie hesitated to say the words next but it still left her mouth. "Dad said that you took me and Lizzie away from him."
She expected her mom to deny this but instead, Caroline spoke without even missing a beat.
"He was getting worse. When Lizzie graduated he started drinking more, even drinking at the school."
"I already knew those things mom but-"
