Dear Diary

Chapter 53

Sophia shrugged. "Nothing, just I'm not used to being babied," she said as she threw aside the cover and climbed out of the warm bed ... Luke's bed.

"No, Soph, you need to rest," Luke said as he tried to push her back down onto the mattress.

"No, I don't," Sophia replied stubbornly, ignoring the way her legs wavered unsteadily under her weight. 

Luke stared at her for a moment, but she already pushed her way past him and walked out into the familiar hallway.

Luke entered the kitchen to see her pulling a glass out of the cupboard and moving to the water dispenser. He made himself comfortable by leaning against the counter as the sound of running water filled the room. 

He waited for her to sit at the kitchen table before asking, "Why didn't you tell us you're afraid of fire?"

"Because it's nothing to worry about," Sophia replied as she took a sip of her water to quench her parched throat. 

Luke sighed and raked a hand through his hair in frustration. Was she ever going to open up to him?

"Soph, you fainted ... from fear. I would hardly call that nothing," he said, but Sophia remained silent as she continued to sip from her water, staring at the tabletop. 

Luke huffed and pushed himself away from the counter to sit down adjacent to her at the table. 

"Why are you afraid?" he asked softly.

Sophia's gaze slowly trailed to Luke's pleading eyes. He looked so tired. Did he get any sleep last night? Sophia looked away with a sigh as she swirled the remaining water in her glass. 

"I ... I don't know. I just am, always have been."

Luke's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. That had not been the type of response he'd been expecting. No-one, especially Sophia, was that scared for no reason. 

"Well ... when did you find out?"

Sophia licked her lips and swallowed. This was not a conversation she wanted to have, but Luke deserved some kind of explanation for missing school to look after her. 

"Grade four camp - there was a bonfire ..." 

Sophia felt a shudder run through her body and she inadvertently curled into Luke's warm hoodie for comfort.

"Only then? Did you never go camping with your family before that or make a warm fire in winter, or ever see one on the television?"

Sophia shook her head. "I never watched much television when I was little because I always went with my dad to work if I wasn't at school. I only went camping once with my dad, aunt and cousin. I was six at the time. My aunt wanted to make a fire, but my dad shot her down instantly. I don't think he likes fires too much either," she replied with a shrug.

"Think? Have you never asked him?" Luke asked.

Sophia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "My dad and I aren't exactly very close." 

Luke sensed that she was desperate to change the subject. He knew she wasn't on good terms with her dad at the moment, but he thought it might've been different when she was younger. Clearly that was not the case.

"You want to watch a movie?" he asked and Sophia shrugged in response, but climbed to her feet. 

Now Luke's living-room was an odd design. The room was very long and quite narrow so it was basically made into two sitting rooms. There was the more expensive lounge suite that was angled to face the fireplace on one end while the other end consisted of the older, more comfortable suite which faced the television set. 

Luke noticed then how Sophia deliberately moved past the fireplace without a glance in its direction and sat with her back facing it on one of the couches. Come to think of it, that had been her spot every time she sat in the living-room.

"What do you want to watch?" Luke asked as he began sifting through their movies.

"Anything, as long as there's no fire in it," Sophia muttered, more to herself than to him, as she made herself comfortable on the couch. 

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed then that it wasn't so much a couch. but more a temporary bed with a nice quilt blanket and pillow. She frowned as she stared at Luke's back. He slept on the couch? She figured he might've slept in his sisters' room, but apparently not.

Luke paused at her words and turned to look at her. "So, what do you normally watch?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I read."

Luke nodded his head at the information while his mind recalled a distant memory of when they were still fairly acquainted. He had seen Sophia passed out on a bench in the park that he likes to run in with a pale yellow hardcover book on her lap. She seemed very eager to get it back from him, but even then she never struck him as the reading type.

"Well, let's see then," he muttered to himself as he looked back at their entertainment selection. 

Tarzan? No, the boat is on fire in the opening scene. The Little Mermaid? Boat explodes into flames. Chicago fire? That's a laugh. 

"Um ... is Cinderella fine?" he asked and held out the movie for her to see his choice.

Sophia shrugged in response. 

Taking that as a positive sign, he placed the disc in the machine and walked over to her before plopping down beside her and grabbed the remote. He cast a side-glance to see that she had pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. 

Luke looked around and his eyes spotted the blanket nearby that he had been planning to use last night ... only he ended up spending the entire night by her side placing cool cloths on her heated forehead. He grabbed it and draped it over the both of them. Sophia looked at him and he gave her a smile in return.

They watched the movie in silence for a few minutes, but Luke couldn't stop the wheels from turning in his head. 

"Hey, Soph?" he asked and Sophia slowly looked at him. He edged a little closer to her. "Did you never watch any movies when you were little?"

Sophia curled more into his hoodie. "I did, I'm fine with animated fire because it looks fake." 

But yet again, that was the older animations. They've probably improved a lot.

"Oh," Luke nodded his head at the information, but there was one thing that he really wanted to ask her. "What did you mean when you said you've experienced worse?"

Sophia sighed. She had been waiting for him to bring that up again. "It's just like I told you – I'm not used to being babied," she replied, but Luke gave her a look as if to explain herself. 

She shifted. It felt weird to open up to someone, but she couldn't lie that it felt nice. As though a weight was being lifted off her chest.

"I stopped watching movies and programmes when I started watching real-life videos. My dad wasn't home often due to his work and one day I was watching a movie where this house exploded into flames. I was busy walking towards the couch at the time ... I fainted and woke up a day later still on the tiled flooring with a puddle of dried blood around my head and a temperature sky high. I ... I'm just used to have to look after myself I guess, because no-one was ever there for me before."

Luke's eyes widened in surprise. He had no idea her life was so ... lonely. 

Without thinking, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Sophia sighed as she relaxed against him. She was too tired to protest and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

"You know, if you ever need me," Luke spoke softly into her ear as he stroked her hair. "I'm just a phone call away."

His words touched Sophia more than he realised and a small smile came to her lips. "Thank you, Luke," she muttered as she felt sleep overtake her once more.