The girls sat silently with Sophie as the sanctuary emptied. After the last person left, they stood and made their way to the aisle. Once there, they each gave Sophie a hug and were about to leave when the doors flew open and Ms. Becker stood there, seething. If it were possible, Sophie's face fell. The girls unconsciously took a step back.

"What. The. HELL do you think you are doing here?" Ms. Becker asked, hatred in every syllable.

"I've come to pay my last respects to my sister and best friend."

"I told you not to come. I told you yet you still came. Trying to press my buttons, still defying me? Nothing new to you."

"I had to come."

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about the funeral. I knew I shouldn't have even called you, that I should have only pretended to call. You always disobey me. Just because you are older doesn't mean you've changed."

"Stop making this about yourself, mother. I'm here to mourn for my sister. In case you didn't know, she DIED."

"Oh but this is about me, Sophie. I gave birth to both of you and ultimately I have the final say in things."

"Not about funerals, mother! You can't keep me from something like this, and you didn't. I didn't do this to defy you, I did this for Jori. She would have wanted me here. She would have been furious with you if you managed to keep me away."

"You are so full of shit, you know that? Jori would have been relieved to know that her sister was too busy and too involved with her own life and problems to see her out of the world. How pathetic are you, anyway? Bringing these pitiful children with you who are dumb enough to pat you on the shoulder every time a tear falls down your face. They're just as messed up as you are."

Jet started to retort, but Shelby elbowed her to keep quiet.

"Do they know about your past, Sophie? Do they know about the drugs –

"Shut up." Sophie interjected

"…the hospitalizations, the scars…"

"Shut. Up."

"…all those men…"

"Shut the fuck up mother."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Ms. Becker's hand flew across Sophie's face so fast none of them had seen it coming. This woman was strong in every sense of the word. The first blow knocked Sophie to the ground and she huddled against the end of the pew and covered her head with her arms. Ms. Becker grabbed her arms and forcibly threw them away. She was about to hit Sophie again when she was grabbed around her waist and pulled back. One of the ushers had pulled her off, but only needed a glance from her to back away to the hallway. The girls were much more alert now and would be ready to fend off Ms. Becker if needed. But the moment had passed and the two of them stared each other down. Sophie, tears streaming down her face, held her hand to her jaw, still stinging from the slap.

"Why do you hate me so much?" she finally asked.

"Because."

"No. I need to know why. What have I EVER done to be treated like this?"

"You were born."

"What?"

"You were born. You were never supposed to be born."

"What?"

"You really are an idiot. Do I have to spell everything out for you? God. Okay. When I was twenty-one I was drunk. I couldn't drive and nobody would give me my keys or take me home on their own because they were all drunk too. So I decided to walk home. Twenty miles. A man pulled over and offered to give me a lift so I accepted. We had only gone a couple of miles when he pulled to the side of the road, pulled out a knife, and threatened to kill me if I didn't obey him. So he raped me, beat me, and then left me on the side of the road. Someone called an ambulance and I was in the hospital for about a week. Two months later I found out I was pregnant. With you. I didn't get an abortion because my parents wouldn't hear of it and the doctors said it could hamper the possibility of children in the future. I didn't put it up for an adoption because again, my parents wouldn't hear of it. I tried many ways to abort it or miscarry it myself, but it didn't work. I had to quit school, my boyfriend broke up with me because he thought I had cheated on him, and my friends were not supportive. So it was me and this baby. Once I tried leaving it on a doorstep but someone called the cops on me and I was monitored for awhile. Things got worse until I met Tony, and this baby had his heart before mine." Ms. Becker smiled as it sank in.

"Dad wasn't my real dad?"

"Nope."

"I wasn't planned."

"A mistake is more like it."

"How come you never told me?"

"Why should I? Why should I let the person who caused all of this hell know? It would have only given you more flame to your fire."

"I wasn't planned."

"How many times do you want to hear it? You weren't planned, you were a mistake, you were never supposed to be born. It would have made my life a hell of a lot easier if you never were. This is it. This is it. I can't take it anymore. Sophie, I wash my hands of you. You are no longer part of this family. You are alone." She turned on her heels and left. The funeral procession was waiting and she climbed into the back of the limo with her parents, and slowly the parking lot emptied.

Sophie watched her mother go; the full realization of what had just happened hit her the second the heavy oak doors closed. She began to cry uncontrollably, her body shaking, tears running rivers down her cheeks, her sobs echoing in the empty church. The girls sat in a circle around her, unsure of what to do, no idea of what to say, so they just sat in silence. Jet tentatively put a hand on Sophie's knee, but it was as if something snapped inside her. She jumped to her feet.

"What do you guys know about anything?" she looked at the door where her mother left. "Fuck you!" She looked up at the ceiling. "Fuck you! Fuck everything! Why my life? Why all of it my fucking life?" She staggered to the door and went outside and screamed as loud as she could. Her eyes took in the parking lot, empty, with the exception of the van which was sitting alone near the back of the lot. Alone. Suddenly she was struck with a force that made her feel utterly and completely alone. She collapsed on the steps and buried her face in her hands. She was so exhausted from crying she wanted to stop, but it was impossible. Her body racked with sobs and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to comfort herself, wishing desperately for Peter. The fact that she needed to hear his voice but couldn't only made everything worse.

The girls looked at each other as Sophie stormed out. They were shocked at Sophie's words but weren't offended. They went into the hallway and waited, and heard Sophie's heart wrenching scream. They opened the door a crack and watched her collapse, watched as wave after wave of pain kept hitting her body. Jet felt as if her own heart had been ripped out. She could feel the pain from a few years ago creep up her neck. She could only imagine a small part of what Sophie was going through. She pushed the door open, and against Jules' and Shelby's tugs went to sit next to Sophie on the steps.

Sophie heard the door close, then footsteps, and then a body sit next to her. She felt arms envelop her and allowed it, the tears flowing. Jet took one of her hands and Sophie gripped it tightly. When a tear splashed on her hand, she looked up at Jet, whose cheeks were also wet with tears. No words were exchanged, but the message had been conveyed. Sophie put her head on Jet's shoulder and they sat there together for awhile. After a few minutes, Juliette and Shelby joined them. Juliette took Sophie's free hand and gave it a squeeze and Shelby sat a step above them. Sophie rooted in her jacket pocket for a Kleenex and wiped her eyes and nose.

"You guys…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I subjected you to this," she said softly.

"Out of all of us, you have the last reason to be sorry," Shelby said.

"I never thought it would come to this. I never thought I'd hear my mother say those words to me. I guess your life can still fall apart evenwhen you're thirty," she said, fresh tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

They didn't know how to respond. They were shocked and saddened they were witness to the exchange between Sophie and her mother and couldn't think of anything to say about that either. Peter said that sometimes the best source of comfort is silence. They sat on the steps for a long time, waiting for Sophie to calm down enough to drive back to the hotel.

Next and final chapter up soon! Sophie tells of her past...