I sit in the corner of my bed, in the very corner of my room. I wish I could just squish myself all the way into the corner and be completely invisible. Maybe not exist at all. That might be enough.
I forgot to shut the door. I'm just hoping that he doesn't walk past, as I'm not really in a state to be standing up and closing doors.
He walks past, quickly and in his strutting sort of way. Maybe he won't notice-aah, he made it past. Good. My scrunched-up body shakes harder, with more tears. Maybe I secretly wanted him to come in?
"Sophie? What happened, are you hurt?" He walks quickly into the room. Must have doubled back while I was thinking. I just keep crying, silently, shaking. My legs are pulled up against myself, my head buried between my knees, hands on my head, my face hidden completely. He very delicately lifts my left hand, the one closest to him. The back of it is scraped up and bloody.
Finally he sits next to me, noticing the letter. Still gently holding my hand in his lap, he reads it. It is five long, painful minutes. I've stopped crying so hard, but tears keep streaming and I can't stop them. I can tell when he's done because he throws the letter down on the floor and pinches the bridge of his nose. Then he transfers my hand from his right to his left and puts his right arm around my shoulders, pulling my until my head is forced to tip onto his shoulder. He rests his cheek against the top of my head. He is still cradling my hand, so gently, like it's a delicate feather. "It must hurt," he says, so quietly, the first thing he's said in-well, it feels like absolutely forever.
"It does," I whisper, tears slow. "But the hand's not so bad."
He sighs, out his nose, so it makes a funny sound. If this were any other time, I would laugh and tease him about it for an hour.
"I went to see her." I flat-out state it. I can practically hear his surprise, even through the silence. "Because of that letter. It came this morning. And while you and Amy were out in Paris, I went to California to throw the letter at her. But when she opened the door and saw it was me, she pushed me on the ground and slammed the door."
"Sophie, I-"
"No, you don't understand!" I rip my hand away from his and stand up, shaking. "Your family always loved you, until the very end! She's hated me from the start only because half of me, my BETTER half, isn't like her. She doesn't want me because I'm not exactly like her. And that's what I'm so afraid of, becoming just like her." I grab at my hair, walking around but going nowhere. "I mean, if it's in my blood, that's me, isn't it? It's like part of her is in me, her genes are mine, she MADE me, so I'm going to turn out just like her and hurt the feelings of someone who really needs me."