Disclaimer: I do not own Morgan or any other canon characters I happen to use from General Hospital for this. I'm not a medical professional and while I have been and will be doing my research on BPD, I'm far from perfect. Apologies up front if something isn't accurate or Morgan is written off character. I do own my original character Sophia Barrett and her backstory + any and all timeline changes I've come up with to fix certain huge events that really freaking bothered me when they played out. Also, it's worth noting that in my version of events, Brenda left town after her failed attempt at marriage to Sonny and unlike the way it played out on the screen, here she did not return to Port Charles again at any point. So the drama with her kid and her second or third almost marriage to Sonny and the rekindling of her old feud with Carly did not happen in my version of events. I wanted to state all this up front so that everyone is perfectly clear, Sophia is not Sonny's kid and furthermore, she's of no relation to Morgan so fair game... She's not connected to Sonny or Port Charles in any way given that Brenda left the US in the late nineties/ early aughts in my timeline of events. It's also worth noting that Morgan will not be dying here. And if you're the type to get a little wet over super slow burns, I can't say this is going to be that. It won't move super fast, but it's not going to drag and drag for eons either. What I'm posting now is what I have written until I get inspired to write more.

I write strictly in first person. Unless it's a scene that needs a third person narrative and I really do try to avoid those. I also try to go above and beyond to avoid using too many other characters in a work than my own little pairings because I'm just not the best at getting into the mindset of anyone at any given moment and I've known some real die-hards in the GH fandom and I'm pretty darn sure that if I made what they felt to be a serious error in writing / portraying a beloved character, they'd have my head on a spit.

Now that all this is out of the way, the fun can begin.


SOPHIA'S POV

He slipped onto the barstool next to mine and I glanced over at him, giving a polite smile and a nod. At first, he didn't seem to notice, so I turned my attention back to Instagram and responding to some comments on my latest post. A minute or two passed with him sitting quietly, nursing a bottle of Jim Beam and me, nursing my own Sprite and in that minute or two I was almost painfully aware of him.

There was this thickness in the air around the two of us.

But I didn't dare speak first. No, I'm in a position where it's generally not a good idea to approach strangers. The last time I did, it resulted in me getting a stalker and that wasn't a fun time.

He cleared his throat and I nearly dropped my phone on the bar as I looked over at him.

"Y-you're Brenda's daughter. M-my dad.. He almost married y-your mom.. I-I've seen a p-picture of you b-before..." as he added in a hushed whisper that 'no, that wasn't something a creep would say, not at all' before going totally silent.

My brow raised and then it hit me. The guy sitting next to me?

None other than the third son of known mobster, Sonny Corinthos. A man that my mother loved entirely too much and she'd tell anyone who asked with zero hesitation. Growing up, I never understood why she had to get away if they loved each other so much but now I'm older and I'm smart enough to realize that sometimes, love isn't enough. And too much of it can turn into a bad thing. Especially in their case.

I didn't answer for a few seconds and Morgan frowned a little, muttering something under his breath that I couldn't quite understand at first. Then I caught on and it tugged at my heart for the guy.

I had to say something.

"Yeah. Sophia Barrett. You're Morgan, right?" I bit my lip as I fixed my eyes on him after eyeing the bottle that sat in front of him. A bottle nearly empty. "It's nice to run into someone I kind of know." I added in a rush, just purely because that heavy tension was only getting heavier by the second and for some reason, I felt this overwhelming need to fill the silence. To take his mind off of whatever was on it that had him trying to bury himself in the bottom of a bottle of booze.

He eyed my Sprite a second or two.

Before I could stop myself, I was grabbing a straw and pushing it down into the can, holding it out to him after I'd done so. I guess it was just sheer concern. This bar obviously hadn't been his first stop of the night, he absolutely reeked of booze. And he could barely stay still or form a word without slurring.

He took a sip or two.

"W-why aren't y-you in I-italy?" he asked after a second or two as he pushed the can of Sprite back towards me.

