I woke up to discover that Joe wasn't in bed,I searched around for her,behind the curtains,under the bed,in my closet and drawers.
She wasn't in the room.
"She's a woman,she's probably gone to take a bath"I thought.
I lived my morning the normal way,turned up the volume on my stereo,while taking having breakfast.
Getting shaved.
Most people might find it disgusting,but what the hell,what do people know anyways!
I would pick up grandad at about eleven o'clock,the time on my watch read nine am.
The house felt a little bit empty,Joe was out,she left a note on the fridge,saying she's gone out to get some things for the house.
JoJo was living away,spending his nights with a red hair.
I was sure I checked my phone not more than twelve times today,waiting to see if Anon would call.
But no call.
I decided not to read into it too much,a guy can have his days off after all.
***********
The sun kissed JoJo,waking him up,as light shone inside the bedroom.
JoJo heard some grunts, he carefully opened both eyes.
And saw his landlady having a hard time trying to pull down the zipper of his bag.
"Holy..."he said,getting up, Scarlett jumped and took some steps away from the bags.
JoJo tried getting up,but was sore all over,he managed to stand on his two feet.
"What the hell were you just trying to do?"he asked, Scarlett placed her hand on her hip,and bit bit the nails off the other hand.
"Scarlett baby...why you going through my stuff?"he asked,sounding a bit too melodramatic.
"I was just checking if you needed anything"Scarlett said,sounding totally unnatural.
"Hold up,hold the fudge,what were you hoping to find in there?"JoJo asked,realising for himself how nosey cops were.
"You know what? You are just a nosey cop"he said.
"Am sorry,but my gut told me that something was wrong,and I just had to listen to my gut"Scarlett said.
"Why? Am your everyday average guy"he said,trying to be convincing.
"No JoJo,you're not,I find you on the street, homeless and hungry..."
"Fine,mock me,you find it abnormal for someone not to have a roof over their head"JoJo interrupted.
"And you were able to pay me a three month down payment in cash JoJo,in cash. How can a homeless person afford that?"
JoJo kept quiet.
"Your shoes are obviously not cheap"she said,making a gesture to the shoes he laid carelessly on the floor.
"I picked them up from a lost and found"JoJo said,realising how stupid that sounded after he had said it.
"Plus,when I asked to see your ID,you said you didn't have any"Scarlett pointed out frustrated,trying to make her point.
"Oh, really Scarlett,that makes me less human, lots of people don't have IDs"JoJo stated.
Bow growled at him,he took a step backward.
"I asked for your name,and you said JoJo"
"Look it up,it's a real name"JoJo argued.
"JoJo"she continued.
"As in, JoJo JoJo"She said,moving her hands about frantically,trying to prove her point.
JoJo realised he had been caught out, by a cop.
Cops he used to fool around with,and make them dance to his tunes.
A plain dumb old cop was outsmarting him.
Seems like nowadays,anyone could just outsmart him.
"You wanna know the truth?"He asked,she leaned in closer.
"Yes"she said,relieved to finally get the truth out of him.
"Am a CIA agent"He said and Scarlett face palmed,the dog hid it's face in between it's paws.
**************
Joe wasn't back yet,and I had to pick up my grandad.
I couldn't wait for her,I had to go get him from the hospital.
I checked my phone once more,no message,no missed call.
"You have to stop beating yourself up about this,just be grateful Anon won't ruin today" I told myself,glad that today would go down smoothly.
I tried calling Joe a few times,but her phone was switched off.
I wonder if she would leave without taking her stuff along with her.
**********
Hospital.
"Easy does it"Nurse Fumi said,while helping grandad get out of bed into his wheelchair.
"I don't need a wheelchair"Grandad emphasized,but nurse Fumi wouldn't hear it.
"Don't make me repeat myself Johnny"she scolded him.
Most nurses were soft and delicate,but nurse Fumi had a different approach.
A unique approach,which suited her personality and her patients.
"If you don't wanna sit on that wheel chair you can sit on me instead"said one of the patients.
"That is not needed Hattie!"Nurse Fumi stressed,and a nurse led her back to her room.
"Call me"she mouthed,grandad shrugged,"what a creep"he muttered to himself.
"Where is Joe?"Grandad asked,getting himself back.
"You mean JoJo or Josephine?"I asked,pretending I did not know he was referring to Joe.
"I don't wanna know about JoJo,but where is that friend of yours anyways?"Grandad inquired.
"He's living with his girlfriend"I lied,it was more or less of a lie.
In the sense that he does live with someone,whose a woman.
But she wasn't his girlfriend.
Grandad looked like he just saw a ghost.
"When did JoJo move out,and most importantly,HOW did JoJo get a girlfriend!"Grandad asked holding his chest.
"Are you feeling okay?"Nurse Fumi asked, grandad signalled her that he was alright.
"We will talk about that later,we have a long drive ahead of us"I informed him.
The nurse assisted him outside,I knew she was one of Anon's pawns,and that made me keep my eye on her.
"True,I won't lie to you, JoJo is being stubborn,he doesn't want to take his medication. I've been asking him,do you want to die! But he's being a hard nut"
Nurse Fumi said.
"I don't understand? Are they making him sick? Is he reacting wrongly to them?"I asked.
"No True,he's hell bent on having a natural recovery"Nurse Fumi said.
I said nothing I decided to keep quiet,I had nothing to say,I placed my palm across my forehead frustrated.
"True,he has barely three months to live,but if he keeps on threading on this path,he will not make it past three weeks"Nurse Fumi said,looking serious.
"Thank you for telling me"I said,"tell him I said,a word is enough for the wise"she said,and let me walk out.
I watched him from afar,laughing with the other patients,and cracking jokes.
He looked so happy, I was torn between places.
I wouldn't want to subject him to living his last days taking pills that would make him feel even worse.
I couldn't see myself helping him shorten his days,when I could prevent that.
One thing was certain,I would try help him in any way I could to be happy as much as I could.
***********
While driving,I kept one eye on the road,another on my grandad.
"I asked you a question,where is Joe?".
This man sure has a sharp memory for his age.
"She's at home"I said.
"You must be much more excited than I am,you must love her,so much that you kept her all to yourself"he said.
At last we arrived.
I took our his wheel chair from the car trunk,and wanted to help him get on it.
But grandad had already started walking to the porch.
"Grandad!"I called out,wondering why he had to be so hard headed.
I noticed how weakly he walked,he really wasn't like he used to be.
He rang the doorbell.
I pulled out my house key,but discovered the door was unlocked.
Grandad walked inside,and my eyes widened.
There were cakes all over,balloons,and a huge banner which spelt.
WELCOME HOME GRANDAD JOHNNY
Grandad placed his hand on his chest,and quickly used the back of his palm to wipe away a tear.
Joe emerged out of the kitchen,wearing an elegant gown,and some pearls,her hair done in curls.
"Welcome back grandad Johnny"she said, and gave the old man a hug.
She had heels on,the clumsy girl was walking in heels so fiercely.
She walked to me,and planted a quick peck on my lips.
Making me,blush.
Me,the dude.
The dude blushing.
Just to be clear.
She placed her hand around my waist,holding me firmly.
Grandad walked inside,taking in the decorations put up just for him.
"I didn't know you would plan an old man such a surprise True"he said.
Neither did I.
"Thank you Joe"he said,letting his tears roll on freely.
Joe stood by me,so confident,smiling,as if everything was alright,as if this was alright.
I looked down at her.
She was a mystery to me.
Who are you Joe?
A/N:Thanks for reading 😍😍😍😍😍