A mute, foundling girl hides from her pursuers with the help of a reluctant recluse. The two of them have nothing in common except deep emotional scars. Who is she? How did she end up unconscious and scantily clothed on Evan's isolated property? Why...
After I asked Sophie her age, she froze in place, eyes wide and displaying fear.
I grabbed the pad and pen from the end table and held it out to her. "It's a simple question. You shouldn't have to think about it."
She ignored the offered pad and stabbed a finger into my chest as if trying to turn the question around to ask me my age.
"I asked you first."
Wearing an angry expression, she shook her head. It was her first time acting out toward me. So, she wasn't a perfect little angel after all. Somehow that made me feel more comfortable. What I suspected about her age left me with a different kind of discomfort.
I shoved the pad into her chest. "Don't try to play the card how it's not polite to ask a lady her age. Drop your attitude. I need to know."
She took the pad, threw it to the floor, and glared at me.
I glared back and held eye contact. If this was her way of challenging me, it wouldn't work.
After a few moments passed, she lowered her gaze. She held up her hands and flashed ten fingers, followed by nine fingers.
"Nineteen?"
She nodded.
Possible, but I needed to press the issue to make sure. "Sorry, but you don't look nineteen."
She stomped her foot and tried to walk past me. I grabbed her arm to stop her. "Tell me the truth."
She tried pulling away, but I held on. "The truth, Sophie."
Silent tears trailed down her cheeks and she trembled.
I felt like a monster for scaring her and making her cry, but it was necessary. "Sophie, I could get into big trouble for harboring a minor, especially if you're a runaway. You know that, right? If you accuse me of doing something to you I could go to prison for a long time."
She stopped sobbing and wiped her nose against the sleeve of my long johns. She laid a hand against my chest while vehemently shaking her head. I took it to mean she wouldn't accuse me of anything.
"Why should I believe that? How can I trust you when you won't even tell me your real age?"
Sophie squeezed shut her eyes. I watched her chest heave as she gulped air, acting as if she was making a life-or-death decision. When she opened her eyes, she wore a resigned expression. She held up her hands and flashed ten fingers followed by six fingers. Then she started weeping again.
Sixteen was more like it. "Stop crying! Look, I'm not going to kick you out." Not yet, but I would if I didn't get some straight answers.
I sat on the sofa and patted the cushion beside me. "C'mon. Sit."
She looked at the sofa, looked at me, back at the sofa, and sat.
"Now that you told me the truth, I'll answer your question. I'm twenty-four. Can you see how it would appear, me an older guy and you an unrelated pretty teen here under dubious circumstances? You're not going to get me into trouble are you?"
She widened her eyes and shook her head.
"Also, it seems you have a bit of a temper." I smiled as I said it, trying to lighten her mood.
She looked at the floor and mouthed, "Sorry."
"Don't be. It's part of who you are, and I want you to feel comfortable enough around me to be yourself." I hoped my words would get her to relax.
She didn't take her focus from the floor.
"Another thing I've been meaning to ask you, and please don't feel insulted. I'm not judging you. Are you mute due to some physical reason or is it an emotional condition where you choose not to speak?"
Sophie picked up the pad she had thrown to the floor and wrote: Mute since birth.
"Who can I contact on your behalf?" I glanced at the ring on her middle finger. "Everything about you implies you're a newlywed."
My words made her pull her knees to her chest and hug them. She buried her face in her thighs.
She was so skittish. I felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. I softened my tone. "I get it. You're still frightened. Whatever has you scared, I promise you're safe here. You can confide in me."
She regained some of her composure. Picking up the pad, she wrote: NOT married.
"You were wearing a wedding gown. Were you on your way to get married? Is there a fiancé frantically searching for you?"
She wrote: No husband. No fiancé.
It didn't explain the dress and ring. She wasn't being forthcoming. I decided to circle back to that subject later. "What about your family?"
She wrote: No family.
"What about friends? A young lady like you must have lots of friends."
No friends.
I sighed. "C'mon, Sophie. You can't expect me to believe you're all alone in the world."
She shot a shy smile my way and made eye contact. On her pad, she wrote: Not alone. I have you!
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It appears as if Sophie is trying to charm her way into Evan's life without revealing much about herself. What should he do about this delicate situation?
