A SOKEEFE STORY

Chapter 58

Alright, this chapter is... pretty sad, so be ready.

But it gets better, I promise.

3rd Person POV

Keefe sat in his room, balling his eyes out. his father hadn't said anything to him when he had come home. He didn't care though, and he didn't need his father scolding him for being so weak. He sat crisscross on his bed, holding a pillow to his chest and trying slapping his cheeks, trying to wake up from his dream. But everything he did to himself hurt, his heart, his face, his arm from pinching himself so many times.

His chest was burning by the time the sun set, tears still falling out of his eyes. When he walked to the bathroom to wash the dry tears off his cheeks, he saw how broken he looked. His nose, under his eyes and his eyes were red. He was pale and sweaty. He felt sick. Sophie had been holding him together. He threw cold water on his face from the sink, trying to stay awake. But nothing seemed to keep his eyes from drooping. He collapsed onto the ground, the sink still going.

He woke up on the ground, the lights flickering in his bathroom. His face hurt, his head hurt, his body hurt. He heaved a breath, but striking pain hit his lungs. He slowly got to his wobbling feet and looking the mirror. His hair was flat, dark circles under his eyes. One of his eyes was wider than the other and Keefe finally announced to himself that he looked horrible. Tears filled his eyes once more as he reached to the sink and splashed his face, turning it off as he walked out of the bathroom. His shoulders slumped forward.

He sat in his room the whole day, huddling close to a pillow. He was shivering, but refused to pull a blanket on himself because it reminded him of her warmth. His father didn't ask him anything, nor ask him if he wanted any food.

Night fell once more and his neck was craned over his face stuffed animal on the top of the pillow he was holding to his chest. His stomach growled, but he refused to eat.

Sophie would have been doing the same thing, but she had caring parents. Her mom made her food for the safety of her daughter and her granddaughter. Grady rubbed her stomach to try and sooth her cramps as Edaline made her laugh with some funny stories.

But Sophie knew deep down that Keefe was not doing as well as she was. As much as she hated him for doing something like that to her. She was worried about him and had a feeling the whole 'break up' thing was just a misunderstanding. She hadn't even told him that she was pregnant and she doubted he had the brains to assume something so large.

So, when she felt up to it, she decided to go to Candleshade. It had been about a week sine their breakup and Sophie was worried about him. No messages to her, no nothing. No sign of the boy. She had asked Biana if she had seen him and she said she hadn't.

And lets just get this straight, Grady was totally against the idea of her going to visit him.

Sophie knocked on the door, Lord Cassius answering a few seconds later. He towered over her, but she wasn't feeling nervous. Something had changed in her and she was ready to tell him. Maybe this was the feeling Edaline had been talking about. A sudden courage and confidence that she hadn't had before.

If he didn't want her nor the baby after she told him, she was now well aware of how great Edaline and Grady were. They would do everything they could to help their daughter raise a child of her own.

The large man stepped out of the way, letting her in. She slowly stepped inside and looked around the place. Keefe wasn't downstairs and she assumed he was up in his room. She walked up all the steps, knowing her stomach was not up for a roller coaster.

She walked toward his room, blowing out a shaky breath. The room seemed silent to her, but she could hear a few broken sniffles from inside. He was just as broken as she was after the breakup, but he didn't have any comfort to heal his wounds.

"Keefe?" She whispered, knocking softly on the door. A few more sniffles came from int her room, but no one opened the door. She slowly reached for the golden handle, turning it and only opening the oak door a crack. It creaked as she did so and she met with a dark room. His room was more of a mess than it normally was. The windows were covered with curtains, no lights on. The water in the bathroom seemed to be going. She slowly stepped farther inside and saw Keefe sitting in the corner on the floor, a pillow held tightly to his chest. Sophie flicked the light switch on in the room and saw how pale Keefe was. His knuckles were turning white from holding the pillow so hard. He was rocking back and forth on his bottom, and his eyes shot to hers. Sophie felt tears coming to her eye as she walked rushing into the bathroom, turning the sink off.

"Keefe, what happened?" She whispered to him. She walked over to him and reached down to his head. His hair was greasy and seemed to haven't been styled or washed in the last weak. His eyes were swollen from crying so much, and dark circles surrounded them both. His eyes shot up to hers and she waved him closer to her. He slowly got to his knees and his shirt was wrinkled and rolled up a bit. Her eyes widened at how skinny he was. She could almost see his ribs.

The broken boy below her snuggled his face into her dress at her stomach, his weak arms wrapping around her waist as he seemed to hug her. Sophie bit her lip, knowing she had to get him some food.

"Keefe," she whispered. "Have you been up here all week?" She asked him. He slowly nodded, not wanting to say anything. they sat therein silence as she ran her hands through his dirty hair. "Keefe, have you eaten?" She asked him afraid of his answer. She could feel tears soaking her dress, but she wasn't sure if they were happy or sad.

"Keefe, have you eaten?" She asked him again.

He shook his head, holding her tighter, like he was afraid she would leave.

Before she could say anything more, he finally talked. his voice was horse, like his vocal cords hadn't been used in the last week.

"Please, Sophie, don't leave, please," he cried to her. "What did I do wrong? Why were you pushing me away, why-" he rambled but she covered his mouth with her hand. She shook her head, getting down on her knees so she was at his eye level.

"Keefe, you weren't doing anything wrong," she whispered. He looked at with wandering eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed and Sophie found it painful to look at his tired face.

"Then why did you want to break up?" He asked her. She softly giggled, reaching up to his face with her hands and stroking his cheeks with her thumbs.

"Keefe, I never wanted to beak up," she told him. "I would never want to leave you," she whispered to him, planting a soft kiss onto his lips. He blinked a few times, staring down at her lips and looked back up to her eyes. "I had a surprise for you, but I didn't know how to tell you," she whispered to him.

"But now I do."

She stood up, grabbing Keefe's hand and walking him over to his bed.

"Keefe, I've been avoiding you for so long because I didn't know how'd you feel about being a dad," she told him with a small smile. The tired and hungry boy took a few moments to register what she had said. His eyes widened.

"Your... pregnant?" He asked her, a bit unsure of himself. She bit her lip, nodding and letting a small giggle escape her lips as happy tears came to her eyes. The boy bit his lip for a second, and Sophie's happy expression faltered a bit. But he stood up, a smirk on his face and he picked the girl into his arms, spinning her around in his arms.

Then, he pulled her to his chest, holding her tight as he let a few happy tears slip down his cheeks.

"I'm going to be a dad, Sophie. I will be the best father you and our child could have ever wanted," Keefe whispered to her. She smiled, nodding and wrapping her arms around Keefe's torso.

"Thank you, Sophie."