Sweet Sofie (24 page)

“No, I was on my way out when I saw you pull in.”

“I can’t be around you. You have to understand—”

“I know, Sof.” The dreariness she remembered from when they were in high school was back. He wasn’t the strong Brandon she’d been so impressed with last summer. The faint bruising around his eye didn’t help, either. “I just hoped I could speak with you one last time before I leave. Do you have a few minutes so we can go somewhere more private?”

“No,” was her immediate reaction—her brothers would flip—Eric would never forgive her.

He glanced around. “Can you give me a second then... here?”

She stood strong. What could he do here in a public store? “Make it fast.”

His eyebrows pinched and for a moment there, he looked ready to cry. “My old man is dying,” Taking a deep breath, he looked away as if to pull himself together. Sofia’s heart dropped. “I’m not just here for the holidays. I took an emergency leave to come back and get things settled. He’s known, but the cancer’s really spread now. I’m taking them both back with me to Georgia. The house is already for sale. My dad wants me to take the money and buy a house out there. The property is way cheaper than in California.” His eyes met hers, but only for a second before he looked away again. “I just wanted to say goodbye and apologize for any problems I’ve caused.”

The past few weeks had been horrendous for Sofia. Not hearing from Eric had been the worst suffering ever. Now she could only think about what Brandon must’ve been going through. “I’m so sorry, Brandon. I had no idea.”

“I just came in here to pick up his meds.” He lifted his hand with the bag from the pharmacy. “But I’m glad I saw you. There’s something I really want to tell you.”

Sofia’s eyes went from the bag in his hand to his face again. His expression was so pained, she was tempted to touch him. “What’s that?”

“Are you sure we can’t go somewhere else to talk?”

“No way, Brandon.” She’d learned her lesson.

He stared at her for a second before speaking again. “I’m in love with you, Sof.” His voice became a whisper. “I thought I was in high school. Last summer only confirmed it. I almost didn’t re-enlist because of that kiss.”

Sofia shook her head, feeling her eyes well up. This was the last thing she needed to hear.

“Don’t worry. I know it’s impossible. I just needed to tell you before I left. I won’t be back anymore.” He almost swatted the tear that escaped the corner of his eye. “I needed to say it to you, if only one time. I’m glad I got the chance.”

She had no words. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “Goodbye, Sof.” He turned and took off down the aisle in a rush.

Sofia stood there, still stunned. How could he be in love with her? He hardly knew her.

“Was it just a kiss?”

Sofia spun around, almost jumping out of her skin. Eric’s dad stood there waiting for a response. Mortification sunk in. He knew. Of course he knew. Eric would tell him something like this. They’d always been that close.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His chuckle surprised her. “Well, thank you for not agreeing to go somewhere private to talk to him. My son wouldn’t have been happy to hear it if you had.”

She pressed her lips together, at a complete loss of how to respond to that.

“Was all that drama this past summer over a kiss? Really?”

“Yes,” She nodded, chewing her bottom lip. “And I’ll regret it forever, Mr. Diego.”

To her surprise, he leaned over and hugged her. “Eric is something else.” He shook his head and patted her back gently. “You’re a good girl, Sofia.” He pulled away and spoke face to face to her. “I know you probably think I don’t care for you. I’ve never had anything against you.” He pursed his lips. “Well, that is until this past summer. But Eric made such a fuss I thought you’d slept with Brandon.”

“God, no! I would never!”

“The way he acted I was certain—”

“Did he say I did?” An uncontrollable panic swept through her. “He doesn’t think I did, does he?”

“All he ever said was that you cheated on him and that he’d never do to you, what you did to him.”

Words she’d never get over. She cried for days after that call.

“Sofia, I know Eric is still hurt. Butill hurt he loves you very much. I want you know I’m hoping it works out for you two. You belong together.”

There was no way to hold in what she’d been feeling all week. Her trembling lip betrayed her and he leaned in and hugged her again. After crying for a few more minutes, while Eric’s dad consoled her, promising things would work out, she left.

Sofia drove home in a daze. Once there, she sat in her driveway and continued to cry. At first softly, then she was overwhelmed and she buried her face in her hands. The garage door opened. She worked fast to clean up her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop crying. Alex walked toward the car, hurrying when he saw the tears.

“What’s wrong?” He flung the door open and squatted down. “What happened?”

She shook her head, afraid to even say Brandon’s name. “Nothing.”

Alex searched her face as the tears continued to pour out. “What is it, Sof?” He rubbed her knee. “Tell me.”

Sofia reached across her dash into the glove compartment for some tissue. She wiped her face. Alex still calm, continued to rub her knee, but she knew how quickly his temper could flare. “It isn’t just one thing. It’s everything.” She blew her nose. “I miss Eric. He’s still mad at me and…” She glanced at his compassionate eyes. “I ran into Brandon at the drug store.”

The hand on her knee stopped, the compassion now replaced with a murderous glower. “What did he do?”

“Nothing, Alex.” She placed her hand on his. “He just wanted to say goodbye.” She could almost see the wheels in his head spinning. “His dad’s dying.”

Alex’s expression lightened up. But very little.

“They sold the house, and he’s taking both his parents back to Georgia with him. He re-enlisted,” she shrugged, “he’s not coming back.”

Alex stared at her. “Is that why you’re crying?”

“No!” How could he even think that? “I was already in a down mood. Hearing about his dad just made me feel sad for him, and I haven’t talked to Eric for weeks. I don’t think he’s ever going to forgive me. It all just piled up on me.”

Alex stood up and held out his hand. “C’mon.”

