Until the End of Time | A Team Foster-Keefe story

:: Chapter Three ::

Chapter Three

Sophie picked the journal off the floor before sending an annoyed look at her imp. "Seriously, Iggy, I let you out of your cage to breath, not to knock all my things on the floor." She sighed, placing the journal onto her desk and letting the imp slide its way onto her hand. She walked over to her bed and placed it there, ignoring the rancid smell. 

A knock sounded at the door and she turned her head to see Edaline standing in the doorway. "You have a guest here," Edaline told her, smiling. 

"Who?" Sophie asked, confused. She hadn't set any plans with her friends, she actually hadn't talked to any of them since they all opened their matchmaking scrolls. That had been a fun day, it was the first time in a while all her friends sat in one place, but afterwards it felt awkward for her to call them back. The closest to talking to one of them was when Dex called her and invited her over to hang out, but she had work that day and couldn't make it. 

"It's Keefe," Edaline said, smiling. "I haven't seen him around and took the initiative to invite him over." 

"Mom!" Sophie's eyes widened. 

"Don't give me that 'Mom,' Sophie." Edaline rolled her eyes and moved to sit next to Sophie. She took Iggy out of Sophie's hands and placed him back in his cage before taking a seat next to Sophie on her bed. "I'm not stupid, Sophie. I see the way you stare at him when he talks. How you look at him like he holds all the answers to the universe. I know most of the world thinks you're with Fitz, but I also see the way you look at him. I see the loving eyes of a friend, not the passionate eyes of a lover." 

"Mom-"

"You don't need someone to tell you any of this, you already know," Edaline continued. "I'm not going to force you to take any leaps just yet. I'm not going to force you to start anything with him, it's not my place and I doubt you want to start a relationship knowing you had to rely on others to start it. You need to start it yourself, I simply invited your friend over and he's waiting downstairs. Go get him." 

Sophie stared at Edaline's back as she walked away. Her mind buzzed at the thought that her parents, or at least Edaline, noticed the way she acted with Keefe. She thought she hid her liking him well, but apparently she could only hide so much. She decided to quickly change into something more comfortable before finding her way downstairs where Edaline was feeding Keefe a small snack. "Hey," she greeted, smiling. 

"Hey," Keefe replied before taking a bite of his food. "So, what do you want to do today? I'm free and for your pleasure." 

Sophie rolled her eyes at the way he worded that and grabbed his arm. "Come on, we can go chill by the tree." She turned to say something to Edaline but instead saw Edaline wink and wave her off. "We'll be-"

"You're an adult, Soph. Go out and do your own thing," Edaline immediately cut her off. A thought popped into her mind and she finished saying, "But dinner will be in three hours if you want to make it." 

Sophie gave her mom a wide smile and then made the small trek to Calla's tree with Keefe. They both leaned against the tree, sitting closely together. "So, no one has heard from you for almost two weeks. Where have you been?" Keefe looked at her.

Sophie shrugged. "Busy," she stated simply. "I love my job, I really do. It means the world to me that I get to ambassador between the council, the people, and the black swan, but it gets tiring. It's a lot of traveling and then when I'm not traveling I'm locked in my room doing paperwork. Lately my room feels more like an office than a room." She turned to him. "What about you?" 

Keefe shrugged. "My job gives me a lot of leeway, I mean I just design paintings to help decorate people's homes. I have a lot of free time but with everyone having jobs that keep them so busy, my free time is more of a bother."