𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐌, sokeefe

Chapter One

I'm not fine!

Those were the words Sophie felt like screaming at anyone who asked.

She couldn't, obviously.

Apparently, her feelings and happiness were expendable as long as she did a good enough  job being the Moonlark—everyone had made that more than enough clear.

Well—except him.

The boy who understood her.

The boy who left her.

The boy who she missed more than she wanted to admit.

More than she could admit without hating herself.

"Sophie?" Edaline poked her head into the room as Sophie pinched herself yet again. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

The word yes formed on Sophie's lips—but at the last second, it came out as a whispered "no."

Edaline sat at the edge of her bed. "Mind elaborating?"

Sophie twisted her pillow. "The thing is—I'm not okay. And I'm tired of pretending that I am."

And the one person who understood that is gone.

Edaline nodded. Sophie could see her turquoise eyes trying to grasp this. "Any particular reason you're telling me this now?"

Sophie ordered her eyes to stay far away from the letter she'd left slightly crumpled next to her bed before pulling the covers over her head...

...and screaming her heart out.

So much pressure to make the right decision.

So much judgement.

She was sick. Of. It.

"I'm guessing," she said to Edaline, "that this is the part where you tell me you understand and I don't need to talk to you if I don't want to."

In truth, she'd never really wanted to be left alone. She wanted someone by her side who could make her laugh and cry and let her talk when she most needed it.

"That's not what I was going to say," Edaline promised, tucking back a tendril of her amber colored hair. "The point is, I know you're dealing with a lot right now." She cast a pointed glance at the letter beside Sophie's bed. "But I hope you know that you can always open up to me. Or tell me anything. Or—"

"I get the point," Sophie said tiredly. She knew her adoptive mother was trying. She was just...

Really mad.

At Keefe for leaving.

At the world for being so unfair.

At everyone for not understanding she never wanted the role she'd been forced to step into.

She knew none of that was Edaline's fault. But it was easier to get mad or be snappy than to look inside yourself—or, as Ro would call it, " keep right on being oblivious."

She still hadn't figured out the ogre princess's meaning with the excessive use of that term.

But, she thought, tugging on her eylashes, anger often switched on like a defense mechanism. Something to give you the excuse you wanted, to stop you from facing the harder truths.

"Okay," Edaline said finally. "I can see you're having some deep thoughts right now. But I want you to know you can tell me anything, whatever this was about."

Sophie took a deep breath. "I will. I can. Thank you."

She could, technically—but maybe she needed time to look inside herself first.

Understand herself before letting anyone else try to.

And despite all the larger problems they were facing, she felt that the crumpled piece of paper lying by her bed was the key to start figuring it out.

It'll be better for everyone that way. You'll see.

Maybe it was.

Sophie felt a smile curl her lips. Even when he was gone, Keefe had found a way to help her more than anyone else ever could.

Thank you, Keefe.

A/N: Hii! So I'm starting this fanfic in the hopes that it'll be better than my last one. What do y'all think of it so far?

Also—I swear I won't  make Sophie and Keefe get into a huge fight or anything...

Hehe....