She's Not Afraid

"You're A Good Liar"

Sofia Payne crawled slammed her alarm clock down, groaning as it woke her from what had been one of her most peaceful sleeps in the last few months. She rolled over in her tiny bed, glancing at the window in her room and making a dirty look at the sun, as though it could see her. She looked at her alarm clock that read 8:30 am, and shook her head. She threw her blankets off, and stumbled into the little bathroom. Turning on the shower, she glanced in the mirror, breathing in deeply as she stared at herself.

She couldn't even recognize herself. The long blonde hair she had just a few months ago was now cut above her shoulder and died a deep red. Her blue eyes that used to shine were dead, with bags and shadows under them. All her curves gone, seeing as she had lost over 20 pounds. She cursed herself as she stared at her reflection. How had it come to this? She shook the thoughts out of her head as she stripped quickly, jumping into the shower.

She didn't spend long in the shower, in fear of the water bill that would surely come at the end of the month. Quickly she hurried out of the shower and back into her room. Opening her drawers, she dressed quickly. As she searched for a cardigan to put on top of her t-shirt, she cursed as everything in the drawer fell out. She bent down to pick everything up, her breath catching as she picked up the small diamond ring that was buried in the clothes.

She picked the ring up, staring at it. Tears threatened to fall, but she blinked them back. It was November, she thought to herself. She was supposed to be getting married next month. They had the wedding planned within the first month of getting engaged, planning on a winter wedding. Just 5 months ago, she was happy and healthy and engaged, wishing the months away until she would walk down the isle to Harry. The thought of Harry made her heart stop and ache a little bit, but she quickly picked up the clothes and the ring, stuffing everything back in the drawer.

"Sofie!" she heard her roommate call, she looked up to see the short, dark haired girl at her door.

"Cara," Sofia said, "Good morning."

"Sofie Cox!" Cara said, with a grin, "You're going to be late for work, breakfast is on the table... hurry up! The last thing you need is your ass of a boss firing you..."

"Thanks," Sofia said, as she followed Cara out of her small room, to the small kitchen of their flat. She sat at the counter, trying not to look to grossed out by Cara's cooking. She tried so hard, but Sofia was used to eating Dani and Ella's cooking, and she missed it. Although, she tried not to think about it.

"So, I was talking to my brother," Cara said, with a sly smile, as Sofia looked up at her, eyebrows arched.

"Yes?"

"He wants us to meet up with him and a few of his coworkers after work," Cara said, "At the bar right down the street from the café."

"Oh I don't know, Cara..." Sofia moaned, the nerves in her body erupting at the thought of going out. She had to be careful. The thought of them finding her scared her; she didn't want them to find her. Although, she was sure that after being gone for 4 months, they had given up. And she also doubted that they would track her to a small town that had absolutely nothing.

"No! No!" Cara snapped, "Don't do that! You never go out! All you do is go to work, and come home and read. You're no fun! Have you ever been to a club? Do you know what it's like to dance and drink?! We need to get you to have fun! I know you're still upset over everything..."

"Don't," Sofia hissed.

"I'm just saying, that my brother helped you out a lot. He was there at the hospital with you, and he set you up with me didn't he? Got you a great roommate and apartment? Not to mention, he helped you look for a job! The least you could do is agree to get drinks with him, he asks about you all the time..."

"He's very sweet," Sofia said quietly.

"And he fancies you! I think dating someone would be just the thing to snap you out of this funk..." Cara said, smiling widely.

"This isn't something you just snap out of, Cara..." Sofia said, harshness in her voice.

"Oh babe," Cara said, taking her hand, "I know. I didn't mean it like that. I know what happened was awful. And I know it would help if you had friends and family, but you don't. You just have me. And I just think that you could use a few more people in your life."

Sofia tried to bite her lip to keep herself from snapping at Cara. The amount of irony that had just come from her mouth made Sofia sick. The fact that she thought Sofia didn't have fun, or had never been to a club. Sofia wanted to laugh in her face. A part of her wanted to show her exactly how much fun she could have, but that wasn't part of her life now.

And how Cara thought she had no friends or family, no one looking out for her, that she was alone. Sofia felt sick knowing that Cara thought all of this because of the lies she had told. If only Cara knew what exactly Sofia had left behind when she had come here. If only Cara knew exactly how much family she had, and how they were probably still worried sick and upset, not to mention angry. Sofia made herself sick.

