Good Morning Beautiful.
Sorry I left you again, but one of the crew had a family emergency and called asking if I’d take his shift. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Thank you for the perfect evening. I wish I could’ve woken up with you and spent the whole day in bed. Maybe next time. I’ll see you tomorrow.
Yours, Porter
The grin on my face was inescapable at his thoughtfulness to write a note at all. Last night I’d needed a moment to not feel the sickening reality that I almost lost my best friend. Porter delivered beyond my expectations, pushing away that terror I’d felt and giving me something beautiful to hold onto instead.
I refolded the note, or tried to, but my skills with origami were lacking compared to Porter’s. Instead, I just folded it into a square, placing it in the drawer of the bedside table for safe keeping.
Checking my phone to find out the time, I saw a text from Alice telling me to call her. My heart kept into my throat and I hastily pulled her up in my contacts to call her back.
“Sophia!” she answered on the second ring.
“Oh God, Alice.” My hand went to my heart, calming it as the relief of hearing her voice washed over me. “I’m so thankful you weren’t home. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I promise we’re fine. Mom had asked me to take the kids over for the weekend cause they were having a barbecue. We’d just sat down to eat when I found out what happened to my house. And oh God, the dog. The kids are heartbroken.”
Tears filled my eyes at how close of a call it was. “I’m so sorry, Alice. This is my fault. Whoever this stalker arsonist asshole is, he was trying to get to me through you. I won’t forgive myself for involving you and your family.”
Alice scoffed. “Are you crazy?Thiswasnotyour fault, Sophia Harding. You didn’t burn my house down and kill my dog. You’re a victim just as much as I am, especially considering you didn’t get away from your house unscathed like we did. Never blame yourself for this.”
Logically, I knew she was right. But the guilt had settled into my core the moment her emotional voice had filtered through the phone. The high I was riding last night had dissipated with the realization.
“I’ll try not to, but I can’t help it. Whoever this psychopath is, no one is safe from him in my life. I don’t know how he knew to get to you. It’s not like I have notebooks out in the universe with ‘Alice and Sophia—BFFs for life’ then your address sitting on it.”
“Pft, the guy clearly knew your work schedule. It’s not out of the realm of possibility he has been in the hospital following you and overheard us talking. It’s clear we’re soul mates,” she joked.
“Yeah we are,” I agreed quickly. “And losing you would’ve broken me.”
“You’ll never lose me. Besides, there’s no way in hell I’m dying before hearing how it’s going, living with those hunky firemen.”
I laughed, wiping away the last bit of tears from my eyes. “That’s going to be a long story.”
“Ooohhhh, now this I gotta hear. I’ve gotta come talk with the insurance company later, so I’ll stop by and see you after. Kiddos and I will be staying here til everything gets sorted with our claim, so I have all afternoon to hear this long story.”
I rubbed at my forehead nervously. I wanted to see her badly, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to share everything. It was all still new and I still hadn’t figured out how to approach the whole sharing aspect the guys had decided on. Yesterday convinced me that I should go after what I wanted while I could. And I wanted this, didn’t I? Maybe talking it over with Alice could help me figure it all out. She’d never judge me if I decided dating two men was something I wanted. I mean I made out with one and had sex with the other, so I practically already was anyway. I think.
“Fine,” I sighed, relenting that I needed my best friend on this one. “But it’s a mess.”
“A very hot mess by the sound of your voice. I can’t wait to hear it. Love you, Soph.”
“Love you too. See you later.”
We hung up and I put my face into my hands. The sound of dishes clanking around downstairs met my ears and had me jolting up in a panic. What was I going to say to Darren? I bit at my nails, anxiety eating away at me. Would things be awkward between myself and Darren when I told him what Porter and I did? Or—oh my God—had he heard what we were doing?
“Stop it, Sophia. Woman up and just go down there. Darren was the one who suggested sharing, so he would expect this. It’s no big deal,” I pep talked myself. I could do this.
Feeling a bit more resolute, I quickly dressed, brushed my teeth, then crutched my way down the stairs. The smell of bacon and something sweet wafted through the air, drawing me a bit faster to the kitchen.
My stomach rumbled when I walked in and saw plates of pancakes, bacon, and eggs set up on the counter. Darren glanced my way, having probably heard my crutches clattering against the wooden stairs on my way down.
He grinned wide at the sight of me and set down the orange juice he’d been pouring in a glass to walk over to me.
“You look well rested today,” he told me, taking my crutches away to envelope me in his arms. His face nuzzled into my neck and I felt him take a deep breath in. He pulled back and smiled at me cheekily. “You smell like Porter’s body wash. Did he make sure you got some rest last night?”
My cheeks warmed at what he was asking, not sure if he was insinuating he knew or if he was just making sure I actually slept
“Yeah, uh, he did.”
