Healing Sophie (18+) - RH//DDLG

1 - Broken Lungs & Cigarettes

THE MORNING SUN flickered faintly through pink sheer curtains, teasing Sophie's pale, freckled face. Her nose crinkled up and she squeezed her eyes shut tight, desperately clinging to sleep.

The door creaked open but she ignored it.

"Soph," someone whispered, followed by a gentle shake of Sophie's shoulder. "We're going to be late for orientation."

Sophie whimpered and rolled to her other side to block out the voice. Just as she began to drift back into a peaceful slumber, something warm and wet brushed against her cheek.

Sophie yelped and shot up onto her knees, shooting her best friend Finn a glare.

"Finn! Did you just lick me?" Finn grinned in reply and Sophia lifted her shirt to wipe away the saliva. Finn let out a low groan. Sophie's brows furrowed and she tilted her head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just get ready."

Sophie hopped out of bed and ran to her en-suite bathroom. Her father was always on work trips, leaving her with the master bedroom. It was a hollow consolation, but at least it fit her abundance of clothing.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was the last day in the home she grew up in before Finn and her left for college. What if people didn't like the shy girl staring back at her?

She had always spent more time with sheet music and instruments than she did with living beings. Music was safer. More reliable. It wouldn't ever leave her.

She had Finn, though. And he was better than any music.

Sophie and Finn had been best friends since the first grade when he had beaten up a boy for putting watermelon bubblegum in her hair. He was everything Sophie wasn't; loud, chaotic, brave. His father was in the army, leaving him with just his mother and Sophie had spent nearly every day of her childhood at their house. It was the only place that felt like home.

A knock halted Sophie's thoughts.

"You better be getting ready in there," Finn called out.

Sophie squeaked, rushing to finish. She stepped back into the bedroom, adorned in a black pleated skirt, a white crop top and a baby pink cardigan that slipped off of her shoulder. Pink Vans, light make-up, and soft curls in her hair completed the look. She adored how warm and happy the color pink always felt. It made her feel safe from all the darkness in the world.

Finn was sprawled on Sophie's bed, head hanging off the edge in boredom. She giggled and poked him in the stomach. Finn hopped to his feet and grinned down at her. "Ready, Soph?"

Sophie glanced around the room once more. The broken bedframe. The old pictures that hung above it. Posters from when she was six.

How do you say goodbye to a place that never really felt like home?

She thought leaving would hurt more.

"I'm ready."

Sophie's eyes widened in fear as the car pulled up to Stonewall University. It was a fortress. She had never felt so small and insignificant.

Finn glanced at Sophie and sild a hand over hers, calming her nerves.

"Hey," he murmured. "It'll be okay. We've got this."

His words calmed her racing heart and she took in the view around her. It was late summer and the trees were painted in soft reds and oranges. She loved fall. It was the only time the world felt in sync with her brain.