A/N: Oh my god, y'all. I am so sorry. I hope this update brings you a tiny amount of hope to this year. A huge shout out to the reviews I've gotten that have reminded me that this story exists and that I should absolutely write it.
Chapter 7
"Hello?" Dr. Foster's voice was soft and comforting.
"You don't know her." Her voice came out as a whisper.
"Sophie? I don't understand. Who don't I know?"
"My mom. You don't know her. You are her."
Silence.
Sickening silence.
A silence that stretched so long Sophie began to notice all the little sounds—static from the phone, whirring of the fan, thumping on her heart—that were noisy and made her want the silence back.
And then, a sob.
"Dr. Foster?"
"Oh, Sophie." She sounded so broken. "I—I won't lie to you. You're very bright, you know that? Working all that out on your own? And being able to read me without any formal training?"
"So it's true, then?" Sophie got excited again. "You are her? Will you take me back?"
"I can't take you away from your mother."
"But that's exactly what she did to you, right?"
There was a wet, bitter laugh. "The only difference is that when I do it, it's called kidnapping."
Sophie choked back a childish "that isn't fair." Instead, she said, "I'm planning on coming out tomorrow. I don't think it's going to go over well. Please… I have no one else to turn to, no where else to go."
"I can't."
"But—" she tried to protest.
"You have the contact information for Mr. Peterson, right? And the Trevor project?"
"Yes, but—"
"Listen to me. You are very brave, and very strong. I want you to know that I love you very much. I never, ever stopped. I've thought about you every single day. Never forget that, alright?"
Sophie swallowed down as many tears as she could. "I won't."
"I love you. Goodbye, Sophie."
"Goodbye, mom," but she had already hung up.