Episode 15: The Reckoning

Previously On Wolf Lake: All he could do now was howl, he couldn't sense her or hear her screams. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing but it had stopped none the less.

1 Day and Counting

1 Day earlier

The Day after the Party

The weekend was over and the party was all anyone could talk about. Walking into the diner, he immediately noticed Sophia's absence. She wasn't there, but Kit was and she looking worse for wear. It was then he noticed, Sarah was missing as well. He could only sit down in defeat, he knew he wasn't getting any answers today and that genuinely bothered him. He was worried about Sophia, worried she hadn't survived, and worried she did. He was a tangled mess of emotions and what worse was the lack of information. Ruby hadn't come home last night and neither had his mom.

When Kit approached the table he got one of the coldest, deadliest stares he'd ever received

"Can I take your order?" The hate in her voice was evident.

"A burger?" He couldn't';t help but cringe at the lack of authority in his voice, it had sounded more like a question than anything. Herr anger made him uneasy, he felt like she would shoot him or poison him given the chance.

"Anything else?" her voice was dripping with pure venom. If looks could kill he was sure he would have been dead before his parents had conceived him.

"A soda" he said quirking an eyebrow at her. "Did I do something to you"

Kit laughed a mocking laugh in his direction "No you never hurt anyone" and walked away.

His food was brought by later by a trainee who accidentally spilled his drink on the way to his table, another drink was brought to him seconds later by Kit, who accidentally on purpose spilled its entire contents on him. He could vaguely hear Rusty cursing up a storm mumbling incoherently about people being crazy and no good.

Minutes later the bell over the door chimed making his eyes shoot up to the door in hope. Still no sign of Sophia, no Sarah, not even Presley. It worried him, the lack of communication. So he sat in silence, waiting for Sean, mulling over his thoughts as he morosely bit into his burger.

XXX

"What do you mean White?" the words came out in a rushed whisper

"Just what I said Vivian" there was no denying the impatience in the voice. "When I woke up and looked at her she was white" Ruby said slowly, her voice coming out in a soothing whisper making the Alpha feel like a petulant child that needed calming.

"This just isn't possible. The pack already has a white wolf, we were lucky enough to be blessed with that. Why would we need or better yet have another" she tried again hoping she would somehow wake up and this would all be just weird dream

"V" Sherman interjected. "Ruby is right. Sophia Donner is a white wolf. While I'm not completely sure as to the hows and whys, I have my suspicions."

Vivian Cates was in complete denial. She had nothing against Sophia, to the contrary she liked the girl very much and always hoped she would survive the change, but 1 white wolf was an anomaly in itself and well to be blunt 2 was just not natural, it was unheard of. They were lucky to have Ruby, blessed really. She couldn't help feeling nervous, what would cause the fates to grant them a second white wolf, one that would currently be in the younger pack. She found herself oddly protective of the girl, releasing a small growl when thoughts of Tyler and what he might try to pull now, that Ruby was 'gone' so to speak, surfaced.

"I think it best to keep this between us, no one should know about her color, it could be dangerous. Until we learn more or it's absolutely necessary the color of her wolf pelt stay between those of us standing here and Sophia herself." she said suddenly turning towards the others

"For once, I have to say I agree with you Vivian. What do you plan to do with me?" Ruby asked, leaning against the Hollander's living room sofa.

"For right now, it seems as if you're important to the pack, if you can help the younger pack through the change. You will stay at the Estate with Luke and I, your presence will not be mentioned until the next pack meeting where we will ask, that the pack recognize your separation from Tyler. There is too much at stake now we can't risk him rising to power."

"V, there is no guarantee she can help any of the younger pack members. If that was at all the case, more of the pups would have survived. I am under the impression she and Sophia are connected and that in itself is the reason he was able to help her." Sherman said as his eyes moved between the 2 females in the room.

"Be that as it may, we can't take the chance. No matter how slim the chance maybe, Ruby and Sophia are our responsibility, and there protection should be our number one priority." Vivian intoned, her voice taking on a steely edge, the others in the room unable to miss the Alpha notes that hung in the air, urging them to follow her orders.

"As you wish." He responded, bowing his head slightly in her direction.

