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Sophie heard the door to her room opening before she felt a pair of familiar warm arms wound around her. "How are you doing, baby?" Andrew asked softly as he pulled his girlfriend to his chest and Sophie closed her eyes, sinking into the warmth of his embrace.
"I feel like crap," she admitted. "It's the shittiest day ever."
Andrew hugged her tighter, squeezing her in his arms before whispering, "don't say that. I can count other shitty days and this wouldn't be the shittiest."
"You're right," she said. "Today isn't the shittiest day. It's the second shittiest day. The first would be when Dad died."
And just like that the atmosphere changed, so fast and quick that Andrew was momentarily thrown off. Then he sighed before loosening his arms around Sophie. "Soph, you've got to stop doing this."
She turned around so that she was facing her boyfriend. "Doing what?"
"You're acting like the victim," he said, his voice laced with concern. "You're not the victim, Soph. Stop trying to be one."
"Excuse me?" she barked. "How am I trying to act like the victim?"
"Your Dad died. He died weeks ago, Sophie. And you've just stopped living. Just because one bad thing happens it doesn't mean that you have to stop living or believing. I told you I wanted my Sophie back. I still don't have her."
Anger that swelled within the depths of her chest came bursting out and she scrambled away from Andrew, jumping off the bed and glaring daggers at him, her piercing gaze making his eyebrows shoot up as a challenge.
"What do you want me to say?" Sophie exclaimed, letting out a breathless sigh afterward. "That I'm okay? That I've come to terms with Dad's death? Is that what you want? Do you want me to lie?"
Andrew sighed. He seemed to be doing a lot of that these past few weeks. He scrambled forward until he was sitting at the edge of the bed. He reached out for her and dragged her close, making her stand between his legs as he peered up at her with that philosophical expression he loved to carry around with him when he was not trying to be funny or foolish.
He held her by her arms. "Baby," he called out to her. "Look at me. Please."
Hesitantly Sophie brought her gaze to his and all her anger washed out immediately.
"I know you're hurting," he said softly, a frown slotting itself on his face. "You know you're hurting, too. But you don't know how to deal with that. You don't know how you feel and you're still figuring it out. I get that, Soph. But I know you and I know you're stalling." Andrew paused for a few moments, letting the words he just uttered sink in. "Your father died. You don't know whether to be sad or angry. And you need time to figure that out. But you're trying too hard, Soph. You're so intent, so invested in finding out what it is that you feel that you actually can't find it. You need to breathe, Soph. Relax and think about your dad."
Sophie stared at him. They had been dating for four years now and still Sophie couldn't understand how Andrew did it. How did he know her so much? It wasn't the big details he remembered - Andrew forgot them easily. It was the small, tiny little details about her that caught his attention and she wondered why. Once, over three weeks ago before her father's demise, Sophie had been so many big things for which everyone looked up to. But Andrew didn't care if Sophie dyed her hair blonde or black or brown. He didn't care if she wore this or she wore that. He didn't care if she was on the cheerleading squad or not. He didn't care about those petty things. Yes, there were materialistic things about Sophie that attracted Andrew, like for example her beauty, but that's not what made him stay with her for this long. He loved Sophie. He loves her. And nothing would ever change that.
"Sam was being a real bitch," Sophie whispered at last, her bottom lip trembling before she caught it in the grip of her teeth to prevent any unnecessary emotions.
Andrew drew his arms around her and pulled her close so that she was now sitting on his lap. Her hair tickled his face as she lay her head on top of his. "What did she say?"
"She didn't say anything that bad..." Sophie said softly.
"Really? You're defending her after she just got you suspended?"
"She didn't get me suspended. I did that by myself."
"She definitely helped you," he snorted, angry.
"I was the one who initiated the fight."
Andrew was silent for a while before he lifted his hand up to Sophie's face and cupped her cheek. "Baby," he whispered, "are you alright?"
And just like that Sophie broke. She dropped into Andrew's embrace, let him hug her as the tears that had welled in her eyes flowed down her face in an ugly manner as unattractive sounds were emitted from her mouth.
"No," she choked on a sob. "I'm not" - sob - "okay" - sob - "I haven't been" - sob - "okay in a while."
Andrew clutched his girlfriend tight against him, hoping that the warmth of his body and his arms around her could shield her from the dangers that always lurked in the shadow. And even though this was a sad moment for Sophie, Andrew felt the slightest bit pleased because Sophie was beginning to feel, because his Sophie was coming back to him.
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A/N: Sophie is ranking #2 in Short Story so lovelies, expect another update in a few hours! Gosh, how did we even get to #2 IN SHORT STORY?
