Sophie hung up the phone guiltily.
"Lying to your girlfriend huh?" Sian said sarkily. Sophie looked away.
"I'll tell her the truth later. She might get the wrong end of the stick" Sophie said as she looked out across the street.
Not being able to look her ex-girlfriend in the eye she stuffed her phone into a pocket. Truthfully she hated having to lie like that but she didn't know how Maddie would react. As many strides as her girlfriend had made in the past few months, there was still a chance that she could leg it. And Sophie couldn't take it if she did.
Sian chuckled softly under her breath. Shaking her head from side to side, she shakily drew in a breath. Sophie turned to see if she was all right.
"Ya awright?" she asked warily. Sian looked at her. Her eyes were a blazing blue that hadn't dulled one bit.
"You should have heard that girl defend you. She would have laid me out cold if she had to to keep you" Sian said forcefully. She stood up from her seat and started walking away. Sophie leaped up and trailed after her, eventually overtaking her.
"Sian!" she barred the way, stopping the blonde from moving forward.
"Get outta my way Sophie!" she tried to plow through the brunette who wouldn't let her pass.
"Where are you going?! We aren't done here" Sophie demanded.
"Grow up Sophie! I say when we're done and we're done" Sian said with a finality that could cut glass.
Sophie grabbed the blonde's elbow and pulled her into a ginnel. She pushed her up against a wall.
"We're not ending things this way! Running away was always something that you were good at, well not this time. Why did you come back here after all this time?" Sophie demanded as she put her hands on either side of the blonde. Sophie effectively trapped her against the wall as she waited for an answer.
They stood an inch away, eyes glued to the other facing them. Each girl could feel each other's warm breath as they stood. For a moment, all that could be heard in the alley way was the sound of their panting.
Sophie could see Sian's eyes go dark and her angry resolve weaken.
"Soph" she said weakly.
Sophie watched the blonde slump back against the wall. The energy drained out of her as Sian's head fell backward. Sophie took a step back and let her arms fall.
"I'm sorry Sian" Sophie said quietly regaining her own breath.
Sian shook her head toward the ground in disbelief. She lifted her head and looked at Sophie dead on.
"You keep apologizing and claiming that you've changed. But have you Sophie?! Really?" Sian asked. "Because that girl...she loves you. And what do you do? You lie to her" Sian paused.
Sophie could tell that the blonde was only gathering steam. She stepped back to allow the blonde her space.
"It wasn't the cheating that ended us yanno, it was the lying. It's a Webster family trait and it will hurt you every time" Sian bitterly snarled.
Sophie put up her hands in surrender.
"Okay, Okay. I get it. Lesson learned, I'll explain to her first thing and hopefully she'll forgive me" Sophie calmly relented.
"Good, because I swear to god, I won't hear about Sophie Webster breaking another girl's heart" Sian said as she calmed down. Not sure what to do, Sophie went to sit down on a makeshift bench. Silently she urged Sian to sit down beside her. The blonde shook her head.
"Can't. I have to get back to Newcastle. No way I'm staying the night here. Not gonna happen" she said gathering herself as she turned toward the alley exit.
Sophie stood and followed her. Together they each walked out onto the street. Awkwardly they looked at each other unsure how to part ways. Sophie offered her hand to shake. Sian looked at it and smiled. She took it and then pulled Sophie into an embrace. They separated after a minute and looked at each other.
"It was good to see you" Sophie said quietly.
"Well I guess it was about time" Sian sighed. "We were best friends once. Maybe someday if we get past all this shit from the past...well I don't know..." Sian finished weary.
"Maybe" Sophie nodded. Sian turned around and started walking away down the cobbles.
Sophie pulled out her phone to look at the time.
"Shit!" she cursed to herself as she headed toward Prima Donna at a quick pace.
Maddie was going to kill her.
Sian tried to walk away as confidently as she could until she reached her car. Slumping into the car seat, she allowed herself to finally give in to her own emotional exhaustion. Seeing Sophie again had been more difficult than she thought it would be. But then she realized that she had been foolish to believe that it would be anything else.
Still she had yearned to feel anything again. And now she had. Oh she definitely had.
It had taken everything in her body not to react when she had been pinned against the wall in that ginnel. One part of her yearned to just close the gap and feel those soft lips again. The other side had wanted to slap her a good one. Instead Sian had chosen neither side since they both scared her to death.
As she sat holding her car keys, it occurred to her that this was the most real physical emotion that she had felt in a long while. Sophie Webster seemed to punch through her carefully constructed walls in a way that no one else did.
Hell, she was cheaper than therapy. And healthier than foolish boozing or soulless sex had been. Laughing out loud she started up her car and pulled out into the street. She deserved to be loved and to love in return.
And she wasn't going to run from it. Not anymore.
Sophie practically ran from Prima Donna with a takeaway in each hand. Right now her entire life focused on getting back to Maddie. She had let herself down by lying and needed to fix it as soon as she could. Bursting through the door out of breath she clapped her eyes on her dad sitting on the couch with Jack. They were watching football but he turned toward her with troubled eyes.
"Where's Maddie? I got takeaway for us…" she trailed off seeing her father's pained expression.
"She's upstairs sweetheart" he gestured upward. "But Sophie…" he stopped her before she rushed up "...you've got some explaining to do. She knows where you've been" he said with a sad shake of his head.
A/N: One more chapter left! Reviews are always loved, so drop us a line.