A Disaster in Paradise

Chapter 24

Jay

Two days. Sophia has been in the ICU for two days. It's driving me insane how one person can just ruin a life in a matter of minutes. I know she will pull through. She has too.

"Jay." I'm awoken from my state if sleep, Mr. Keller sitiing next to me in the chair.

"Mr. Keller, hi." All I want to do is sleep. I want things to go back to normal, where Sophia and I were safe.

"Jay, it's Shawn, please." He pats my shoulder, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Sorry, Shawn." Is all I reply.

"Jay.." He trails off, trying to find the words. "How are you holding up? You both are so close to each other, I want to make sure you are okay." The words fall from his mouth with sincerity.

"Honestly, no. I'm not okay. This is the second time I've found her. The first time I did, we were just friends. Now, we're more than friends. I just never thought that I would find her like this... twice. The first time she was very stubborn. But now, this is worse. She was brutally beaten and raped, and... I don't know if she will recover from this. I'm scared for her." A tears falls from my eye, but I wipe it away in a matter of seconds.

"Jay, I know how scared you are. I know how much you care for her. Do you remember the first night you came over after school with Sophia? I knew right then and there you wouldn't be just friends forever. Don't blame yourself. We just need to find out what to do when we go back to Arizona."

The memory of the first time I met her parents flashes before my eyes.

The sound of the door pulls me from my thoughts and a tall man in a suite stands in front of me.

"Hello Mr. Keller." I hold out my hand and he shakes it firmly.

"You must be Jay." He smiles blankly. "Sophia just got home, she is upstairs changing, so you can take a seat in the kitchen." He opens the door and I step past him and slip off my basketball. shoes, and walk through the entrance way and make my way into the kitchen and take a seat on the table.

I take out my folder out of my back pack along with my Bio Med text book and begin to work on the research assignment Sophia and I have to present to the class next week.

"You must be Jay!" A light voice inquires, checking the oven and the smell of roast fills the kitchen.

I put my pencil down and walk over to Mrs. Keller, and hold out my hand. "Jay Dawson. You must be Mrs. Keller."

She smiles politely, and shakes my hand. "Yes, Sophia has said so much about you. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I just came from basketball practice. I figured I would grab a bite to eat on the way home." I take a seat on the stool at the island.

"Nonsense, dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes. You can eat with us." She smiles, returning back to the stove, mixing something together and turning off the burner.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it. My parents have to work late tonight, and we don't usually get home cooked meals, so this will be great." I pack my book bag back up and stick it in the entryway by my shoes.

"So Jay, where do your parents work? I know there is a lot of jobs that work late, but I'm just curious to see who my daughter is dating." She smiles, and turns her stool to me.