Rejected 22 Times

Chapter 32

I've rewritten this chapter so many times

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Chapter 32

(Sophia’s POV)

Liam’s hand guided me down the narrow hall back towards the scene of the prior incident. The walls we passed were coated in a light green color and were decorated with hanging photo frames. I made a mental note not to lean against the walls because I didn’t want a repeat of earlier. Instead of feeling warmed by the sweet smile on Liam’s face when he was a child, the photos only reminded me of how dreadful this night has been.

Well… maybe it wasn’t so bad a few minutes ago. Just as I felt my cheeks begin to flush from that recent memory, Liam’s hand fell from my back. The air seemed to lighten once the narrow, green walls opened up into the front room, and my eyes immediately began to scan the area around me.

“I’ll be right back”, Liam told me before pushing a door open that I assumed led to a kitchen.

I was left to take in my surroundings, which until now, never really stood out. The first thing I noticed was the small wooden table in the corner. Surprisingly, and thankfully, any remnants of the broken frame had been swept away, along with the reminiscence of the occurrence. The only reminder was the empty spot where the frame once sat.

Now that the room had gone back to its pristine state it was in previously, I shifted my focus to other aspects of the house. The entire room sat on wooden flooring, but an intricately designed area rug laid in the middle of it all. A tall Grandfather clock stood against the corner opposite the wooden table, and a large, tan sofa sat in the middle of the room opposite a large television; the door Liam walked through was rearward of it. I took a seat on the sofa, and I felt the cool leather under my skin as I sat down. At this point in the season, it was still pretty warm outside, but when the sun went down, it cooled down a bit.

As I continued to peruse the area, I also noticed a gigantic window on the outside wall that I’m sure let in a lot of sunlight during the daytime. Because the sun had already set, a curtain was drawn to shield the living space from the outside world. Due to the curtains not being closed all the away, a small sliver of moonlight protruded through the barrier, reminding me that there is always a silver lining.

Just as I began to fall deeper into my thoughts, the door behind me swung open, and I turned my head to see a grinning Liam walking through it. Next to the door, I noticed an interior window that created a portal between this room and the one Liam just walked out of. Sliding shutter panels sealed the portal between the two rooms as of right now, but it didn’t matter because Liam was beckoning me to walk through the door he just came through. “C’mon”, he urged me as I stood up and brushed myself off.

My previous assumption was correct; the room we walked into was a kitchen. These walls were instead painted a soft yellow, and the ground was set with stone tiles. A white countertop lined the wall along with the appliances, and a round, wooden table rested in the back corner. There was also a large window on the outside wall, but this one was closed off with a shade that slid up and down. As soon as I noticed that we weren’t alone in the room, the air began to feel thick, and I thought I was going to pass out or even throw up. Maybe both.

“Mum, this is Sophia”, Liam introduced me, in what I guess could be distinguished as a proud tone. His hand found its way on my back once more, and I’ll admit that I loved the protective feel it gave.

My eyes met with the ones of the woman in front of me, but hers were fixated on the hand that Liam had on me. Her eyes suddenly flickered to mine, and I realized that this was the first time that we had actually made eye contact. Her expression was gentle, but inside I still felt terrified of making a lousy impression of myself, well, a lousier one than I had already made.