Suddenly she turned towards Ruby "We'll leave through the back of the house, that way you won't be seen. Do you think you can keep all of this from Luke?"

"Yes" she replied "I'm going upstairs to check on Sophia, I just need to make sure she's ok. I'll be sure to let her know what's going on."

"I'll call to you when we it's safe to leave."

XXX

She was sore, that much she knew, the rest was all a blur. She understood the severity of what had just happened hours prior, but she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it. She had somehow managed to survive the flip and yet she had no idea how or why, let alone what color she was. She was torn out of her thoughts by a quiet knock and Ruby sticking her head in. "Hey, how are you feeling?" the sincerity and compassion was not only present in Ruby's voice but also on her face.

"Hey yourself, not so bad, just sore. Thanks for yesterday" Sophia answered flashing Ruby a genuine smile.

"I just showed you the right way, you did the rest." Ruby said turning to look at Sophia "What do you remember about last night" she asking thinking back to last night, after experiencing it firsthand she knew how the young girl and her wolf felt about her brother, Luke. What she didn't know, was how she felt about it, as Sophia's friend and Luke's sister. 'That kind of emotion could only come about if the two were….' Her memories were flashing images of words and encounters in her mind, so quickly that she nearly missed Sophia's response.

"Not much really, I do remember seeing you as a wolf, but then it's all pretty much blurry except for a couple of the things you told me."

"Do you remember what color your coat is?"

"No and Sarah told me she didn't know either." Sophia said standing up and walking over to the mirror. She couldn't believe the changes, if she wasn't seeing them with her own eyes; she'd swear this was all a dream. But then again her eyes seemed to be the main problem with her appearance; she had assumed they'd go back to normal after she'd made the change but if anything they seemed to glow brighter. The eerie amber orbs now had flecks of green in them, her once rounded face seemed to take on a glowing regal look, and her hair was shiny, smooth and wavy, cascading down her back. She had never really noticed how much better the teens looked after the change. 'But that's probably do to the fact that my eye sight wasn't the best before.' She thought with a snort, pulling her hair up into a messy bun

"Sophia you might wanna sit back down" Ruby said waiting for Sophia to plop back down on the bed before she continued "The thing is Soph, you're a white wolf. Your coat is pure white, just like mine." It seemed like hours had passed before the other girl answered, but really it was only about 5 minutes.

"No that, that just can't be!" she stuttered, her voice raising an octave at the end. "I'm a half breed. I shouldn't have even been able to make the change. I'm lucky I survived!" She was now standing, pacing the in front of the bed. "The pack already has a white wolf, you. There must be some kind of mistake. You must have seen wrong."

"Sophia, Sherman saw you too. You're white. Nobody saw wrong."

"I can't tell Sarah, can I?" Ruby shook her head "And I can't tell anyone else for that matter, not until Mrs. Cates know more right?" Ruby shook her head again.

"No, you can't tell anyone. I know it sucks but you can stop by anytime to talk. I've cleared it with Vivian, and I'm staying with her. You are my only company." She chuckled lightly "Are you going to be ok?"

"I guess, I just have to wrap my head around it." She sighed. "Me a wolf, I survived. I'm a wolf, finally. Oh god I'm a white wolf"

"Takes some getting used to." Ruby laughed. "When you're not so sore, you should go running with me"

"Ok, that sounds like a plan." She responded flashing Ruby a small smile

"Well I have to talk to Sarah really quick and then I'm leaving. Remember you can't tell anyone the color of your pelt. If they ask, you didn't get a look, which technically is the truth. Stop by tomorrow ok" Ruby urged Sophia to understand. "You're tough Sophia, you'll be fine, trust me"

XXX

Following her nose, she found Sarah, as the girl exited the bathroom. The conversation with Sarah seemed to go quicker "Stay with her, keep her safe. Don't ask her too many questions because she can't answer half of them. And please don't let anyone know, she survived, no matter what you hear. They'll start to ask too many questions; questions none of us know the answer too."

"I pretty much guessed that's what you, Mrs. Cates and Mr. Blackstone were talking about. I just need to know that my best friend is going to be ok. You can tell Mrs. Cates I'll watch her."

