Josie's Journey

PlayStation 4: Now With REAL Explosions!

On the morning of August 20th, the weather was a bit of a catastrophe.

Most of last week was a blur for Josie. She remembered being in the hospital but didn't know why she was there. Most of the images and thoughts go to why is this happening? She didn't know that she had a cardiac issue until the doctor at the ER tested it with a "monitor"—as he calls it.

Most of the test results were normal, but the cardiologist noticed the abnormal waves on the heart monitor. It was the same old ECG machine that she hated so much. The stickers that they put on for the leads of the heart monitor made her skin itch really bad. Plus they would always fall off within a few hours.

When she was in the car on their way home, she heard the usual thoughts screaming in her mind constantly. It was like a shaky sensation when she gets the chills. It happens pretty often when she has a lot of anxiety.

'Why does it seem that time is feeling faster? How has it already been a week since I got home? She couldn't remember?

The sound, she heard it. The ding. The ringing in her ears increased until they suddenly stopped.

Josie woke up from the sun shining and reflecting on her mattress covers. While she was headed home that night, she had a few seizures. Other than that, she seemed to be okay and somewhat stable.

When her alarm began blaring with its usual ringtone. It was always soothing to her and she noticed that it has improved at a higher rate than she thought. She was finally catching up in school.

She was so happy about the fact that she was able to feel less anxious and less bombarded when it came to the exams she had coming up. Ever since she was given a medication that week from the cardiologist, she was feeling better and less fainting was happening. She felt on top of the world.

Most of the time she spent on her school work. She was now homeschooled online because she needed a sense of control. She needed to be able to do her assignments at her own pace. Her mother had a lot of things to do with paperwork and insurance calls to have them approve another testing the doctors wanted to do.

This was the hardest time of the year for her and she really didn't understand why it was so hard. It was the beginning of the school year.

Josie was sitting on her bed when a knock came from her door. "Yes?" She called. Her mother opened the door. Josie smiled at her mother.

"How are you feeling?" Elaine asked her daughter, noticing she had more color to her face compared to the past few weeks. "It looks like you're feeling better. I'm glad because your cousin is coming over in a few hours."

Josie got really excited and jittery. "Is Uncle Adam coming too?" She asked with a bright grin on her face.

Her mother nodded and smiled. "Yes of course. We're are barbecuing for tonight. I know you don't like hot dogs, so we're making hamburgers as well." Her mother sat down beside her on the bed and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.

Josie smiled and looked at her mom. "I love you." She turned and hugged her tightly. She didn't know what she would do without her mother. Her mother does everything for her.

Elaine kissed her head gently. "I love you too, my precious Jo." She said as she continued running her hands through her daughter's hair. Elaine then looked into her eyes. "I will always love and take care of yourself. I never realized how gentle and calm my daughter was in the mornings." She looked beautiful even in her pajamas. Her hair was a bit messy, but it shined in the light so bright her hair seemed like it was glowing. Her eyes gazed back at her daughter as she put some hair behind Jo's ear. "You're so beautiful. Your hair is gorgeous." She said softly as she began running her fingers through Josie's hair as she then grabbed the brush from the side table and began to brush her daughter's long hair. It was a rats nest. She couldn't believe it, but it was beautiful otherwise.

Elaine then blinked and got out of her head. "I need to get ready for work. Will you be okay by yourself? Caleb will be here in a few hours so you won't be alone the whole time." She said as she stood up, kissing her daughters head once again as she held it gently, then hugged her tightly. "I love you."

Josie smiled. "I love you too. I'll make sure Caleb doesn't mess anything up." She said.

With that, her mother left the room and began to get ready for work. Josie sat there and just stared at the floor, noticing her pink fuzzy rug, with hearts on them. She then began to space out.

Josie has always been the kind of teen who was more involved with the arts, but less of the sports type of person. She didn't enjoy exercise very much, but she did sometimes ride her bike after school or to and from school. It was mostly related to her condition though.

She truly never knew that her life was going to end up this way, but she had hope that everything will be okay. She had to have hope because she can't give up on her life. Even if she's depressed.

Although she was younger than her brother, she still loved him for how he was. He didn't come home very often and they didn't have the greatest relationship with him. He was in high school and she was in high school, next year she would be in high school which scared her.

- - -

SheJosie heard a door slam from outside and she got worried, slowly standing up and walking to her bedroom door. She peeled outside and looked around, hoping no one was robbing the house.

Turns out it's her Uncle Adam. She looked at him and got all excited and ran to him and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you and Jacob." She hugged them both.

Adam smiled at her. "Me too, JoJo. I'm so happy to see you." (Jo-Jo is the name she's called by her uncle only) Adam hugger as well and he looked around. "So is your mom at work now?" Josie nodded.

Josie then guided them around the new house since they hadn't seen it yet.

"Hey, JoJo, I was wondering if we could watch a movie I just bought," Adam said.

Josie nodded. "Yeah, we can watch it on the PlayStation 4. I've done it before, since we don't have a DVD player here." She explained as she sat down with him.

"So how are you feeling? Your mom told me what happened. I'm sure you're exhausted." He said.

Josie's eyes peered at his. "It's a long story, but I seem to be pretty well considering. The cardiologist I see prescribed a medication to help my symptoms. It has helped tremendously." She said as she grabbed the remote for the television and turned it on. She then turned the PlayStation on, out the movie in he bought and sitting back down beside him and

Adam looked at Josie. "How's school?" He asked, deciding to make conversation since the last time they were together it was really awkward.

Josie glanced at him for a moment before setting up the movie on the console. "It's good. I finally got caught up in school and I'm not scared anymore." She said simply.

She stood up and glanced at the television as it wasn't working for some reason. She fiddled around with the wires and extension cord. That's when a loud boom happened right in front of her eyes. Then flames appeared, beginning to burn the console and the nightstand.