Broken Heart/Broken Mind

-Chapter Forty-seven-

Sophie placed her plate down at the dinner table. Grady and Edaline were already sitting down. She pulled her chair out from the table and joined them.

Just as she started on her first few bites of food, her phone started to ring.

"You can awnser it," Grady told her.

She assumed it was going to be a spam number, but to her surprise, it was Keefe.

"Hey," she awnsered. "What'd you need. I was fixing to start eating."

"Oh," he mumbled. "Never mind. It can wait."

"No, no," she told him. Clearly, something was up. "What's wrong. Did you just need to talk or..."

He was quiet for a moment. "Can I come over for the night. My mom is really drunk and has a bunch of her friends over. When my dad gets home, he's going to be ticked. I already know one of them's gonna drag me into their issues and... I just can't deal with that tonight."

Sophie paused, glancing up at her parents to see if they caught any of that. They must've because they were nodding their heads. Edaline mouthed, 'Of course.'

She focused back on the phone call. "Yeah. Grab what you'll need for tonight and head over. Ok?"

"Thank you," he whispered.

"No problem. I'll see you in a bit." With that, she hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, a knock on the door. It was a tad longer from what she was expecting.

"Come in," Grady called out.

Keefe walked through the door. He was in gray sweatpants and a loose white T-shirt. Probably something that'd he'd be comfortable to sleep in. In his hands was his sketchbook and Mrs. Stinkbottom.

"Hey," Sophie said to him.

He just waved and stood awkwardly in the mudroom until Edaline asked, "Have you eaten yet?" She was met with a headshake. "Go fix yourself a plate then, sweetie."

He did and came to take a seat next to Sophie. Now that he was closer, she could tell he smelled slightly of alcohol and cigarette smoke. Not strong enough that it was him himself doing those things. But enough to that there was definitely a lot in his vicinity.

She decided not to ask. Instead, she changed her question to, "Did you make it out alright?"

Keefe shrugged, taking a hesitant bite of food. He swallowed. "My dad came home as I was trying to leave. As soon as I opened the door, there he was. So what he got to see was me escaping that awful house, five empty bottles of wine, my mom and a few of her friends passed out on the couch and ground, and several packets worth of cigarette butts scattered on the carpet." He hugged himself. "So guess who took the brunt of it?"

Nobody knew what they were supposed to say to that. The only thing Sophie could think to do was pull him closer to her. He stayed and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he pulled back with a sniffle, his eyes were glassy.

After dinner, they all migrated over to the living room. Sophie took her usual spot on the loveseat. When Keefe came over, he didn't cuddle up to her side or lay his head on her shoulder like he usually did when he was upset. He curled up on his side and laid his head in her lap.

It was that bad. She didn't want to imagine what his dad could've said to him. If she did find out, she was probably going to land herself in juvie.

She gently ran her hand up and down his side. When he looked up at her with puppy dog eyes, she couldn't hide her smile at the subtle hint. Her hand traveled up to his head, and she ran her fingers through his hair. Some of his tension, even if just a little bit, eased as she scratched his scalp.

Soon after, her parents had gone into their room, leaving her and Keefe alone. They stayed where they were for a while longer before mutually agreeing it was getting late, and it was probably time to go to bed.

She wasn't in her room long, however, when a weak knock rapped at her door. She said to come in.

Keefe slowly opened the door. "Hey. Would it be alright if I... stayed in here. I don't want to be alone with my thoughts right now."

It took Sophie a moment to piece together what he was trying to ask. "You want to come lay down with me?"

He hesitantly nodded. "If that's ok with you."

She was more than fine with it. Her parents, however, would likely be less than thrilled. They weren't doing anything wrong, per say. She just had a good feeling that they wouldn't be too happy to go wake her up and find her sleeping with her boyfriend in her bed.

But... the way he stood there so vulnerable. She wasn't going to tell him no. She glanced at her parents' door across the hall.

"Shut the door," she told him, pulling back her blanket and waving him over.

He slowly laid down beside her. She rolled over and draped her arm across his waist. He shuffled closer to snuggle his head in the crook of her neck.

"Thank you," Keefe whispered.

"Of course. You definitely deserve some cuddles." She kissed the top of his head and stroked his hair, lulling him to sleep.

Sophie awoke to a presence hovering over her. She blinked the blurriness from her vision. She would've screeched if Keefe hadn't still been asleep in her arms when she recognized Edaline above her.

"I can explain," she started. "He said that he didn't want to be alone, and I couldn't just send him back to the living room after that."

Edaline chuckled and kissed her forehead. "I trust you two. Just couldn't resist seeing your reaction." Her smile was slightly evil. "Although, word for the wise, you might want to get up before your dad does."