I gave a soft laugh and explained that I modeled and I'd been sent to Fashion Week. And to the chagrin of my mother, I'd accepted the invite because this was a huge break for me. Not that my mother ever wanted me to take up modeling to begin with, she'd done everything in her power to attempt dissuading me. As I went quiet, he nodded. Muttered something else to himself that I made out to be that I was definitely out of his league.

"Hey, don't say that. Look, I don't know you but you seem nice. My mom told me you were really sweet a time or two, I think.. When I could actually get her to talk about her time with Sonny before she met my dad..." I stated as I gazed over at him. He eyed me warily and shook his head. "I-if y-you really k-knew me y-you'd know I'm a f-fuck up."

I tensed a little and kept quiet. It was starting to become clear that no matter what I said to counter the things he was saying about himself, he was firmly rooted in his feelings. Morgan went to stand and despite the fact that I barely knew him, I couldn't let him leave with a clear conscience. The guy was not in any shape to drive, not by a long shot. I reached out and gently grabbed hold of his wrist. "Hey, don't go. Please? I don't want to sit in here alone." I pouted up at him and gave him my best pleading look.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding when he glanced from the door of the bar back to the stool beside him and after a second, he sank back down to sit on it. Now the awkwardness crept in because unlike my mother, I'm not this amazingly confident social butterfly. It's harder for me to keep a conversation going, downright difficult to even attempt to initiate a conversation, especially after my incident with the stalker in Paris last year.

"H-how l-long a-are you i-in the U.S for?" Morgan stumbled over the words, but not as badly as he'd been doing prior. I shrugged. "Depends. For now, it's just for Fashion Week, but if things go well, I might be sticking around."

He was staring at me intently. Then his hand was reaching out, clumsily brushing a fallen wave of hair out of my eyes. I bit my lip a little and gave him a soft smile, raising my hand to wrap around his and hold it where it rested currently.

His eyes got just a little softer and a lot less wary. After a few seconds, I lowered my hand and he pulled his hand away, resting it palm down on top of the bar.

"Is everything okay, Morgan?" I asked the question I couldn't put off asking any longer. Rather than answer, Morgan took another healthy sip out of the bottle of whiskey, finishing it off. Then he gave this quiet and bitter little laugh as he shook his head no and shrugged.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked as I leaned into him just a little and recrossed my legs. Morgan glanced up at me and shook his head no a second time, muttering in addition that it wasn't anything I'd give a shit about.

"How do you know, huh?" I asked, reaching out to tilt his chin. Making him look at me. Staring right back at him and trying not to get lost in the depths of baby blue eyes but failing miserably

Morgan shrugged and broke eye contact with me, gazing at the empty bottle of whiskey in front of him.

For a minute or two, he was quiet. And then it all started to pour out. And I sat there, listening. When he went quiet, I spoke up.

"This Kiki chick sounds like your classic opportunist, to be honest. And the whole thing with your BPD and the things you've done… Morgan, you're human. Humans make mistakes. And having bipolar doesn't make you any less deserving of anything everyone else is entitled to."

"I w-wish I felt that w-way."

I glanced at my cell phone to check the time and he muttered quietly, "See? Y-you're already t-trying t-to f-find a w-way to get a-away."

"Actually, I was looking to see what time it was. Because my mom usually texts around 9 to check on me and I didn't want to worry her." I explained patiently. Carefully and hopefully politely enough that he knew I wasn't lying or planning to extract myself from the conversation like he seemed to think I wanted to.

Someone put one of my old favorite songs on an old jukebox in the back of the bar and I slipped off of the barstool, holding my hand out to him. He glanced at my hand and then at me as if puzzled.

"This is one of my favorite songs, okay? I wanna dance."

Morgan chuckled quietly and for a second or two, a small smile played at his lips. He managed to get himself off of the stool and I leaned into his side to let him wrap an arm around me as I guided him to a less crowded part of the bar, closer to the jukebox at the back. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned against him a little, laughing softly to myself.

