An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 17

*Servando's POV*
Our alarm clock blares as 8:30am arrives. 'Christmas Eve.'  I think to myself. I look down to see Alex resting her head on my chest. She looks tired as if she didn't get much sleep. I kiss her head lightly as she continues to play with our intertwined fingers. 

"What are you thinking about?" I ask seeing her lost in thought. "Sophia. What do you think we should do?" she sighs. "I think it's almost Christmas and she's missing her family. If she wants to see Maggie then we should let her," I tell her. "But what if it doesn't go well?" she asks sadly. "What if it does?" I counter. I look at her, but she doesn't seem satisfied with my answer. Before I can say anything else we're interrupted by the sound of knocking. I look up to see Sophia leaning against our door frame.

"I can't sleep. Can we talk?" she asks. "Come here," I say patting the bed. "I don't want to make this into a thing especially on Christmas Eve, but I've decided that I want to see Maggie. And I want to do it today. If I wait any longer I won't ever do it," she tells us. Alex and I look at each other knowing that we have to let her go. "We better get ready to go then," Alex says before rolling out of bed. She gives Sophia a quick kiss on her head before walking towards the shower. I look back over at Sophia who's walking towards the door. "Hey," I say getting her attention. "We got your back no matter what Soph," I smile.

...

The car ride to UCLA was quiet. No one really knew what to say since we were all kind of nervous for this meet up. We walk towards the Hitch Residential Suites, but Sophia stops us. "I think I need to do this alone," she says suddenly. "You don't want us there?" Alex asks slightly hurt. "It's not that. You know I love you guys. I want you to meet her, but I just need to talk to her first," she explains. "We understand. Do what you gotta do. Just call us when you're ready to leave," I tell her. She hugs us both before walking towards building entrance. She pauses as she reaches the door and looks back at us. I give her a nod and watch as she goes inside.

"She said she loves us," Alex says quietly.

*Sophia's POV*
I slowly approach the front desk in the lobby until I'm face-to-face with the desk attendant. "Can I help you?" they ask kindly. "Y-yeah um I was wondering if Maggie Richardson lives in this building," I spit out nervously. The person looks at me skeptically, but smiles. "She does. She's an RA here. I can call her down if you want," they offer. "S-sure. I would appreciate it," I respond, unsure if that's what I really want. "Why don't you take a seat over there. She'll be down soon," they say pointing to a nearby bench. I nod and do just that.

I can feel my stomach knotting up as I sit and wait for Maggie to come down. My hands sweat profusely, which shows just how nervous I am since they never do that. After what felt like eternity, I hear the elevator sound. I watch as a girl wearing a maroon knit sweater, jeans, and light brown boots walks out of the elevator. 

'Maggie.'

Her blonde curly hair bounces as she approaches the desk. The desk attendant points over at me and Maggie freezes as soon as she sees me. I stand up nervously and make my way over to her.

"Hi baby sis," she whispers as tears fill her eyes. "Hi," I whisper back. We stand there looking at each other until Maggie finally pulls me into a hug. It's strange. I had thought about this moment for a while and every time I always pictured myself yelling at her. I pictured a hate-filled argument, but here I was wrapping my arms around her. It's like all of the anger and sadness that I've felt just washed away. And I didn't care.

"I've missed you," I say while allowing my body to relax. "I've missed you more," she sniffles. "What are you even doing here? How are you here?" she asks suddenly realizing the situation. "It's a long story actually," I saying rubbing my arm. "Well I've got all the time in the world for you," she says while looping her arm through mine. We walk out the door of the building and begin the long explanation of why I'm here.