VIRAGO

virago (n.) - a strong, brave, or warlike woman; a woman who demonstrates exemplary and heroic qualities

Sofia and Bethany stayed with their goalkeeper all night knowing she was having a rough time. They were both happy that Samantha had finally fallen asleep after a half hour of tossing and turning in between them, and instead of leaving like she had asked, they took shifts staying with her so she would not be alarmed to be alone when she woke up.

"Dad, stop. Please stop! I'm your daughter!" Sofia shot back awake when she heard her mutter these saying repeatedly, becoming agitated and tossing and turning again. She quickly sat up and nudged her, and Samantha shot awake, her eyes wide with fear and her breathing rapid.

"Hey, Sam, it's me. It's Sofia." She said softly, trying to calm her down. Her breathing started to slow as she realized where she was and who was with her, and she started to calm down after a few minutes. She sat up and took a deep breath. "Why don't we go downstairs?" Sofia suggested, and she nodded. They both got out of her bed and made their way downstairs, both of them knowing that they were not going back to sleep, or at least she was not. Samantha took a seat at their breakfast bar in the middle of the kitchen as Sofia went ahead and got coffee going. She looked at the time on the stove and it read four-forty, so she had at least slept for two hours before getting woken up. Usually her nightmares were not that bad, they never woke her up at least.

"Thanks." She said softly as her roommate set a mug of coffee in front of her, but she did not touch it just yet. Sofia sat down beside her with her own mug, setting it down to let it cool.

"Want to talk about that nightmare of yours?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. She knew she was going to ask about it, and she knew something like this she could not hide forever.

"Not really, it was just a dream." She sighed, finally taking a sip of her coffee.

"That didn't seem like it was just a dream Reed." She answered quickly. "What's going on?"

"Sof..." She trailed.

"Reed. Please talk to me." She pleaded, sympathy in her voice that brought tears to her eyes.

"I continued to see my therapist not just for the whole attempted murder incident. I've got a lot of skeletons in my closet." She answered, giving her something. "Dana and Rick didn't come into my life until I was seventeen almost eighteen, and Dana probably saved my life."

"Your dad...?" Sofia asked.

"After my mother died in a car accident when I was fifteen, he started being verbally abusive. It wasn't until we moved my senior year that he got physically abusive, and it got to a point where I ran away and went and camped out in the woods. Dana, who was actually my English teacher, had found my journal I had accidentally left in her class, and she came and found me. My father is currently in jail for another three years." She gave her the short version of her time before she left for college, and Sofia looked shocked.

"I..." She started to say, but she honestly had no words.

"Yeah, it's a lot to unpack. That's why I've kept it to myself." She answered with a sigh, taking another sip of her coffee.

"I can't even imagine what you've been through, but I'm glad you're still here." She told her, laying a hand over hers and squeezing.

"I've been through more than you think." She chuckled, trying to relieve some of the tension in the room.

"So your dad's in jail?" She asked a few minutes later.

"Yup, I haven't seen him since he got locked up. I know my brother has visited him, but I don't want anything to do with him." She responded with a sigh. The doorbell suddenly rang, making Samantha freeze up instantly. Sofia looked at her before getting up and going over to the door, looking through the peephole, then unlocking it. She waved whoever it was in, and she calmed down when she saw Fred Carmichael walk through the door.