Josephine Langford

"I've got them" Hero says, taking my bags before I could, and giving me a small nod before we're walking inside the house. Another small gesture.

Kiara was right. This place is absolutely stunning-- grand, not to mention. Black and white modernized interior, with high ceilings, open planned-- perfect for a beach house. As I walk inside a little more, I am left awestruck by the breathtaking view that sits in front of me-- the beautiful clear water clashing with the sand, and the beach being completely empty-- not a single person in sight. Only the sound of water, birds, and peace floating in the air as my heart already feels lightened.

"Wow" I whisper to myself, exhaling a deep breath as I tuck in a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"I know right" a voice, his voice, chips in from behind and I quickly turn around to face him. I didn't even realize he was standing behind me. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you" he chuckles nervously, rubbing the nail of his thumb over his eyebrow-- his cheeks flushed. Oh my god

"It's fine" I reply as my arms hugging around each other, not knowing what to do now.

"I- uh- your bags. Where do you want them?" his voice sounds so subtle, nervous even, that it makes my stomach flip.

"I'll take them, really. Thank you" 

"Let me know if you need anything, yeah?" his hand rests on my arm, his lips twitching into a small smile before he turns on his heels.

My body gets its warmth back as he walks away, leaving me to be able to breathe normally again. 

Distracting myself from his thoughts, I arrange my clothes and essentials in the room I'm going to be staying in for the next seven days. It's huge compared to mine back home, and very comfortable for just one person to live in it. Chris tells me that this is how all rooms are here-- open and too spacious. 

As I've freshened up a bit, changed into some loose shorts and a plain black t-shirt, I feel my body getting exhausted post-traveling as always, and I would love nothing more than to take a short nap to re-energize myself and be able to enjoy the vacation.

As I hear their converging voices from downstairs, I step out of the room and grip the railing, darting my eyes to the couches where they sit. Hero is on a lounge chair and Kiara and Chris sitting on the same couch, her legs on his lap as he subconsciously rubs them while talking to them. Eva sits between them and patiently listens to them talk. 

"Jo! What are you doing so far away from us?" Kiara shouts from down as she spots me.

"I was just going to take a nap actually" I reply, my voice echoing in the house.

"Come have dinner first," Hero says looking up at me, and I immediately want to run downstairs but I hold myself back-- pretending to consider before I run as I don't want to come off desperate. 

"Yeah okay" clearing my throat, I make my way to them and take a seat opposite the couch.

I give Hero a smile and realize that I have been smiling awfully lot ever since we landed. He must think I'm some sort of creep or something. Instantly taking my smile back, I look over to Kiara who tries to respond to her daughter's blabbers.

"If you don't mind me asking something" Hero shifts from the lounge chair to my couch and I suck in a breath.

"No, of course not"

"Where's the father?" his question makes me choke on my breath as he refers to Eva, and I press my lips together.

"Uh- he left, apparently" chewing the inside of my cheek, I try hard to come off serious and I think I am succeeding, the way he nods his head and gives me a pity smile.

"I'm sorry" his soft whisper stings my heart and I shake my head, ready to tell him the truth now that he's really serious about it.

As I was about to start speaking, his eyes widen looking in front of us, and I follow his vision to find Kiara lifting her top for Eva to latch onto her breast. Realization hits him slowly as he looks between her and I, and a subtle laugh escapes my mouth.

"The fuck Kiara!" He gapes, his shoulders tensing as he sits up straight-- his mouth parted in surprise.

"What?" she asks, unaware of the reason of his shock.

"She's your kid?!" he slightly raises his voice, the vein on his neck showing off to me as a scoff of disbelief falls from his mouth.

"Yeah, the kid you're scaring right now" she responds, looking down at her daughter, "What did you think, I picked her up at the airport?" 

"No but I thought--" he turns to me, still in utter confusion "I thought Jo-- Fucking hell!" letting out a deep sigh, he gets up from his seat and joins Kiara on the couch.

"When did you-- how long were we not in touch?" his voice lowers as he curiously waits for her response-- a look of disbelief still smeared on his face.

"Too long, clearly" she replies, giving him a quirky smile.

"I'm so happy for you Kiki" he returns her smile-- that smile warms my heart as he places a kiss on Kiara's head and looks at her with so much pride and admiration, "So how fucking old is she?" 

"almost one and a half" 

"Fuck me"  he scoffs again, shaking his head at them as he adjusts himself better on the couch.

A part of me wants him to come back here, but another part of me doesn't because I will start behaving like a fool again. Plus I wanna let them friends have their moment. 

"Dinner is here guys" Chris announces walking into the room--interrupting their conversation--I hadn't even realized when he had left the room.

I am quick to get on my feet and help Chris set up the lunch on the table, and I didn't dare to look at Hero again as his footsteps get closer to the kitchen. 

