The One Night Stand Turns Out To Be My Professor

102

102

Sophia’s POV

As I pushed open the door to my apartment, the familiar scent of home hit me instantly—Jenny’s fruity candles, the faint scent of her perfume lingering in the air, and the textbooks scattered around the living room table. Our school exams was almost here so we had pulled an all nighter. After a long day of lectures, all I wanted to do was sink into the couch and let my brain rest. But as soon as I stepped in, I noticed something unusual.

“Dad?” I blinked, my heart skipping a beat as I saw my father sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through a magazine. He looked up with a smile, his familiar face warm and comforting, but I could feel the anxiety bubbling in my chest.

“Sophia!” he said, getting up from the chair to give me a hug. His arms wrapped around me, and for a second, I relaxed, leaning into the embrace. But then, the reminder of who I was now—the secrets I had to keep—crept in, making it hard to fully enjoy the moment.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, pulling back and giving him a curious look. It wasn’t like him to drop by unannounced, especially in the middle of the week.

“Thought I’d surprise my little girl,” he said, ruffling my hair like he used to when I was a kid. “I had some business in town and figured I’d stop by to check on you and Jenny. How’s school going?”

I forced a smile, trying to act normal. “Oh, you know, same old, same old. Lots of reading, lots of lectures. Jenny’s at the library right now, but she should be back soon.”

My dad nodded, his eyes scanning the apartment. It wasn’t like I had anything to hide, but there was this constant fear now—this feeling that somehow he’d notice something was different. I wasn’t the human girl he used to know anymore. I was… something else.

“How’s Mom?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from myself.

“She’s good, busy with your siblings as always,” he said with a chuckle. “She misses you, though. We both do. You should come home for the weekend sometime. The twins have been asking about you too. Simon swears he’s taller than you now.”

I laughed, picturing my younger brother standing on his tiptoes to try and prove he was taller than me. “Oh, really? I’ll have to come home and challenge him, then.”

“You better,” my dad said with a grin, leaning back in his chair. He glanced around the room again, his gaze landing on a picture of Jenny and me that was stuck to the fridge. “It’s been a while since we’ve had the whole family together. We should plan something soon.”

I nodded, swallowing down the lump that was forming in my throat. Family. I missed them more than anything, but how could I go home and act like everything was normal? They’d notice. They’d notice the little things—how I eat more than I used to, how I wasn’t the same.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice a little quieter. “That sounds nice.”

My dad raised an eyebrow, studying me for a moment. “You okay, kiddo? You seem… off.”

Crap. I forced another smile, trying to hide the panic that was building inside me. “I’m fine, just tired. It’s been a long day.”

He didn’t seem fully convinced, but he let it go, thank God. “Well, maybe I can cheer you up. How about we order in? Pizza? Chinese? Whatever you want.”

“Pizza sounds good,” I said quickly, relieved at the change in topic. “You always know how to make things better, Dad.”

“Of course I do,” he said, standing up and pulling out his phone. “I’m your dad, it’s in the job description.”