Matthew sat down last in the living room, joining everyone else in their circle. "So, what're we thinking," Sara asked, adjusting herself in the armchair. The room stayed silent with thought. They were all planning something nice that they could do for Sophie once she got out of rehab, but nothing had seemed appropriate so far. They could all tell that Lindsey was particularly wrapped up in thought. He had been since they'd last seen Sophie.
"Daddy? You have any ideas," Bella asked from her place in front of the fire. Lindsey looked up, his eyes a little bloodshot from a lack of sleep, and excess stress. Stevie had been staying up with him every night since Sophie told them about that night. He was the one feeling guilty, now, even though it wasn't his fault. He knew that it was his job to protect his family, all of his girls. And he went and left the youngest, while they went on tour? He couldn't rationalize that to himself, even though his wife was now the one repeating desperately, how it wasn't his fault.
Of course, she'd been a mess about it, too. That was how they worked though. When one completely fell apart, the other was there to pick them up.
She curled up next to him on the sofa, and stroked his cheek. "Linds, baby? Did you have any ideas," she asked, softly. He swallowed hard, and sat up straight. "Yeah. I just...uh...I've got a question. Phoenix, honey, do you know someone who you may have left your sister with while we were on tour?" The room fell even more silent, if that was possible. "Honey, come on, don't think about that right now." Stevie's attempt to reroute his mind had failed. He wouldn't rest until the man who did this to his daughter was behind bars. Phoenix was already completely beside herself. Her jaw dropped, looking at her father. There had sort of been a silent agreement between them that he wouldn't make her feel any worse about this. His question shocked her.
"No...Dad you know I would never have put Soph in harms way if I had known-"
"Phoenix, did you leave anyone with her?"
The second time he asked, it sounded slightly more harsh, but she knew deep down that his anger wasn't towards her. The room fell silent with expectation. Phoenix looked down at her nails, shimmering and acrylic, fidgeting aimlessly as if she were at war with herself. She had tears glistening in her eyes, and though she always tried to put up a strong front, the weight of guilt and grief was finally washing over her.
Bella was the one to lean over, and hug her twin sister. The two were nearly opposites, but they were always the first to rush to the other's side. In that moment, everyone felt guilty. They were all Sophie's family. They were all Phoenix's family. It wasn't right to point fingers at anyone. "One time, I brought Lacey over. We'd been...hanging out with this guy for a week or two. It wasn't anything serious, he was just like a new member of our group or whatever," Phoenix managed somewhat quietly. "Sweetie, do you remember his name," Stevie asked calmly, not wanting to upset her any more. Phoenix took a deep breath and looked around at all the faces of her family members. They didn't look mad. They just looked at her like she held a missing piece to something that they were all working through, together.
"Patrick. I...I don't remember the last name, but if you checked Lacey's Instagram or something, he'd probably be in a picture. I'm not sure, though. She kind of insisted that we stop hanging out with him. Now, I know why," she explained. Immediately, Sara and Lily whipped out their phones. "Lacey, Lacey, Lacey..." Sara muttered, looking through her feed. "You know you can just type her username," Lily laughed, shooting her older sister a I-may-be-younger-but-I'm-smarter look. Sara narrowed her eyes, and for a moment, it was like they were eight and five years old again.
"Don't bother though. I found him. Patrick Keen," Lily said, handing the phone to Phoenix for confirmation. Phoenix raised her eyebrows and nodded. "That's him." Stevie and Lindsey immediately took the phone, and gathered every detail available so that they could get justice for their daughter. "Do you think Lacey would still know how where to find him," Stevie asked. Phoenix shrugged. "I doubt it, but I'll ask."
"Wait!"
Everyone turned to look at Sara. She was still looking at her phone. "I know we're talking about a million different things right now, but I just had a really great idea for something we can do for Soph." For a moment, a deep calm filled the room. They all had hope that Patrick would get what he deserved, and that soon, Sophie would be home. Everything would go back to normal. Of course, things had changed, but one thing had stayed the same. The fact that everyone in the room was Sophie's family, and they all wanted her back, safe, happy.
Sara passed her phone around to everyone, where there was a video of some sort of big concert with a huge lineup. "Its this concert that all these big names did that was called Facing Addiction or something, and it was a benefit concert to raises awareness for addiction. I mean, not to blow smoke, but we have a super talented family, and if we put on a concert like this in Sophie's name, raising awareness, I think that would be pretty amazing."
Everyone looked at each other, their faces lighting up as the phone made its round back to Sara. "I think its perfect! I could get the hospital's psychiatric unit to sponsor or something," Bella suggested. "I'd handle advertising," Phoenix said, knowing full well that she pulled major weight in the social media department.
"I don't really know what I could do as a teacher. I guess I could put out some word in the school system. Matthew, though..." she started, turning to face her boyfriend. "I think we could use the hot shot VP of an event management company on our team," she said, nudging him in the side. "Yes!" Bella clapped excitedly. "Of course," Matthew said, pulling Lily in closer to his side.
Stevie and Lindsey watched in awe as their girls crafted an idea to change the world. These were their girls, even if Sophie was a few miles away. They'd all lived through different things, and had completely different personalities. They were making unique and happy lives for themselves, which is all that their parents ever wanted for them. They'd always been brilliant on their own, but these were sisters springing into action for one of their own, creating something that could only truly be achieved by putting all elements of their genius together. This was how they worked best; as a family.
~OH MY GOODNESS, YA'LL! SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SOOOOOOOO SUPER LONG TO UPDATE. I HAVENT LET THIS STORY GO, THE HOLIDAY SEASON WAS JUST A LITTLE CRAZY. ANYWAY, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR KEEPING UP WITH THIS STORY! I HOPE I DIDN'T LOSE YOU GUYS TO THE LONG BREAK!! :) -MT
