Awakening (a kotlc story)

Part 17: Hug it out!

Hello! From now on I will be updating this fanfic every Wednesday, and if I do not update on Wednesday I will have it by Sunday. Sorry I didn't update for so long, classes began again. The songs I recommend for this chapter are Someone to you by Banners, I like me better by Lauv, Don't give up on me by Andy Grammar, and Remind me to forget by Kygo and Miguel.

I watch as Sophie collapses in a chair next to my bed. She is wearing a simple indigo tunic, and her blonde hair is down. She seems more miserable than usual. She never cries though. Except for the first time I woke up. She puts on a smile whenever her friends or family are near, but I know that most of the time she is faking being happy. I can feel it. I don't know why but, even though Sophie spends a ridiculous amount of time at the Healing Center, even though she isn't hurt, she rarely talks to me. She always helps Elwin, or talks to Zyfira, or, most often, sits quietly in a chair next to me, not talking. She never even makes eye contact. She did once but winced and was quiet for the rest of the day. Even after I agreed with her when Zyfira wanted to join the Black Swan, she barely spoke to me. I get up and stand in front of her.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" I ask her. She looks up, surprised I spoke. I usually sit and draw, an activity I have found I am good at. My father brought me my sketchbooks, and there were a lot of drawings of Sophie in the gold one. I definitely had a crush on her. She stands up too.
"Um...sure?" she says nervously.
"Why do you act like I don't exist?" I ask. I don't know why I care, but I do. I care about this serious girl who always tries to act happy. The girl who cried when I woke up.
"I-I don't do that. I don't know you that well. I didn't even know you that well before you lost your memory," she lies, tugging at an eyelash.
"Don't lie to me," I reply.
"I'm not lying," she says, staring at the ground.
"Yes, you are. You're tugging at your eyelashes. You do that when you're nervous." She looks up at me, surprised. Maybe I have been paying a little too much attention to her. I blush and add, "Plus, I can feel your emotions. Lying to an Empath is useless, Foster." I know that is Sophie's last name, and I like the sound of it. It seems right. Sophie was smiling a second ago, but now her face falls. I feel a wave of sorrow from her. She looks at the ground again, and bites her lip.
"What's wrong?" I ask her, studying her face. What did I say? She sniffles and smiles sadly.
"That's what you used to call me. Before you lost your memory." She wraps her arms around herself and takes a deep breath.
"We were close, weren't we? Before?"
"Yeah. We were. Whenever I was feeling down, you could always make me feel better. And vice versa. But then...this happened. I-I used to think maybe we could have been-" She stops. I study her face. She keeps tugging her eyelashes. I reach out and pull her hand down.
"Don't do that." I say, "You'll have no eyelashes, and we wouldn't want that, would we?" I thought the joke would make her smile, but instead, she seemed even worse.
"You used to joke all the time. Even when you were sad, " she smiles.
Sophie looks up, "Especially when you were sad. You could always make me laugh. I should have done something. I should have tried harder. Maybe then this wouldn't be happening."
"You did all you could. I know that because I can tell that's the type of person you are. It's not your fault." I say. I hesitate for a moment but pull her into a hug. She stiffens, but then melts into the hug, burying her face in my shoulder. Her face crumbles, and she starts crying.
"I- I miss you, Keefe," she admits. "I've been trying to keep a brave face, but it's so hard. Especially without you." Sophie looks up at me. "You were my rock, Keefe."
"I can still be that. Even though my memories are gone." I tell her. She smiles, a real smile, and we hug once more.
"Thank you," she whispers.