"Thank you Sarah, you're a really good friend, loyal. She needs that. Vivian and Matt are coming to pick her up later." Ruby said with a sympathetic smile. She knew they were best friends and Sarah was risking a lot helping Sophia.

"Ok, be safe Ruby" Sarah answered walking towards her room "You too Sarah."

XXX

Luke got home shortly after passing on the nightly rave, which he never said no to, only to find his mother, Matt, Sherman and Ruby sitting at the dinner table in a seemingly comfortable silence. But since he knew them all pretty well, comfortable was not the best way to describe the current situation.

Ruby was the first to notice him "Luke, your home early."

"Yeah, I was kinda tired. Figured I'd eat then go upstairs and sleep" he answered feeling as if he had to defend his actions by the way Sheriff Donner was eying him.

"Luke do you want to sit with us, or do you want me to send up your food?" His mother asked in a voice that told him to choose the latter, since this was pack business, meaning none of his.

"I think I'll grab something from the kitchen and head up to my room" when his mother nodded he knew he had made the right decision.

"Later Luke" Sherman said with a small smirk "Don't forget your biology homework."

With a grunt of acknowledgement, he turned towards the kitchen to serve himself dinner.

After Dinner he fell into a fitful sleep not unlike the night he, Presley, Sean, and Randy almost killed that trucker. Only this time he couldn't go talk to the one person he knew could ease his doubts and fears, this time, Sophia was the cause.

XXX

"So what you're saying is, my daughter is a white wolf and I can't tell anyone about it. Let alone mention she survived until we know that it's safe. How long do I have to pretend I know nothing?" Mat spat out

"Matt, I understand where you're coming from. I plan to help Sophia the best I can, but we don't know what having 2 white wolves really means for the pack. She needs to regain her strength. We haven't had a white wolf in our pack for ages. I wouldn't wish this burden on anyone, but we have to face it. We all knew Sophia was different, that she was strong. She was bound to stir up some trouble." Ruby said, pausing to take a sip of her drink. "She'll be sore for a day or 2; Sherman, Vivian and I discussed it thoroughly and we agree that she should rest those days. She'll be guarded of course and when her strength return she can return to school."

"Alright, who will watch her?" he asked, looking at Ruby, Vivian and Sherman in turn "What of her classes?"

"I'll guard her. Between her current guards and myself everything will be fine. You and Vivian can pick her up from Sarah's house when you're finished here. Take her home so she can get some rest. Tomorrow Vivian will pick her up from your house and bring her here, everything will be ok." Ruby said standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a room to prepare. But Matt, we should give her some adjustment time. Sherman can decide if and when she's ready to join pack education classes. She has people in her corner."

"I guess I can't do anything to change this. She flipped, she's pack now. How did I miss this, I thought she was safe from all this. She didn't even show signs, at least not any that I saw" he growled in frustration

"You have my word Matt" Vivian answered without a moment's hesitation "I only have her wellbeing and safety in mind"

"As do I" Ruby mimicked nodding her head before walking out of the room.

Minutes later after finishing his food, Sherman spoke "Well as touching as this is, I do believe I have a nice little librarian waiting for me for a private meeting of sorts."

XXX

This just all seemed so surreal to her. She, Sophia Donner, daughter of Marie and Mathew Donner was a white wolf; the second one to emerge in the pack.

'I'm the only half-breed to survive the flip.' She thought wryly. She was white. 'White, white, white, pure white. This is just too weird'

"Soph, your dad's coming to pick you up in a couple of minutes." Sarah said entering the room fully. "You ok?"

"Yeah still sore and a little beat I guess. But that's normal right?" Sophia inquired

"Yep! It kinda feels like you were strapped to a medieval torture device right? Tomorrow it will feel about the same except your skin won't feel so itchy or foreign. Then, before you know it you'll feel great because you survived" Sarah said with a smile.

"Sounds great" she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"While I love the sarcasm, I've gotta say your exaggerating. It's not so bad, obviously you get used to the pain otherwise most of us wouldn't show up to school the next day." Sarah said with her own eye roll before throwing herself on the bed belly down "Speaking of which you're not going tomorrow. Before you ask, I don't know why. All I know is the Alpha is picking you up. But have no fear, I'll see you around 3pm. There will be no falling behind on your studies. I'm supposed to take you back around 9 to meet with your dad though"

After a few moments, Sarah laughed suddenly. "Sounds like a busy day for you. Apparently no one has ever heard of a day off. We should play hooky on Friday" Sarah said wiggling her eyebrows.

