sirens - david dobrik

chapter twenty two

"We need to talk."

"Not now, David."

Sophia rolled her eyes, grabbing her towel off the hook and turning on her heel. David reached for her hand, pulling her to face him. The look on his face was enough to make her cry, but she shook her head and held it in.

"Let me shower and then we'll talk." Sophia mumbled, staring straight at her feet.

David released her hand and she walked out her bedroom door. She immediately turned on the water so he wouldn't hear her cry. He looked hurt, and she had caused it. David fell back onto her bed with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. He knew what he had done wrong. He didn't need to ask. That was the whole reason he was so hesitant to make things official with Sophia in the first place. He knew that his work consumed him, and he forgot what it was like to have someone to make time for. He was so used to just having work and it was hard to get out of that mindset.

Sophia emerged from the bathroom after about twenty minutes. He could tell that she had been crying because her eyes were swollen. Knowing that he had caused her that much pain was eating him alive, but he didn't know where to start. She grabbed her PJs and changed quickly before falling back onto the bed next to him. They laid parallel to each other. not one part of their bodies touching. Neither of them knew how to start the conversation, yet both had a million things to say. David turned onto his side to face her, Sophia staring at the ceiling and forcing herself not to cry.

"Baby, I'm sorry." David mumbled, wrapping an arm around her frame. She bit her lip nervously, closing her eyes with a sigh. She wasn't expecting him to apologize, and it made her feel even worse.

"You have nothing to apologize for, David." She whispered hoarsely.

"I made you cry, Sophia. You've been upset with me all day and it took me until now to realize why. I'm a fucking idiot."

"It's not that deep. You have priorities and obligations that I just need to get used to. Your work is a part of you and if I love you I have to love your work too." Sophia shrugged, playing with her fingers nervously.

"You love me?" David wondered, Sophia's eyes widening as she realized what she had said.

"Uh, I guess I do."

"I-I...Soph, wow."

"Don't say anything back. This is really fucking embarrassing. It's only been like a month since we got together." Sophia groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Did we really need to do this while I'm faded?"

"I love you too." David said softly, the words feeling heavy on his tongue. It was something he hadn't said out loud in a really long time, yet he meant every word.

Sophia turned to face him, a tear slipping down her cheek. David rubbed it away with his thumb, taking her cheek in his hand. She closed her eyes at his touch, a few more tears falling.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm so sorry. When I walked in and saw your face, I felt so guilty. I went to this party and posted all that shit to annoy you, but it was so stupid."

David kissed the top of her head softly, the tears forming in his eyes as he watched her. He was never good around people crying because he'd just start crying too. He sniffled, stroking her cheek with his thumb soothingly.

"I'm sorry I've been an asshole about work lately. I keep prioritizing it over you and that's not fair. I should've just gone to the mall with you, or the party. I was being such a fucking douche."

"N-No, your work comes first and I know that. I made a huge deal about it because I was being dumb." Sophia shook her head, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling again.

"My work shouldn't come first. You should come first always."

"David, you have fans and partnerships and other commitments that are way more important."

"Yeah, but you're important too. I just...I forgot what it was like to have a girlfriend. It's been so long and I was using work to escape how I was feeling," David started, clearing his throat as a tear fell down his cheek.

"Liza left me, and that was a really hard thing to deal with. I loved her, I still love her. She's always gonna be a part of my life because she's one of my best friends."

Sophia turned to face him, listening to every single word he was saying so intently.

"And so I dealt with the breakup by doing crazier and crazier shit in the videos. I honestly just did so much work that I didn't need to do. I threw out so much of that footage. I was just constantly doing shit because I didn't want to think about anything. It was too hard." David bit his lip as all the memories started flooding back.

"I cried a lot. I had so much support and Liza was still in my life, but I felt so alone. After a while I started doing therapy, which helped at first. Now I'm doing a lot better, but I guess that's why I was so hopped up on work. I guess I was subconsciously scared of giving someone that time again because I'm too scared of getting hurt." He admitted, Sophia immediately rolling on top of him.

She pressed her forehead against his, taking a shaky breath before pressing her lips against his. He kissed her back, sliding his hand under her shirt and resting it on her lower back. She pulled away and hugged him tightly, hiding her face in his shoulder. He nuzzled his face into her neck, sniffling as he cried. She didn't know what to do other than hug him. She didn't want him to feel alone.

"I promise I won't hurt you, David."