His arms wrapped around my waist and when I looked up to lock eyes with him, he asked quietly, " D-did you r-really wanna d-dance w-with me? O-or a-are y-you j-just trying t-to k-keep m-me from melting d-down?"

I mulled it over and laughed softly as I rose to tiptoe and muttered softly against the shell of his ear, "Does it really matter right now? You're not alone, okay? That's all that matters. You're not alone tonight."

"It d-does m-matter." Morgan stumbled over the words as he said them and gazed down at me. I went quiet, weighing my answer heavily. I could feel this magnets pull and it wasn't something I'd felt often. I also knew that right now, the guy wasn't in the best place. And after hearing everything that led to his current state, I didn't have the heart to leave him by himself.

And deeper down, I was getting this nagging feeling in my gut. If I let him leave by himself, something bad was going to happen.

He was clearly at the end of his rope and it hurt to see it.

My mom's always told me I have a big and soft heart. I just have to hope that in this case, it's not a bad thing, right?

"Honestly?" I asked, going quiet. Hesitating because I just couldn't make the words come at will because I couldn't get my head around just how true they really were as I thought it all over. I did want to dance with him. I'd been almost painfully aware of him since he walked in two hours ago. I hadn't been able to take my eyes off of him for long since at all, either.

"I-I'd p-prefer i-it." Morgan mumbled as his fingers dug into my body gingerly and he molded my body against his even more. "I s-shouldn't h-have p-pushed, I… F-forget I-I asked." he muttered, his words trailing off.

"No, I won't. I wanted to dance with you, okay? I've wanted to talk to you all night I'm just… I'm not good at making the first move?" I went quiet as I willed the floor to open up and swallow me.

I dropped my gaze because the tension seemed to thicken even more between us. Morgan raised one hand, tucking his fingers under my chin to guide my eyes back up to meet his. "Y-you did?"

"I did." I laughed softly as I melted against him a little bit more. Because it felt so good to be close to him. It felt as if I'd always known him. Despite everything he admitted to when we were talking, I felt safe. Happy.

I tried to shove the realization down because it was just too much and entirely too fast.

"Do you want to go for a ride with me?" I blurted out the question before I could stop myself. Because there was just this sense of impending doom. It was as if I didn't get him out of the bar and I let him leave at any point I just felt like something awful would happen and I didn't like the feeling, not at all.

He eyed me and pointed to himself.

"Yes you, silly. I haven't been in town long enough to know where everything is and earlier, when the snow started to fall, it looked so pretty… You could show me around?" I offered as I gave him a begging look.

"Y-you mean t-that?"

"I asked, didn't I?" I pouted up at him a second or two breaking my gaze with him to gaze at the door expectantly. "C'mon! It'll be fun! We can get to know each other better!"

He chuckled quietly and he smiled for a split second. "Alright. L-let's go."

He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on and I slipped his arm around me as I leaned against his side and smiled up at him.

We wandered out into the gentle snowfall and I could feel that overbearing sense of impending doom start to disappear. His cell phone rang and after he dug it out and glanced at it, grumbling to himself about whoever was calling to talk, he turned it off and let out a low whistle when we came to a stop beside my sports car. "T-this is a s-sweet r-ride."

"It's my mom's old car. She got one of the new Porsche SUV's so I took this." I giggled softly as I aimed the key fob at the car and the headlights flickered to signify that the doors were unlocked. I reached for the passenger door and opened it for Morgan, who sank down into the passenger seat and leaned his head back against the headrest.

I hurried around to the driver side and got in, starting the car and we took off, merging into traffic. For a few minutes, the only sound in the car was the sound of my chosen Sirius XM station playing softly in the background and then, Morgan spoke up. " Y-you didn't h-have t-to d-do this. But t-thank y-you."

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to, alright?" I answered, glancing over at him as I brought the car to a stop under a red light.

My own cell phone rang and I answered the call through the radio. "Mom, hi."

"What are you doing, sweetie? I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Actually, no. I'm driving around." I answered as I smiled at Morgan.

