Until My Last Breath

Chapter 2

Sophia continued about her day. She didn't want to make it seem like it affected her. She clocked in and started her shift right away. Her boss, Mr. Roswell, decent man;not too harsh on his employees, but still very picky, had asked her to arrange the books on the shelves to appeal to the eye. As she is moving Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets she starts to wonder why Noah came back. Sixteen year old Sophia would be disgusted with herself if she knew she let a boy distract her from what's really important, but this one is different. At least, that's what seventeen year old Sophia thought, and it was very true. She asked herself what it was about him, rattling her brain there was only a couple things she could come up with. Like the single fleck of yellow in his eyes or the way he smiles when mentioning his little sister,she couldn't quite put her finger on it,but something about him stood out.
•••
As Sophia went on about her day she kept glancing over at the table. Not in a stalker way, but just curious as to see how long he would stay, and if he did stay, what for? At 3:00, her lunch break, she finally walked over and broke the unbearable silence.
"Noah?" She spoke softly.
He set his vintage hipster glasses on the top of his brown curly hair, pulled his nose out of the book they had talked about the day before.
"Sophia." He spoke in his lower raspy voice, that she could only imagine was what it sounded like when he first wakes up, but that's how he always talked. Not in the annoying, arrogant way that most guys do. It was more natural for him.
Sophia was standing there, almost as stiff as a board,
"What are you doing here?"
"Well..." he responded "I'm pretty sure this is a public area, a common area if you will, where people can read and drink coffee if they so please....am i right?"
In that moment she got mad at herself. Of course he was there because it's a peaceful place to read, not because of her. Now she's the one who seems self centered. But that didn't stop her from asking
"So...you didn't come here to see me?"
He paused for a moment, looking deep into her eyes.
"Well...that too. It certainly didn't hurt."
Sophia tried to hide the faint blush behind her dark brown hair.
"May I?" Sophia asks gesturing towards the obvious empty seat right in front of him.
"Who else would it be for?" He said.
She sits down and takes out her lunch, but before she takes a bite she asks "So how do you like it so far?"
His eyes, hazelnut brown, with a hint of green and yellow in the iris, studying her;he didn't hear her.
She snaps her fingers in front of his face
"Hello? Paging Doctor Dawson"
He snapped back into reality and giggled slightly. Nervous he says
"Uh yeah, yeah. I really like it. I'm on chapter 11 and it's really good so far."
"Mm, you should see it on screen."
"Tempting." He smiled at her.
A moment of silence passes, without taking his eyes off her, he leans back in his chair and asks
"So, what's your story Sophia?"
"My story?" She says in a slightly high pitched voice taking a sip of her tea.
"Yeah...your story. Your dreams, hobbies, deep twisted secrets." He smiles laughing through his teeth.
"I don't really have much to tell." Sophia says.
"For some reason I don't believe that, the way you carry yourself, the way you speak, the way you see through people...Something had to make you the way that you are."
"And what is the way that I am?"
"Spectacular."
He's really good isn't he? Sophia thought to herself. In this moment she thought about what her favorite character from Jane The Virgin would say. So in this moment, she decided to be brave.
"Well..." as she begins to speak she takes a small piece of paper and begins to write on it.
"Why don't we hangout outside of my workplace and I'll tell you all about it?" She slides the small piece of paper across the table into the top of his book. He looks confused.
"My number." She says smiling.
"Ah i see, well yes ma'am I would really enjoy that."
"I'll be looking forward to your text then. But as of right now, i have to get back to work."
"Don't forget me while you're gone." He says in a serious yet jokingly tone.
She glances back as shes walking away and says
"How could I?"
                                         •••
Sophia came home to an empty house. This wasn't unusual so she didn't think a lot of it. She figured her mom was at work and her dad was off doing who knows what. She tossed her things on the couch and went to grab a snack from the kitchen. The house was awfully quiet, maybe even too quiet. She checked the time 9:45 pm. It wasn't abnormal for her dad to be out this late and her mom normally works until 11:00. She went into the living room with a bowl of popcorn and turned the TV on to watch New Girl. She laughs along to one of the jokes that one of the characters had made. She realized over time she had been so distracted by the show, and realized it was 12:00 am. She didn't have to work the next morning so she wasn't worried about that. More so worried because her mom wasn't home yet. She went into her moms room to look around a bit. The first thing she noticed when she walked in was the bed was in disarray. Her mom had her own room because sometimes her dad would "punish" her by making her sleep by herself. Which is her moms biggest fear. After examining the bed, her eyes were drawn to the drawers. They had been pulled out far and the clothes that used to poor out of the sides, were gone. She went into the bathroom and all of her mother's toiletries were also gone. She had found a note on the pillow that read:

"My sweetest daughter Sophia,
I know you're probably wondering what happened and why I am gone. When we spoke last night I wasn't sure if i was going to leave. But when you were at work I found out that your father has been having an affair and he called me saying that he would be moving in with her. It was in that moment that I had realized what you said couldn't have been more true, so i decided to leave. I realize this can't be easy for you and that I shouldn't have left you behind, but my sweet precious girl, I know you are so smart, and you deserve more than the parents that you got. I want you to know that I am so proud of you, and i love you forever.
Your mommy,
Jenny"

Sophia let one tear slip out. She didn't know whether to be sad that her mom had left, or proud that she found her worth and took herself out of the situation she was in. She decided to be more proud, because her mom was right, she was smart, she could figure this out. She practically had been raising herself her whole life. What makes it any different now? All this means is that she wouldn't have to be scared to come home anymore. She put the letter in her purse to keep as a reminder. Right before she walked into her room, she heard her phone make a noise, notifying her that she had a text. It was Noah.