Sophia couldn't help but laugh at her friend. She was finally 'normal', well normal for Wolf Lake. "Sounds like a plan. I say we rent tons of movies and pig out. We can get some cheesy chick flicks, something gory and a comedy!"

Sarah faked a look of surprise "I'm shocked, truly shocked has Sophia Donner gone bad?"

"I do believe you've been a bad influence on me Sarah Hollander."

"I'm appalled you would suggest such a thing. I'm you average everyday good girl!"

"Oh get over it. You know it's true" she said laughing. "I guess we better head down stairs, I hear my dad's truck. Someone needs to tell him his exhaust pipe is loose."

"You do know that was creepy right? You already have the hang of this wolf thing and you just flipped"

"I guess it comes naturally." She said shrugging at her best friend before dropping her bags by the couch.

"I'll say. You might even be a bigger bitch than Presley & Brianna combined"

"I'm offended. Of course I'm a bigger bitch. And hell I'm better too."

The girls fell onto the sofa in a fit of giggles just as the doorbell rang. Sarah made her way over to the front door.

"Sophia honey how are you feeling?" Matt asked his daughter once she made it to the door.

"Could be better, but I've definitely felt worse" Matt laughed "Okay are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah let's go." Sophia hugged Sarah goodbye and thanked the Hollanders for their hospitality, leaving her dad there talking to Sarah's father Cal.

"How are you feeling Sophia?" Vivian asked startling Sophia

"Pretty good considering." Sophia answered grasping her chest with a small smile.

"Good" Vivian said smiling at the girl. "I didn't mean to scare you; I brought you some dinner if you're hungry." She motioned to the plastic bag with 3 containers in it. "I'll be over your house tomorrow to pick you up around 10, is that alright with you?"

"Yeah that's fine, I'm usually up by 6:30 anyways." She paused "Thanks for everything by the way. I know you're here to watch over me tonight."

"It's alright, I wanted to help. But I must say I think you and your dad need to have a conversation about his wolf. You've made the change, and you survived. I personally believe it's in everyone's best interest, that he flip again. Not only does his pack needs him but so do you."

"I don't know what to say"

"It's quite alright, I was just voicing my opinions" The conversation dropped as Matt got in the truck.

Monday

The next day

His Reckoning

He was not the only one that noticed Sarah's lack of enthusiasm or the fact that Sophia was not present. When he mentioned it to Presley, she brushed him off and said it wasn't important, leaving him speechless "Your mother's the alpha Luke, what she says goes. Just leave it" she said before she sauntered off.

She had made no visible attempt to patch things up with Brianna. She even went as far as to nod at Sarah in class, what was even freakier was the fact that Sarah returned the gesture. He knew something was going down and realized he was going to be kept in the dark until THEY planned on letting him in. Things with him and Randy were ok but more like tiptoeing around a land mine, there was no way to know when they were going to blow up in your face. It felt a little along the lines of the Twilight Zone.

XXX

When Vivian pulled up to the house Sophia was a mass of nerves. To say that she was skeptical would be an understatement. 'She's helping me and for that I'm grateful. But I was almost positive she would have used me to secure Luke's future as the Alpha' she thought to herself.

The ride was short and very quiet. They exchanged polite hellos and a brief conversation about school, but it wasn't long before they were pulling up to The Cates' Estate.

XXX

Vivian stared hard at the bottle of Lysol, hoping it would magically reveal the answers to the questions fluttering in her head. She had contemplated the disaster she would face when Luke caught wind of Sophia's sent roaming through the halls. She was almost positive that if Luke cared as much about Sophia as she suspected, then her sent would be engraved in his memory. And if what Ruby had said was true then no matter how much air freshener she used to mask it, he would know. 'This is gonna ruin our sense of smell. So should I even bother?' she thought in dismay

XXX

The Day went by surprisingly fast for Sophia. She spent the whole day with Ruby. They talked about everything wolf related and danced around the topic of Luke. But she had to admit that this was fun.

