Unlocked

Nine - Sophie

Sophie hadn't planned on telling anyone who her biological mother was. She'd wanted to hide the information for as long as she could, or possibly even the rest of her life.

But when the moment arose, Keefe was the only one in the room that she trusted. He just knew her too well. So she dragged him with her into the hall before she broke down—right into his arms. She couldn't even finish her sentence, but he'd already figured it out.

And now Sophie couldn't stop crying. She felt stupid, crying over a thing like this, but she just couldn't pull away from Keefe's embrace. The way he held her so gently, so sweetly, she just couldn't let go.

Keefe patiently waited for her tears to dry. And when they did, she could see the world so much more distinctly. Sometimes the tears cleared her vision enough to give her a new perspective.

And Keefe was the only thing she could stare at. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way his hair lightened the dark hallway, the tenderness in his features. She loved him so, so much.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" He responded, taking Sophie's hands in his and helping her to her feet.

"For just being you," she said softly, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "I wouldn't be able to get through this without you."

Keefe's smile melted her heart. "I could say the same about someone," he said, poking her in the side.

She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked back to the door. Their footsteps echoed; the only sounds in the dim lit hallway. Sophie felt her pulse intensify along with Keefe's as they neared the door.

She couldn't help but remember the first time she'd been here; the time Keefe had taken her when she was only twelve. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Now Keefe was with her again. This time, she would never let him go.

Sophie paused before turning the handle. "Let's keep this between us, okay?"

Keefe nodded, squeezing her hand encouragingly. "We'll figure this out, I promise."

She let out a breath. "Yeah."

Her fingers grazed the doorknob once more. Exhaling, she finally turned it.

♡ ~𝓤𝓷𝓵𝓸𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓭~ ♡

The noise was awful. Five voices were shouting all at once. Stina was yelling at Dex, and Wylie, Biana, and Fitz were arguing about something else halfway across the room. Bronte sat in the corner, a frown ever present on his face.

Stina was the first to notice Sophie and Keefe. "What were you doing?" She demanded, stalking over to them.

Dex scrambled after her. "Yeah, what were you doing?"

Sophie's throat ran dry. She hadn't planned this.

Keefe covered for her. "She just needed a minute," he said, addressing Stina and Dex, "alone."

Stina's eyes narrowed. "Alone?"

Dex, Wylie, Fitz, and Biana raised their eyebrows in unison.

Keefe smirked. "Alone with me."

Bronte finally stood up. But before he could take a step forward, he let out an uncharacteristic high squealing noise.

Elwin had glittered into appearance, just centimeters from Bronte's face.

Sophie nearly snorted in laughter. Keefe chuckled under his breath. Bronte scowled.

Elwin took a step back. "Well, well. That's a lot of new faces."

But the warm color of his face turned white when Bronte recited the news of Oralie to him. He sat down on a cot, surely trying to process the information. Sophie was still having trouble with it herself.

Her mother was missing. Not that she'd ever considered Oralie her mother, but still. Maybe she'd been a little too harsh on her before. Sophie let the guilt consume her without thinking.

"This isn't your fault, Foster," Keefe whispered, reminding her that he could feel everything she felt.

He was right. She couldn't let this break her. She was stronger than this.

Elwin pulled Sophie out of her thoughts. He handed Keefe a yellowish vial, and he immediately grimaced. He made Keefe lie down on his cot, much to Keefe's displeasure.

Sophie knew it was taking everything in Keefe to not throw the vial on the floor and let it shatter. It definitely wouldn't taste good.

Elwin herded the rest of Sophie's friends, plus Bronte, out of the room, making them go home for the night.

Night.

Sophie hadn't noticed that it had gotten so late. Dusk was painting the sky in hues of pink and orange.

The sunset seemed too pretty to be real, like a false promise that everything was going to be all right.

Sophie refused to leave. She wasn't leaving Keefe. Not for as long as she could manage.

They needed each other now more than ever.

"Plug your nose," Elwin advised Keefe.

Keefe did, chugging the bottle in moments. His face turned slightly green. "Ew," he complained to Elwin, handing the empty vial back to him.

Elwin took the vial and replaced it with another, this time full of dark green liquid. "A sedative," he explained. "You need to sleep some more."

A frown appeared on Sophie's face when Elwin handed her an identical green vial. "You need sleep too, Sophie. Those circles under your eyes aren't gonna fix themselves."

Sophie scowled at him. He just laughed.

Keefe turned to Sophie. "Together?"

Sophie's heart warmed. At least she wasn't the only one. "Together."

So they tipped the dark liquid down their throats in unison with no idea what tomorrow would bring.

But at least they wouldn't have to face it alone.