"Oh, really? Doing a little sight-seeing, huh?"

"Mhm." I answered as I turned off of one road and onto another.

"How's everything going? Did you get to talk to your manager earlier?"

"I did. I actually have another gig to do while I'm here. So it might be a little longer before I come back to Italy. It's for some cosmetics company? Err… Deception, yeah. That's it. They want to use me in a campaign for their relaunch. That's great, right?"

My mom gave a soft laugh and even though I know she wasn't entirely thrilled with it, she answered, "As long as this is what really makes you happy, Sophia. That's all I want for you. Have you met anyone or made any friends?"

"Actually, shocker.. I have?" I smiled at Morgan as I answered my mother's question. He smiled back and this time just a little bit more realistically.

"Well? Are you going to tell me more?"

"I actually got to meet Morgan. In fact, he's kind of showing me around town right now."

I could feel the exact moment my mom tensed up on her end of the line, I swear. I sighed and braced myself, but to my surprise, my mom laughed softly. "That's good. At least you know one person there, maybe the whole experience won't be quite so lonely for you. I can't wait until you come back, sweetie."

And I picked right up on the hidden meaning in her words. Being friends with Morgan was nice but given her loaded past ties to his father, she wasn't keen about it being anything more than a friendship.

And for some reason, the realization really bothered me. I know she's got the best intentions, but ultimately, I'm an adult. It's my decision to make. Granted, I haven't made it yet… But if I were to do so… She might not be entirely thrilled at first.

"I am a little homesick." I offered up the words mostly to soothe the tension I felt building between my mother and I. "Can I call you back in the morning after you get up?"

"Yeah. You don't need to be talking on the phone while you're driving anyway. Especially not in an unfamiliar place. I love you, sweetie. Good night."

"Love you too, Mom. Night night." I smiled as I said it and I quickly ended the call. Morgan chuckled quietly and I glanced over at him as I pulled to a stop beneath another red. "What?"

"N-nothing."

"You were laughing though?" I questioned.

"F-fine. It's cute the way you said N-night Night like that. And i-it's s-sweet that y-you're c-close t-to y-your mom…" Morgan went quiet and shook his head and I didn't have to try hard to realize that the reason he did so was because he thought what he'd just said was too much.

But it wasn't. It didn't really bother me. It wasn't as if he said something bad, after all.

"It's just kind of our thing, I guess. And we do butt heads, trust me. We definitely butted heads when I told her I wanted to try modeling. She was not thrilled. Not at all."

"O-oh she w-wasn't, huh?"

"Yeah, how about nope. Her exact thoughts on the whole thing were that she'd support me because it was something I wanted, but in no way was it something she wanted for me. She's been a model long enough to have seen all the toxic parts of the industry. I think she was worried that it'd affect me badly. Hopefully now she's realizing that it won't because I just like doing this for the free clothes and shoes and stuff." I gave a soft giggle as I went quiet.

"Hey… I-if y-you w-want a k-killer v-view, pull over up ahead."

I nodded towards the scenic plaque and the bench and fence on an incline that overlooked the water. "Right there?" I asked, to be sure.

"Mhm." Morgan answered.

I pulled the car to a stop and for a minute or two, we both sat there in silence. And I'm not entirely sure who leaned in first, but we both started to lean in towards each other, mouths brushing against each other's clumsily. My hand raised and caught on the front of his jacket and I gave a soft laugh as I pulled away just a little. "Ya know, I don't typically kiss guys I've only just met."

He frowned a little and muttered an apology and I giggled, using my grip on his jacket to lean in a lot more as I crashed my lips against his all over again. "That wasn't a bad thing. I just.. I didn't want you to think I just go around doing this all the time. But I do want to kiss you."

His eyes widened a little and he chuckled a little. "Oh y-you do, hm?"

"Mhm." I answered as I trailed my tongue over the outline of his mouth. Parting his lips. He leaned into the kiss even more and I melted against him, the two of us pulling away when we felt a shock between our noses when they bumped together a little. "Ouch!"