Calm down, Josephine. Just keep inhaling, exhaling, inhaling, exhaling

"You're fucking lucky I don't have a numb brain like you" he rolls his eyes at Chris, keeping the tray of cardboard that holds beers on the table. "I had these in the back of my car. Just need to be chilled" he informs him, putting the beer bottles one by one in the ice-bucket.

"We don't need so many bottles dude" Chris responds back, shoving the empty containers in the dustbin as I turn over the plates for everyone.

"We're four people for fuck's sake" his British accented voice fires back at him and I step way from the table, not wanting to be in middle of their argument. 

"Oh I don't drink" I pipe in with all the confidence I had left in me and notice Kiara entering the kitchen and taking a seat on a chair.

"And Kiara is breastfeeding" Chris informs and Hero exhales loudly, rolling his eyes and smiling at the irony of him losing a small argument as they both take a seat too. 

"You knew she had a kid?" he turns to Chris-- who sounds taken back by his question as if it was the last thing he expected and a scoff falls down his lips.

"Of course I fucking knew. I was there with her all along!" 

"Kiki the last person I'd expected to get stuck with a child" Hero jokes and Kiara laughs too, while Chris holds a serious expression. 

"If you had been here, you would have known that people change. But I guess daddy's money is more important" 

After those words leave Chris' mouth, Hero looks like he has been slapped on the face, punched in the gut, as his face is completely consumed with guilt and shame, but mainly hurt. 

"Christopher--" he warns with his clenched jaw before he's cut off.

"Cut it out boys" the lady boss speaks up, rolling her eyes at the. "And pass me the fork" 

After a few minutes when the tension has been keyed down, conversations taking place only between Kiara and I as the men eat in silence-- nodding at us and humming where required, Hero attempts to lighten up the mood again. 

"I still cannot fucking believe you're sitting with your child right now" he shakes his head while laughing a little as he looks at Eva sitting on her mum's lap. "The most irresponsible and adventurous woman I know is a mum now" 

"One of my adventures led to her" she kisses the top of her daughter's head, brushing her hair away from her face.

"We met two years ago in Florida I reckon--"

"--yeah that was the year I got knocked up" she cuts him off, a pale look taking over her face as she clears her throat.

"I can't imagine you being pregnant and shit" his laughter only grows as his eyes suddenly fall on me, and I look away-- anywhere I could set my eyes on. "You still don't speak a lot, huh Jo?" he speaks again and I am taken by surprise he even noticed me back in school. I always hoped he wouldn't because it would have been harder for me to ignore him.

"Maybe I'm just not in the mood" I whisper lightly shrugging my shoulders as our eyes meet again. In reality, I still don't speak a lot. I like to keep my thoughts to myself unless its necessary for the other person to know, plus if I start opening up, it's hard for me to trust anyone with what I feel

"What can I do to get you in the mood then?" he whispers closer to me, so only I could hear, each word sounding like a drop of torture to my ears and I feel the need to tightly shut my legs together again.

"Turn it on!" Kiara's voice jumps and my eyes go wide at her choice of words somehow matching my situation, "For fuck's sake Chris just turn the AC on" she clarifies and I sigh in relief, biting back the embarrassed smile that tries to escape.

God, Josephine.

"Nevermind, I'm gonna go put Eva down" Kiara announces as she's done with her dinner, and gets up from the table.

"I'm done too, I'll accompany you" Chris speaks, pushing his plate away and standing up himself too.

Both of them stroll away to her room as I watch them leave, not wanting to face the reality that I'm left here alone with the guy who has got my blood dancing through my nerves and my heart rate being abnormal. 

"I'm gonna go for a walk at the beach, you wanna join?" he offers as he's done washing the dishes, and rests both his hands on the counter as he awaits an answer.

"Um sure," I reply before my brain could process as I try to keep myself calm and act as natural as I can.

"Great, come on" his hand reaches out to the counter, grabbing the beer bottles one by one until he's had two in each hand as he hands them to me. I raise my eyebrows at him, silently reminding him that I don't drink. "They're for me, can you just hold them?" 

"Of course" I take two of the chilled bottles from him, and he whispers a thank you before we head out of the house.

The last thing I ever expected in my life was that I'd be taking a stroll on the beach, during sunset, with the Hero Fiennes Tiffin. The same guy who got my hormones worked up every time I laid eyes on him back in school. Guess life is full of unpredictability after all.

After walking a little too much, when I finally gather the courage to tell him that I'm tired after staying shut for a long time, we settle down on a spot and both let out a deep sigh-- as our eyes stay hooked on the setting sun in front of us.

The sound of the beer bottle opening pops in interrupting the silence and I cock my head over to him, greeted by a small smile by him.

"Why don't you drink?" he asks in a soft voice as his plump lips meet with the mouth of the beer bottle.

"I don't know, never liked it" I grab a handful of sand and slowly let it go, watching as each grain falls on the sand again.

 "Just have one, c'mon" he holds a bottle towards me, and however much I try, I cannot bring myself to deny him when he's looking at me like that.

"Just one" pressing my lips in a line in defeat, I try to open it with the opener he used but failing at my attempts.

