Incubus Love

Missing You

To say the next morning was rough was an understatement. Like most of her dreams, Josey woke up with the light of day at her back. She could still feel the pain and fear of losing everyone. Her confidence in this reality was looking pretty bleak. She just wanted to hide.School would be over soon and she looked forward to having the option to not leave her room ever again. For the most part that sounded like heaven. For now though, she had to see this thing through. Josey got out of bed and washed up. She was not sure if last night's "sleep" could be considered good sleep. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she could see dark circles forming  around her eyes. "I'm starting to look more like Cofer." she giggled to herself. Their time together was quickly approaching and that was one of the main things that was keeping her going. She threw her messenger bag over her shoulders and headed out for school.

The walk to school was more intimidating than usual. The cafe looming to the north east and the trees that gave birth to the stalker shadow, made the hairs on her arms stand up. Other than that additional fear, all of the other mental obstacles stood fast.

  Crema and Lizah had been meeting up with Josey before Leon those days. Josey didn’t have the heart to tell them she would rather walk alone. She didn’t want to hear their royalty woes. [Ugh..] 

"When I woke up this morning my hair was really tangled. I had to have an extra hand maid to come in and assist, so that I wouldn't be late for class." Princess Crema explained.

"It has definitely been a rough morning. My chauffeur dropped me off before we even got to the front of the building. I went ahead and got out to save face but good grief!" Duchess Lizah said truly exasperated by her plight of walking an additional ten feet.

Josey rolled her eyes, mentally, at their uppity complaints. Even though those conversations sometimes seemed pointless, Josey hacked it up to her not understanding the concept of friendship. They were pretty decent, smart females, they just didn't have the same trials and tribulations as she did. [I guess.]  By the time the young ladies parted ways, Josey noticed Leon and Collin behind them.

[How long were they walking with us?]

"Good Morning ,Josey. We didn't want to interrupt your girly time." Collin said with a nerdy snort.

His snort made Josey laugh. Her laugh made Leon laugh. They laughed at the fact that they were laughing.

While laughing uncontrollably, Josey saw Cofer out the corner of her eye. Before she could smile and at least mouth 'Hello', he made eye contact then  quickly turned towards his office building. He passed her. He didn't acknowledge her. Her heart skipped a beat. She felt nauseous. [What did that mean?]  

"Was 14 days too long?" Josey whispered to herself.

Collin and Leon looked at each other and turned back to her. "Is there something wrong, Josey?" Collin asked. 

His words made her think of the nightmare that she had only awakened from three hours ago.

"Everything is fine. Let's get to class." Josey was visibly shaken and could not muster the strength to fake it.

Collin and Leon walked into the building behind her. Still confused about why her mood changed.

As soon as the bell rang to leave class, Josey decided to head home.

"Guys I am not feeling well. I am going to head home.Message me if you have questions or need to chat during your time in the library." she said with a partial smile.

"Sure." Leon said unsteady and almost unwilling to be okay with her statement. He didn't have a choice though. [What was he going to do? Hug me? Console me? Yea right.]

After saying their goodbyes, Josey walked swiftly home. She needed to hug her pillow. She needed to cry.

-----

"Why did I do that?!?" Cofer yelled at himself in his office. "Just walking past her, while she laughed it up with her friends, was a little rude." Cofer could feel her mood darken. "I am such an i***t!"

After scolding himself for a little while, he decided to send Josey a message. He knew they agreed to meet tomorrow but what if his faux pas made her think otherwise.  That half second felt like an eternity. His day was officially ruined. He packed his research into his bag and left for his manor. He needed to relax on his bed. Maybe stare at a ceiling or two. But most of all, he needed to hear her voice. If he couldn't hear her voice, he needed to be alone with his thoughts.

In no time, Cofer had arrived at his manor. 

"Do not disturb me please," he said to Lincoln as he mildly jogged to his room. Cofer had thought constantly about the words he would say and how he would say them. "I am sorry about earlier. I was deep in thought, I didn't mean to ignore you" [That's all I needed to say. I got this.]

Cofer climbed into his bed and got comfortable. The dimensional speaker was ready.

"Josey, I miss you.- send." [Wait.. what?] Cofer jumped out of bed. Completely thrown off balance by his own words. "That's not what we practiced!!! " he yelled at himself again.

There was no response. He felt like his world was ending. Ping!

The sound of an incoming message caused him to hyperventilate. He quickly pressed the message.

"I miss you more." Josey's voice sounded like a beautiful melodic song meant only for his ears.

He played the message several times before laying on his back and staring blankly at the ceiling. He was determined more than ever to make Josey all his.. 

---

Josey had  only been home for a couple of hours... stressed, holding her pillow tight, scared that the person she wanted to get to know, no longer wanted her. Then boom! "I miss you". Josey had never screamed so loud with joy. She could live the next two weeks off just hearing him say that. [Why does  his words fill me up?]

The pain from smiling so hard caused a slight cramp in her jaw but she wasn't letting up. She held the large pillow tight and pushed her face into it. His face was all she could see during her every waking hour. Tomorrow was the day. It was finally here. She feared that she wouldn't hear from him,but he cleared up all her worries with just a few words. He doesn't know how much those words meant to her and her sanity.

[wait] A second wave of anxiety washed over her. [I'm different] She had changed her look. Her heart doesn't even beat the same way. [Will he be okay with the current me? Or should I pretend to be the old me. "The old me?" ] That thought made her cringe. The old Josey was okay with being hated as long as she got to be “herself”. The old Josey  put on a happy face in the face of adversity. It was so tiring being that person.[ It has to be okay to not be okay, right?]

Even though she argued with herself, she already knew her decision. She would go as she was now. She had to believe that he would accept the current version of her.

Before she could finish fretting over the realities of life, her DS rang. "A call?" She whispered to herself. It was Crema.

"Hello"

"Hi Josey. I hope I am not disturbing you? Leon told me you weren't feeling well." Crema said.

"You were concerned for me?"

"Well of course. I believe we are friends,right?"

"Yes. I believe we are too." Josey said followed by a giggle.

"How are you feeling?"

"I just needed to lay down for a bit. I am feeling much better now."

"You have been skipping your beauty rest, correct? You don't have to answer but I could tell." Crema sounded a little upset.

"You are right. I am going to work on catching up this weekend."

"That's good to hear. I need you to stay healthy so I won't get wrinkles from worrying about you!" Crema exclaimed.

"Hey Josey!" Duchess Lizah yelled through Crema's DS.

"Hi Lizah. I will talk to you ladies later. I am going to lay down." 

Things had started to look up.