Page 75 of Happily Ever After

“I think you did,” Essie said softly. “I think you’ve not only come to expect it from those around you, but you’ve never once tried to stop them.”

Sophie pressed her hands to her face. “I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be…whatever it is you think I’m supposed to be.”

Essie stood then, moving slowly so she wouldn’t startle her. “I don’t expect you to have everything figured out. I expect you to start taking responsibility.”

“For what?” Sophie demanded, voice shaking. “For my ex cheating on me? For getting pregnant? For being angry? For grieving?”

“For your choices,” Essie said. “For what you do next. For the decisions you make.”

Sophie went back to the couch and sat, shoulders rolling inward. “I’m so tired.”

“I know,” Essie said, sitting close by on the couch. “But being tired doesn’t absolve you from making decisions.”

Sophie let out a sob she clearly hadn’t meant to. Then another.

Essie didn’t rush to comfort her. She stayed where she was, giving Sophie a chance to get herself together.

“I didn’t want to sue you and dad,” Sophie said finally. “I don’t like that I did it. Ryan pushed me into it.”

“Then why haven’t you dropped the lawsuits?” Essie asked.

Sophie wiped her face with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Because if I do that, it feels like admitting I screwed up.”

Essie nodded. “Sometimes admitting the truth is choosing peace.”

Sophie shook her head. “Yeah, and then what? You stop helping me?

Essie’s voice softened. “Do you really think your father and I wouldn’t help you unless we were afraid of you? What have we already been doing?”

Sophie looked at her, eyes red and searching. “You really think I’ve been playing games.”

“I think you’ve been avoiding adulthood,” Essie said. “And I think it’s time that stopped.”

Sophie stared down at the coffee table. “I don’t know how.”

Essie reached across and placed her hand over Sophie’s, not so much to soothe her, but to keep her anchored in the moment. “You start by telling the truth. To yourself. About what you want, and what you’re afraid of.”

Sophie’s breath shuddered. “I’m afraid I’m going to fail. At all of it.”

Essie squeezed her hand. “Failing is part of learning. Refusing to try is how people get stuck. How they go nowhere.”

Tears streamed down Sophie’s face now, unchecked. “No one’s ever talked to me like this.”

Essie met her gaze. “Then maybe it was overdue.”

Sophie laughed weakly through her tears. “You’re awfully tough for someone who seems so nice.”

Essie smiled. “How do you think I survived all those years as a principal?”

They sat there for a long moment, the weight of the conversation heavy in the air between them.

Then Sophie asked quietly, “So what now?”

“Now,” Essie said. “You start making a plan. Not everything. Just the next right steps.”

Sophie nodded slowly. “Okay. Will you help me?”

“Yes. And Sophie?” Essie added.