"You're probably right," Sofia croaked out, "I do need to get more of a social life, I suppose,"

"That's the spirit!" Cara cried, smiling widely, "I knew I could get you to agree. Topher will be so thrilled! I call him and tell him we will meet him there around eight?"

"Yes, that sounds good," Sofia said, trying not to scoff at the idea of going to a bar that early.

"You should be off to work," Cara said, glancing at the clock.

"You're right," Sofia said, as she stood up, and walked to the door. She put on her coat, and slipped on a pair of flats.

"Have a good day," Cara called, as Sofia opened the door to leave.

"You too!" Sofia called back, as she walked out of the flat and out into the world.



***


The bar was barely crowded, as Sofia sat at the table quietly with Cara and her brother Topher and a few of his coworkers. She glanced at the clock bored, as she saw that it read 9:45. She sighed, staring at her drink. Topher had order her a Cosmo. She wasn't sure what was in it, but she wished more then anything that it was a shot of tequila. Glancing around, she realized that this group of people probably wasn't the type to do shots.

"So, Sofie," one of Topher's co-workers said, "What do you do?"

"I'm a waitress," Sofia answer quietly, "At a café down the street."

"I see," he said, judgment in his voice, as he glanced at her, "And how did you meet Cara and Topher? Were they customers?"

"Erm, no," Sofia said, "Actually..."

"She was my patient," Topher said, "She came into the hospital one night, and we just clicked. Right, Sofie?"

"Yup," Sofia said, with a smile, "He took good care of me. And then he introduced me to Cara."

"Oh," the co-worker, "So how long have you been here?"

"About 4 months," Sofia said, squirming a bit in her seat.

"And you live with Cara?" he asked

"Yes," Cara said, smiling, and grabbing Sofia's hand, "We've become very good friends, and she's a lovely roommate. I'm so glad my brother came across her." Sofia smiled back at Cara, whom she had grown fond of over the last 4 months.

"So where are you from?" the co-worker asked

"Um, about an hour and half North, small town, you wouldn't know it," Sofia said, looking down.

"What brought you here?" he asked, Sofia looked up, staring at him, as she went pale.

"That's enough," Topher said, "What is this, the inquisition?" He was scowling at his co-worker, and Sofia felt an overwhelmingly grateful.

"I'm just trying to get to know the girl that you've been telling us about for the last few months," the co-worker said shrugging. Sofia looked up at Topher, who was blushing. She looked back down at her drink, picking it up and swallowing it whole.

"If you'll excuse me," Sofia said, "I think I'll get another drink."

"I'll come with you," Topher said, as he helped her off the barstool. The two walked to the bar, where Sofia ordered a vodka tonic, and stared at the bar.

"I'm sorry about that," Topher said, gently.

"It's okay," Sofia said, "They just want to know how a successful doctor ended up with a loser waitress..."

"You're not a loser," Topher said, "Besides we've talked about this, you could become a doctor too. You should really think about University." Sofia laughed quietly at the idea of her going to University.

"Thank you," she said quietly to the bar tender that handed her drink, and she took a sip.

"You look incredible tonight," Topher said, looking down at her. Sofia glanced at her outfit. She was wearing jeans and a black loose top. She knew that she didn't look anything close to incredible, and if she wanted she could've really knocked his socks off. But she also knew that in his world, the outfit she was wearing was exactly what she was expected to wear. Glancing around the high-class bar, she noticed businessmen and women, all in suits and casual wear. They were covered head to toe. None were wearing dresses or t-shirts. No one was dancing; they were all talking quietly among themselves, sipping on their drinks.

"Thanks," Sofia said, as she looked back at him, taking a sip of her own drink.

"You look bored," Topher said.

"This just isn't my scene," Sofia said.

"Yes," Topher said, nodding his head, "I picked that up. You don't strike me as someone who goes to bars." Sofia took a deep breath in order to stop herself from laughing.

"I guess not," she said, "But it's a nice place."

"Well, maybe you could get used to," Topher said, "It must be nice to get out of the flat. And we talked about this, getting out and interacting will help with ..."

"I know!" Sofia said quickly, interrupting him, and quickly swallowing a lot of her drink.

"I'm sorry," Topher apologized, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay," Sofia said, "It's not your fault."

"I really love that I met you," Topher said, "I just wish it had been in a different way..."

"Me too.." Sofia whispered, as she stared down at the bar. She wished he would just stop talking. She didn't want to talk about how they met. She didn't want to talk about the hospital, or what had happened. She wanted to forget it. She wanted to forget everything. That's why she was here, to move on. She wanted to let go everything go. She wanted to leave the past in the past, and to pretend that that part of her life never existed.

