Chapter 8

3rd POV

"Charles, are you sure about this?" A petite woman who looked younger than her actual years asked a tall man with salt and pepper hair.

"Sure I'm sure, this is what I've been waiting for these past few years." The man was broad shouldered and hunched over a desk in what appeared to be an at-home office, signing a few papers before stapling them together.

"What if she doesn't want to meet you, or doesn't know about you, or hates you-"

"Then it'll be her choice, but I owe it to her to give her the opportunity to choose." He pulled some wire-rimmed reading glasses off of his face and faced the blond woman. Her arms were crossed and full lips pouted, a sign that showed her distaste for the situation despite her acceptance of it. "Sarah," Charles enveloped the petite woman's small hands in his bigger ones. "She's my daughter, I have to meet her at least once."

"I know." Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes as Charles kissed her hands, an obvious attempt to butter her up. "Do you even know where she is?"

"I have an idea and have been really narrowing down the area. She's somewhere in Colorado." There was an edge of nervousness in his voice now.

"What about Christine? Who knows what's become of her life?" Sarah asked uncomfortably, the thought of her ex best friend made an almost painful ball of nerves twist around in her gut. The man sighed and pulled her closer, resting his head above her heart.

"We're both adults, I'm sure we'll be able to talk things out civilly." He shrugged and she ran her fingers through his wavy hair.

"I hope you're right." They held each other in silence for a few minutes before she squeezed Charles' shoulders and suddenly spoke. "I want to come with you." Charles furrowed his eyebrows and pulled away to look at her.

"Are you sure? I don't mind going alone and I know how apprehensive you feel about Christine..."

"I know you know, but like you said, we're all adults now, and I think it's time I took some responsibility as well." She had a determined glint in her eyes and he sighed.

"Alright, but you'll have to ask your mom if she can keep an eye on the kids while we go."

"Of course." Sarah smiled and kissed his forehead. "Just let me know when to start planning the trip!" She sashayed out of the room and he rolled his eyes.

"It's not a vacation you know! It'll be a life changing experience!" He called after her but she probably didn't hear him. He shook his head and turned back to the thick stack of papers on his desk. They were in a large manila folder labeled "Sophia Harte", about five years worth of work laid in front of him. "I'm so close." He muttered softly, purple and grey eyes flashing determinedly. "Papa's coming Sophia, just you wait."

Sophia POV

Once I was left alone, I pulled off my torn jeans and dirty shirt, wondering if it'd be worth it to try and salvage my pants. I stripped down and began filling the tub with warm water, folding my clothes neatly and leaving them on the toilet seat I had just stood up from. I crossed my arms over my chest as I waited for the water to rise, staring at it splashing against the walls of the tub. There isn't a tub in my bathroom, just a shitty shower... Once the tub was about two thirds of the way full, I turned off the water and slowly sank in, hissing softly as the hot water splashed against my thigh. My body reclined and I dipped my head back so my hair would get wet, immediately feeling the weight of the water in it as I sat back up. A soft knock caught my attention and I crossed my arms over my chest again, sinking a bit deeper into the water.

"Who is it?" I called softly.

"Sophia? I'm going to leave these inside." Henrietta knocked again before opening the door and reaching in to leave some clothes on the sink.

"You can leave my clothes, I'll throw them in the washer when I'm done." I murmured but she took them anyway.

"It's fine, they'll get a head start on washing." She stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. I hugged my knees to my chest as she stepped towards me with a cigarette, placing it on my lips when I opened my mouth, and lighting it.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I held the stick with my teeth.

"Are you, like, sure you're okay?" She took a drag of her own cigarette and looked away.

"Um, yeah, I should be okay. My wounds should heal over in a couple of days and hopefully the scars will fade in a few months." I looked away awkwardly, taking a deep breath full of smoke. For a few minutes, the only sound in the bathroom was our breathing and the soft lapping of the water at the edges of the tub.

"Michael was really worried about you. We all were." She turned towards the door. I immediate felt a swell of affection rise inside me as Henrietta awkwardly shared her feelings.

"I really appreciate you guys, you know." My voice came out softly and for a second I was worried that she didn't hear me.

