two faced | e.d.

thirteen .

song for the chapter:
"you and i" by barnes blvd.
———

as i stop at a red light, my phone buzzes.

grayson:
sorry i blew up earlier.

grayson apologizing for his actions? that seems very out of character for him.

me:
whatever dude. i'm over it.

grayson:
you didn't deserve that.

i open the message but don't bother to respond. the way he blew up on me was so uncalled for and i really don't have the strength to deal with him right now. way too many people have been down my throat this week and i'm over it.

—

"oh my gosh, malia!"

sofia runs up to me and engulfs me in a tight hug.

she's so full of love.

"how are you?" i ask her with a big smile on my face.

"i'm so good! mason's with my mom right now. it took me forever to get him to stop crying before i left."

"why i'm never having children."

sofia and i laugh.

"oh trust me, i thought i wasn't going to have kids either but yet here i am."

i suddenly realize that i've never really asked sofia about mason's father. he's obviously out of the picture but i've never seen a photo of him.

it's not my place to ask.

—

"i've started online school." sofia mentions as we walk around in the mall.

sofia had to drop out of high school once she had mason. she couldn't handle being a single mom and a high school student, so she just stopped going to school.

"how's that going for you?" i turn to look at her.

sofia has such beautiful, deep blue eyes. just like mason's. her skin is a soft, ivory color and her dimples are revealed as she smiles to herself. sofia is pretty much flawless and i've never taken the time to appreciate how gorgeous she is until now.

"it's going good. i mean i don't really have a choice. if i want to get a job, i need to have my high school diploma."

sofia's a tough cookie. i can tell she really loves mason, hence everything she does to keep him safe and well nurtured.

"sometimes," sofia takes a brief pause "i wish mason had a father figure in his life. someone who could teach him how to throw a football, or take him to the barber when he needs it."

sofia stops walking and turns to look at me.

"i mean not that i can't do any of those things. it's just different when you have your dad there to help you deal with the struggles of being a growing boy."

sofia's eyes well up with tears.

"sometimes i wish i had someone who could stand by me and help me watch mason."

i place my hand on her shoulder. i don't bother to say anything and i just let her pour out her feelings because i know she's been concealing how she really feels with all this fake positivity.

"i'm a strong person. but it just gets hard at times having to play the role of the mom and the dad," sofia shakes her head and averts her eyes somewhere else, breaking eye contact with me, "i'm sorry. i shouldn't have turned this outing into a pity session. maybe it's because i'm on my period-"

i cut her off.

"sofia don't apologize. i'm not going to say that i understand what it's like to be a single mom, because i definitely don't. but what i can say is that while i may not understand, i see how strong you are. mason is so lucky to have such a loving mom and if you ever need any help, i'm always here. i promise you that."

sofia smiles as she wipes away her tears.

"thank you."

i then remember the kickback that grayson and ethan are throwing. i know grayson blew up on me earlier today, but i don't care. sofia needs some time to loosen up and forget about all her responsibilites for a while. tonight is the night to do it since lauren is watching mason all day.

"sofia do you wanna go to a kickback?"

"a what?"

"a kickback. it's basically like a party just with fewer people and a lot more cute guys." i nudge her in the arm.

she laughs to herself, "fuck it. let's go."

all i have to do is keep sofia away from grayson and make sure ethan and i don't cross paths.

this won't be too bad, will it?

oof i need to get my shit together and start coming out with new chapters regularly! i'm sorry it's just junior year has been overloading my ass with work.
anyway, what do you think will happen at the kickback?
will malia and ethan see each other?
will grayson get what he wants from sofia?
idkkkkkk