She Will Be Remembered

Chapter 23

Sophie was about to collapse into a puddle of grief when she remembered something: Keefe needed her right now. She was being so selfish. For some reason she always had to make everything about her when other people in the world were suffering so much more. Her problems were specks in the wind compared to others'.

Slowly and shakily she rose from her knees and whipped the snot and tears from her face. She had to be strong. Not only for herself, but for Keefe too.

     Edaline was staring at her with concern written on her every feature. "Sweetie, are you okay?" The auburn-haired mother questioned.

     Sophie let out a sigh. Maybe she should tell her adoptive mother that she had been having these episodes since she ran away from her first home.

     Just as Sophie was about to tell her, she looked at Edaline's face. Her beautiful, scar-free face that was full of innocence. Yes, she was an adult, but she hadn't experienced half of what Sophie had gone through, and she didn't need to. So, Sophie kept her secret to herself. "Yeah..." she mumbled.

     "Are you sure, because that looked terrifying? I was afraid you were going to pass out on me." Edaline stared into Sophie's eyes as she said those words. A crinkle had appeared between her delicate eyebrows that wasn't normally adorned on her features. Sophie wished that she wasn't the cause of that crinkle, but wishes never came true.

     Before Sophie could sink into another deep pit of depression, Grady chimed in after staying silent for awhile. Edaline usually took care of the more personal aspects of Sophie's life. "What caused you to collapse like that, Kiddo?" He questioned as Sophie was just starting to come up with a response to her adoptive mother.

     Sophie's brain started working faster than ever, trying to come up with a good excuse that wouldn't worry her adoptive parents too much. "I-I think I'm going into shock because of my cut. It started bleeding really bad after I climbed out of my window and it hasn't stopped since." She shivered at the thought of what she was describing.

     The shiver must've sold them because Edaline went to the medicine cupboard to get a new wrap and Grady led her upstairs to her bedroom.

     As they walked up the multiple flights of stairs, Grady started questioning her. "How long has your wound been bleeding? When did you start feeling dizzy? Did you hurt yourself as you were going to your friend's house?"

     Sophie's brain became overwhelmed with questions. Maybe she was actually going into shock. "One question at a time please." She whispered groggily.

     "Sorry, I'm just really worried about you. I'll start with my first question: How long has your wound been bleeding?" Grady answered.

     Sophie thought for a second. "I'm not quite sure. I don't remember when I left the house. The time all runs together."

     "Ok, that's fine. Next question: when did you start feeling dizzy?" Grady eagerly questioned as they neared the top of the two flights of stairs.

     Another wave of dizziness hit Sophie and she stumbled on the step right before the third story landing. Luckily, Grady was able to catch her arm right before she hit the ground.

     For some reason Sophie couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled out of her throat. "How ironic!" She giggled again. "I wanna go to Dizzneeeee! Spelled D I Z Z N E E!" She was definitely in shock, and it was escalating quickly.

     Grady dumped her into her bed before she could stumble onto the floor. Sophie felt like making snow angels on her carpet, but Grady was mean and wouldn't let her. Stupid, responsible parents needed to get a life other than bossing her around.

     Soon Sophie's tangented thoughts came to an end as her bed consumed her. The fluffiness seemed to seep into her skin and turn her into a soft feather, floating in the wind. She slowly drifted away as footsteps faded away from her sleeping form.

     But then her eyes snapped open. Sophie was forgetting something, something important. Her mind was too foggy to remember, so she stumbled like a sailor to her balcony door. Maybe fresh air would help. She could also see the pretty sparkles that filled the sky!

     Sophie literally fell through her door and almost fell asleep where she was laying, but then she remembered her motive.

     She grabbed onto the hand rail and slowly pulled her wobbling knees to a standing position. Sophie gazed at the beautiful landscape as the fog from her mind cleared a bit. Her thoughts were still rapid, but they were manageable.

     Suddenly, an extremely loud voice came from below her balcony, and she found a blob of person standing below her. Sophie's eyesight was blurred, but she vaguely remember the guy as Keefe, and he needed to sleep in the guest bedroom tonight because he didn't want to go home. Yes, that was it!

     She motioned for him to climb up to her balcony. He followed her orders.

     When Keefe finished the climb to the balcony he had a smirk on his face. "I thought I was the drunk one, Foster. Why do you look so whipped?" The expression that graced his face looked like concern, but Sophie's vision was still very blurry.

     Sophie's words were slurred as she spoke, and her eyes kept focusing and unfocusing. The world was spinning. "I think I'm gonging into shock."

     Keefe looked at her with what she could definitely identify as concern. He did care. "You should be in bed, not helping me. Get back to bed. I can find the guest room myself if you give me directions."

     He forced her over to her bed as the world continued to spin, gradually getting faster. Despite her protests—though they were pretty weak—Keefe pushed her into her bed.

     Right before Sophie's eyes fluttered closed she uttered the directions to the guest bedroom. "Go down the stairs and take a left. It should be in one of those 3 rooms." She whispered with her last bit on consciousness.