A Soldier's Life

Chapter 28 - Addressing Rumours

Sophie's POV:

These last two weeks had been a bit of a struggle, but had gone better than I had expected. Ava has had her moments which can be pretty intense and take a lot of consoling, but on the most part she's been getting on well. Y/n has managed to email nearly every day and we've had 6 phone calls from her. That has helped when ever Ava is feeling down as I can re-read her the emails she has sent us.

Being at school has really helped Ava to keep her mind off of it. She's smart and she knows that her Mum isn't somewhere safe, but she's been open about talking about it when she's scared or worried about her. I on the other hand am not coping so well. I love spending time with Ava. She is the sunshine of my life and getting to spend prolonged time with her has been great, but it doesn't stop the constant fear that I have in the back of my head.

Fear that I can't share with anyone because I don't think anyone else quite realises how dangerous it is for Y/n and Jimmy. Other than Missy that is, who I don't want to make worse by sharing how scared I am. Last time Y/n was in Afghanistan she came back a changed person. She had lost her best friend right in front of her, and it took well over a year to be anywhere near her old self. She still suffers now from time to time, the cut on her head proof of that, and I hate seeing it.

I feel myself sometimes getting lost in a panic, terrified that something might happen to her. She is the only person that has been there for me my whole life. She's been there for me through everything and is the reason I was able to open my café here in LA. The year we spent apart was one the best and worst times. I hated not having her in my life, but she was there pushing me towards my dreams.

My family loved Y/n and she was quick to become part of it. My parents considered her an honorary daughter and she was a sister to me, even if we weren't related by blood. When my parents died, it was Y/n that held me together and never left my side. When it looked like I'd never get to open the café, it was Y/n who spent every hour she wasn't working to ensure it would happen.

She thinks that I do a lot for her, in support of Ava. But the truth is, she has done more for me in this lifetime than I can ever repay. Her and Ava are my family, and I will do everything to make sure they are both happy. That's why I wasn't as hard as I wanted to be on Scarlett when she visited.

I hated her for what she had done to Y/n. I see Y/n fighting her insecurities every day and to hear how they were used against her made my blood boil. But when I saw Scarlett and took the time to think about it from her point of view, I understood that she was scared by it all and what she said was a misjudged outburst. Y/n had already gone through the whole coming out thing. It wasn't easy for her and she wasn't in the public eye, so I get the fear that Scarlett was talking about. I just wish that it didn't manifest itself in the words that she used so viciously against Y/n.

But ultimately, I know how happy Scarlett makes Y/n. They may have only known each other for a couple of months, but I've never seen Y/n happier. If you take away that night in the club, Scarlett had done things for Y/n that no had before, not even her ex, Lindsay. Scarlett cares for Y/n and if she can get herself together, I know that the two of them are right for each other.

Don't get me wrong, Scarlett has a lot of work to do to win back her trust and show her how sorry she is. But I know this can be the cause of the happiness that Y/n so desperately deserves. Even if I do still want to slap the stupid out of Scarlett right now.

This weekend, Robert was having Ava for a sleep over with the kids. He had been great these last two weeks. He's checked in most days and popped over to see Ava a couple of times. The first time he knocked on my door, I was speechless. I was grateful that Y/n wasn't here to see that as I know she would not have let me live that down! But I've slowly gotten used to seeing him.