Some of you were dreading this chapter but I hope this eases some of your concerns =) Thanks so much for reading! You guys are awesome!
Chapter Eight
Sophia handed the phone back to Piper, still shocked but not entirely in a bad way.
"She's with him, isn't she?" Piper asked.
Sophia glanced up at her and nodded. "She is. And he tried to lie and say he hadn't seen her. I actually heard her ask who was on the phone though. And I swear she's drunk!"
Piper sighed. "Are you scarred for life? Please tell me you don't want to talk about your feelings? I'm not good with shit like that." She made a face.
Sophia shook her head. It was just her and Piper now. The guys had stopped by but they hadn't stayed long. Piper's dad had woken up and threatened to string them up by their privates. She smiled slightly and shook her head. "No. I mean, I don't want to know details or anything. I'm strangely happy for her."
Piper nodded. "You're a good kid, Sophia. I have no idea what I see in you."
Sophia laughed and settled down on the couch which was her bed for the night. She had to sleep in her clothes since she hadn't been prepared at all for any kind of sleepover. "What did you see in me? I mean, it sounds like a stupid question but I can't help but wonder. You didn't have to step in when I was having a hard time at school today and Damon didn't either." She raised up and eyed her.
Piper, who was now sitting upside down in the overstuffed chair with her head hanging off the seat just grinned. "Cause it ain't their job to judge other people and act like dicks. That's my job."
Sophia shook her head and laid back down. "Why is that? Why is it that you and the guys kind of run the school? That's usually not how it is."
"You gotta learn how to be... assertive. People are gonna treat you however you let them. If they know you're just gonna sit around and take shit then shit is what they're gonna give you. You think it's always been like this? Come on, I'm borderline midget over here. I got sick of getting shit all the time. I wasn't raised that way. We don't let nobody push us around because we're Dixons and Dixons are tough. So I got tough. I fought back. Now nobody gives me any shit. Problem solved."
"It isn't that easy for me. You have a different kind of dad than I do. If I start getting in trouble then my mom will be the one that has to pay for it." There was a long pause and then she heard Piper sitting up.
"Does he hit her? Or you?"
Sophia sat up again and leaned her back against the arm of the couch, picking at the faded blanket that Piper had given her. "He doesn't hit her anymore. I don't think he does. He used to and then we left. We stayed at this shelter for a little while and then he quit drinking and talked her into coming back. That was a few years ago."
"Dude, if he ever touches her again you call me or force her to call Daryl. Does he hit you?" Piper looked outraged.
Sophia shook her head but she felt a little sick to her stomach. "My mom wouldn't let that happen but..."
"But what?" Piper asked, her voice taking on an edge.
She shook her head. "It's nothing, really. He's never touched me."
Piper narrowed her eyes. "Look, I know I'm not much but I'm all you got as far as friends go. Tell me what you were about to say."
"It's the way he looks at me. It's... weird. It gives me the creeps but I think it's just because I'm waiting for him to start in on me like he does my mom."
Piper settled back down in her chair, pulling her knees up. She didn't say anything else for a while and when she did speak Sophia was glad that she was changing the subject. "Maybe tomorrow my dad will actually let me out of the damn house and I can show you around. This place is small but there's a lot of cool shit to get into if you know where to look."
Sophia nodded, smiling slightly even though the mood had turned a little dark the prospect of just hanging out with a friend sounded more exciting than it should have.
~H~
Carol was pretty sure she was having an aneurism. There was a painful throbbing in her head and when she rolled over she realized that all of her muscles seemed to be aching at once. She opened her eyes and then sat up when she found herself looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The movement had her wincing and she rubbed her temples to try to sooth the ache.
It was then that she started to remember the night before. She looked down and gasped when she realized she was completely naked and a quick scan of the floor proved that her clothes were nowhere in site. Daryl wasn't there either. He had just left her alone and naked in a strange room! And she didn't have anything to wear!
What the hell had she been thinking? Why had she drank so much? Why had she been so eager to sleep with him when she barely knew him? And why was she surprised that he was gone? She was lucky he had even let her stay here at all. Flashes of the night before pummeled her memory and after securing the sheet around her she sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. Downstairs. It had started downstairs.
