Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 22| Only Friends Pt.1

Sophia's P.O.V.

That night, I went to sleep with Bryce's name on my tongue. Repeatedly, I revisited our moment under the pier. I thought back to his luxurious scent on the collar of his shirt, slightly washed away by the rain. I couldn't forget the way I felt.

How could I forget?

I'd never been kissed that way. Despite the hunger that burned in him, he kept his composure and teased me by biting my bottom lip, releasing it from between his teeth slowly - painfully slowly. It was enough to drive me mad, even after I had ran off to my car.

The entire drive back to Nicolas' loft, I regretted the way I had sprinted from the scene. Bryce's puzzled expression was singed into my memory as well, replaying how taken aback he was at my decision to leave abruptly.

Bryce wasn't stupid enough to think I'd sleep with him after one kiss. Or maybe he was. The guy was a mystery that refused to be solved.

I asked a hundred questions when I woke up this morning in Nicolas' spare room. Brooklyn and I didn't have our long-awaited conversation last night. I was too drained when we got back from the carnival and I asked if we could postpone the talk.

Slipping on a pair of extra socks I had packed for the sleepover, I threw on my sweater and shuffled out of the room. The smell of coffee hit my nose two steps out.

"Oh, you're up early," Brooklyn chimed, stirring her coffee with a spoon. "I didn't expect anyone to be up yet."

"What's the time?" I yawned, walking to the kitchen.

"It's eight am."

"I couldn't sleep." I picked up the coffee pot and a red mug, pouring in the coffee. "How about you?"

"Neither could I." She admitted and put the cup to her mouth. "Is it because of the rain?"

I snorted a laugh. "You know where I live, Brooklyn. A little rain isn't going to keep me up at night."

I lived in the part of Los Angeles where the sirens never stopped whaling and the streets never calmed down. I confused gunshots for fireworks, thinking that would relax my fears. We lived in a better neighborhood when my dad was around. But when he left, our comfortable way of living went along with him.

"I know I couldn't get much shut eye because of the rain." She took a sip of her coffee. "What kept you up?"

Bryce.

Bryce's inviting smile, right before he kissed me.
Bryce's eyes, narrowed and forever unreadable.
Bryce's arms, holding me up against the wooden column.

"School." I lied effortlessly, reaching for the sugar jar. "I have a test for my Anthropology class. It's coming up soon."

"You'll be fine." Brooklyn set her coffee down. "You were always good in taking tests when we were growing up. You didn't become the valedictorian on accident. You worked for it. You're very smart, Sophia. That's always been something I liked about you."

"Who are you?" I squinted at her. "Did Nicolas set you up to this? Blink twice if you're being forced to say these things. Blink three times if he's holding someone you love hostage-"

"Sophia." She cried out. "Can we please be adults about this? I'm trying to be nice here. You and Nicolas joke around too much. You're both so childish."

Says the girl who wanted to steal someone else's man. Yup. I'm obviously not the adult. I'm the childish one.

I gulped my coffee to shut myself up. I had a basket full of insults and comebacks saved in my brain. I had to refrain my impulses though. I was here to make peace.