A/N: Sorry this took longer to get out, life is hetic. The next chapter should be up a lot sooner, since it's half way done right now. 22 helps me write and I have a beta, Skye Evans(:
Sophia's POV
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate
I believe that happiness is something we create"- Something more, Sugarland
The sun shined through the window in my bedroom, waking me up from my not-so-peaceful sleep. I tossed and turned all night, and I swore that I heard some sort of animal circling around my house. I yawned and buried my head into the fluffy pillow, not ready to face the day. I was always tired, and if no one would come in wake me up, I swear I could sleep for days straight. I heard my phone ring from my nightstand, and I sighed. Maybe it was Brady,I thought hopefully, and wished someone would punch me every time I thought things like that.
It wasn't Brady. It was Alexis, my cold-hearted mother. Alexis wasn't aware of her demotion from mother in my book, but I doubt she would care if she knew. She was currently prancing around places I could only dream of, while they left me credit cards and expensive cars to make up for their absence.
"Hello?" I said into the phone as I walked out of my room and into the hallway.
"Buona martina. That means good morning in Italian, did you know that?" Alexis' voice said through the phone, and I rolled my eyes to myself. Sadly, she could annoy me even though we were in different countries.
"I know, I took Italian as a freshman," I reminded her as I walked into the kitchen. The marble floors were freezing, and I shivered as my bare feet connected with them. I really missed Brady's warmth at that moment, but I shook the thought out of my head as quickly as it came.
"Oh well, you have a doctor's appointment Monday at 4:00. Had any trouble breathing?" she asked as if we were discussing dinner plans.
"Nope. I gotta go, Callie's beeping in," I lied and hung up before she could even get out a goodbye.
I placed the phone down on the counter and stood on my tip toes to reach the medicine cabinet. I grabbed an orange prescription bottle and popped one of the circular pills. I hated all this stupid medication that I needed to take, the side effects usually leaving me feeling sick or completely exhausted. I grabbed a Pop Tart out of the cabinet and ate it quickly before I lost my appetite completely.
I silently wondered what Brady was doing today. I knew that I shouldn't be thinking about anything that had to do with him. He probably wouldn't even call me again, and although I could be okay with that, there was this feeling the pit of my stomach that wished he would.
I've never been in love or anything close to it. I've had boyfriends who I liked and hoped that one day I could love, but the feeling never came, and the more I tried to force it, the quicker all the feelings seemed to disappear. I'd always been okay with that form of temporary affection, but after last night as I watched all of Brady's friend treat their girlfriends as if they were the center of their universe, I craved love more than anything.
I wanted that; I was entirely sick of being lonely. I needed to be confident and bold because my shyness and insecurities were not going to get my anywhere. I grabbed my cell phone off the counter and dialed Brady's number. I wasn't going to wait around for him to call, and if he didn't answer, that would be the end of it.
The phone rang three times before he answered, "Hello?" he said sounding as if he was half-asleep.
"Hi, it's Sophia. Sorry if I woke you up," I apologized while wondering what he could have possibly done after dropping me off that would leave him still in bed at one in the afternoon.
"No, it's fine. What are you doing?"
"Not much. Did you…uh want to hang out today?" I asked hopefully.
"Sure," he said quickly, and I smiled to myself knowing that he hadn't compared me with something better to do.
"Okay, wanna come over?" I asked while twirling a piece of my dark hair.
"Yeah, see you in an hour?"
I nodded even though he couldn't see me, "That's cool. Bye, Brady."
"Bye Soph," he said, and even though I hated that nickname from anyone else, it made me smile slightly when he said it.
I showered quickly and left my hair in its natural waves. I changed into a dark pair of jeans and a turquoise-colored polo. When I was finishing my make up, I noticed something that usually means nothing to me: the orange pill bottles.
I don't tell everyone I know about my disease, but I never made the extra effort to hide it. Whenever someone would ask me why I was at the hospital so much or why I had medicine bottles lined up everywhere, I didn't hesitate to tell them. Everyone in Seattle knew about it, and the amount of pity, I got was overwhelming annoying. I wanted to tell Brady for the simple fact that I was horrible at keeping things from people, but it's not exactly an easy thing to say.
I like hanging out with you, Brady, and we should do something again. Oh! Just so you know, my heart can decide to stop working on me any day now, is that okay with you?
Yeah, definitely not happening.
I grabbed the two bottles from my vanity and shoved them in my underwear drawer. As soon as I shut the drawer, I heard the loud echo of the doorbell from downstairs. I ran down the stairs and opened the door.
Looking at Brady made me have a hard time believing this wasn't a dream. Guys like him weren't suppose to pay any attention to girls like me. That was just how life worked.
"Hey!" I said and mentally kicked myself for putting so much excitement in my voice.
"Hi Sophia," he breathed, and it was in between cute and odd.