Then the laughter died away and we were migrating together all over again. I raised a hand, dragging my fingers through thick black hair, tangling them in it. Tugging as his tongue slipped between my lips and tangled with mine. He groaned quietly, melting into me and I melted into him even more, with the console separating us poking at me as I leaned across it. It had him chuckling quietly as the kiss deepened.

When it broke and we pulled apart to breathe, I nodded towards the overlook we were parked at and gave a soft laugh. "C'mon. If we're stopped here, I at least want to see this killer view you speak of."

We got out of the car and wandered over, Morgan leaning into me heavily and as we came to a stop in front of the barrier keeping us from a steep ravine, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gazed out at the water and the lights of town reflecting off of it. "It is pretty." I muttered, gazing up at him after a second or two.

"Y-you're prettier though." Morgan muttered huskily as he gazed down at me.

I could feel my cheeks burn hot at his words and the way he was looking down at me as he said them. I bit my lip and managed to get a soft Thank you out and I melted into him even more, my arms slipping beneath his jacket as they wrapped around him all over again.

That feeling of impending doom was completely gone now.

But I truly did not want the night to end, not at all.

"Do you want to go back to my place, Morgan?"

He licked his lips as he thought it over, nodding. Smiling just a little brighter. "I do."

I smiled up at him. "Whenever you're ready." I finally brought myself around to focusing properly enough again to say the words.

"Now?" he asked quietly, glancing over at my parked car. "It's r-really starting t-to g-get cold out here."

"You make a good point, Morgan." I laughed softly as I said it.


MORGAN'S POV

The sun was almost blinding. My head was pounding like a bass drum and I grimaced at the realization that it was yet another hangover making it's presence known. When I opened my eyes, it wasn't to find myself in my room at Mom's, or even at Dante's place or my room at Dad's.

No, this place was somewhere I'd never been before.

And then I realized that I wasn't in bed alone either. The brunette beside me in bed rolled facing me and grumbled something in Italian, a sleepy soft voice as she buried her face in my chest and a long leg settled across my waist and all I could do was let her curl into me and lie there, watching the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed in and out.

Bits and pieces of the night before were coming back to me and as soon as I realized that it was entirely too quiet, I untangled the sleeping brunette from my body and slipped out of bed, wandering over to my clothes piled in an expensive mid century modern chair in front of a vanity that was overflowing with makeup and hair tools.

After a little digging in the pockets of my favorite leather jacket, I found my cell phone and cringed as soon as I realized that I'd cut it off the night before and that was one of the last solid things I remembered.

"Morgan?" she called out my name softly and I froze for a second, turning around to look at her and really take in the way soft dark waves fell in a curtain around her face and the way big brown eyes fixed on me in question. I held up my cell phone and explained, "My mom is probably losing her damn mind.."

She gave a soft smile and nodded. I wandered back over to the bed and sank down to sit on the edge of it as I waited on the phone to power up fully. And almost the second it had and I'd just barely gotten my pin into the unlock screen, my phone was absolutely flooded with notifications.

Turns out, it wasn't only my mother who was worried about me. And I grumbled to myself in irritation as soon as I realized that Nelle had gone to the first person she could think of and told them that I'd tried to kiss her earlier in the afternoon; that I seemed like I was teetering on the edge and I'd been talking crazy according to her.

My dad's text is the one I responded to first because I wanted him to be absolutely sure I was safe and I hadn't gone anywhere near the docks.

← I'm fine.

← Look, I don't know what else to say but I do know I wasn't the one who took that car for a joyride.

← Just like… let Mom know it wasn't me and I'm safe, please? I can't… I need to clear my head for a while and I need you both to let me, okay?

The three dots appeared almost instantly and my phone pinged not even a half second later with a rush of texts from my dad.

→ Thank fuck. I was really startin to worry, kid.

→ I'm lettin her read this over my shoulder right now and she wants to know where you are. She also wants to know if you're okay and when you plan on comin back?

