Chapter 92 I never thought this would happen to me. Can we…?
Sophie
I can not believe it. He was the one who told me not to come to Northwood. What is going on? What changed?
My dad stumbles over his words on the phone. "Of course you can always come home. It is just… I think you should spend a little more time with your mom. When was the last time you saw her? Maybe this is a good chance for you two to get close again."
I am not buying it. "How long do you want me to stay here?"
He goes quiet. My heart feels like it is dropping into a deep hole. After a long moment, I decide to just ask him straight. "Dad. What is the real reason?"
Another horrible silence. Finally, he speaks.
"…Cassandra wants to move in with me," he says, his voice so low I can hardly hear it. "I thought it might be uncomfortable for you both to be here at the same time, at the start."
My mind goes completely empty. I do not know what to think. I do not know what to say. But I guess my feelings do not really matter to these people anyway.
"So, that is it?" I squeeze the phone so hard my hand hurts. "You are making me leave so you can make your girlfriend happy?"
"No!" My dad’s voice is high and tight, like he is trying to hide his guilt. "I am just worried you would not be comfortable. And I talked to your mom. Northwood has better schools. Maybe you would have a better shot at a good college if you stayed there."
So my mom is part of this, too. And it is a long-term plan.
Oh, right. They are just looking out for me. Like they always have.
When they first got divorced, my mom was also very kind. She suggested I go to Miami with my dad because she was afraid I would be "uncomfortable" here.
The same excuse all over again. Am I a ball to them? Something they can just pass back and forth whenever they do not want me around?
"Sophie?" my dad says my name. "This is really up to you. If you want to come back.."
I hang up on him without a word.
I put my phone away and walk out of the room. My mom is standing in the hallway, twisting her thin fingers together. She looks nervous.
"Sophie. Did he tell you?" She comes toward me. "About his girlfriend, Cassandra?"
"Yes. And his plan to get rid of me." I clench my fists and ask through my teeth, "Did either of you ever think about what I want? Why do you get to decide my life for me?"
My mom sucks in a sharp breath. Her eyes fill with tears and sadness. But I do not really care what she feels right now. I run out of the townhouse.
I do not know where to go. I thought I could stay with Jordan when I came here, but that plan is ruined. I wanted to go back to Miami, but I have been kicked out. My mom and that perfect house shut the door on me a long time ago, so I do not want to be there either.
I guess I am homeless now. I walk without any direction and end up getting on a bus headed out of the city. The bus rattles along for more than two hours. I cry, and then I fall asleep. When I wake up, the bus has stopped moving.
"Last stop, kid!" the driver calls back to me.
I get off and find myself near a city park. Through the trees, I can just make out the ocean. It is starting to get dark. Going into the park now is probably a bad idea.
I collapse onto a bench and start to wonder what the point of all this is. It is stupid. Can I really live on my own without ever going back? I have exactly five hundred and twenty-nine dollars in my bank account. That will not last a month. I am supposed to start college next year…
I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to break something. What did I do to deserve this?
My phone has been buzzing without stopping. I take it out and see a long list of missed calls: from my mom, my dad, my friend Maya… even from Liam and Mr. Thorne. I can not believe my mom told everyone.
I lean back on the bench and stare at nothing. Maybe I will go back and just accept whatever plans they have made for me. But for tonight, just for tonight, I want to be left alone.
Suddenly, I hear loud footsteps. I look up and see a group of drunk men coming around the corner. They are very wasted. I can smell the vodka as they get closer. This is a public street, but there is no one else around except for us.
"Hey!" one of the men spots me. "What are you doing over there?"
My heart starts beating too fast. I stand up quickly, keeping my head down to avoid looking at them, and start walking fast down the road.
I pray they will just leave me alone. But today is not my lucky day.
Heavy footsteps follow me. They whistle and make crude jokes. "Hey, where are you going? Come back here!"
They all laugh.
I start to run. I fumble in my pocket, trying to find my phone to call someone. In my panic, the phone slips from my fingers. I bend down to grab it. But someone suddenly grabs my shoulder from behind.
"No!" I scream. "Get away from me!"
"Shhh…" someone says. He locks both of my arms and shoves me back against a tree. I start yelling for help, but he slaps a hand over my mouth to smother the sound. "This one is full of fire. I like that."
His friends laugh and move in closer. My whole body is shaking. I try to kick. I try to bite his hand. None of it works. These are big, strong men. Even drunk, they are so much stronger than I am. I never even imagined this in my worst nightmares.
I feel desperation eating me up inside. I bite my own tongue until I taste blood. Tears roll down my face and fall onto the man’s hand.
"She is crying!" someone shouts, sounding excited. "Take it easy on her."
I can smell his terrible breath. It is like rotten fish and dirty water. I hold my own breath and close my eyes, giving up. There is no point in fighting.
Bright headlights cut through the darkness. A sports car flies around the corner, its tires screeching. Everyone is startled and turns to look. The car speeds right toward us and stops suddenly, almost hitting one of the drunk men.
"Hey!" the man shouts. "Watch where you are going!"
The driver’s door swings open. A tall figure steps out of the bright glare from the headlights. I squint against the light, but a second later, I know who it is.
It is amazing how you can feel so terrified and helpless one moment, and then feel completely safe the next. My eyes are blurry with tears as I take a shaky breath.
It is Liam. As shocking and impossible as it seems, he found me.
He walks straight toward us without a second of hesitation and throws a hard punch at the man closest to him. The man cries out in pain and stumbles backward. It all happens so fast. Before they know what is happening, he has knocked a few of them down without any trouble.
I scramble to the side. At first, I was worried because there are so many of them. But after a moment, I realize there is no way they can beat him.
"Get the fuck out of my sight!" he snarls, pulling me into his arms.
No one dares to argue with him. They immediately turn and run off into the dark.
The second they are gone, the last bit of strength holding me up disappears. I almost fall to the ground, but he catches me.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouts, his face close to mine. "What if I did not get here in time? What if I never found you? Before you turned your phone off, did you even think about what could happen?"
My heart is still pounding from what just happened. The way he is looking at me right now makes me want to scream and vanish. But his hands are holding my arms tightly. With nowhere to hide, I am forced to look back at him as tears pour down my face.
He goes still. Slowly, the anger in his eyes fades, replaced by something more difficult to understand.
"Stop crying," he says. But it does not sound like a real command.
Then I go from quiet sobs to hard, shaking cries. I bury my face against his shoulder and let my tears soak his shirt. He does not push me away. Instead, he holds me tighter, with one arm around my waist and his other hand gently holding the back of my head.
I feel safe in his arms. So I cry and cry, letting out all the hurt and sadness.
Between my choked breaths, I hear his low, rough voice mutter into my ear.
"I was so worried about you. I never thought this would happen to me. Can we…?" He stammers.