Josie was feeling overwhelmed after all the news regarding her sister and then her trust fund, so she reached out to MG and Raf.
MG said he went to meet with Raf after his shift at the bar to catch up with his friends and ended up staying overnight.
She walks up the steps to the door of Raf's place.
It's a cozy little house, beachfront property.
Quite charming, but not what she expected.
She knocks softly before stepping back, waiting for either of her friends to open the door.
But she's surprised when the door opens and reveals someone else on the other side.
The auburn haired girl from the night before wears that same stupid smirk as she greets Josie, irritating her even more,
"Wow, twice in less than 24 hours. Must be fate."
Josie rolls her eyes, crossing her arms against her chest, "It isn't fate, just really bad luck."
Hope places her hand over her heart, feigning offense to the statement, "Ouch."
Josie scoffs, ignoring her antics, "What the hell are you doing here Hope?"
"Um..I live here."
"With Raf?" Her voice is laced with something kin to disbelief.
Hope sighs, "Do you want to come in or not?"
Josie deflates with a huff, and Hope opens the door wider for her to enter.
Without another word, Josie walks in and passes her, seeing MG and Raf standing in the kitchen.
They both greet her warmly before Josie settles into a seat at the kitchen counter.
MG looks a little confused as he expects someone else to be with Josie, "Where's Lizzie?"
The sad look on Josie's face is enough to answer his question.
"I'm so sorry Josie," Raf lays a reassuring hand on top of hers, and she tries to muster up a weary smile.
"I just don't know how it was possible for her test to come back positive. MG and I have been her only visitors, and she doesn't have access to any drugs. And she swore to me that she was clean...I mean, I really thought she was doing better,"
The last sentence comes out as a whisper as Josie quickly wipes a stray tear from her cheek,
"And now dad has control of her inheritance," She shakes her head, pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to sooth her growing headache.
Hope unintentionally overhears a small part of the conversation as she's pouring two mugs of coffee, hesitantly offering the first to the presumptuous brunette by sliding it across the countertop.
Josie looks incredibly confused as her expression of gratitude sounds more like a question,
"...Thank—you...Um, do you guys have any—"
Josie stops in the middle of the question when Hope slides a small tray toward her with sugar and cream assortments laid out to choose from.
"...Cream and sugar." Josie finishes her sentence unnecessarily, "Thanks."
Josie thinks it's almost suspicious how nice Hope is being. But in all honesty, Hope is always like this with guests, if you were to ask anyone else.
Hope nods, and tries not to appear overly curious as she tentatively poses a question, "Who's her doctor?"
"Dr. Liam Davis," Josie answers nonchalantly before furrowing her eyebrows at the girl, demeanor suddenly guarded and defensive, "Wait, why do you care?"
While the doctor's name rings a rather large bell and raises several red flags in her mind, Hope is suddenly really over Josie's unwarranted attitude with her.
She only nods slowly to the girl, answering with an irrefutably defeated tone, "I don't." She turns to the two guys, "I'm gonna go for a run. Call if you need anything."
She disappears out the door, and Josie eyes her judgmentally as she sees her climb the stairs to the loft overhead to change into running clothes.
Her thoughts are interrupted by MG questioning Raf, "How's she doing?"
Raf sighs, shrugging a shoulder as he contemplates the answer, "It's kind of hard to tell with her. She's freakishly good at hiding her emotions."
Josie thinks she's probably just a psychopath with no emotions at all to show, but she doesn't say it aloud.
"I mean, she always channels all of her hurt and anger into work...The Mikaelson's still try to call her all the time, but she never answers."
"The Mikaelson's?" Josie cuts him off, confusion evident in her expression and tone.
Raf furrows his eyebrows, figuring the girl already knew, "Yeah...Hope's family..."
Josie almost chokes on the sip of coffee she'd taken in, "She's Hope Mikaelson? As in the Tribrid?"
The two guys nod to her in confirmation.
Josie takes a moment to let the knowledge sink in.
No wonder the girl is so annoyingly egotistical and entitled.
Military, supernatural, and a Mikaelson.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
A triple threat in the worst way.
Hope is exactly the concoction of an individual that Josie's father would despise.
"What the hell is a Mikaelson doing living in a homey beach house and enlisting in the military? That family's got more money than they can wrap their minds around. They don't need jobs." Josie speaks aloud her thoughts.
MG carefully constructs his answer, not wanting to dish out too much of the Tribrid's personal life,
"She doesn't really accept the family name anymore. And she's not necessarily in the military for the pay or benefits."
Benefits. Like health insurance and housing...Josie could definitely use some of that right about now, with her rent being past due, her medication needing to be filled, plus her sister in need of more support than ever with her inheritance taken over by their father.
Josie huffs, "Maybe I should've just enlisted in the military."
MG picks up on her exasperation, "What were you saying before about your sister's inheritance? There's nothing you can do?"
Josie shakes her head, "No, Alaric has complete control over her trust, now that she's been declared 'medically unfit.'"
MG tries to encourage her, "You still have yours though, right?"
The look on Josie's face is enough to dispute his attempt at consolation, "My father decided to spontaneously alter the terms of my trust. So now I won't gain access to it until I turn 30 or get married, whichever comes first."
Josie also believes the delay is an attempt for her father to allow himself more time to think of some way to gain full control of her inheritance as well.
Greedy bastard.
Josie let's out a dry chuckle, sarcastically adding, "Crazy thought, would either of you like to marry me?"
MG goes along with the joke, "I don't know..With my feelings for your sister, I think that might be a little messy."
Josie laughs and nods, "Okay, fair. What say you, Raf?"
Raf chuckles, "If I were straight and single, I would most definitely marry you. But, I'm kind of seeing someone. And a fake marriage in the military is definitely illegal."
Josie smiles teasingly at Raf, "Ooh, who's the special guy?"
Raf smiles bashfully as he responds, "His name's Ethan..."
MG pushes for more information, "How'd you meet him?"
"Actually, Hope introduced us. She was dating Maya at the time, and Maya and Ethan are twins."
MG jokes, "Guess he'll get to enjoy those military spouse benefits instead."
Military spouse benefits...
Curiosity nips at Josie as she picks up her phone, tuning out the two guys as they carry on their talk.
She opens up Google, searching 'Military spouse benefits"
Full health benefits, which could be useful in paying for Josie's suppressants...
Basic housing allowance, and given that Josie can hardly ever afford her rent, that sounds pretty damn nice.
Separation pay, during deployments.
And so much more that all adds up to a decent sum of money.
Plus, the added bonus of gaining access to her trust and keeping the money out of her father's hands. She could take care of Lizzie and pay off her debt...
Raf glances up toward the window, "Oh, there's Hope. I should probably go get dressed before we head to base. You both are welcome to stay as long as you'd like." Raf offers politely before excusing himself to get into uniform.
Josie looks out the window to see Hope steadily jogging back towards the house after her run, heading directly up the stairs to the loft to change into her work attire.
And perhaps the dumbest, craziest idea Josie's ever had crosses her mind...