“Okay, what do you need from me right now?”
“I need you to tell all of them. Especially Dad. I’ll talk to Elena myself when I get home. But Dave, Kennedy, Aunt Kat, and Uncle Eric? I want them to know but I don’t want to tell them.”
Mom groaned. “I understand but I wish you’d asked me to do almost anything else. I’m not even sure which of those men will be the worst but I suspect telling Eric when he has access to his guns will be a grave mistake.”
I chuckled softly. “Yeah, I mean you can probably convince Kennedy and Kat to tell the three of them together with you so you have some backup.”
“You really are the smart one. I have to get ready for my client, but I’m done here in an hour. Do you want me to call you back after?”
“No,” I said. “I’m going to watch movies with the girls for the night.”
“Okay. Call me if you need anything at all, sweetie. Anytime. I mean it.”
“I know you do, Mom. I’ll see you in a few days.”
I went back into the living room and collapsed onto the couch between the girls. After the movie was over, I glanced at my phone and found a few missed messages.
Leo:You’re all I can think about, Hawaii. I know you’re in good hands but call me if you need anything. It’s killing me to go to the game without you tomorrow.
I’d already told Coach and Jana that I wouldn’t be able to travel with the team for their overnight trip tomorrow. It was too soon, and they’d all accepted that I’d caught Leo’s stomach bug.
Me:I’m okay. I promise. We’ll talk after your game tomorrow.
I swiped over to the individual messages from my family.
Kennedy:When you’re ready to talk, call me. I can handle it, so don’t worry about me, Soph. I love you.
Aunt Kat:I’m here if you need me, kiddo. Sending hugs.
I swiped them away to respond later while Jia made us hot cocoa for the next movie. By the time the credits started rolling on another Anne Hathaway movie I had even more missed texts.
Uncle Eric:I know they’ll all say something better than me, but I love you and you did nothing to deserve what happened. Call anytime. You know I can handle middle of the night phone calls.
Dave:I know where Eric keeps his guns, Soph, and I’ll learn how to use them for you.
Dad:Your mom made me promise not to call you and I’m handing Kennedy my phone after I send this to hold me accountable. Call her if you want to talk to either of us. I love you so much, Soph. I’m glad you have people there to help you through this.
As if their messages weren’t enough to remind me how loved I was, I was surrounded by my two best friends who were both passed out on the couch next to me. Still, there was one more message.
Leo:I just want to make sure you know that one of the benefits of this friendship is that I’ll answer the phone when you call. Always. No matter the time or place.
I smiled to myself as I sat on the couch with tears in my eyes. I had some pretty amazing people in my life, and tomorrow I’d start leaning on all of them the way I knew they wanted me to. I slid off the couch and went back to my room, which was perfectly clean thanks to Alyssa’s obsessive cleaning skills and Jia’s rampant need to be helpful. I crawledinto bed and fell fast asleep knowing I was safe and cared for in a way that a lot of people would never be able to after an experience like this.
I was pretty sureAlyssa and Jia were convinced that the best way to support me was to smother me, but I couldn’t complain too much. We hadn’t had a lot of girl time recently given how busy we all were, and we were each flying home for Thanksgiving break tomorrow. Alyssa was headed back to her family in Palm Beach and Jia to hers in Chicago.
A full day of shopping, coffee, and ice cream meant I was so busy, I’d barely had time to stop and stress about what had happened. I’d taken a few moments here and there to respond to my family one at a time and had called and talked to Kennedy for a bit when Alyssa and Jia stumbled across a batting cage that they just had to try. I assured Dave that no guns would be necessary, thanked Aunt Kat for reaching out and told her I’d see her soon, told Uncle Eric he was better with words than he gave himself credit for, talked to my mom again, and finally called my dad when I got home and just let him listen to me cry.
Leo’s game was televised, and I watched it with Alyssa and Jia—who made no less than a dozen comments about various players’ asses. There was only one guy I was watching and the reality of how much I cared about him, and how much I thought he cared about me, came crashing into me. He scored once and I texted him a congratulations as soon as the game was over.
Me:Excellent game, as always. I think I get why the school wanted me to write about you.
Leo:Thanks, Hawaii. It’s not the same without you watching in the stands though.
Leo:How are you? I was going to grab a beer with Rickles and Reynolds, but I can stay in if you want to video chat.
Me:I’m good, the girls have another movie marathon planned. Have fun.
Leo:Okay. If you change your mind, just call me.