"We know." She opened the door and walked out again, leaving me alone. I finished my cigarette and began washing my hair, scrubbing my fingers tenderly where that bottle hit me. My thoughts flew through memories of other bottles hitting me, some flying at me and others coming out of nowhere. My fingers ran through my hair, taking out the worst of the knots and squeezing all the suds out. After I was done with that, I began scrubbing my body, being extra careful around my thigh. The dirty water went down the drain and I rinsed myself off one last time before stepping out and wrapping a soft towel around myself. The clothes Henrietta left me were mostly from a change of clothes I had left behind a while ago; black cotton panties, striped fuzzy socks, and pajamas Henrietta had given me for a past birthday, some loose satin shorts with a matching camisole that was slightly padded at the chest so I wouldn't need a bra. I'd slept over a couple of times -her parents didn't mind and were actually glad she was doing something "appropriate for a girl her age"- and she noticed I usually just wore old clothes to sleep. Being the Gothic Queen she is, not to mention an amazing friend, she said I'd look more like a succubus if I wore something like this to sleep. Unfortunately, I decided to leave the pajamas here, not wanting my mom to get angry over my gift and potentially throw them away while I wasn't looking. But, thankfully, on occasions like these the pajamas came in handy. Of course, it was still pretty early but I didn't really feel like going out, especially with the night I'd had, and I'm sure Benny's will understand considering the times I've called in sick for work were far and few between. I slowly dressed myself in the pajamas and rubbed the towel all over my hair, trying to squeeze out all the water that was still in there after wringing it out. Once I was done I left my towel in the laundry basket and walked to Henrietta's room, carrying the mug I'd left in the bathroom.

"Oh! You can go ahead and give me that dear." Mrs. Biggle came out of nowhere and practically snatched the mug from my hands. "Feel free to stay in Bradley's old room or just let me know and I'll set up somewhere for you to sleep in Henrietta's room." I nodded and took the plate of food she practically thrust into my hands, swallowing the lump in my throat at the kindness she was showing me.

"Thank you Mrs. Biggle, I really appreciate it." I said softly and sincerely, making her smile soften.

"It's no problem at all Sophia, you know you're welcome here anytime you'd like, for as long as you'd like." Her words were heavy with an added meaning and I nodded slowly, knowing she was offering to let me stay for a while so things can have a chance to cool off with my mom.

"I'll keep that in mind." I bit my lip and she smiled again before heading downstairs. The plate had a hot pocket, some chips, and mixed berries. My feet carried me to Henrietta's room and they all looked up as I walked in.

"A little early for pajamas, isn't it?" Pete flipped his hangs out of his face and I shrugged.

"Who says I have to conform to what society deems appropriate for me to wear during the day?" He rolled his eyes but I could see a small smirk tugging at his lips. "I don't think I'll be going out much today so I decided to skip ahead and wear pajamas." I said softly and sat down on Henrietta's bed, picking up a chip and pushing it into my mouth.

"I'm going to wrap your wounds so they don't get infected." The bigger girl walked toward me with a first aid box and I nodded. She sat cross legged in the bed next to me and examined my leg, getting out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a tube of antibiotic ointment. I relaxed my leg and let her do her work, eyes softening as I saw Firkle sit behind me with a hairbrush and gently run it through my hair. This went on for a few minutes and I appreciated how gentle Henrietta was being with me, just barely brushing her fingers over the wounds and making sure the bandages weren't too tight. While she worked on me, I continued eating the chips and bit into the hot pocket, wincing when the filling scalded my mouth, slowly chewing and moving my leg when she needed me to. "Now your face." I nodded as Firkle began brushing my bangs back, holding them in place for her so she could freely work on my face. "Try not to sleep on that side of your face, I'm assuming you're staying over right?" She finished up with just some gauze and medical tape and Firkle let my bangs go, letting them fall back into my face. I nodded and bit into the hot pocket again, immediately regretting it as my tongue got burnt again. I slowly chewed and tried not to spit it out as the younger goth ran his fingers through my hair.

"Are you staying in your room?" Michael spoke up from where he was lounging on the floor and I shrugged.

"It's not really my room, but I think I'll sleep in there for a bit, you guys probably want to hang out and I don't want to be in the way."

"It might as well be your room, I don't think that twerp is ever coming back." Henrietta rolled her eyes. I've never actually met Bradley, but turns out he was adopted and went to go live with his real family some time during elementary school after he found out about his parentage.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Bradley..." Raven muttered and I wondered how they knew each other, probably from the last time he was goth or something.

"I don't think it's right for me to claim a room in your house..." My fingers picked at the half eaten hot pocket, it was still pretty hot so I mainly focussed on finishing the chips, I'd leave the fruit for later so it could cool down my mouth.