It was around 2:15 when Vivian came to Ruby's room and told Sophia it was almost time to go. In a hurry Ruby made her promise to come visit again, which of course made Sophia laugh since she would be back around 9.

"What?" Ruby asked truly feeling out of the loop

"Nothing" she laughed again, trying to calm herself down. "It's just, you know I'm coming back." Sophia answered

"Yeah well" Ruby replied with a small laugh of her own "Thank you."

"What for?" the younger girl asked

"Making me laugh."

"I guess I owed you one." Sophia said hugging Ruby

When she was downstairs Vivian looked at her and took in her red checks and cheery disposition and lifted a perfectly done eyebrow in question. Before anything could be said Ruby showed up at the top of the stairs calling Sophia's name and throwing her a duffel bag that seemed to be bulging at the zipper.

Catching the bag, Sophia looked up at Ruby "What's this?" she asked adjusting the bag's holster onto her shoulder.

"Try that stuff on; I forgot to give it to you earlier. It's not much; just some old clothes that I thought would look awesome on you. Don't take this the wrong way but, it kinda looks like you're wearing a potato sack" Ruby said winking at Sophia "And as your 'mentor' so to speak I can't have that" Sophia smiled and said her thanks once again heading out of the house.

The ride to Sarah's was shorter than the ride that morning. When they arrived at the Hollanders, Sarah's mother was waiting for her at the door. Sophia turned around thanked Mrs. Cates again and hugged Jean Hollander and went up to Sarah's room. Within minutes the girls were in gossip mode.

"No way, he did?" she screeched in mortification. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Yep Sean told me. Randy definitely said that kiss was well worth a punch in the face"

"But I barely remember it, one second Luke's smirking at me and the next I'm on the floor in pain." Sophia said bringing the pillow up and over her face to scream in frustration. "Who does that?" she mumbled her face still hiding under the pillow. "Tell me what's up with Presley because I seem to have this freaky memory of her throwing Brianna, her best friend Brianna, across the room. Was that just my imagination?" she asked removing the pillow once her traitorous cheeks had stopped their insufferable blushing.

"Nope she threw her alright. Anyway, they aren't really best friends; they are the best kind of frienemies. They've always been in competition with each other. First it was who the best student was. Next it was their flips, then Luke and my guess is they're going to compete for the top female slot. It's just the way they work and rumor has it they haven't so much as glanced at each other." Sarah said sitting up and pulling the pillow away from Sophia.

"Cleo is freaking out, yelling about how they are fighting over some stupid trivial shit involving you. Obviously she used some vulgar terms to describe you but it was quite amusing. Kit's worried though, and who can blame her. She's human, she has no idea about what a Hill Kid really is and all she knows is Luke pissed you off and that rumor says you passed out from over exhaustion. The pack's mental link was on over drive though. I got a head ache by 2nd period from all the yapping. Seriously Soph, a headache. I never get those." She mumbled hitting Sophia with the pillow she had just taken when said girl started to laugh.

"They all know I'm not a morning person but they were going on about you. Asking a million questions, 'did you hear the zoo bait started her flip and didn't even last 2 minutes, they put her out of her misery'yada freaking yada. No wonder I wasn't the least bit enthusiastic by pack education. But anyways, how does it feel to be the most talked about girl in all of Wolf Lake High?" she quirked her eyebrows

"Like I'm going to snap, Vivian said if I was up to it I could go to school tomorrow. But I'm not so sure I'm ready to hear all of them all in my head." Sophia answered laughing

The rest of the afternoon went on much the same. Sophia was nervous about going to school the next day 'I wonder if I'm going to take any pack classes' Sophia thought to herself making extra sure she had put up the mental walls and wasn't broadcasting. Glancing at the clock she realized she had about half an hour until she had to be dropped off at the Cates' Chances were she would come face to face with Luke and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. She hoped Sarah wouldn't notice her anxiousness and if she did that she wouldn't take it personally.

But of course Sarah, being Sarah was extremely observant and noticed Sophia's mood change drastically. "Soph calm down, Ruby's meeting us at the back door and Luke's probably out at the rave" she told her.

"I must have spaced about the rave, I'm keeping you from it aren't I?"

