𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 → KOTLC

Chapter 1

a/n: hey besties, it's been more than a year since i last published, and it feels great to write again. hope you like this book, you can read it even if you haven't read kotlc, and tysm for all the reads and support on my other books. also i'd like to dedicate this chapter to squishmallow09 because she helped me a lot with this chap and she's my inspiration, ilysm <33

"I'm going to miss you so much Soph," sighed Jolie Ruewen, as she trapped her younger sister in a tight hug.

There, amid the usual airport rush, stood the two sisters, besides their parents, Edaline and Grady. Sophie was going to college, which, unfortunately for them, was across the country in Boston.

"I'm going to miss you too... you have no idea." Sophie held on to Jolie even tighter, willing herself not to cry.

Sophie really was going to miss her sister. Jolie had always been there for her, through anything and everything. She could never forget the day she'd been adopted. She was so scared and sad and didn't think her new family would accept her, but as soon as she entered the house, the first thing Jolie did was tackle her into a warm hug, and her worry melted away, replaced with a feeling of belonging. Her sister was one of the few people who could make her feel like that.

"Oh, really?" The older girl chuckled, trying to lighten the mood at seeing everyone's sad faces. "You'll forget us the moment you get there. I've seen the pictures, Foxfire's got plenty of cute guys-"

"Boys?" Grady Ruewen cut in sharply. "There better not be any in a ten-meter radius of you or I'll hop on a flight to Boston, and I will hurt him."

Sophie's face turned bright red. Anyone who knew Sophie well enough knew that she was the most oblivious and awkward person when it came to boys. 

"You know what, Eda, I'm getting a gun." Grady looked dead serious now.

Sophie scrunched her face, startled at how serious Grady looked. Sure, her dad cracked bad jokes all day, but his expression made her believe he was not joking right now.

Not that it would affect her, nobody would see her like that anyways. Or see her at all. She had always been invisible, all through school and she was sure it wouldn't change in college. It wasn't like she cared... but she did.

Edaline slapped her husband's arm. "Grady, you know, Sophie's an adult now. You can't keep her locked up in her room, away from boys anymore. And there will be no gun, not in my house at least," scolded Edaline.

"Why are we even talking about this?" Sophie buried her face in her hands. "Guys, there will be no boys. At least not l-like that."

Sophie just wanted everyone to stop talking about this. Talking about stuff like this made her feel like she wanted to just sink, drown and die.

"That's what Jolie said before she went to college. And now she's getting married to that guy-"

Jolie huffed, rolling her eyes. "Come on, dad. You should know his name! The wedding is in less than six months."

Sophie cracked a smile as Grady childishly responded. She would miss this. The laughing, the comforting, and even the arguing.

She would miss them. Before she knew it, a tear rolled down her cheek. How was she ever going to survive without them with her? Maybe she should have just have gone to the local community college. All throughout high school, she had no friends. She would just go back to having nobody.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Edaline wrapped her arms around Sophie as she comforted her.

Sophie bit her lip and whispered, "I'm really gonna miss you all. Without you, I'll be all alone. It's stupid, I know."

"Soph, don't worry. And it isn't stupid, I know what you mean. You're coming back for the wedding in the winter break, right? It'll be there before you know it. Plus, we'll call you so much, you'll get annoyed," smiled Jolie, as she and Grady joined in on the hug.

"And don't forget, you won't be alone. My sister, Juline lives in Boston. Anytime you feel alone or are craving my mallowmelt, you can just go over there. We have the same recipe, you know, and she makes it better than me," said Edaline.

At the mention of mallowmelt, Sophie instantly brightened.

"Actually, they'll be picking you up from the airport. And her son, Dex, he's in your year at Foxfire. I'm sure you two will get along just fine,"

"Sophie, don't worry about a thing, we're just a phone call away," promised Grady.

Before Sophie could reply, the boarding announcement began. "Good afternoon passengers. This is the boarding announcement for flight 89B to Boston. We are now inviting passengers to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Thank you."

Sophie pricked out an eyelash as she sighed, "Guess that's my cue."

"Love you, Soph, call us once you land in Boston," called Jolie, as Sophie stood in line to board the flight.

Sophie smiled, and called back, "Love you too, promise I'll call you every day."

This was it. She was actually leaving for college. And at that moment, college was her biggest worry. Oh, how that would change, she had no idea.