I moved over so he could come in, and I got a stole a glimpse at his dark eyes as he stared down at me. They held so much affection; no one in my entire 16 years of life had ever looked at me like that, and I didn't understand it.
"You look exhausted," I observed as I closed the door behind us. He probably went out after he dropped me off, to party with pretty girls that could actually drink and not have to worry about heart medication side effects.
He nodded, "Yeah, I had to work after I dropped you off," he responded as I sat down on the leather couch, and he followed after me.
I looked at him oddly. "Where do you work?"
"It's a security thing for the rez," he stuttered on his answer, his eyes giving away that he wasn't telling the whole truth.
I raised my eyebrow at him. "Aren't you a little young to be a like a cop?" I asked curiously.
He smirked, "It's more complicated than that."
"I heard you're in a gang," I said and watched as panic coated his eyes.
"That's not true. I'm…I'm not like that, Sophia," he said, and the sincerity in his voice was undeniable.
"I never said I believed them," I said honestly. Although I love Callie, we were different in so many ways, it was a surprise we get along. I didn't jump to conclusions, and I could never judge someone off something that wasn't fact.
"I'm not that kind of guy, please don't listen to what people tell you," Brady begged me, and I smiled, why did he care what I thought about him?
"I said I believed you," I reminded him honestly.
The feelings that I had when I was around Brady couldn't be described. Even though this was only the third time we'd met, I felt like there was something pulling me towards him. I knew if I tried to explain this to anyone, they would think I was insane. But that was how I felt, like there was a magnetic force pushing me towards him.
"Do you wanna watch a movie?" I asked after flipping through the channel and finding nothing on. Sunday television was never the best.
He nodded, and I pointed to the thing that held all the DVDs. "You can pick one. I'm not really for making guys sit through chick flicks."
He sighed in relief. "Thank God, I think Collin knows every word from A Walk To Remember thanks to Carmela," he said with laugh.
"That's a good movie!" I defended with a soft laugh.
"Yeah, bad boy falls for a dying girl, and he's lonely for the rest of his life. Amazing movie," he said. I knew he was just teasing, and he had no idea what that sentence could have possibly meant, but it still made my heart drop.
I faked a believable smile, "Do you want something to drink?" I asked, changing the topic quickly.
"Water's fine," he replied, and I nodded and walked into the kitchen.
I opened the cupboard and one of the cups was too close to the edge. It fell out and shattered when it hit the floor with an echo.
"Dammit," I muttered under my breathe and looked over as Brady ran into the kitchen.
"Are you okay?" he asked examining me up and down for any damage.
I looked at him oddly. "Yeah, the glass just broke," I explained.
"What's this?" Brady asked, while grabbing a pill bottle on the kitchen table that clearly read Sophia Lavear on the label.
I should have just told him the truth, but I didn't.
"They're sleeping pills, I have trouble sleeping in this house all by myself," I said, and I was shocked how fluent my lie was.
He shrugged and put the bottle down, and I sighed internally in relief.
"Do you want me to clean that up? I don't want you to get cut," he offered.
I had the urge to ask him 'Why would you care?', but I kept my mouth shut.
"Nah, I got it," I replied while grabbing the broom and sweeping up the broken glass.
"Do you like being here all by yourself?" he asked while looking around trying to evaluate just how big the house really was.
"Not at all. It's so quiet and boring."
I walked back into the living room with Brady behind me. He sat much closer next to me on the couch and made his first real move off the day by placing his large warm hand on my thigh.
"Why don't you travel with them, then?"
I shrugged. "We're not very close, and I have to go to school," I responded while mentally adding things like 'I couldn't get a hold of my doctor' or 'I probably couldn't keep up with my parents even though they're twice my age'.
He started tracing circles on my thigh and I smile instinctively. I couldn't remember a time in my life when I smiled as much as I did when I was around Brady. The simplest things he did made me want to smile, and it confused me and scared me at the same time. The same nagging thought popped into my head constantly. Girls like me weren't suppose to be with guys like Brady. He was too good looking and smooth to be with a girl like me with too many flaws.
"You smile so much," he said in awe, but it still made me blush.
"Is that a bad thing?" I questioned, hoping to God that I wasn't making myself look like an idiot in front of him.
He chuckled. "Of course not. You look beautiful when you smile," he added more sheepishly at the end.
Beautiful. It was such a strong word, so much better then hot or sexy. It was a word not often used by the male population of my generation, and most definitely not used often to describe me. Before I could respond, our eyes connected, and we both seemed to lean into each other at the same time.
Our lips touched, and it had been many years since I felt the emotion I was feeling right now: complete happiness. For that one minute, I didn't think about my condition or my unloving parents; the only thing I could think about was him and how in the world I'd managed to catch his eye. His kiss was soft and sweet, not like those kisses that were meant to lead to something much more sexual. It was sweet and simple, but what it would bring, I knew, would not be so simple