"Here" he hands me the one in his hands, and I grip it tight before taking a deep breath and going for it. 

The chilled beverage runs down my throat and a weird current boosts up-- maybe because I've hardly had any hard drinks, ever. It's not bad, better than I expected as it leaves a crisp after taste.

When I looked back at him, he was ready to hand me the bottle he was opening for me but I had gulped from his bottle before I could realize that he was just offering to help me and not offering his bottle to me. So fucking stupid, Josephine

"I'm so sorry" I wipe the excess drink around my mouth with the back of my hand as I try to process the taste yet, it's a lot better than I thought but still weird.

"It's fine" he chuckles, sipping from the new bottle and diverting his attention back at the sunset.

It's all too peaceful to be true-- I've finally found myself getting comfortable with him and not being pricked nerved all the time. 

Hero Fiennes Tiffin

So fucking beautiful. Watching her being bathed in the orange-golden sunlight as her smile affects directly to my heart, her blonde hair being in sync with the air that hits us.

As I started making small conversations, we get to talking and listening, and mainly, understanding.

"So yeah, I complete my OB/GYN degree, finish fourth year, and I'm gonna be-- open to life" she shrugs her shoulders, "it's always been like this, you know? I never wanted to do anything for me, for myself. My only goal has been getting my life settled-- you know? My mum actually-- she had this all planned for me, my perfect settled life. Sometimes I don't even know who I am from the inside, you know what I mean? Like what Josephine Langford really wants-- I dont know. I never got to know her, and I don't think I ever will. I have this layout of my future-- I know it sounds stupid, but it is what it is. My parents have this-- imaginary control over me even when I don't live in the same continent as them! It's always been what they want, and I never really felt bad, I still dont. But one day I hope to get to know myself, you know? The real Jo" 

"Fuck I'm so sorry for ranting-- I didn't even realise. You're a good listener" she adds with an embarrassed chuckle.

With that Australian accent from that mouth of hers, I could gladly listen to her the whole time

"I'm just relieved to know you have a voice. And you're an actual person with feelings" I say, catching her attention as she shakes her head at me.

"You know, I wish I was more like Kiara. I've never said that to anyone out loud, but yeah. You know her, so you know what I mean" 

"You don't want to be like anyone, trust me. You're perfect the way you are" 

"Yeah but I mean-- she is so confident, and bold-- she didn't even hesitate in breastfeeding in front of you guys" she argues, and looks back at the water again.

"It's because--" I struggle explaining myself to her, it's weird after all "It's because it's nothing we haven't seen already" 

Her nose crinkles and I immediately get the thoughts she's getting right now. Way to ruin it, Faulkner.

"I mean-- we've all went skinny dipping together. You know how close we all were-- we practically grew up together. And Chris-- he's seeing her naked right now as we speak"

"What?!" her eyes instantly lift up as she snaps her head at me. 

I thought she knew, fuck me.

"You don't know?" I ask, and she shakes her head no.

"Know what? Chris and Kiara?! They're dating?" 

"No no no, god no" I defend-- just the concept of dating for them seem hilarious, both of them being the unique people they are.

"Then what do you mean?" 

"They're just banging each other" I spill and she gasps, a look of disgust and surprise taking over her face.

God, I should really change my use of words with her.

"I mean, they're having sex. 'I'll accompany you' meant 'I'll come fuck you', and this has been going on since high school" I inform, feeling a little weird talking to her about this.

"And you don't have a problem with that?" 

"No, why would I? They do it with no meaning, like-- no strings attached. Basically, they're friends with benefits-- they enjoy each other's company more in bed. They even took each other's virg--"

"That's enough, please" she pushes her hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ear as she looks at me horrified by the news bombarded to her this moment. 

"I'm sorry, but I thought you knew all this. Kiki is your best friend right?" 

"She is but I'm glad she left this out" a laugh leaves her lips as she sighs. "This is what I was talking about. The thrill in her life. You have thrill in your life too, you travel so much. And I have a black and white motion picture going on that glitches in between and has the same boring plot like any other. I want to do something thrilling, something exciting" 

"Like what? Have a one time thing with someone?" 

"Exactly! But I just know I will never be able to do it" she blows air from her mouth as I realize she has gulped down the rest three bottles herself without even noticing.

One time thing-- the ideas that start coming in my brain will be too much for her to consider with a man she just met today. Maybe with time, maybe with growing familiarity. 

The relief that settled in me when she finally started to talk to me was something I was hoping to find a lot earlier. I was starting to think I made her feel uncomfortable, the way she would just look away from me and avoid any sort of conversation, replying just for the sake of it.

But right now, it's completely different. I am starting to see her, who is stunning inside out, who wants something from life, who wants to get to know her the way I want to, who is passionate about finding herself-- the real Josephine

~

Author's note-

Maybe Hero will "accompany" Jo sooner or later too 👀

Hope you all liked the chapter! Thank you so much for reading <3