→ I get it, champ. If anyone gets it, it's me, okay? If you want to talk, you know where I am. Right?

→ Morgan! It's Mom! Are you sure you're alright? If you took the car last night all you have to do is tell us. We'll figure something out to cover for you.

I sighed and shook my head.

Asking for distance was apparently going to be ignored. I read and re-read the texts my parents had both sent me through the night and took a few deep breaths, letting a shaky one escape when I felt the brunette I'd woken up in bed with pressing herself against me from behind and slipping her legs so that one rested on either side of me as she propped her chin on my shoulder.

"Go out on the balcony and call them, Morgan. At least let them know where you are and that you're safe and clear up whatever they think happened, please?"

"They're going to bombard me with questions and accusations and just thinking about it… I can't right now, okay?"

"I'm right here, okay? All you have to do is let them hear your voice. They're only doing this because they're worried about you. It's not because they think you've done whatever it is they seem to be avoiding asking outright."

I took a few more shaky breaths and thought it over. She did make a good point and no matter how much they've been on my case lately, they love me. I know they love me, even if sometimes my mind tries to convince me otherwise on a particularly bad day.

"Okay, alright."

She grinned up at me brightly and I pulled myself off the bed, wandering out onto the balcony off of her room. I shut the doors behind me and leaned against a cold stucco wall, shivering in the icy chill that hung heavily in the air.

My dad answered on the second ring.

"Thank God. Kid, you had us all worried. And what's this I hear about you tryin to kiss Nelle Benson?" my father started to speak but my mother's question cut him off about halfway in. I tensed a little.

"I was drunk when I did that."

"You still did that.. And you know that alcohol is a no go with your medication, son! What were you thinking? Where are you? Your father and I will come get you, okay?"

"Mom."

"Morgan, you need to come home."

"What's really going on?" I asked.

My father took the phone away from my mother and apparently left the room they'd both been in. Once he was away from her, he explained everything; including the fact that Nelle apparently lied to my parents and told them both that she'd seen me about to steal the car my father parked on the docks as bait.

And apparently, the car had been stolen. And it had blown up.

I grumbled to myself, making a mental note to avoid Nelle Benson like the plague in the future. As I turned to gaze through the French doors to the balcony, I couldn't help but stare at Sophia.

"I need time to clear my head, alright? You have to make Mom understand. I know she's only trying to help and protect me but she's only making this a lot harder." I explained to my father. He remained silent for a minute or two and finally, he answered. "I'll do that. Where are you, kid? Do you need money or anything?"

"I'm with a friend."

"Morgan…"

"Dad, trust me. Just this one time, please? This isn't another situation like Vanderbilt. Or Kiki. This friend might be good for me… The time to clear my head definitely will. Just like… Please let me have it?" I asked before going quiet.

"At least give me a name, kid."

"Okay, alright, fine. It's Brenda's daughter Sophia."

I could feel tension creeping in as soon as I told my father who I was currently with and for a second or two, I tensed up. My father sighed quietly.

"Yeah, the grapevine has her here for Fashion Week. And the relaunch of Deception. It's probably best your mom doesn't know, right champ?"

"Thank you, dad. I swear you won't regret this."

"I'll put some money in your account,champ. Should be there later this evening."

I thanked my father again and almost a split second later, my mom was back on the line. Grilling me about what Sonny told her and nagging at me left and right about the fact that I can't just disappear, not right now with the doctors trying to help me get my BPD under control like they have been. That if I'm having an episode, the last thing I need is to be alone and I just couldn't take another second.

This is where I made my mistake.

"And I'm not alone, Mom." I stated, gritting my teeth as the words left my mouth and bracing myself for the flood of questions while wanting to kick myself for letting it slip like I had.

"Morgan.."

"Mom, all I can tell you is that this is not like Vanderbilt. Or Kiki. Or anything I've done recently." my gaze settled on Sophia as she moved around the bedroom I stood outside of, tidying up from the looks of it. "This feels totally different. I need you to trust me. I need you to give me breathing room."