"It's whatever." Henrietta rolled her eyes and lit a cigarette. I pulled my knees up to my chest, licking the salt off my fingers as a soft yawn suddenly escaped my mouth.

"You should sleep, I doubt basement floors are very comfortable." Michael stood up and I nodded, picking up my plate as I stood from the bed, my legs slightly shaky.

"Yeah, I should probably head to bed now." I said softly, walking to the door.

"Just call if you need anything." Pete flicked his bangs out of his face and I nodded, Michael following me as I left the room. Bradley's room was much brighter than Henrietta's, two of the walls facing each other were a soft teal color and the other two were white, the only thing out of place was some thick black curtains at the window which was open with the sun was still pretty high in the sky.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked as he closed the curtains to block some of the sun and I put the plate on the bedside table. The room dimmed quite a bit once the curtains were shut.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I sat down on the soft comforter, running my hand over it absentmindedly. We were silent for a few moments before he suddenly spoke up.

"You don't have to go back." His fists clenched at his sides and I raised an eyebrow. "Any of us would let you stay over. Henrietta's mom especially." He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away.

"I couldn't do that to any of you, I wouldn't want to be a burden." My voice came out softly, it wasn't the first time we'd had this conversation.

"No one would mind." He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag from it, his hand lightly shaking. As much as we claimed to like cigarettes for the aesthetic, we were all pretty hooked on the nicotine.

"I'm sure their wallets would." I picked up a blueberry and let it fall into my mouth.

"You pay half the expenses at your house anyway. You're a good kid, way better behaved than any of us, as conformist as that is." He started pacing, clearly agitated. I furrowed my eyebrows a little concerned, it wasn't often Michael lost his cool. "You shouldn't have to live with that bitch. You don't deserve-"

"Sit with me." I interrupted him and grabbed his hand as he passed by me, stopping him in his tracks and making the words die in his mouth. Silently, he took a seat next to me, sinking into the soft bed and reaching his hand up to take another breath of smoke.

"I wish I didn't have to go back either, but the last thing I want to do is be an unnecessary burden to someone." He turned to look at me and just as he opened his mouth to say something, I pressed a blackberry against his lips. He stared at me for a few seconds before loosening his lips out of their tense position and letting the berry roll into his mouth. My finger pressed against his dry lips and I pulled away once I felt him begin to chew. "Your favorite, right?" I smiled as he looked away, turning his face away from me.

"No, why would I have a favorite fruit? That's stupid and conformist." He huffed but I could tell he wasn't really annoyed as he chewed and lifted his cigarette to his lips once more.

"If you say so." I let a small smile spread across my lips and he shrugged as I put a few blueberries into my mouth. He turned to look at me again and I smiled a little wider as I stared into his eyes. "You really don't have to worry, it rarely ever gets this bad." My voice was soft and the smile slipped off my lips, instead replaced by my teeth.

"That's what you say every time this happens." He reached forward and brushed my bangs out of my face with his free hand, his eyes were hooded as they looked over me. I bit my lip a little harder as I stared into his deep, dark, eyes. "That bitch doesn't have a right to mark you like this." He said softly and I closed my eyes but could still feel his intense gaze.

"My face is already fucked, I don't think one more will do much." His breathing stuttered and the hand that held my bangs tensed up.

"That's not true, you're-"

"Ahem..." Someone coughed a little awkwardly and Michael immediately let go of my hair. I patted my bangs down and turned to look at the open door where Raven was stepping into the threshold, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "Um, you said we could talk, but I can go if-"

"It's whatever." Michael got up and walked out with his head down and his cigarette between his lips. I sighed and looked down before grabbing the hot pocket still on the plate and biting into it. It was cold.

"It's fine, come in." He stepped in a little awkwardly and I finished what was left on the plate as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything..." He stood next to the bed and I shook my head.

"Don't worry, that was nothing." I pulled back the comforter and tucked my legs in, leaning back on the headboard as I stared at the jock-gone-goth. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Is this," he hesitated before his hand waved over my bandaged leg and face. "something that happens often?" I shrugged and picked up the last berry on my plate, a big red strawberry.

"Not really. It's happened a few times over the years, but it isn't something you have to worry about dealing with too often." I bit into the juicy fruit and he nodded. "I'd like to thank you for what you did today, you barely know me yet you came along to help anyway. I owe you one and I think you deserve some answers." I watched him bite his lip as he hesitated, staring at the plain teal wall

"Why does it happen?" His eyes moved over the dark curtains and I shrugged.