"Soph stop, I didn't really want to go. I'm serious, I had a headache. and I don't want to witness Sean hooking up with anyone tonight."

"Sorry, but you know what screw it. If he's too stupid to make a move then it's his loss. Don't let him keep you from having fun. Go out, get hammered, and enjoy it while you're young." Sophia said chuckling lightly

"I guess. I'll think about it" Sarah said with a shrug. "Well I should get you over to Mrs. Cates House. Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow for school?"

"Sure, I'll text you"

XXX

When Sophia got there, she felt as if there were a million carnivorous butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. She could smell traces of Luke all over the place. She reached the back door hugging Sarah and knocking on the door. Seconds later the door opened, revealing an amused Ruby and a very agitated Mrs. Cates

"Are you ok Mrs. Cates?" Sophia asked watching her best friend drive off

"What? Oh I'm just a bit frustrated; my son decided to give me the 3rd degree. I decided to forgo to air fresheners earlier, a mistake I won't be making again. I may have told him you were ok, but I kept the details to a bare minimum. You wouldn't happen to know why he's so curious about you now would you." Vivian said ending in a lighter tone almost teasing the younger girl.

"With all due respect, my only guess would be that he's a pompous ass, who swears he needs to know everything about everyone." Sophia answered making Vivian and Ruby laugh lightly

"Speaking of the pompous ass, I suggest we get you upstairs quickly before he gets out the shower and attacks us for withholding information."

Sophia smiled at Mrs. Cates and began her trek upstairs with Ruby, turning back towards Vivian she asked "Is my dad coming over today?" when she received a nod she continued "Could you let me know when he gets here I need to talk to him"

"Of course now off you go I heard the shower turn off and we are running on limited time."

XXX

The girls reached Ruby's room with only seconds to spare "Ruby?" Luke asked knocking lightly on the door.

"Just a second" she answered turning to Sophia, shoving the girl towards her closet. When Sophia was tucked securely away she opened the door slightly "Yeah?" she asked

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk like we used to." He said taking a deep breath, his eyes flashing slightly when the scent of hit him. Sophia's scent clung to Ruby slithering past the threshold of his sister's room and curling around his like a security blanket. He knew then she was ok, her scent a reminder of his mother's words. 'Dead girls don't have scents Luke' she had told him before unceremoniously kicking him out of his office. He could still hear Ruby's laughter ringing in his ears. 'I just need to know what happened; I need to see for myself that she's ok.' He thought out sadly, hoping for an answer, and completely unaware that her scent was not clinging to Ruby but drifting past Ruby. He had no idea she was only 3 feet away from him.

Ruby shuffled nervously at the door "I'm sorry Luke, normally I would love to but I can't right now. I'm about to take a nap and I didn't get much sleep these last 2 night" she absolutely hated lying to her brother, the look he sent her always made her feel a million times worse.

He nodded at his sister "maybe later?"

"How about I go to your room when I wake up" she asked him, laughing lightly at the happy look on his face

XXX

Sophia felt immensely guilty, she felt guilty that people had to lie for her, she felt guilty that Luke sounded so wounded and lost but mostly she felt guilty that she was keeping Ruby from her brother even if only for a couple of hours.

"Sophia it's safe to come out" she heard Ruby breath "So what are you wearing to school tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure I haven't even tried on half of the clothes you gave me." She mumbled, tumbling out of the closet.

"Let's see" Ruby said forcing the zipper open and the clothes to spill out of the bag. "What about the black skinny jeans and a green or gray tank top. Those colors would look great on you." Ruby answered pulling out the jeans and tops. "Simple and flattering, here try them on"

The jeans had fit her perfectly. They clung to her like a second skin, flattering her figure.

Once the girls had decided on the top Ruby advised Sophia on what to wear with the outfit. "You're the kind of girl hoe looks better when she's comfortable, I think you should wear that outfit with this jacket and a pair of white chucks. It's perfect!" she said handing Sophia a white jacket from the bottom of the bag. "You might want to play up the fact that you have beautiful eyes that are no longer hiding behind glasses, the amber is starting to fade by the way, there are only a couple of flecks of green and gold left."

"Thanks Ruby" she was genuinely happy and it was more to do with Ruby's kindness than the prospect of a killer outfit.

