I Never Imagined ✔️

Chapter 10: Patience is Key

I'm already having second thoughts as to whether I should do this or not. I'm standing there, with absolutely no idea as to what I should do. Sophia's just standing there, kind of fidgety, as she moves around on her feet and tries not to just stand there like a statue. 

I take a deep breath, and just give her a little bit of a smile in an attempt to cut the tension a little bit. She gives me one too, and honestly, it doesn't help. I take a deep breath, and decide that the tension is just dragging me down. I don't know why I had second thoughts as to why I should tell Sophia how I feel. 

I gulp, and say, "Sophia, can I tell you something?" 

She looks up, with the look of relief that the tension has been dissolved. "Yeah, of course. What's up?" she asks. 

My palms feel a little bit sweaty, and my heart rate starts to accelerate. This could go in more than one way. This could have the fairy tale happy ending, or this could lead to more than one heart. Without wasting another minute, I start off. 

"Sophia, I don't know why it took me this long to admit this, but I'm just going to be upfront with you. I really like you, Sophia," I say, which causes her eyes to widen. Her jaw falls open, in surprise, and I take that as a good sign. I take a deep breath, and continue on with my mini speech. 

"Sophia, I was hiding it, and I don't even know why. I don't know why I should hide it from such an amazing person like you. You're someone who I definitely want to date, and everyone should know that. You're smart, you're beautiful, you're just someone who is just amazing all around. I don't know if I will ever fall for someone as amazing as you," I say, as Sophia still looks kind of shocked from everything that just happened. 

"I don't know when I started to fall for you, but man, I don't regret it. These past couple of years have been amazing with you. Being your friend has definitely changed my life for the better, but I want to up that. I know, this is kind of sudden, but will you be my girlfriend? I really think you'd be an amazing girlfriend, and if you say yes, then I promise to be the best boyfriend I can to you. What do you think?" I ask, as Sophia finally closes her mouth from the jaw hanging out of pure shock. 

She gives me a nervous smile, as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. I smile, as I eagerly wait for her reaction. Is she going to say yes? Am I going to be hanging here for the rest of my life waiting for an answer? All I want to know is if she says yes or no. That's what I need right now. Sophia looks up, with a beaming smile on her face. 

"Ray, I really like you too. I didn't know how to tell you, because I thought you'd be interested in someone else, but here we are! I didn't expect you to come up and admit you like me. This is... kind of a surprise for me," she says, and we both chuckle. 

She's not completely wrong when it comes to that. I'm not the person who would outright admit that I have a crush on someone. This is an exception, considering it's Sophia we're talking about. She's an open book, which is what I appreciate, because close minded people are a pain to deal with sometimes. 

She then looks at me again, this time with a look that's a little bit less happy than the last one. "But, Ray, I'm sorry. I can't," she says. Great, now my fears have been confirmed. It's the part where the girl says, "I want to, but I can't." 

My worst nightmare has come to life. The look on her face turns into a "Let me explain," look, to which I allow. 

"Ray, I like you, don't get me wrong. But, there's just a huge problem that I can't get past. It's Victoria. I've seen the way that she looks at you when you guys talk. I've seen the sparkle in her eyes when you guys talk. Or when she just mentions you. Ray, she likes you too. I have to respect that. I can't start dating you knowing she likes you. It would break her. She may have done a lot of things to me, but nobody deserves that. I can't do that to her knowing what would happen. It just wouldn't be right." 

Man, I hate to admit it, but she's right. Nobody deserves that happening to them, even after everything that's happened. That just wouldn't be fair. 

I nod, and then Sophia says, "Even if Victoria wasn't in the equation, I'd still need time to figure this out. A lot has been happening lately, and this is kind of a big shock. All I need is some time to process everything. But, for now, I don't think I'm ready," she says. 

I try to keep a smile and a pleasant look on my face for her. Because my discontent is something that is very infectious, much like my happiness. However, it's not hard, because I don't feel any pain. 

Surprisingly, I don't feel the pain from the stab wound caused by the knife of rejection. Apparently the knife missed and decided to hit the wall instead. Considering this, I nod, and say, "Okay. Thanks for hearing me out, Sophia." 

She gives me a smile, and says, "Anytime. I'll see you later?" 

"Definitely." 

With that, I walk out of the room, down the hall, and towards the door so that I can go home. "Ray, wait," Mrs. Smith calls. She runs towards me with a huge platter filled with chocolate glazed eclairs, with the custard oozing out of the ends, like it's waiting to be eaten. 

"Take one, please," she offers, to which I can't resist. 

I take it, and say, "Thanks, Mrs. Smith." 

She smiles. "Anytime. Take care!" she commands, to which I thank her and leave the house.

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I lock the door behind me, and walk towards the dining table to get a head start on my homework that's due. I sit down, and then my mom comes walking out of the kitchen. "You okay, Ray? You look kind of upset," she asks me. 

Right as she asks me that, a pang of unmistakable pain soars through my chest. Ah, I knew it was hiding and waiting to be sneaky. I know I can't lie to my mom when the pain comes to me and basically makes me feel awful right then and there. The unmistakable pain of heartbreak gnaws all around my insides, making me feel solemn and hurt. 

I look at my mom, and say, "No, I'm not okay. I-I told her about how I felt." My mom's eyes widen out of surprise. 

It's almost as if she knows how it went down based on my reaction to the heartbreak. "She said she wasn't ready, hm?" 

I nod, and then she comes closer to give me a hug. "It's okay. You'll be okay. Give it some time, okay?" she comforts. 

Easier said than done. 

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Oh boy. Ray finally confessed his feelings. This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Do you think Sophia did the right thing by saying no in order to spare Victoria's feelings? Or do you think she should have said yes? Let me know in the comments.

Hello again, my dears! It's me! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but there are some big things coming up. I'm not going to lie. This chapter hurt a little for me when I was writing it. I guess I have a stronger connection with the characters then I admit. Even though they're not real. Either way, I hope you're having a wonderful day, and I hope you like this chapter!

Please vote/comment/follow/share/message if you like my work. Have a great week! I'll see you all next Sunday!

Love you guys,

S.V.T.S.