I left the resort and made my way back into town to find some food and most importantly: alcohol. After acquiring both, I went back, ate the food, then I bundled up and sat out on the balcony drinking a bottle of wine. Roscato. My favorite. I kept rereading Yoongi's message. Then I made the stupid mistake of reading all of the messages that I had received from BTS since they left my father's house. That was a stupid decision.

BabyKookie: Ellie, we're all so very sorry for what happened. You weren't supposed to hear any of that. We didn't mean it that way. We all like you a lot.

TaeTae: Ellie, please don't blame any of this on Hobi. This is on us. He loves you.

Jiminie: I am so sorry that you had to hear all of that, Ellie. I want you to know that I don't agree with it. I thought it was a funny bet to start with, but not after I got to know you, Noona. I'm really sorry. Please call him.

JinJinJinJinJinJinJin: Hi. It's Jin. I got your number from Jimin. I hope that's okay. I just want to ask you to please call him, Ellie. I'm worried about him. He's scaring me.

Joonie: I truly wish that you hadn't heard that, Ellie. I wish we had never made that bet. Because of us, our brother is in so much pain that he can't even crawl out of bed. Or eat. All he's done for almost 3 days is stare at the ceiling. He loves you, Ellie. When we made that bet, we had no idea who you were or anything about you. You far surpassed any of our expectations. Hobi loves you, Ellie. And I could see in your eyes that you love him, too. It seems like such a waste to let all of that love go, doesn't it? Please think about it.

They all basically said the same thing. Call him, blah, blah, blah. He loves you, blah, blah, blah. Forgive him, blah, blah, blah.

Did they think that I didn't want to talk to him? I wanted so badly to hear him out and forgive him. But I don't trust him. Hell, I don't trust myself around him. All I would want to do is hug and kiss and touch him. So I can't do that.

But I guess that I could text him. Just to let him know that I'm okay. Maybe then he would eat? At the least, I could read his messages. All 47 of them.

MyHope: Ellie.

MyHope: Ellie, please.

MyHope: Gongjunim. I am so sorry.

MyHope: You have no idea. I am sorry that I made that bet.

MyHope: I'm sorry that I kept it from you once I realized that I really did love you. I should have told you right away.

MyHope: I'm sorry that I disappointed you.

MyHope: I'm sorry that I hurt you.

MyHope: I'm so sorry.

MyHope: I love you, Eloise. I do. I love you so much.

MyHope: I love you with all my heart.

MyHope: I want to marry you, Ellie.

MyHope: Please talk to me.

MyHope: I don't want to go through life without you, Ellie.

MyHope: That didn't sound right. I didn't mean that I would hurt myself. I wouldn't do that to my parents, my brothers, or to you.

MyHope: I'm just saying that I want you in my life. I don't want anybody else. I want to go through this life with you.

MyHope: Only you.

MyHope: I know that my name in your contacts says that I'm your hope, but you have it backwards.

MyHope: YOU are MY hope, Princess. You are all that I have ever wanted.

MyHope: You are all that I didn't even know that I needed.

MyHope: But I do. I need you, El.

Was it possible to babble in a text message? Because that kinda seemed like what he was doing. I wanted to talk to him so badly. I was so used to his presence. I was so used to talking to him. He had quickly become not just the man that I was going to marry, but my best friend. Or at least....he was.

MyHope: You know that I can see when you've read my messages, right?

MyHope: I don't want to push you, sweetheart. I just want to talk to you.

MyHope: Please, Eloise.

Me: I didn't think that it was possible for somebody to babble in a text message.

MyHope: ELOISE!

Me: Please tell the guys to stop texting me. They're driving me crazy.

MyHope: I'm sorry. They just wanted to apologize.

Me: I get that they wanted to apologize, but Jungkook sending me the word sorry 5,000 times, that he turned into text art, that looks like a chocolate chip cookie, is taking it a bit far, Hoseok.

MyHope: I'm sorry, Princess. I'll ask him to stop. He just feels bad. Jungkook is like an empath, I think. He's always felt everyone's emotions more than anyone else. So this is really getting to him.

Me: I'm sorry.

MyHope: You have nothing to be sorry for, Ellie. This is all on me. I didn't have to take their stupid bet. And I wish more than anything else in the world, that I could take it back.

Me: But you can't.

MyHope: No. I can't. You're right. And I've lost the best thing that has ever been mine because of my own stupidity.

