~ Past separated them, now pain will bring them together.~
A teenager Sofia Hayden, experiencing her falling apart family isolated herself slowly from everything that she held dear, especially from her best friend Max Wilder who had just realized hi...
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Sofia gasped, her eyes opened wide, and all she could see was blurry light. She shot up to a sitting position with her breaths coming out in frantic gasps. Blinking rapidly, she adjusted her sight to the daylight. All kinds of aches shot throughout her body, along with the knowledge that it had been a nightmare.
A long breath of relief left her mouth as she dropped her head into her palms. She kept repeating to herself that Max had saved her, that she was alright.
It didn't matter that he couldn't save her in the past.
After all, it was her own cross to bear that she had been too stupid to have not done more to improve things, to do something more that could have stopped things once and for all.
Her own cowardice was her doom.
A soft knock at the door made her look up. Skyler walked in afterward. "Sofia, why are you still in bed? Mom's been berserk that you didn't make breakfast this morning. Can you believe the woman's audacity? It's only because you made me promise I didn't deliver her a mouthful of suggestions like—doing some work herself." Skyler was literally bouncing in agitation, but she stilled suddenly, a frown appearing on her forehead.
"You look like death has warmed up on you," Skyler said, leaning in to get a better look.
Sofia looked down at herself to see she was covered with the sheet up to her neck. She sighed in relief. Skyler didn't see the bruises. But then Sofia frowned.
It was possible that, unluckily, a bruise or two had formed on her face as well.
"Skyler, it's just... I...," she began stammering out an explanation, but Skyler cut in.
"Oh god, you have dark circles," Skyler shook her head incredulously. "Now that you're going to get married soon, you must have your beauty sleeps like a sacred routine. And you need to go to a spa. Otherwise, you'll look like a zombie on a crack in the photographs."
Sofia sagged back and let herself breathe. It was just dark circles.
Far greater concerns were looming over her head, and these mere dark circles didn't stand a chance in front of them.
"Trust me, Skyler," Sofia said from the bed. "I've other far more important things to do than fuss over my decaying beauty."
Skyler huffed. "You're really something, sis. For a bride to a Wilder heir, you're behaving the exact opposite of how you should be."
"And for being a sister of the bride, you're behaving like a buzzing fly flapping its wings about my ear," Sofia rolled her eyes playfully. "Now, leave me and my dark circles alone, girl. By the way, don't you've school today?"
"Er—no," Skyler replied, looking away.
Sofia stared at Skyler for a long moment before narrowing her eyes. "You bunked again, didn't you?"