"My mom has issues that she, evidently, feels should be taken out on me." It was the simplest way I could explain the situation.

"That isn't right..." He looked down and I shrugged.

"I'm sure there are people who have it worse."

"Why doesn't your dad do anything?" His eyebrows furrowed and I looked away.

"I've never met the man." The silence after that was deafening, I could hear him swallow thickly.

"Sorry." He muttered and I pulled the comforter and blankets a little tighter around myself, settling into the amazingly soft bed.

"Don't be." I placed my phone on the bedside table near the plate, it didn't seem like he'd be saying anything anytime soon so I decided to keep the conversation going. "How do you know Bradley?"

"Oh, um, we used to play together as kids." He sounded embarrassed and I laid back against a small mountain of pillows.

"What did you play?" My head tilted to the side as I tried to imagine something he would have been interested in as a child.

"We had a super hero game, but we stopped playing that a long time ago." I nodded and folded my hands in my lap, he finally looked over at me. "So, um, I hope this isn't too personal or anything, but, uh, how did you become goth? Henrietta mentioned that you weren't goth when they found you..." My eyebrows shot up and I sat up a little straighter.

"Oh, well, that's a pretty long story." I shrugged a little awkwardly.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to?" His eyebrows furrowed and I sighed.

"No, it's fine, get comfortable because this is going to take a while." I offered him a pillow and a seat on the bed, a somber smile made its way to my face as I remembered that night...

3rd POV

Michael huffed as he stomped back into Henrietta's room, his face was flushed an unattractive, splotchy red and his hand was fisted, crushing the cigarette that rested between his fingers.

"Something wrong Michael?" Henrietta smirked wickedly. The taller boy glared at her, fixing his mouth in a tight, unimpressed line.

"Nothing." He rolled his eyes and sat back down in his place on the floor. Firkle suddenly let out a loud giggle, smirking at the older boy with bright, amused eyes.

"Worry not Michael, Raven will most likely leave her alone once he's satisfied his curiousity. Probably." He added unconvincingly at the end making Michael scowl.

"Leave him alone Firkle, we don't want him wallowing." Pete flipped his bangs out of his face, an amused little smirk on his lips.

"You're all insufferable!" Michael practically growled as he clenched his teeth and angrily tossed away the ruined cigarette, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a carton. "Perfect. Just perfect." He glared at the small, paper box. The small, empty, paper box. "I'll be back later." He rose to his feet and left without another word, a vein pulsing in his forehead and the sound of his friends' snickering trailing behind him.

"No it's fine, get comfortable because this is going to take a while." He heard Sophia's soft voice and glared at the floor. A fresh wave of irritation washed over him as he heard the soft sound of something heavy settling on a soft mattress. "I'm not sure where to start..." She murmured softly.

"Um, why don't you just start at the begining. Have you always lived in South Park?" Without knowing, Michael stopped outside the door to listen, but at the sound of Raven's voice he scoffed and went down the stairs.

"Oh, are you leaving already dear?" Henrietta's mom smiled sweetly at him and he scowled at nothing in particular.

"I'll be back later." He muttered and walked out the door, trying not to slam the door too hard behind him. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black jacket, walking the familiar street to the liquor store. It wasn't the closest one, but the owner never made a fuss over minors buying cigarettes. His annoyance spiked as he thought of Raven. He never had a problem with him before; despite being a conformist, the blue eyed boy was pretty cool. It would have been fine if he wanted to wallow in self pity and hang out with them at the same time, but the fact that he seems to be getting close to Sophia bothered the curly haired boy. Why would he try to be her friend if he's just going to leave again anyway? It was unfair to Sophia and his friend didn't deserve that. Or at least, that's how he justified his annoyance. "I'll take two packs." He probably slammed the money on the counter a bit too roughly, but he was beyond the point of caring. He walked out of the store and pulled a cigarette out of the new box, lighting it and taking a generous inhale, holding it for a few seconds before slowly exhaling.

"Token is so sweet! Look at what he bought me!" He looked over and saw Wendy Testaburger gushing at Bebe Stevens about some charm bracelet she had on.

"Wow! Are the jewels real?" The blond's eyes were wide and the black haired girl nodded proudly.

Wendy Testaburger.

Conformist cheerleader and the source of Raven's anguish.

The tall boy's eyes narrowed as he studied the cheerleader, watching her freak out with her conformist friend over some stupid bracelet.

Hmm, interesting.