Case Reopened

At Fault (Part 1)

Only when the door to the apartment opened a few hours later, did she break from her self-made fortress.

Donovan and Carter walked inside and took in the trio spread out at the table and on the couch. Sophia efficiently gathered up her things and packed them up. Leaving her backpack by the chair, she approached the pair now putting groceries away in the kitchen.

"Hi, Sophia," Carter said.

She smiled at Sophia. Sophia always appreciated Carter's smile. It was kind but never exuberant. It meant that Sophia could still feel what she currently felt at the time without feeling like she needed to hide it in order for the other person to feel comfortable. Right then she didn't smile back and knew that Carter wouldn't be offended.

"Hello," she said. She waited for Donovan to turn away from the fridge and could make eye contact with him. "Donovan, can I talk to you in private?"

Donovan nodded. "Of course."

Sophia liked that he didn't react like Harrison and Kennedy by looking at Carter before answering. He simply accepted her request.

Together, they left the apartment and ascended the stairs to the roof. Sophia directed them to the edge of the roof and away from the comfy chairs set up. It wasn't the type of talk that deserved comfy chairs.

At the railing, Donovan rested his arms on the stone and gazed out on the city. He didn't ask what Sophia wanted to talk about or even look at her and pressure her to talk right away by doing so.

Where her father's silence was familiar and comfortable to her, she always knew his silence held thousands of thoughts, half of them being about her.

With Donovan, his silence was like an open door into an empty room. Inside there were no preconceived notions or assumptions.

This was why Sophia had come to him.

"I made someone cry today," she said.

Donovan looked at her but she saw no judgment, no accusation, no disappointment. He was. That was all she needed.

Sophia broke contact with him and studied the stone railing. Pebbles dotted the top of it and one by one she collected them and laid them out in a line.

"His name is Charlas Wellmen. He is a junior. We share a table in math."

She collected more pebbles and made a second line that exactly mirrored the first.

"He called me a robot freak."

The second row complete, she made a third.

"I told him... I told him he was a simpleton that would spend his life living off his family's wealth, never making a name for himself. That he'd never live up to anyone's expectations."

Sophia stopped collecting pebbles and looked at the fine layer of dust that had accumulated on her fingers.

She finally lifted her gaze. "You can tell me I'm a terrible person now."

"Is that what you want to hear?" Donovan asked.

"It's the truth."

"No, it's a general statement that makes you feel less guilty about what you did."

Sophia didn't say anything, this time it was her silence that let Donovan speak without encountering any barriers.

"Making a blanket statement that you are a terrible person lets you off for what you did," Donovan said. "If you are only a terrible person then you acted as you always would. There is no changing your nature. It means that you don't have to feel bad for what you did since that is who you are. What you said was cruel. You knew it was and you decided to say it anyways. That was a choice."