Interdependent (Book 2 in EBTWOG series)

Chapter 13 (1/2)

The rest of the guys arrive, and we all gather in what seems to be the hub for all my problem airing.

Sophie has calmed down from her nightmare, even though she won't tell me what she dreamt of, I'm glad she's not as distressed as I found her earlier when I entered the living room. The evidence of her sadness is still there, with her cheeks still slightly red, and tears still nestled on her cheeks. I brush them away, careful not to disrupt her playing the game on my phone. The game is methodical yet simple, and Sophie finds it calming. It's the only app that I have on it, and my last phone was similar in that. Ryder and Trystan had told me that it was mine and to treat it as such, so when I downloaded only the app for Sophie, they were shocked. It's all I need, that and the camera to document Sophie's growth.

I left all forms of social media when I was pregnant with Sophie. Jack would harass me along with most of the other people at the school. I even got harassed by Jack's family, and people I didn't even know. It was better for my mental health to just leave it all behind. Even with my account being private, they would find ways to contact me.

I attempted to return to social media when mum said that we were moving out here, hoping to return to something that would be considered normal, but as soon as I joined Jack somehow found me. He messaged me asking about Sophie, and started to mock me. I knew I could never be on there, without the fear of Jack finding Sophie, and that's the thing that I want to avoid most. Sophie doesn't need Jack in her life.

Sophie sniffles, brushing her hair away from her face, not looking away from the screen the whole time. I stroke her hair, hoping to give her further comfort.

Sophie is so absorbed with the game, that she doesn't react. I don't mind, as long as she's calm.

"She's alright," I tell the room, and Sophie doesn't show any sign of hearing.

"Good," Ryder says, watching Sophie play her game. I nod. I breathe in deeply, deciding that this time I'm not going to wait for them to ask, but rather offer it up.

"I wasn't with Tanner," I mumble. "Sarah was either lying, or she's been told a lie, because I wasn't with Tanner. He text..." I trail off looking to Sophie next to me, cautious about what I'm going to say around her. She's susceptible and will take on what I say without me knowing.

"He's been texting you?" Jesse asks, his eyebrows furrowing. I had forgotten that I hadn't told them that he was texting me yet. Sarah had alluded to it earlier.

"No," I blurt out, in a knee jerk reaction. I can't tell them I've lost their letter. "Well, yes," I amended quickly. "He's just be texting me... stuff."

"Stuff?" Whatever I tell them they're going to react badly to it. That he's been texting me the intimate letter, or that he's been texting me about what I'm doing, either is bad. I decide to go with the less emotionally complicated one. The part of me clinging on to the excerpts of the letter doesn't want to tell him because it means that they would stop. The messages with the excerpts would stop, and the reminder of how they feel would leave with it.

"He text me and said that he was in the apartment," I tell them honestly. "That's what happened. He was watching me, and I had to get out of there."

Brody comes closer to me on the couch and wraps an arm around my shoulders. I lean into him, thankful for the comfort. It almost feels different from last night's hug from Ashton, because now I feel lighter. I've told someone.

The anger I expect from the guys doesn't necessarily come. It's muted, albeit obvious, but there's no shouting, and everyone is calmer compared to last time. I'm thankful for it because it doesn't allow any mistakes like yesterday.

"Can I see the messages?" Jesse asks, extending his palm toward me. I look down at the phone in Sophie's hands grateful for the excuse. In the meantime, I can think of what to do.

"Later?"

Jesse agrees, taking back his hand. 

Hey Guys! 

As you can see from the chapter heading, this is part 1 of 2. There are a couple of reasons for this but summing it up into one, this part was going to be longer, and it's a. getting late here (I could write all night for this chapter, but I'm trying (and failing mostly) to have a good sleep schedule) and b. I'm kind of stuck on what I want to happen next (not because I don't know, but rather I have two ideas, and I want you guys to decide for me). I wanted to get something up today, so I decided to split it into two parts. Without giving anything away, I'll give you the options, and if you could comment on which one you want, I'll be able to tally the popular vote and write it. Even if you miss the vote, let me know which one you would have been interested in.

a. "You've got mail."

b. "You've still got mail, but some of it's delayed."

Cryptic, I know, you're just going to have to take a guess at which sounds more interesting. It might all be for nothing, but it helps me decide. I could start writing a. and then think b. would work better, or vice versa, so it might not be the one that you decide but you will never know (;) I'll let you know which one is written). So when can you expect part 2 of this chapter, well, I want to get it up soon, because I'm excited to write the second part, and I don't want to keep part 2 for too long, so I'm aiming to get it up on Friday, all being well. Obviously, I'll let you know if that changes.

What did you think?

What are your theories on my cryptic clues?

What do you want to/think will happen next?

Thanks for reading, voting, commenting, sharing, and following!

CC ;)