Sophitz Forever

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sophie didn't know what to do about anything. How was she supposed to deal with this? She needed her friends, but who knew where Biana was right now? She was probably spending time with Tam, which is what she needed to be doing. And Linh was... oh, she was going to just have to get even with her... somehow.

Sophie didn't want to start a whole revenge plot but she did want to find some way to make Linh hurt how she hurt. She liked Linh but this was too much. She knew she was being unreasonable but Sophie couldn't stop herself from thinking of all the things that she could do.

Sophie's head hurt again, pulsating vibrantly, but she ignored the pain. She sat up on her bed, smoothing down the wrinkled sheets, damp from her tears. She knew deep down that she was being silly and absurd. A boy wasn't worth crying about. She wiped her eyes and walked over to her vanity table and applied some makeup, surprising herself. She almost never wore makeup, but at the moment, she really needed something to do and makeup seemed like the best bet.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes again trying not to ruin her eye shadow. She knew that it was stupid to touch your face after just applying makeup but she couldn't care less. It wasn't like anyone could see her anyway. She opened her door and walked down the hall to the guest room. She listened inside, but she couldn't hear anything. Hopefully Fitz had left and she could be alone. She sighed and walked back downstairs...

And stumbled over Keefe. Again. For the third time.

He was sitting on the bottom step once again as he was earlier, and was gazing off into space. Sophie wasn't even sure if he had noticed her yet. She sat down on the step next to him, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. He didn't stir so maybe he was completely lost in thought. She cleared her throat gently and Keefe looked at her, surprised to see her.

"Did you find Fitz?" he asked.

Sophie nodded. "I wish I hadn't though." She sighed.

Keefe looked at Sophie, taking in her makeup and seeing the faint traces of tears in the puffiness of her eyes and cheeks. His face took over a worried glance. "Why not?"

"He was... doing something he shouldn't have done. And we got into a fight and apparently he says we were never together or something and life just sucks." Sophie looked up at Keefe. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pile all of that on you. I just—"

Keefe shook his head and stopped her. "It's okay, Sophie. I'm always going to be here for you, you know, Sophie." He was dead serious; he had used her first name.

Sophie nodded. "I know... I just wish... I just wish my life was better. I wish that everything would be perfect."

Keefe said, "Doesn't everybody? Foster, I've got to admit, you've had a pretty bad life. But so have I and so has Fitz and Biana and Linh and Tam and Dex. And everyone else. Sometimes it sucks, but we need to learn to deal with it so we can have fun with the good times. You know?" He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture.

Sophie started to cry at his words and at everything else that was going on. Her mascara was starting to run and she was sure there were black streaks down her whole face. "But I thought he loved me. I really did. And I loved him. That's what hurts the most. My feelings meant nothing to him."

Keefe sighed. "Fitz's a jerk. You shouldn't take what he says seriously. He's a big asshat."

Asshat? Sophie would have giggled if this wasn't so serious.

Keefe smiled half-heartedly, but instantly turned back to serious mode.. "Sophie, Fitz has... issues. Okay? I've known Fitz his whole life. I mean, come on, we're best friends, and as much as I hate to admit this and as much as I know you don't want to hear it, he's always been... a player."