When she was out of the car, he pulled her to him, hugging her tight. “You’re too damn sweet is what it is.” She felt tiny in his arms. “Brandon’s gonna be all right. And Eric will get over it. Trust me, he ain’t going anywhere.”

If only that were true. She took a deep breath, wishing things were like when she was a little girl and her brothers could protect her from any kind of pain. Though he’d probably die trying if she asked him to, there was nothing Alex could do to make this pain go away.

***

Eric lay there in his bed staring at the ceiling like he’d been doing so often in the past few days. This was exactly what his dad hadn’t wanted him to do. With the routine he’d kept, he may as well have been a robot—school, his internshihis intep and back to his dorm room. He was barely making B’s in most of his classes when he was more than capable of A’s.

His phone rang, startling him out of his haze. He sat up, glancing around and saw it on the nightstand. Reaching over, but still on the bed, he grabbed it and lay back down. He knew who it was without even looking. The only person who had called instead of texting the entire time he’d been in Spain.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Eric, you busy?”

“Nope.” He only had a few
very
important papers that were due that week, but he wouldn’t tell his dad that. “What’s up?”

“I ran into Sofia today.”

Eric froze, but didn’t say anything. Just hearing her name was cause enough to make him wince. He missed her so much.

“She was with Brandon.”

Eric sat up. “You saw them together? Where?”

“Now, relax. She was doing some shopping at the drug store alone when he approached her.”

Eric’s heart rate had already doubled over. He listened intently, trying to remain calm. His dad filled him on what he’d over heard then his dad asked, “Eric, I thought she slept with him. It was just a kiss?”

Eric squeezed his eyes shut. He was sick of thinking about it. “She let him, Dad. She let that idiot who was only trying to use her to get to me and her brothers.”

“Son.” His dad took a deep breath. “I’m not sure how to tell you this, but that boy’s in love with Sofia.”

The words were clear enough but they didn’t quite sink in. “What?”

“I overheard him tell her, and I believe him.”

A myriad of questions came to mind, but the main one was, “What did she say?”

“Nothing, I think she was stunned. He didn’t say much else after that, only that he was glad he got the chance to tell her before he left for good and then he took off.”

Eric didn’t speak. He took in everything his dad said. Why would Brandon want her to know he was in love with her? Was he still playing head games or had she given him any indication that it was something she wanted to hear? Damn, he hated the insecurity.

“Eric.” His dad spoke up after Eric didn’t say anything. “The point is, I know how much this girl means to you. Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as heartbroken as I saw you the day you found out about her and Brandon. Right then and there I knew how profound your love for her really was. I’ll admit it scared me, especially because at the time I was under the impression that my son was hopelessly in love with a girl who’d betrayed him in the worse way. Then when you got back with her so quickly, it scared me even more. Now that I find out it was just a kiss… Eric, that’s nothing.”

“But dad—”

“Just ask yourself this. Are you really willing to give up everything you and Sofia have because of something so trivial that she obviously is extremely remorseful about? I saw it in her face, son. There is no doubt in my mind she loves you and is still beating herself up about a kiss that really should be ancient history by now. Shit happens, Eric. Let it go. Age and immaturity have a lot to do with it, but if you ask me, I’d say she’s learned a hard, but valuable lesson.”

Eric stood up unable to sit still anymore. “I don’t know.”

“It’s up to you, obviously. You know, normally I’d be all for you moving on and shopping around a lot more, before getting stuck on one girl. But I got to thinking today after speaking with Sofia. I’d hate for you to make a mistake you’ll be regretting for the rest of your life. I’ve seen it happen too many times.” He was quiet for a moment before adding, “Just ask your mom.”

***

Early that morning, Sofia got the call. Eric’s dad asked if she wanted to pick Eric up at the airport. She’d almost said no. She still hadn’t heard from Eric. But she needed closure. If Eric had really decided this was the end for them, she needed to hear it, the sooner the better. The torture had gone on long enough.

She arrived at the airport early. When they’d dropped him off the day after Christmas the airport had been a mess. Afraid to get stuck in that kind of traffic, she’d given herself plenty of time. The traffic today didn’t even compare.

Planes flew in and out of the airport, and Sofia stared out the window, wondering which one Eric would be in. Each one that flew in tied her stomach up even more. She wiped away a tear that slid down her cheek. Sofia hadn’t bothered with makeup. She knew her face would be a mess. Even if things were okay between them, seeing him again would be emotional.

She thought of Brandon and decided there was no way he was in love with her. Maybe he loved her as the only friend he thought had ever given him a chance. But
in
love? He didn’t have the first clue what that was. There was no way could he be feeling for her what she felt so deeply for Eric.

When she finally saw on the monitor that his plane had arrived, she took a deep breath and sat down. She sat and watched as one by one, the passengers came down the escalators. Her sucked in her breath when she saw him. He seemed lost in thought. Like the other passengers, he headed for the baggage claim. She stood and waited, her heart thumping wildly.

After grabbing his bag from the conveyer, he turned and headed back in her direction. He was still completely lost in thought, staring and the ground in front of him. Finally, just a few feet away from her, he looked up and their eyes met. He stopped in his tracks, and the person behind him nearly ran into him.

Sofia stood there, not sure what to expect or say. Within seconds, his eyes flooded and he looked away.

“I missed you.” She barely got the words out. “I missed you so much.”

Eric dropped his bags, took the few hurried steps to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She felt him take a deep breath as she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, Eric.”

“Don’t be, Sof.” He kissed the side of her head. “I’m over it now, but I’ll never be over you. I was stupid to think I could ever be over you.” He pulled away to look at her face. It killed her to see him cry. “
So
stupid.” He kissed her softly. Then he hugged her again, holding her tight for a while.