"Yeah well it's not like I have anything else to do" she answered lightly with a shrug "you should try painting your nails, they're long enough"

"I've never really put much thought into it. They always seem to get chipped within minutes" she replied trying to fit the clothes back into the bag. "How did you even fit this all in here?"

Ruby laughed again taking the bag and clothes from Sophia "That's what I'm here for, you're bound by a promise to visit me now so I'll help you maintain them." She said smiling at the young girl and zipping the bag up again. "Now sit because those nails are starting to annoy me"

XXX

Within an hour she had finished both hands leaving Sophia with a professional looking French tip manicure. "Thanks they look really nice." Sophia said admiring Ruby's handy work. "How did you learn to do this?"

"When I was in Seattle, I had a lot of time on my hands." Ruby answered with a nostalgic smile on her face. "One day, out of boredom, I decided to learn how to do nails. But I'll admit, I never liked the acrylic smell. It always made me light head and want to puke." She said wrinkling her nose.

"Sophia, your dad called to say he was on his way" Vivian said entering the room full "Are you ready?" she nodded in response. Was she ready? That seemed to be the million dollar question lately.

"Are you going to school tomorrow?" Ruby asked when Vivian had left the room, bending to grab the bag she had given Sophia. The younger girl just nodded mutely again.

"I guess I knew I had to face your brother sometime." She rushed out suddenly, her cheeks going red again, making Ruby laugh some more.

"I'm heading over there now, why you don't come with me. At least then he'll know your alive instead of badgering everyone around him."

"I guess it couldn't hurt" she shrugged, walking out the door.

XXX

Luke was sitting in his room, the only place in the house he didn't smell her scent. That intoxicating jasmine she used in her shampoo that always made him loose his mind, the scent that made him loose control. He couldn't deny it anymore. He wanted her, a apart of him needed her, called out to her. He laid back in his bed to retreat into his thoughts.

Sophia. Her name itself could inflict such pain, torment, confusion. 'I sound so weak.' He thought to himself. There was only so much he could take, he was thinking about her constantly and wasn't even allowed within 30 ft. from her okay so maybe that's a tad bit overboard but he felt as if he should have been looked in a cage. No one wanted him near her, and he could only think about her so much before losing his mind. She still hadn't forgiven him, so it's not like he could go near her even if it wasn't forbidden. And now Presley was acting a bit odd, she was kind of nice to Sophia ever since the locker incident. Sophia was seriously strong, stronger than most females and she hadn't even flipped. He wanted to talk to her but she did everything in her power not to look at him and the few times he managed eye contact, her beautiful glowing eyes were cold, barely any emotion behind their chocolate depths. But her thought always gave her away, she was not to be claimed and damned be the man or beast who played her heart like a violin.

He could barely keep his thoughts and words straight. One second he was thinking, the next his mouth was moving, speaking on it's on accord. "Why won't she forgive me?" it was more of a statement then a question and he was completely thrown off when he receive an answer.

"Because you're an ass" he looked towards his door expecting his mother, anyone even Ruby. His eyes met hers, his only weakness, her beautiful brown eyes.

"Sophia" her name escaped his mouth in barely a whisper. "You're here" he whispered, completely lost

"Yes Luke" she replied gesturing to herself. "I'm here, & obviously I'm alive. I guess I'll see you tomorrow" and just as quickly as she entered she turned away. He could barely make out a muffled "Hi daddy" from her when he realized that Ruby was standing there.

"Hey little brother, guess you know my little secret. I'm sorry I had to keep it from you" she told him. Her shot her a questioning look, "I'm sorry I can't elaborate." She said seriously "So, what's on your mind" he was still in shock, his mind was barely able to process it all.

Seconds later, "Uhh" was his intellectual reply.

"I see you're as eloquent as ever" she laughed "I guess I'll catch up with you later, when you've regained your ability to speak, that is."

He was once again left alone to his own thoughts. Her scent now clinging to everything in the house. She was everywhere, he inhaled. She was haunting him to the point of insanity. He wasn't even sure if he'd just imagined her or if she really was there. He was suddenly very tired. All he could do was wait it out and hope that tomorrow he would see her and put his some of questions to rest, but until then, he had a rave to go to.