Sophie dropped her bag down in the mudroom. She wiped at her puffy eyes.
Her and Edaline had just gotten home from the hospital. They had been planning to leave several hours earlier, but Sophie couldn't make herself break away.
She spent longer than she'd like to admit crying and asking the nurses - no begging - for him to be ok. They only left once visiting hours were over. At eight PM. She still hadn't been able to pull it together.
Grady turned around from where he was cooking spaghetti at the stove. The look in his eyes was gentle. He waved her over.
She stumbled over into his arms before breaking down all over again. Grady squeezed her tighter.
She couldn't keep it to herself anymore. Guilt had been clawing at her since Edaline had called her that afternoon.
"It's my fault!" She finally cried.
"Hey," he whispered. "This isn't your fault. You couldn't have known this would happen."
"But it is," she insisted.
She explained to him what had happened the night before at the movies. How she shouldn't insisted further he go see someone.
"He promised me he was ok," she finished it off with. "I shouldn't have listened."
Grady took her by the shoulders, pulling away to look her in the eyes. "You can't control what he does. You tried your best to help him. He thought he was ok. No one is at fault here." He tucked her head underneath his chin. "Ok?"
She nodded.
"I'm going to go to bed already," Sophie decided.
"Alright, Kiddo," he murmured and kissed her forehead. "Will you be alright?"
She shrugged, not trusting her voice.
"I know you love him, and you're worried about him," Grady whispered, causing Sophie to freeze. "But he's a fighter. So don't sell him short just yet. Give him time.
"Ok," she choked out.
"Good night. I love you, "
She squeezed him tighter. "I love you too."
Sophie went to her room. She changed into her pajamas and laid down, but she couldn't sleep.
One thing Grady had said kept bouncing in her head. 'I know you love him.'
Love.
Was that the warm, tingly feeling she got whenever her and Keefe were together? Was that why she felt so much heartache seeing him lying in that bed.
Sophie loved Keefe. Everything clicked into place. It all made sense now.
But it made the thought of possibly losing him worse. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She realized just how easily the people she cared about could be gone.
She crawled out of bed and knocked on her parents' door. She was told to come in. She peeked her head through the door.
"Can I sleep in here tonight?"
"Yeah," Edaline murmured. "Come here."
Her parents made enough room for her to squeeze between them on the bed. Edaline rubbed her back to calm her down. Soon, she was able to doze off.
YOU ARE READING
Broken Heart/Broken Mind
Random(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...
