It was nearly nine o'clock when the car finally got into town. Sophie was grateful. The drive back from Keefe's baseball game was close to two hours. He was close to dozing off on the window beside her. It was a double header, and he was exhausted.
They pulled into his empty driveway. He said his goodbyes and grabbed his bags, but when he went to go inside, it was locked.
He came back up to the car window, knocking on it. "The door is locked and the spare key is gone. What do I do?"
Grady looked around the street. "Here, get back into the car. Try calling your parents to see where they are. We'll just take you home until we can figure out what to do."
He climbed back into the vehicle. The phone rang several times, but nobody would answer. He sighed.
"No go?" Sophie asked. He nodded.
"Try calling Ro," Edaline suggested.
He did. She, thankfully, answered the phone.
"Hey, Squirt. How'd the game go."
"It went good, we won. But... when will mom and dad be home?"
"They left already?" She muttered. "They should be back Tuesday, but you know how they are. I'll be taking a few days off to come over and watch you until they're back. Bo just said I needed to finish this night shift first."
"Oh... when will you be off your shift?"
"Probably around eight."
"Oh," Keefe murmured. "You can't come get me? The spare key isn't there. I'm at Foster's, right now."
Ro hissed a curse under her breath. "I... can't come get you. Bo won't let me leave while we're busy. Will you be ok there for tonight?
"Umm..." He looked at Grady and Edaline.
Edaline nodded. Grady gestured for the phone. Keefe handed it over, and Grady paced the room while talking to Ro.
Sophie took Keefe's bag and set it by the couch.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
"What are you apologizing for?" She sat down beside him.
"My parents being dirtbags."
"You act like that's your fault."
"No, but it's still causing you trouble. I'm sure you guys want to go to bed already."
"And I'm sure you want to go to bed as well." Sophie scooted closer to him. "You need to realize you can't control your parents."
He rested his head in his hands with a groan.
Grady came over. "Alright, Keefe. I'm gonna grab you something to change into so you can go take a shower. You'll stay here tonight, and by tomorrow, Ro will be back at your house."
Keefe nodded. Grady went down the hall. He returned with a small stack of clothing.
Sophie went to get ready for bed. When she came back out to the living room, Keefe was on the couch. His hair was wet, and he was in Grady's clothes that were too big for him.
She sat next to him and pulled him into a hug. He sank into it. She could've sworn she heard a sniffle.
Sophie knew it was a long shot, but she had to ask, "Do you want to talk about it?"
He was quiet for several seconds, which surprised her when he whispered, "Why don't they care?"
As much as he tried to pretend his parents not caring didn't matter to him, she had known him for too long.
"I'm not sure. For one thing, they're crazy for not caring about their child. For another, they're crazy because you're you, and you're amazing."
She adjusted her arms as he pulled his knees onto the couch. She grabbed the blanket to wrap him with it.
When she saw the shiny tears glistening in his eyes, she held him tighter. They spilled over.
After a half hour, the sniffles came to a stop. Sophie looked down to find him, mostly, sound asleep. He still had tears tracks on his face, but his features were more relaxed.
She didn't want to wake him, so she had resigned herself to sleeping with the lights on. That was until Edaline came into the room. She flicked off the lights, draped a blanket over her, and kissed her cheek.
Soon, Sophie was asleep, Keefe's snores helping her drift off.
YOU ARE READING
Broken Heart/Broken Mind
Sonstiges(Human AU) Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay. As the years pass, they wind up being in the same c...