Me: Rizzo? I did bring him with me.

MyHope: ....what?

Me: Are you upset that you lost Rizzo?

MyHope: ....You know that I meant you, Eloise.

Me: I know. But you didn't. Not yet.

My phone immediately started ringing. I knew it was him without even looking. Did I really want to answer it? I wasn't sure. I had no idea what was going on in my head right now. I couldn't seem to grasp onto one thought and pull it towards me without another knocking the first out of the way.

The things that Hoseok and all of the guys said made sense, I guess. I wanted to believe them. But my heart was still broken. I didn't know if I was ready to forgive him, yet.

While the internal monolog was going on, his call went to voicemail.

MyHope: Please answer the phone, Ellie. I need to hear your voice.

Me: I'm not ready, Hoseok. Not yet. And I can't promise that when I am, you'll like my decision.

To be honest, I wanted to answer. I wanted to go to him. I wanted him to hold me so that everything would feel better.

MyHope: Oh...I'm sorry. What you said gave me hope.

God. This man knew how to pull at my heartstrings. I thought for a moment about what to write.

Me: Don't lose it. That hope.

MyHope: So then....there's a chance?

Me: I love you, Hoseok. I love you so much that it feels like a part of my heart has been ripped out. I have spent the past few weeks falling completely head-over-heels in love with you. I kept telling myself that I shouldn't. I kept telling myself that a guy like you would never think twice about a girl who looks like me. But then...you did. You kept looking. You kept touching. You kept kissing me. Staring at me adoringly.

MyHope: There's nothing wrong with how you look, Ellie. You're beautiful. And what's more, you're beautiful on the inside.

Me: Let me finish.

MyHope: I'm sorry, Princess. Please continue.

Me: When I heard them talking about the bet, it all made sense. Why you were into me. Why you wanted to marry someone like me.

MyHope: Someone like you? You mean somebody with mint green eyes and freckles that cover her cheekbones and the bridge of her nose? What about somebody who every time that I look at her, my heart flutters? Someone who has hair that's soft as a feather when I run my fingers through it. Someone who has a mouth so pretty that it's just begging me to kiss it. Or...what about somebody who loves me for me and not for the me that the rest of the world sees?

Me: Umm...yeah. I kinda found out about you guys.

MyHope: Because JK has a huge fucking mouth.

Me: Why didn't you tell me, Hoseok?

MyHope: I have been burned so many times in the past. Girls who just wanted an idol for their 10 minutes of fame. Girls who are using me to get to one of the other guys. Girls who think that they can use me to climb the ladder at BigHit. Girls who don't know the real me. I wanted you to know who I am. Hoseok. Not J-Hope. And everything that I showed you, that's the real me.

Me: It's a shame, really.

MyHope: What is?

Me: That you never showed me J-Hope. I really like his voice. It's sexy as hell.

MyHope: Please tell me where you are, Ellie. Let me come to you. Just me and you. Please. I want to work things out. I don't want to let you go.

MyHope: I never want to let you go, actually.

I sat back in my chair and looked out at the lake. There were multiple docks and boat ramps and it was beautiful. I really wanted to share it with Hoseok. But I was scared. I still didn't know if I could forgive him for the bet thing. How was I supposed to get past it?

Me: Full disclosure, I downloaded some of your music.

MyHope: You did?!?!?!? What did you think?

Me: Well....I had to pull my car over when I heard Love Myself and Zero O'Clock, though I don't think you were on that track. They were really speaking to me, though. They made me cry.

MyHope: You didn't like them?

Me: No, Hoseok. I LOVED Them.

MyHope: Please tell me where you are, Ellie. I'll come over right now.

Me: That's going to be a little...difficult.

MyHope: Difficult to tell me?

Me: No. Difficult for you to come over right now. I'm in Arizona.

MyHope: Arizona? Isn't that on the other side of the country?

Me: Yeah....'

MyHope: Send me the info. I'm on my way.

Me: Hoseok, you don't have to do that. I'll come back in a few days.

MyHope: Send me the info, Eloise. I'm coming to get my girl.

What else was I supposed to do? Maybe talking things out was exactly what I needed.

Plus...I liked the way that he said 'my girl.'

So I sent him the info.

****************************************************

 A/N: I really wish that I was one of those authors who could drag drama out until the end of the book. But I'm not. I just want all of my characters to be happy. So....sorry. 

Here. Have some sunshine in place of the drama.