I Hate the Way...

Part 45: 'Nothing New'

That only makes Josie chuckle again as she pulls her lips away from Hope's neck to lean back enough to meet her gaze, an eyebrow raised, "Babe, I only said that to get Lizzie off our asses."

Oh. Hope nods in understanding.

And Josie smiles sweetly as she continues, "We're married, Hope...and I trust you. You've taken care of me, and you've respected my boundaries..You're...perfect."

Hope smiles softly before shaking her head, "I'm far from perfect, Jo."

Josie furrows her eyebrows slightly, running her fingers through auburnette locks before she admits in a hushed tone, "Not to me."

But Hope thinks about the reason she's about to go for a 'swim', the forgotten memories, the hex placed on her, injuries sustained despite being the Tribrid, so many things that make her less than perfect.

How could anyone think she's perfect?

Josie leans in to leave a lingering peck to Hope's lips, then she pulls away and takes her lip between her teeth before whispering, "Be careful in the water. Thank you for letting me know where you'll be."

Hope nods, "Of course, love. I'll be back soon. Go back to sleep."

Josie nods, finally releasing Hope from her embrace so she can slip out of bed, making the dog at the foot of the bed perk up as well.

Hope grabs a swimsuit and goes into the bathroom to get dressed and brush her teeth. By the time she exits into the bedroom again, Josie is fast asleep again, on Hope's side of the bed.

So Hope quietly makes her way out of the room with Peaches following closely behind.

————

Josie stirs awake only a short time later, deciding to get up and cook some breakfast for Hope, since Hope has been doing most of the cooking for them.

So she rolls out of bed, brushes her teeth and makes her way out of the bedroom, hearing a small whine from the set of doors facing the beach. 

She looks over to see Peaches looking out the door as she continues to whine, and a small smile finds Josie's lips. "Mama will be back soon, Peaches," she assures the dog, who glances her direction briefly, barely acknowledging Josie's presence. Then, she turns right back toward the glass door and lets out another whine for Hope. 

Josie deflates after that. What am I, chopped liver?

She lets out a sigh, "I know, Mommy misses her too." 

Josie figures that Hope told Peaches to stay when she left, because the dog still doesn't move from her spot, eyes most likely fixed on Hope down at the beach. 

Josie attempts to make her way into the kitchen, but Peaches lets out a bark, making Josie stop in her tracks. It's unusual for Peaches to bark like that, unless Hope talks to her or something is wrong.

Josie cautiously makes her way toward the glass doors and looks out toward the beach, the same direction Peaches looks. And she doesn't see Hope anywhere.

Her eyebrows knit together before the dog barks again, and Josie's attention turns toward Peaches for a split second before going back to the beach, where she suddenly sees Hope emerge from the water toward the end of the dock, and Josie releases a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in. 

She lets out a sigh, dismissing her sudden feeling of panic as she shakes her head at herself for getting worried yet again. And Peaches whimpers, her tail beginning to wag happily, as she shifts back and forth on her paws, clearly wanting to run to Hope.

So Josie opens the door, telling the dog, "Go to Mama." And with that permission, Peaches takes off in an instant toward the dock, making Josie shake her head again, mumbling, "And I thought I was clingy."

Josie shuts the door back before making her way over to the kitchen to start breakfast.

———

Hope gasps for air as she springs through the surface of the water.

Nothing new.

She climbs up the ladder at the end of the dock before sitting down on the edge, releasing a defeated sigh as she tries to catch her breath. But only a second later, she hears the dog with her vampire hearing, and she turns back toward the house to see Peaches racing toward the beach.

I guess that means Josie's awake now.

So Hope sighs and gathers her bearing, standing to her feet tiredly, having been so close to drowning yet again.

She grabs her towel and wraps it around her body as the dog rushes across the dock, excitedly greeting Hope. And even the Tribrid can sense the relief radiating from the dog as they begin making their way back toward the house.