Dear Diary

Chapter 82

The next morning Sophia was woken up by the blaring shout of her alarm; made extra loud by the pounding headache against her temples. Blindly, she grappled for the chord and pulled it out the wall outlet.

"Huh?" she muttered when the sound continued and she pealed open an eye slightly, only to notice that it was her phone ringing.

She sighed and tried to reach for it, her movements sluggish and weak. She groaned when she only ended up succeeding in knocking her phone off the bedside table and it landed on the floor with a thud. Forcing herself to sit up slightly to peer over her bed, she noticed that the caller was Luke. She sighed and collapsed back into bed. 

She didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

The incessant ringing made her head spin and she closed her eyes, willing the sound to stop. It did a moment later and she sighed in relief. A little while later the ringing started up a second time, but Sophia passed out before she heard the end.

-

Sophia took a deep breath as she slowly roused from her sleep, her mind foggy but just able to make out the cool sensation draped across her forehead. It took her a moment to pry open her eyes and she jerked when she saw a figure looming over her.

She tried to scream but ended up coughing as the figure suddenly rested his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, hey, relax, it's just me," a familiar voice said soothingly and Sophia blinked in confusion.

"Luke?"

"Yup."

Slowly Sophia's vision cleared for her to see Luke smiling down at her, but his deep blue eyes showed worry. 

She frowned. "What-" She cleared the croak in her throat. "What are you doing here?"

Luke glanced to the side as she saw pink reach his cheeks. "Well, you didn't come to school so I tried calling you a few times to see if you were alright. When you didn't answer after a few tries I decided to come and check on you."

"But ... " Sophia's mind battled to formulate words, her tongue heavy. "But how did you get off school?"

"The teachers love me." He tossed her a cheeky grin and all Sophia could do was manage a small, upward tilt of her lips before closing her eyes and sighing.

She felt Luke pull the now warm cloth away from her forehead and she heard him dip it into a bowl with water. A cool hand touched her head. 

"Your fever's high. You want to go to the doctor?"

Sophia immediately shook her head. "I'll be fine."

She's survived worse, she just needed to rest. 

As Sophia lay on the bed, she couldn't help but feel that the whole scene was eerily familiar to her. It was almost a carbon copy of when she fainted at Luke's house and he tended to her then too. The only difference now was that Sophia didn't mind looking as vulnerable in front of him this time. 

Just goes to show how much she's changed over the year, or maybe it's just because it's Luke.

She frowned in thought as the cool cloth was placed back on her forehead. But why was she sick? She's never sick. Maybe it's the stress with this whole thing with Rachel and her dad. She'll admit she hasn't been eating as well as she normally did these past few weeks.

Her thoughts trailed to Luke as she felt the bed dip slightly when he sat down next to her and turned the cloth around. She was glad he was here, but a thought ran through her mind. 

"How did you get in?" she asked and opened an eye to look at Luke.

Luke gave her a sheepish smile. "Well, I knocked and you weren't answering so I checked the garage and saw your bike was still here so I figured you must be home. As for the getting in ... learning to pick a lock is essential for pulling pranks on irritating sisters."

Sophia gave a small smile and shook her head. 

Oh, this boy.

-

"I'm going to message the girls," Luke said later on in the day. 

Sophia had finally managed to gather enough energy to walk downstairs to the kitchen where she was now eating a bowl of chicken soup Luke's mom had brought over earlier in the day.

"Why?"

Luke began scrolling through his phone as he replied, "They were also worried about you, and I think some female company is just what the doctor ordered for you. You know, you can binge-eat chocolate, watch romcoms, and whatever else you girls do to cheer each other up."

Sophia panicked. "You're not going to tell them, are you?" 

She really didn't want them to know about Rachel.

Luke paused mid-tap as he looked at Sophia. "Not unless you want me to," he replied earnestly, and Sophia sighed in relief.

The kitchen grew silent for a moment as she listened to Luke tapping away at his touch screen. A second later multiple messages pinged. "Okay, Blair, Alice and Mindy are on their way."

Sophia nodded as she blew on a spoonful of soup. She didn't mind them coming over, they were the ones she was closest to, however she was a bit worried Alice might be a bit loud. Her headache has only just subsided.

-

"We're here!" Alice yelled as the door opened with a bang.

"Ssh," Blair immediately hushed her as the three girls walked into the house.

"Hey, girls," Luke greeted as he grabbed his bag leaning against the couch.

They greeted in return and Alice looked around the living-room. "So, where's the patient?" she asked.

"Right here," Sophia said as she walked in from the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hands.

Alice immediately rushed up to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, almost causing Sophia to spill her drink. 

"Don't worry, Dr Alice is here!" she exclaimed, and Sophia tried not to wince from the loud voice right next to her ear. 

She let herself be guided towards the couch and Alice proceeded to place a massive bag on the coffee table in front of her. "Now let's see. We've got ice-cream, popcorn, chocolates, movies like You Again, When in Rome, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Um ... Oh, and (my personal favourite) Twilight!" she yelled and held up the saga for Sophia to see.

Sophia could only nod. She's never seen any of those movies. What if they have a fire scene in them? She started to panic.

"I think you best go with You Again and How to Lose a Guy, Alice," Luke piped up and Sophia glanced at him. He gave her an understanding look and she took the hint.

"Yeah, I think let's go with those," Sophia said.

"Okie dokie," Alice said and plopped down next to her on the couch. Mindy and Blair joined them.

"Well, I'll leave you girls to it then," Luke smiled and Sophia met his gaze. 

They stared at each other for a moment and she gave him a small, thankful smile. Luke nodded with a soft look on his face, before turning and closing the door gently behind him.

"I saw that," Alice said, causing Sophia to look at her.

"What?"

"You like him," she stated with a secret smile on her face.

Sophia's eyes widened. "What? No, I don't! Not like that anyway."

Alice smiled. "Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that."

"I thought you liked Luke, Alice?" Mindy asked quietly, and Alice shook her head.

"Nah, it was an infatuation stage of mine. I get it with a lot of guys. Now come on, let's watch the movie!"

With that everyone piped down and turned their attention to the screen, but Sophia couldn't concentrate on the actors. Her thoughts kept trailing back to Luke and, try as she might, she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face.