Between The Lines

twenty four

        The next day, i wake up to the alarm. Buffy rubs his face on my nose, which makes me open my eyes. I swing out of bed and get my coffee going. Grace sits on her anchor desk and does the news like always. I sigh and set my empty cup on the table. If i'm gonna do this whole 'jealous' thing like Grace instructed then i should start now. I send a quick text to Peter. 

        Soon i'm walking into Morris and in the elevator, once on the 16th floor i walk out and smile to Tasha. I then notice Lucas leaning against her desk, she giggles and he looks down, causing his glasses to fall lower on his nose. I roll my eyes, he's such a dork.

        I notice Noah's door open and the light on, meaning he's here already. I swallow the lump in my throat and quickly speed walk past and walk to my own office. Thankfully, only one side of the room is the glass. My office is on the end, then Lucas, then Noah. 

        I was almost done with the novel on my desk when there is a knock on the door. My heart skips a beat then settles down when i see Tasha standing at my door, looking shy. 

        "Sophie?" she says. "Can we talk?"        

        "Yeah" I smile, "Yeah, Sure"

        She smiles and sits on the chair opposite of mine.

        "I know you are a close friend of Lucas,and such you are so close, i have to ask a risky favor of you" She says, her voice barely above a whisper. "Lucas and I are seeing eachother, and it's against the rules to see coworkers"

        "Yeah" I nod, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me"

        She smiles, "Oh thank goodness!" 

        I laugh, "I'm glad Lu found someone"

        "I'm quite found of him" she blushes

        "He's quite found of you" I say, and she blushes harder.

        "I need to go back to work" She says, standing, "Thanks again Soph"

        "No problem"  I say, smiling. 

        As she walks out and the door closes, my smile falls. I'm happy for Lucas, i'm so happy he found someone. He's lucky to have someone as smart as Tasha by his side. The same goes for Tasha. As i think about the couple, a sense of loneliness creeps into my heart. I grab an empty water bottle and walk to the break room to recycle. I was looking for a reason to get out of my office to see Noah. A peak can't hurt cant it?

        What i see makes my heart shatter into millions and millions of little pieces. There sits Britt, her legs crosses and swinging while shes giggle on top of Noah's desk. He looks the same, unlike me, with black bags under my eyes due to the lack of sleep. I sigh and walk into the break room and angrily throw the empty bottle into the blue recycle bin. 

        Not wanting to pass Noah's office again, i go into the restroom. I huff and lean against the counter of the sink, my knuckles turning white. Tears sting my eyes as i squeeze them shut even harder. All the pain and frustration is coming to light now, images of Britt and Noah flash in my mind and i suddenly feel vile rise. 

        "That isn't a good look for you" I look up to see the blonde satan herself, leaning against the doorway staring at me thru the mirror. 

        "G-go a-away" I stutter, struggling to form a sentence.

        "Jealous are we?" Britt says, her red lips pursed, "Jealous that i won?"

        "Won?" I say, looking up at her.

        "I won Noah" Britt smirks, running her fingers thru her hair, "And there is nothing you can do about it"

        "He said he loved me" I say, "Wouldn't that mean i won?"

        "I slept with him" She purrs, "Actions speak louder then words, don't they? Oh, and don't worry your ugly little head about what he said to you, he didn't mean it"

        "Why would i believe you?" I growl.

        "Because" She says, turning to face me, her hair flipping over her shoulder. "I was right about us sleeping together, wasnt i?"

        "I need to go" I sigh walking out of the room.

        "Soph?" Lucas says, catching my arm, "You ok?"

        I just blink, tears running down my cheeks. The restroom door opens to Britt and she steps out applying lip stick as she walks by us. 

        "I see" Lucas whispers, "C'mon" 

        He puts his arm around me and leads me into his office. I sit in the chair across from him and watch as he closes the door.

        "I'm so sorry Soph" he frowns, "He's a douche"

        "No" I say, running my thumb under my eyes, "It's fine"

        "So what's the plan?"

        "It's over" I shrug, "He has Britt now, and Grace wants me to make him jealous. But, i'm not gonna do that. If he truly wanted me and loved me like he said then something would have been done by now. I'm thinking about maybe calling Peter and seeing when he'll be here in LA next. Maybe him and i can meet up and see where it goes from there"

        "Well" Lucas nods, "I think that is a good idea"

        I nod, "I do to"

        "It's gonna get better" He says, "I know it sucks now but trust me, you'll find someone"

        I give him a small smile, "I have the biggest headache ever"

        "Here's an Advil" He says, "Sliding me the bottle"

        "Drug dealer, aye?" I giggle. He wiggles his eyebrows. 

        We sit in comfortable silence until my phone rings in my pocket.

        "It's Peter" I smile, sliding to answer it.

        "Hey Soph!"

        "Hiya Pete!" I smile, "How are you?"

        "Great!" he says, "Guess what!"

        "What?"

        "I got a job offer from a Pharmacy in Santa Monia!" 

        "YAY!"

        Peter is coming.