"Did you ever tell him?" Topher asked, Sofia glanced up at him, her eyes wide in surprise.

"I guess not," Topher said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked, it's none of my business..."

"It's okay, I know you're just trying to help," Sofia said.

"It's just sad you don't have any family left," Topher said, "I can't imagine someone going through that alone. It would've been nice to have someone there with you... shame you're an only child."

"Yes," Sofia agreed, as she glanced at the clock.

"You're looking at the clock again," Topher said, "Am I that boring? Or are you just upset at the subject matter?"

"Truthfully," Sofia said, "I'm just tired, that's all. I worked a double today, and my feet hurt."

"Yeah, that would do it," Topher said, "I can walk you home if you want?"

"No, no," Sofia said, shaking her head, "I can get home alright by myself, just tell Cara for me?"

"Yes, of course," Topher said

"Great," Sofia said, finishing her drink.

"Let me walk you out," Topher said, and Sofia agreed as they walked towards the front of the bar. As they got to the door, Topher helped Sofia put on her coat, and they stepped out into the night air.

"It's cold, and dark," Topher said, "Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?"

"No, no," Sofia said, glancing at a group of men at the end of the street. She noticed the black car parked on the street, and her heart tightened as she recognized it. She shook the thought out of her head. Of course it's not one of theirs, they would have no reason to be here. Plenty of people have that car. She did stare at the group of men harder, seeing if she could recognize any of them, but she didn't. She sighed in relief.

"Maybe you should get a cab," Topher said, "I really just don't feel comfortable with you walking. You're so little, you couldn't possibly protect yourself."

"I'll be okay," Sofia said, trying not to look too insulted. He doesn't know, she reminded herself, "Besides I can't afford a cab right now."

"I would pay," Topher said.

"No, it's okay," Sofia said, hugging him, "Thank you for tonight," But her eyes went past him as she noticed someone come out of the back door. Her eyes went wide, and she turned fast, hoping to God it wasn't whom she thought it was.

"I had fun," she said quickly.

"You're a good liar," Topher said, "I almost believed that." Sofia laughed, looking up at him.

"I should go," she said, and he nodded, headed back towards the front door. Sofia quickly turned, walking fast down the street and trying to convince herself that her eyes were just playing tricks on her. There was no one it was him, what would he even be doing here?

"You're just being paranoid," Sofia whispered to herself as she walked faster.


***


Louis Tomlinson was coming out of a bar in some middle of nowhere town. He was annoyed and tired, he just wanted to go home to his wife, and it didn't help that Liam had chosen to send him out here with Danny. Not that Danny wasn't a good guy, but Louis would have preferred any of the other boys.

"That was fast," Danny said.

"I can be very convincing when I want," Louis said.

"So you threatened him?" Danny asked

"And everyone he knows," Louis said, with a cocky grin, "Let's get going, it's going to be a long ride home."

"Okay," Danny said, following Louis to the car. Suddenly a laugh rang out that made both of the boys stop in their tracks.

"Did you hear that?" Louis said, glancing at Danny.

"Yeah," Danny said, looking around. Louis was doing the same.

"It sounded like..." Danny started

"Sofia," Louis said, his eyes narrowing on a girl walking down the street. Danny followed his eyes.

"There's no way..." Danny said.

"She's too small, and her hair is dark and short," Louis said, sighing sadly, "I guess I was just being hopeful. Get in the car." Danny nodded, getting into the car. Louis turned the car in, and pulled of the parking spot. He turned the car and pulled down the street.

"It's strange we still hear her laugh..." Danny said, glancing out the window.

"Everything about what happened is strange," Louis said, sighing again. He turned a corner, and noticed the girl he had just seen still walking.

"Who's stupid enough to let their girl walk home alone?" Danny said, as they drove past her. Louis just shrugged. Louis glanced in the rear view mirror at the girl, just as she looked up at the sky. His breath stopped as he saw her eyes. He would know those eyes anywhere. He watched as she turned and walked up the steps to a flat, letting herself in.

"Louis?" Danny questioned, as the car came to a stop in the middle of the street, "What's the matter?" he asked, glancing around and pulling a gun out.

"Call Liam," Louis said, as he turned the car around, "Tell him we're staying for a few more days."

"What?" Danny hissed, "Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure I just saw his sister go into that flat," Louis said, pointing to the flat behind him, "But don't tell him that part..."