ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ

a l m o s t a b e t r a y a l

Keefe

The ground felt like it was dropping out from under Keefe.

Which shouldn't have been the case. He should've been twirling and leaping with joy, because his jerk of a dad was MISSING!

But...his father had been getting better. Keefe wasn't about to go out and admit it, but living with him was actually becoming bearable.

Of course, that didn't stop Keefe from dropping a few pranks on him. Well, okay, maybe a bit more than a few. But that was besides the point. Either way, Lord Cassius was gone.

Keefe uncontrollably began to sway.

He felt someone grip his hand. "Keefe." Sophie's low voice was right next to his ear. He managed to turn and meet her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

He closed his eyes. Was he?

Sophie began to tug on his arm. "We'll be back in a second," he vaguely heard her tell the others, and then she was pulling him back into the house. Keefe stumbled after her.

He barely remembered going through the living room; he barely remembered going up the stairs; he barely remembered collapsing on Sophie's bedroom floor, slumped against the wall.

Sophie shook his shoulder. "Keefe," she said. "Please. Come back to me."

He didn't want to. But this was Sophie. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to lift his head and meet her gaze.

She sat next to him, still tightly gripping his hand, as if she was scared that if she let go he'd slip away from her.

"I'm so sorry," she told him softly. "That's a lame thing to say, but..."

"S'all right," Keefe heard himself say. "I've already lost one parent. Might as well complete the set."

Sophie's gold-flecked brown eyes held his, unwavering. "You don't have to make this into a joke."

"Yeah, I do." He leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes. He blew his breath out. "I just--I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. A couple years ago, I would've been celebrating the fact that he was gone. But now..."

His face felt oddly cold. It took him a moment to realize it was because tears were streaking down his cheeks.

Sophie threw her arms around him, as if she could hold his broken pieces together. "I'm so sorry, Keefe," she said in a choked voice. "I wish I could do something for you."

Keefe, a little surprised, tentatively hugged her back. "It's okay, Foster."

"No, it's not," she said fiercely, pulling away to meet his eyes. She gently wiped some tears off his face, leaving warm tingles on his skin. "I promise, we'll find him. And Tam. Everything will be okay."

Keefe reached out and gingerly touched a tendril of Sophie's blond hair. "That's what I like about you, Sophie," he whispered. "You always try to make things right. Even when it's impossible."

Sophie opened her mouth to answer, but then seemed to falter. It was only then Keefe realized it was because they were so close.

Like, an inch apart close.

When had that happened?

He wasn't sure whether it was Sophie leaning in, or him. It was like they were both gravitating towards each other.

As they got closer, something inside him started screaming an alert. Something about Fitz. Fitz and Sophie.

But Keefe ignored the voice.

They got closer, closer--

"Keefe," she whispered. She had pulled away a little, but she was still close, close enough for Keefe to feel her warm breath on his face. "I'm unmatchable."

Keefe's heart was still pounding loudly in his ears, his breath coming in short, rapid gasps. What had just happened? They were about to kiss. When she was dating Fitz.

He'd almost betrayed his best friend.

Actually, he already had, simply by having these stupid feelings for Sophie.

His thoughts were going a mile a minute, so it took a long time for him to completely register Sophie's words. She was still watching him, waiting for his response, her face anxious.

When he'd finally processed what she'd said, he froze.

What? No. He must have heard her wrong.

But it explained a lot. Why she was so flustered and uncomfortable around Fitz. But...why was she so uncomfortable around Keefe?

Then the color drained from his face.

Did she...did she know...

That couldn't be. It wasn't possible. There was no way for her to find out.

Right?

To Keefe, the world was spiraling.

Because the secret he had kept for so long, the secret that Sophie might now know...

...was that he was also unmatchable.