Cinderella in Reverse

Twenty Eight - All Grown Up

"Sophia! Hurry up!" Theo yelled.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I hollered back, grabbing my heels and my purse. It was finally time to head out to the company dinner, one month later. I had burst through the doors of the Callahan mansion after I missed the train, and I had to quickly get dressed.

In a plain grey dress, I bolted into the foyer and ran into Theo. I hadn't seen him in so long, and it was incredibly evident that he grew a lot taller. Teenagers.

"Theo," I breathed. "Are you taller than me?"

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, Soph, we don't have time-"

"But I'm serious. I'm in like five-inch heels and I'm looking up at you!" I interrupted, awestruck. "How old are you again?"

He shook his head. "I'm fourteen, now let's g-"

"OH MY GOD!" I gushed, grabbing his cheeks. "You're all grown up!"

"Holy moly, I'm fourteen - I've hit puberty!" Theo waved his arms in the air in fake excitement and enthusiasm, pulling my hands away. "Great, now let's go." He deadpanned, towing me towards the car.

~~~

Theo explained to me exactly what was going on with the company on the way to the venue. What it was, how it operated, etc. He was pretty bright for a fourteen year old.

The company was divided into 3 units - the Criminal law division, the Civil law division and the Family law division. There was a president, but below him were the heads of each unit of the company. Steven and my dad were one of them.

Then, Theo and I started arguing about my grammatical abilities, and then he had the audacity to start lecturing me about my manner!

"Ugh, you're such a man." Theo said, rolling his eyes.

"Ugh, you sound like your brother!" I groaned. "You two need to loosen up!"

"Why don't you tell him to loosen up!" he yelled back.

I bit my lip. "Finn and I don't really talk anymore." It was true. After New Year's, we've grown even further apart than ever before. He finished his undergraduate degrees and started going to the School of Medicine. So I really hadn't talked to him in a long time.

"I'm sorry," Theo mumbled. Did he just- "Yeah, I just apologised. I didn't really mean what I said. About Finn and you, and-"

I shook my head and shot him a small smile as we drove along the coastline. "I used to have a crush on him in high school, but that's long gone. Besides, Finn and I are complete opposites. I hate people like him."

Theo listened intently. "He just doesn't care about anything but himself." I continued.

"That's not true," he replied. "Finn has feelings. He just doesn't like to show them. He cares a lot about his family and friends, and believe it or not, Sophia, he cares a lot about you too." I gulped. This couldn't be true at all. I refused to believe it. If he really didn't like expressing his feelings, then why would he replace his so called 'feelings' towards me, with hate?

"He cares about you more than you think, Soph." Theo whispered. "Understand that."

~~~

"Holy shit," I breathed, stepping inside the manor. "This place is massive."

I wasn't lying. This venue made the Callahan's house look like a shed. It was like a damn castle.

Theo's arm hitting mine jolted me out of my daydream. "No swearing, burping, laughing hysterically, and-"

"No being myself whatsoever." I deadpanned. "Got it."

We walked through the crowd of the incredibly wealthy and into the dining hall. How fancy.

"We're always seated at the front, because Dad is the president's favourite."

"That's awesome!" I gushed. "It's like getting front-row seats to a concert!"

Theo shot me a glare. "Trust me, it's not fun. We always have to speak to his daughter. She only ever talks to Finn, which makes our job difficult." Well this is news to my ears. "I think she's always had a crush on him." Hold up. Little Callahan say whaaatt???

"Really?" My breath quickened. "Is she pretty?"

"Flawless."

My face fell. "Is it bad that I hoped she was ugly?"

He shook his head and shot me a small smile. "She's got an ugly personality." That got my hopes up. "But she's smart, so it doesn't matter." Ouch.

"Do you ever talk to the President?" I asked.

Theo shook his head and looked down at his shoes. "He's more interested in Finn, just like everyone else."

I could see the neglect in his sad eyes. As an only child, I didn't realise how hard it must have been being the second (and youngest child). I realised that Finn always got the praise for everything he did, whereas his brother stood behind him in the darkness of his spotlight. It must have been really hard for Theo to live this way.

Moments later, my dad, Steven, Ashley and some other guy dressed in a suit, approached us with big smiles on their faces.

Theo must have seen my confused face, and whispered. "That's the president. Act normal."

Let's do this.

A/N: ooooOoOoOoOoooooOooooOOOOOOOOOOOOh!!!! We're sinking deeper and deeper into the drama now!!!!!!!!! What will happen next?

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schoolgirlcrush xx