Chapter 41 I trusted you

Chapter 41 I trusted you
SOFIA'S POV

I look myself in the mirror one last time. I've never been to a basketball championship game or any basketball game for that matter.

I never had a reason to.

"Woah! You look like a girlfriend." Mila points out.

"I'm just being supportive."

She sighs.

"Isn't that what girlfriends do?"

"I'm not Nova's girlfriend...so stop insinuating it!"

She rolls her eyes.

"But if she asked you at the game infront of all those people and camera's you'd say yes?"

I pause.

Ofcourse I would.

I really like her.

But I don't want to make it a big deal when she's dealing with something.

"We're going to be late if we don't leave now." I say walking past her and grab the car keys.

She needs a eide and I'm that ride.

We both know her boyfriend isn't as timely.

"So about the Maldives trip...you're not going to bail right?"

"Why would you think that?"

She pauses.

"Nothing....I just....I don't want you to rearrange your plans to fit Castiello's. She should."

I focus on the road.

"Why?"

"Up until now she's been living a double life at your expense. You haven't even told her about your condition."

"I didn't tell you either...my dad did."

She sighs.

"I'm practically family Sofia. She needs to know what she's really getting into. I don't want you to focus on proving everyone wrong that your health doesn't matter. That has happened before." She says seriously.

I will tell her after the game.

It's important that she focuses on what she's been working her ass off for...not me.

"After fhe game...I'll tell her after the game. After she wins." I say and she nods in the passenger seat.

The rest of the ride is silent.

The kind that forces me to face the harsh reality of Mila's words.

Nova has been attentive to my health. She gets mad when I miss my medication.

She checks my temperature discretely even though i know she's pretending not to.

She's through with food she gets me.

That can't be nothing.

She wouldn't do that if I didn't mean as much to her as she does to me.

I park the jeep in my usual sport with the parking filled with cars more than usual.

It must really be a big game.

"Hey girls! Looking fashionably late as ever!" Paolo approaches us wearing a coordinated outfit for the game.

We head inside finding seats in the middle but someone taps on my shoulder startling me.

"Sofia Vescovi right? You're down on the courtside." She says standing there expectantly.

Courtside?

"We'll find you after the game." Mila reassures me before I follow the girl down to the courtside seats with unfamiliar but rich presence.

Must be the sponsors.

Her eyes find me first and I watxh her smile grow wide.

Was she behind this?

The game has already started and I know a little bit from all the practices I've been to.

Nova scores and her team rushes to her.

She misses it because her eyes never leave mine.

I smile, clapping silently.

She looks happy.

The game continues and it's becoming a little obvious where her attention is now.

My mind drifts back to Mila's words.

Will her smile still be this big when I tell her?

I mean it's my health but I kept it from her when she asked me if I was okay.

Then an announcement for half time is called.

The players move to their seats grabbing water like it was a reward.

Nova reaches for hers before jogging over to me.

She crouches to my level making my chest thump.

I hate the attention that it brings.

Whispers in the back like a dirty secret being revealed.

"Drink this...you look little pale."

I take the bottle feeling my fingers brush against hers.

She s3nds a wink my way before going back to her teammates.

To the rest it might look suspicious but to both of us it's just a health concern.

I look back searching for my friends in the crowd. I spot them but Mila's face is far from happy.

She doesn't get it.

The game resumes.

The passes are more tactic.

The tension grows and the focus is on whoever hoops and scores.

Then someone sits in the emtpy seat beside me.

"Hey Sofia."

Delia smirks.

She looks awfully happy given the situation.

"Didn't think she'd put you on the high table after all that." She comments but I shrug it off.

She does that.

Try to get under my skin.

Nova scores and I clap automatically. She wipes her face with her shirt displaying her abs.

It's almost intentional.

"You look proud of her." Delia starts again.

I ignore it.

"You really have no idea do you?" She asks in a softer tone, almost too convincing.

I look over to her.

She takes out her phone from her designer purse.

The scrolls through it before tapping on something.

"You're going to need earphones for this." She places the phone on my lap still smiling before plugging the attached earphons in my ears.

I look over to Nova.

She's laughing with her teammates about something before one points to me.

Her smile drops when she sees Delia.

Then continues with the game.

I hesitate before taking the phone qnd pressing the play button.

I remember this day. She came home dressed in all white and drunk.

She's surrounded by her friends.

"I dare you to fuck the sophomore and then treat her like she was just another one of your flings,"

"That's fucking stupid. She's not even my type,"

"It's just fucking Nova, unless you like her?"

"I don't date," Nova says.

"If I don't do the dare?"

"Then you have to quite the basketball team," Delia says before the video ends.

I look over to Delia who swipes to the next one.

She didn't quit the team.

She plays it.

"You didn't agree to the dare, Nova. You know the consequences," Delia says.

"Have I ever backed out on a dare?" Nova asks and the video ends there.

Suddenly everything about the dare made sense.

Everytime Delia brought it up.

Everytime Nova looked annoyed.

Everytime I asked questions and she changed the subject.

She knew.

She had always known.

I don't know what to feel so I feel everything.

Is that what Delia kept reminding her?

I take the earphones off slowly and hand her back her phone.

She gets up as if her work is done before walking away.

Was Nova ever going to tell me?

The forehead kisses felt real.

The sleepovers.

I felt so fucking special when she said she doesn't kiss her flings but then kissed me.

Did she stick around after the hotel because she felt pity? Or because she's been waiting for the right time to treat me like another one of her flings?

She's half way there because we're undefined and she doesn't intend on changing that from that video.

I can't walk out.

So I sit in the very front sit of my own humiliation until the game is over.

Nova smiles at me with a worried look but I stare blankly at her.

I have nothing left to feel.

I know I probably won't make it to the car without collapsing.

Mila was right.

My dad was right.

She's a Castiello.

Confetti falls on the court.

They won.

Nova won.

Somehow everything goes silent .

Silent enough for nova's words to echo in my head.

She'd never turn down a dare.

I feel a hand on my shoulder bringing back to reality.

The harsh one.

"Are you okay Sofia?" Mila asks.

Nova's eyes find mine immediately.

Even surrounded by teammates and cameras, she was looking for me.

For one stupid second I almost convince myself Delia was lying.

Then I remember the video.

Have I ever backed out on a dare?

No.

Nova Castiello never backed out.

I stand up.

Nova is cheering with her teammates.

I walk foward without thinking.

Each step more painful than the last.

A team mate nudges her arm to approach me and she does.

In the middle of the court.

Cameras flashing.

The crowd cheering.

I pull her jersey aggressively to me.

I didn't mean it.

Then pull her face to me crashing my lips onto hers.

I feel her hand snake around my torso.

The kiss feels final.

I used all my strength to do this.

Then we finally pull apart.

She has a confused yet flustered face.

"Now you know what it's like to lose everything." I say feeling a tear roll down my cheek.

I turn and walk towards the exit with Mila catching up with me.

"I don't need a lecture Mila." I say.

Adding my pace out of the suffocating building.

The breeze hits me first.

"Sofia wh.....Sofia your nose is bleeding. Sofia! Sofia! Please please dont close your eyes please. Paolo call an ambulance."

Their two blurry faces are what I see before everything grows dark.