In the Dark

Goodbye, Coulson

The sun began to rise signaling a brand new day, but Sofia sighed heavily as she watched the light come in through the blinds while playing with her now chipped nude nail polish. It had been a long night and it seemed as though it would be a very long day as well.

She was still wearing her custom-made black embellished Elie Saab gown and her hair was still in its perfect updo. But her makeup had begun to wear off, specifically her eye makeup, which she had cried off in the last couple of hours.

Phil Coulson, Sofia's one and true bodyguard had been attacked outside the Golden Globes at the Beverly Hills Hilton for trying to protect her. Sofia only seemed to remember hearing a loud shot and the rest became a blurry mess. There was just a lot of screaming, blood, and flashing lights.

The next thing Sofia knew, she was being pushed into the black SUV that was waiting for her and the car quickly sped off to the nearest hospital where she assumed that Phil would be taken to.

Sofia's eyes were wide with shock and her mouth slightly ajar. Her manager, Peggy Carter, talked on the phone loudly while her publicist, Natasha Romanoff, quickly typed away on her phone, probably writing a statement to release in less than 5 minutes. The car came to a sudden halt and Sofia wasn't even surprised to see the paparazzi already lined up outside.

This was her life now.

She had shot up after playing lead with Peter Quill in a romantic comedy and the ride hasn't stopped ever since. She had a successful television show as well as many other movies and a recent book release. Sofia didn't take it for granted, though. She made sure to count all her blessings every day and had a great relationship with her fan base. After all, they were the reason she was where she was.

But with all the good things in life come bad things. Sofia remembered the first time she realized she had realized someone was following her. At first, she thought it was all a coincidence that she saw him everywhere. Then, she started getting letters and flowers sent to her personal address. And one day, after an outing with friends she spotted him sitting outside her gate. That was when Sofia decided she needed a bodyguard and a restraining order.

But it only started getting worse from there on out. The hate mail started coming in and even more weird people started to come out of the woodwork. Sofia wished that someone would have told her this was going to happen. Maybe she would've changed her mind about becoming an actress.

"Sofia?" A crackly voice called out.

She looked up from her hands and gasped slightly. Phil was awake and the look on his face made her assume he was probably in pain. He had been shot through the back, missing his heart by an inch or two—she didn't exactly remember what the doctor had said. She was just happy to hear that he was going to make it through.

"Coulson!" Sofia jumped up from the uncomfortable chair, picking her gown up slightly off the floor and walking over to the bed. She sat down next to him, reaching out to grab his hand that was laying on his stomach. Tears filled her eyes and her bottom lip began to quiver. "I thought I lost you."

"You could never lose me," Phil chuckled but then winced in pain. "Jesus, he sure did have a good aim."

Sofia shook her head. "Don't say that."

"Sofia, we need to talk about all of this." He frowned. "I-I know I've been with you for a really long time now and nothing like this has ever happened and I'm so grateful. But I'm getting old, sweetheart. We cut it close last night."

Her eyes began to swell with tears again. This was what she was afraid of the most. She didn't want Phil to leave her. She had known him since she was 20 years old—about 7 years now. He was like a second dad to her.

"I don't know if I can go out there and protect you the same way I did before. The mind changes once you're put in a position like this."

"I understand," Sofia's voice cracked.

"You know I'll always be here for you, Sof. I'm just a phone call away."

"But it won't be the same," she took in a breath before blinking. "Who's gonna cheer me up when I'm down? Or put me in my place the way you did?"

"Someone will find a way," he assured her.

Phil was released from the hospital a week later, Sofia never leaving his side. They talked about life; Phil shared stories of his time in the military with Sofia while she shared stories of her childhood.  They watched TV together, specifically the cooking channel, and she even managed to sneak in some In 'N Out for him to eat a couple of days after the incident.

She pushed him out to his car (the back way, of course) in the wheelchair the hospital let him borrow for the time being as his family waited for him. Phil's wife hugged her as soon as she saw her walk out with him, just as she did when she first got to the hospital. Sofia waved to his teen kids who still acted starstruck around her even after knowing each other for so long.

"It's not a goodbye, Sofia. Just a see you later, okay?"

"I know," she sighed sadly. "I'm gonna miss you, Coulson."

"I'm going to miss you, too, kiddo."

Phil's wife helped him out of the chair and walked him over to the passengers' side of the car, slowly helping inside and making sure he was comfortable before shutting the door.

"Sofia," she called out to the brunette who began to walk away. "Thank you."

Sofia smiled, "No, thank you."

With one last wave at the family of four, she was off to her own car waiting for her in the parking garage and on her way home.

It was time for a new bodyguard.