"I love you, son. I'm.. I'm scared and I feel powerless right now and I hate it, alright? It's almost like watching your father go through it all over again. I just want to help."

"If you give me a week or two, that will be helping. I just need time. Space. Something, I dunno. Because it feels like everything is closing in on me and I'm suffocating."

"Do you at least have your medicine?"

I swore quietly to myself. I'd have to stop by the pharmacy later. While I was thinking about it, I made a mental note to go ahead and go in to the hospital and talk to my specialist, voice my concerns about the medicine they'd put me on and the way I felt that it wasn't doing anything.

"I have enough to get by. I'll go pick up my refill later today, alright?"

"So you haven't left town either?"

"Nope." I answered, going quiet. Pacing the balcony a second or two to build up a little warmth.

"Where are you? Who is this friend?"

"I'm out at Vista Point Lake. My friend has a place out here. It's peaceful. Roomy and quiet." and I purposely refused to answer her when she asked for the name of my friend a second or third time. She repeated that part of her question and I sighed.

"It better not be Kiki. Or Nelle. Nelle is the reason your father and I were freaking out last night. Just tell me it's neither of them and I'll let it go. I don't want to, but I will. I mean, I'll try." my mom's words tumbled out on top of each other and I took another deep breath as I chuckled bitterly.

"It's definitely not either of them. Kiki is through with me. We've been through too much. As far as Nelle, I was in a weak moment when I kissed her yesterday afternoon."

My mother let out a ragged and relieved breath and after a long and heavy pause, we said our goodbyes. I promised to check in at some point and it was a promise I fully intended to keep. But not until I had the space and time to myself required to think and have a little breathing room for once.

And I leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths.

My phone rang in my hands. This time it was my brother Dante.

I explained everything that was going on to him and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke up.

"Just take your time, buddy. And call me, okay? You don't know how worried I was last night, kid." Dante chuckled quietly.

We hung up and I wandered through the double doors and back into the bedroom right around the exact same time that Sophia stepped into it from the ensuite bathroom. I bit my lip and despite every attempt I made not to, all I could do was stare at her.

"Well? Is everything okay? Did you let them know you were alive and safe?"

I nodded as I stepped closer to her, towering over her. Resting my hands at either of her hips gingerly. "Did we… Ya know.."

She shook her head no and laughed softly. "We fell asleep not even ten minutes after we made it back here. Did you tell them you needed breathing room for a little bit?"

"I did. Dad is going to give it to me, I'm pretty sure me saying it went in one ear and out the other with my mom, like usual. So, I guess now all I have to do is find a cabin to rent for a week or two out here or get myself a room at that bed and breakfast on the way in."

I blinked, taken aback when she spoke up softly, walking her fingers up and down my chest as she gazed up at me. "Or.. you could take one of the 5 bedrooms in this house? This way, you're not spending any money… And I'm not all alone in this huge house because I'll be honest.. This place definitely creeps me out at night." she suggested, her cheeks darkening as she went quiet and dropped her gaze, fixing it on my chest.

I stepped a little closer and stared down at her, raising a hand and letting my index finger catch a drop of water as it rolled off the end of her hair and onto her face. "You're sure you wanna do this?"

"I asked, didn't I? Besides, it's not like it's a big deal. What else are friends for, hm?" she pressed against me a little closer and I bit back a groan as I slipped my arms around her and managed a smile while nodding. I swallowed down the lump in my throat and finally managed to process that for whatever reason, Sophia Barrett wasn't in a rush to escape me and finally, I gave my answer.

"Fine with me."

"Yay." she gave me another bright grin and rose to tiptoe to fluff my hair and graze her lips against my cheek. The noisy growling of her stomach had me chuckling quietly.

"C'mon. I'll make us pancakes and bacon." she giggled out the words as she stepped away from me a little and grabbed hold of my hand, pulling me towards the door of her bedroom.