Keefe's Whereabouts

13

"It's so good to see your face, Sophie," Edaline tells me through the imparter, tears spilling down her face. 

I can feel my own start to soak my face. 

"We were so worried," Grady adds. 

I can see the eye bags deeper than usual on his face, which causes my heart to throb. 

"I love you guys, I'm so sorry for worrying you," I sniffle. 

We all catch up and they let me know about the security that has been added back home. I guess Brandon and Isaac already updated them about the security risk, but they do not know he is Keefe's brother. It's probably good to keep that low for right now. 

"Where is Keefe?" They ask. 

I look around and can't find him. 

"Probably in his room," I say. 

"Can we see him?" Edaline asks. 

Even Grady looks concerned, which causes my body to go warm. 

"Of course," I tell them. 

I start walking up the stairs and get to his closed door. He probably is not doing good right now. Should I tell Edaline and Grady to call back later? My fist beats my thoughts as I rap at the door. 

"Keefe?" I ask, awaiting his approval. 

I hear shuffling in the background but the door opens. And there is Keefe. He looks tired, but beautiful. I smile until my eyes trail down. My eyes go wide. No shirt. My parents. Too late. 

"THAT BOY!" I hear Grady yell. 

I can see Edaline try to calm him down. I feel my face go beet red. 

"Shit," Keefe says under his breath, but I can see him trying to hold back a laugh. 

"I swear it's not what it looks like," I try to tell him. 

"Give the imparter to him right now, Sophie," Grady says. 

I'm too scared to say no so I hand it to him. 

"Now, get inside your room and close the door, I do not want my daughter to hear this," I hear Grady's voice. 

"Keefe-" I try to grab the imparter but he holds his hand up so I can't reach. 

"It's okay Foster, it's just the Gradinator. He's my bestie," he winks at me, sending butterflies to my stomach. 

He walks into his room and closes his door. I can hear him lock it too. I can hear Grady yelling, but I can't make out the words. I still feel shaky from all of that. Keefe. Shirtless. It's not like I haven't seen it before. But the view still leaves me speechless.

"Geez, Sophie. You're such a creep," I mutter to myself as I walk to my room. 

I lay face down on my bed as I try to calm my nerves down and hopefully stop the heat from rising to my face. 10 minutes pass by. Then 20 minutes. Then a whole hour. GET IT TOGETHER SOPHIE! 

"Ugh," I hold a pillow over my head. 

If only I told Keefe that my parents were on the line when I knocked on the door. Or I just hung up on them and told them to hail me later. Or if I just never went upstairs in the first place. Or if I just-

The door of my bedroom creaks open, but I don't move. I know it's him, but I'm too embarrassed to look at him. I can hear his footsteps get closer. And my heart rate speeds up as I think about how we are in the same room. I can feel the part of my bed next to me dip down. He's sitting down right next to me. I can hear his breathing. 

"Please go away," I say, almost in a whisper. 

"Why?" his beautiful grown voice replies, with a hint of amusement. 

"I'm so embarrassed right now," I tell him honestly. 

"Why are you embarrassed?" He says teasingly. 

Oh he knows why. He just wants me to say it so I get even more embarrassed. I turn my head to look at him and my breath catches. He still hasn't put on a shirt. I can see his abs. Really nice abs. And the muscle of his forearm is right by my leg. I look up at his face and see his amused face like he knows I just checked him out. This brat. 

"You're so annoying," I tell him, feeling my eyebrows furrow in frustration. 

His signature smirk graces my presence and I can feel my stomach do 10 backflips. 

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhm," I say, trying to keep up my annoyed charade. 

His hand reaches forward and tucks my hair behind my ear. He lets his finger drag down to my neck and then land on the strap of my tank top. I watch his face and see him suck in a deep breath. It makes my heart rate speed up so fast I'm scared I'm gonna lose my breath. 

"Keefe," I say breathlessly. 

His eyes trail back to my own. His beautiful ice blue eyes. 

"It's getting hard," he says, the smirk leaving his face, "To hold back."

I can feel my face start to get red as I realize what he's saying. 

"I'm scared I'm going to do something and you'll hate me. I don't want you to hate me, Foster," he tells me honestly. 

This time, I muster my courage and push myself up, off the bed. I reach my hand and place it over his own. 

"I can't hate you, Keefe," I say truthfully. "You can't get rid of me either. Whatever you decide to do or go to, I will follow right next to you. You can't run away from me," I tell him. 

I watch his eyes as he processes my words and grasps the meaning. He moves his hand up and cups my face. Oh my gosh. Are we going to-

He leans forward and I close my eyes, awaiting his kiss. However, I feel him plant his lips on my forehead. I open my eyes and look at him. He has a goofy smile on his face. 

"Oh you thought I was going to-"

"GET OUT!" I yell embarrassed. 

He laughs and bounces off my mattress and scurries out the room as I chase him out. I slam the door behind me and slowly fall to the ground, covering my face with my hands. I feel so embarrassed but the spot he kissed on my forehead is throbbing. I bite my lip, trying to hold back a smile. Geez Sophie.