Coming Back to You ✔

39. August

Sophia had to do a lot of thinking over the month of July. After she calmed down from her breakdown and got her mental functions back, the one thing the knew for certain was that she didn't want to deal with going through that again.

She took Jamie's advice and called out of work for the next week. She finally properly unpacked, taking the last of her things out of her suitcase that she had so stubbornly refused to put away in denial of her situation. Dean's shirt still remained in the drawer, but now it lay on top of everything else. It gave her permission to mourn for her old life while also accepting that this was her current situation, and there was nothing she could do about it but accept it.

It didn't make things good, but at the very least it avoided any more breakdowns. And Sophia finally was able to give herself permission to actually enjoy spending time with her new friends, outside of work.

"Come on, Sadie, please."

Sophia rolled her eyes as she grabbed her drink from the bar and turned to face Blake, who had followed her from their table. "Blake, I think you have this handled."

"I definitely do not have this handled," Blake argued. "Last time I asked someone out, I got rejected. I don't know how to recover from that."

"Is this you trying to guilt trip me?" Sophia gasped. They got back to their table just as their food came out, and Sophia immediately dug into her pile of nachos. "You asked me out in the wake of a horrible tragedy, and I'm a complete mess. I really don't think you should let my rejection hinder you so greatly."

But Blake just gave her a pleading look.

Sophia relented. "Fine," she said. "What's your problem?"

"It's not a problem, Sadie, it's a girl," Blake said. "And I'm completely incapable of asking her out on a date."

Sophia rolled her eyes. Blake had been hinting at a new crush for weeks now but refused to tell her who it was. Now, he was nearly panicking. "Does she like you?" Sophia asked pointedly.

"I don't know."

"Does she hate you?"

Blake frowned. "I don't think so."

"Well, that's a start," Sophia sighed. "Look, why don't you just tell her you like her? Be straight up."

"Okay, but what if she doesn't like me and it makes things awkward?"

"You told me straight up that you wanted to go on a date and I rejected you, but here we are. Very much not awkward."

"That's because you're emotionally unavailable."

Sophia gaped at him. "Well, first of all, fuck you," she said. "But also true. You're telling me this person is in fact emotionally available?"

"At least I think so."

Sophia sighed. "Look, Blake, I get it. It's scary asking someone out when you don't know what they'll say, but at the very worst, they say no. And maybe it'll get awkward but all that means is that the relationship wasn't meant to be. But if they say yes? Then who knows? Maybe you'll get to love someone and have someone love you back. Isn't that worth the risk?"

Blake stared at her, a chip pile dangerously high with cheese, beans, and meat frozen halfway to his mouth. "Damn, Sadie, I'm just looking for one date."

She gave him an exasperated look. "You asked for my help."

"Yeah, no, I mean I appreciate it." He stuffed the chip into his mouth. "It just sounds like you've had some experience on the good end of that scale."