after unlocked: a sokeefe fanfic

Chapter 47-Sophie

"You ready to go home?" Sophie asked as lightly as possible.

Keefe stared forward, at the long path ahead. His boot scuffed the ground, making the dust rise. "Sure."

Sophie hesitated. "I'm sorry," she said softly, unsure of what he needed her to do.

He shook his head, shoulder slumping. His voice was low and rough—almost angry. "It's fine. Let's just get out of here."

Sophie sucked in a breath when he brushed past, his hands in his pockets as he started up the path. She wished she could read his mind, or tell him it'd be okay.

But it was his mom.

And that cut off everything she could say.

Sophie followed Keefe, keeping about two feet between them. She stared around the cavern noting the landmarks in case they took a wrong turn. It wasn't hard with her photographic memory, but she paid extra attention to anywhere they could hide.

Her fingers fell from her pockets to the inside of her cloak. She'd hidden her Melder there, and her fingers tightened around the handle as the silence continued.

She hated silence.

"Keefe?" She whispered.

He was fidgeting with a loose thread on his cloak, and he didn't look at her when he answered, "Yeah?"

"Do you miss her?"

His fidgeting stilled. "Miss her?" He repeated.

"Your mom. Gisela." She prompted when he didn't answer immediately. The silence continued until he sighed.

"Yeah. I miss her. I always miss her." He shrugged, a painful grin appearing. "The her I knew before. Like, when I was seven. Though..." he trailed off. "I never really knew her. And she was never the best, but she was always better than my dad. Better than nothing."

There wasn't a lot that she could say to that. To say to him. But she didn't want to speak. She didn't want to hear the deafening silence.

"Keefe?" She whispered.

"Yeah, Sophie?"

She blinked. "You... you don't have to call me that."

"Sophie?"

"I mean that..." she trailed off, but made herself force out the rest of the words. "You can call me Foster. I mean, it's always been your nickname for me and..."

Keefe stopped in his tracks. He swung around to look at her, his scrutiny forcing her to look down. Her hair fell from where it had been tucked behind her ears, covering her face.

His voice was gentle when he answered. "Okay, Foster."

Sophie looked up. He smiled at her, amusement flitting across his face.

He shifted slightly on the path, so that she could step up beside him, and started walking. "Come on. Let's get out of this hellhole."

It took three minutes before the twitch of irritation came to the front of her mind. She cleared her throat, shook her head rapidly, and forced herself to think of happy thoughts.

Flying with Silveny. Petting Wynn and Luna. Playing Base Quest with all her friends. Dancing with Keefe.

"Can we talk or something?" She asked finally, unable to keep herself from drifting into the shadowed corners of her mind.

"The Moonshades?" Keefe said, voice strained. She glanced over at him. His face was tight, worry and guilt filled along with so many other emotions.