Blood Bound

Chapter 35: Sophie's origin

"What are we going to do?" I croak.

"Wait, I guess," Sophie shrugs.

I lean against the bench, hugging my knees. "Is there really nothing we can do? We can't try to escape?"

"We can try," Sophie chuckles mirthlessly. "But it's going to be super fucking difficult, with ghouls watching us, surveillance cameras everywhere," she points to the metal rectangle up in the corner, then proceeds to give it the middle finger. "and both vampires and Sangues on every floor of the building."

I hug my knees tighter. She's right. We're not capable of doing all that by ourselves. Me being a lousy human would also slow us down considerably. It would take a frigging miracle for us to escape this fortress of death.

"Kenji could help us, right?" I suggest.

"If he's not dying from his punishment, he probably could," Sophie mutters darkly.

"I hope he's alright," I moan pitifully.

"He knew what he signed himself into," she sighs. "He'll be fine. Even if he doesn't look it, he can take care of himself." She winks reassuringly.

I try to smile but it comes off as a grimace. How can I smile in a situation like that? We sit together in silence, Sophie staring down at the floor and me racking my brain in futile attempts of coming up with any kind of escape plans. But as usual, it's blank when I need it the most.

"I'm sorry," Sophie suddenly says very quietly.

I look up and see that she's frowning, like she's having a hard time restraining herself. I say nothing, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I'm so sorry for dragging you into this," she continues. "But I had no choice. I had to take you with me, to make sure you wouldn't get killed."

"What do you mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. All plans of escaping disappear from my mind. I'm vaguely aware that my heartbeat has risen again and that feeling of uneasiness is resurfacing.

Sophie pushes her hair behind her ear, still staring hard at the cement floor. "I guess I was making up for lost time, since we didn't get to spend a lot of time together back when I was a human. I wish I could go back and change it."

"What are you talking about?" I inquire, staring at her.

Sophie takes a deep, shuddering breath. "There was a reason why I had to take you with me. Do you remember it?"

I think back. I remember Sophie's panicked state, her telling me we had to run away and leave everything behind. She was adamant about taking me with her.

"You said it was because I had been associating with you. You said that they would kill everyone that is close to you." I recount hesitantly.

Sophie nods. "The thing is, you're much closer to me than you think."

"W-what do you mean?" My mouth is suddenly dry and it feels like my heart is standing above a line over a gaping chasm.

Sophie chuckles sadly. "C'mon, it never occurred to you why I never went to your place when we were in school? Despite all your invitations?"

I shake my head, even though my mind is racing. Now that I think about it, she would always have an excuse not to come, saying silly things like her mom needed her or that she had prior engagements with her other friends.

"You see, I was always afraid your dad might be home and he would see some resemblance in me," she looks up, eyes sad but determined. "Do you see it, Leia?"

My brows furrow in confusion yet my heart is hammering in my chest, bouncing on the trapeze line. The shape of her eyes look familiar to someone I know, someone very dear to me. My heart slips on the line and falls, it seems endlessly, into the abyss as it dawns on me, punches me hard in the gut.