An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 9

*Alex's POV*
I stood staring at Gillette Stadium through the balcony slider door of our suite as I sipped on my coffee. Allie, Kelley, and I were supposed to move to a hotel in Boston, but decided to stay here at the Renaissance instead. As I look out the window, I can't help but think about Sophia. I put my phone number in her backpack yesterday and still haven't heard from her. Part of me wishes I told her about it but I didn't want to be too forward.

It then dawns on me that I never gave her the tickets to an upcoming game like I said I would. 'A blessing in disguise'  I thought. This gives me the opportunity to see her again. The only problem is that I don't know how to find her. I'm lost in my thoughts when I hear Allie come into the kitchen.

"Hey," she says as she makes herself a cup of coffee. "Morning," I say still occupied in my thoughts. "What's wrong? You've got your worried look plastered all over your face," she says in a matter of fact tone. I look at her and sigh. "I need to find Sophia," I tell her. "Al, you have to stop thinking about her. She's a sweet kid, but don't try to find her," she pleads. "It's not what you think. I forgot to give her the game tickets like I said I would. I just want to follow through on that," I explain. I was partially telling her the truth. I did want to give her the tickets. I also wanted to see how she was doing.

"Do you remember her saying anything that could help me in tracking her down?" I ask her. "I mean she mentioned that she goes to Newburyport High School. That at least gives you a town, but the school won't give you her address," she says. "Why don't you just call Gillette? The tickets would've had to be sent to her home so maybe they can give you an address," I hear Kelley say as she walks towards us. That's actually not a bad idea. Hopefully I'll have some luck with them.

*Sophia's POV*
I stand there in the hallway frozen. The final bell rang 15 minutes ago so most of the students have already left the school. I'm surrounded by Savannah and four other girls with no escape route in sight. Savannah walks up to me so that we're face to face. "You didn't really think I'd let you go did you?" she says with an attitude. In all honesty, I did. I had made it through the day without any run-ins with her. It would've stayed that way if I hadn't forgot something in my locker and went back to get it. "Just let me go. I haven't done anything to you. I'm just trying to go home," I say exhausted. She looks at me and scoffs. "Not a chance. Besides, it's not like you have a family to get home to anymore," she sneers.

Anger rises within me after hearing her comment about my family. I lunge at her with every intention of kicking her ass. I'm able to get a few punches in before she takes a shot at me. I can feel the warm blood trickle down my face as I'm slammed into the nearby lockers. 'Guess I'm going to have to fight my way out of this.'  I land a few more punches on Savannah before the other four girls join in. The hitting and shoving causes me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. There was no way I'd be able to fight back now. Someone kicks me a few times as someone else throws a punch towards my face. The beating lasts another few minutes before they take off. I'm left there lying on the ground in pain. Eventually I'm able to get myself off of the floor and make my way to the nearest exit.

Luca was dismissed from school today so at least I'm walking back to the house alone. The thought of him or his family seeing me like this embarrassed me. I know I said that I wouldn't go back to my house, but I found myself walking there anyways. I just want to be left alone for a while. I don't want to deal with the questions and sympathetic looks.

Luckily, DCF wasn't hanging around my house today, so I was able to slip inside without issue. I stood there in the silence allowing myself to feel every emotion. Tears fell as I leaned back and slid down my front door. All I could do was cry. Cry in anger. Cry in pain. Cry because I hated that this was my life. I couldn't bring myself to get off of the floor. My body hurt too much to move.