His Teal Eyes

Chapter 11: Even

Sophie pushed open the front door, prepared to hear a loud raucous of shouts from the living room.

Instead all she heard was nothing.

Silence.

She exchanged glances with Linh who just shrugged. "Dex?"

"Sophie!" It was Tam. "Thank goodness you guys are home."

Sophie furrowed her brow anxiously. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"No. Well, no, if you don't count Fitz storming away and Keefe crying as bad things."

Sophie felt her stomach churn, grin evaporating. "What?"

Tam shook his head, taking her hand as he lead her into the dining room. Sophie clapped her hands over her mouth.

Keefe sat, staring blankly at the wall opposite of him. Dex, brows puckered anxiously, sat next to him, whispering words of reassurement softly in his ear . . . what he said precisely, Sophie couldn't hear. From the way Keefe's posture remained hunched, hands clawing at his hair--wrecking its immaculate styling--it was clear it wasn't helping. Sophie knew it was private, and she didn't bother to try to listen to what Dex was saying . . . until she caught her own name in the mix.

". . . Sophie deserves to know. What harm will it do? What's the worst that could happen?"

And then Keefe's low voice, rough and shaky. "Everything."

"Dex?" Dex's head snapped up, frown morphing into a grimace as his eyes rested on Sophie, Linh, Tam, and Biana framed in the doorway. Sophie's brows furrowed; shoving curiosity away, she rushed to Keefe, placing a hand on his knee gently. "Are you okay?" she asked tentatively, which, upon reflection, sounded stupid, considering how upset Keefe--who had never been known for showing his emotion--seemed. Whatever happened, it must have been bad to rattle him this much.

Keefe's eyes flickered up, meeting with hers and dropping down almost immediately. Sophie frowned, concerned. He turned away, hand lifting to wipe away his tears, jerking his head back to face her, smirking as if nothing had happened. "I'm fine, Foster. You don't need to worry about me. How was shopping?"

Sophie bit her lip. "Keefe . . ."

Keefe's icy eyes met hers, shining with desperation. As if begging her to play along, as if begging her to ignore him, as if begging her to pretend she had seen nothing.

A tactic Sophie was all too familiar with.

A tactic she knew Keefe used when he wanted to protect her feelings, a tactic she knew Keefe used when he was feeling guilty, a tactic she knew Keefe used to shove himself into shadow and her into the light.

A tactic she wouldn't fall for now.

Or ever again.

Keefe must've noticed the new determination set in her eyes, and maybe it was her imagination, but his head seemed to jerk to the left, a subtle sign for her to let it be. For her to just drop it. But as confident as the smirk plastered on his face seemed, Sophie could still detect sorrow in his glistening eyes.

Surprisingly, it was Dex who spoke next. "Sophie, drop it. It's not your concern."

Sophie swiveled to face him, eyes darting from each boy. "What do you mean 'drop it'?" she demanded, flinching as Dex shrank back. She didn't want to hurt him, but she couldn't let Keefe think he was alone, no matter how unimportant he thought the situation was. "Look at him!" she said, gesticulating wildly at Keefe, whose grin had faded, lips pressed together in a tight line. "Look at him!" she repeated, sitting on the couch beside him. "Keefe, I know you don't like to show your emotions, and I respect that. But . . . we'll always be friends. You know that, right?" Sophie whispered, curling her fingers around his tentatively, letting her eyes meet his when he didn't pull away. Her lips parted in shock when he flinched, retracting his hand and letting it fall limply to his side, turning away sharply. "I don't care how stubborn you are, Keefe. I'll always be by your side, to fight for you, to protect you, to support you, to laugh with you, and . . . even as a shoulder to cry on. Always." Keefe's head remained turned, left hand gripping his knee tightly.