"Oh my God," she muttered. Had anyone seen them? She had had sex with a man right against the wall in a hallway! Anyone could have walked by and seen them! She ignored her traitorous body. Just remembering the things he had done to her had heat pooling low. He had her clothes off before they had even made it up to the room... and then once he got her in there...
The sound of the door opening had her looking up sharply. Daryl walked in, stopping when he saw the look on her face. He had a bottle of water in one hand. "Figured you'd still be asleep," he said as he kicked the door shut and crossed the room. He handed her the bottle and then held out his palm where two pills sat. "For your head."
"Thank you. I don't suppose you've seen my clothes?" She swallowed down her humiliation as much as she could. At least he hadn't just left her there.
He shook his head. "Pretty sure they were on the stairs but they were gone this mornin'. Ain't nobody here to ask."
"What am I going to do? I can't go home wearing your bed sheet," she groaned.
She looked up when she heard him laugh softly.
"Daryl this isn't funny," she scowled and then finished off the water.
"It's kinda funny."
She eyed him. "Well, you probably make a habit of sleeping with strangers and then losing your clothes. I don't. I've spent the last sixteen years with the same man. And the one time I have a weak moment and do something insane, I lose my clothes. My clothes! And my phone! Oh my God."
He narrowed his eyes. "I don't make a habit of sleepin' with strangers. And I ain't ever lost my damn clothes either." He sounded genuinely offended and she instantly felt bad for saying it.
"Well, if I knew you then I'd know that but I don't. I don't even know how old you are. How old are you?" He was younger than her, she could tell.
"Twenty seven."
"Oh my God," she muttered, shaking her head.
He snorted. "It ain't like I'm twelve. Look, I can take your car to your house and get you some clothes. You can just... be naked and hang out here."
She looked up. "You'd do that?"
He shrugged. "Yeah. Unless you just wanna stay naked all day. I won't complain. Fuck, I'll lose mine too, then it won't be so awkward."
As embarrassed as she was about everything that had happened she couldn't help but smile at that. She hadn't been sure what to expect from him this morning but it certainly wasn't this. She expected him to be cold and standoffish. Or just leave and not come back. She was starting to feel at least a little bit better. Even if the situation was one she never had expected to find herself in.
She stood up, keeping the sheet wrapped around her securely. "Are you sure you don't mind going to my house?"
He shook his head so she gave him directions. The water and the pills had helped her headache but she felt... dirty. Not for having sex with him but because the room had been hot and she felt like she was covered in old sweat. "While you do that I'll take a shower. I feel disgusting."
"Ouch," he scowled.
She realized how that must have sounded. "Not because of that!"
He rolled his eyes. "I'll be back."
She offered him a weak smile and then headed for the bathroom. It was small but it would work. She found some mouthwash on the sink and was at least able to rinse her mouth out. She glanced up at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like she did any other morning other than the fact that her cheeks were pink and her eyes seemed brighter despite the hangover that seemed to be fading quickly. She looked oddly... content.
The thing that bothered her the most, out of this whole crazy situation, wasn't the fact that she had cheated on her husband. It was the fact that she may have been used as some sort of sex toy by some hot guy in his twenties. She laughed at her reflection because it was absolutely absurd. So what if all he had done was use her for sex? That was exactly what she had used him for. Not that the night started out that way but it happened. Would it have happened without the alcohol? Probably not. Would it ever happen again? She seriously doubted it. And that also bothered her. And it shouldn't have at all. It was a one night stand. Her very first and her very last one night stand. Sure, her marriage was bad. She couldn't stand her own husband, but she was married.
She turned on the shower stepped in, shutting the frosted glass door. She let the warm water pour over her head, soothing the last of the headache away.
The sound of the bathroom door opening startled her enough to almost cause her to slip. She cracked the shower door open and looked out. Daryl was there, keys in his hand.
"I didn't know if you wanted me to pick you up something to..." His voice trailed away as his eyes met hers, his words dying on his lips and the thrill that shot through her was absolutely sinful.