Beyond the lies

Chapter 11

Maybe they'd send a bodyguard who'll watch her from the distance. It seemed pretty likely so she would make sure to be on the lookout for one. One thing she was definitely sure of though, was that there's a tracker in her phone.

Time flew and the weekend arrived. The girl packed a small bag of whatever she thought was necessary to bring to a sleepover, or at least according to this online article she had read. Everyone had been thrilled when she had announced that she had gained her brothers' approvals, even Elias smiled a bit.

She made sure to keep her phone in her pocket where she could access it easily and set off after having some breakfast. Sofia had noticed she was less tired these days due to her better eating habits and meal plans and concluded that it would be best to continue it even when her brothers weren't checking.

Vera was already at the bus stop and the two waited patiently for the next bus to arrive, which was in a few minutes. They talked a bit about school and as the expected bus came into view, a look of horror came across the friend's face.

"Oh no! I just remembered that I left my keys at home, my parents won't be there tommorow so I'll need it to get in the house myself."

"It's fine, let's go now."

Vera groaned, "I'm so sorry Sofia...the bus is here as well."

"It's fine, if we hurry we can make the next one in 10 minutes."

"We'll have to run then!"

Sofia nodded and the two set off. During the short run, the girl wondered if this was important enough to tell her brothers. It wasn't that big of a deal, yet she feared it may be made into a big one.

If her theory was correct, then her brothers would be able to track wherever she went anyways. She debated over what to do for a few more seconds before snapping out of her trance when she noticed a man in a black suit across the street. He was running along with Sofia and Vera, although he was trying his best to not let them see him, he had a phone in his hand and was in the process of calling someone.

The girl's eyes widened, this must be her bodyguard! He was probably going to call Vincent.

Oh no you don't.

She whipped out her phone and texted Luca saying she had to quickly go to Vera's house to get something and then copied and forwarded the message to Vincent. There was no way she was going to let them get the wrong idea.

Vera suddenly stopped and Sofia realised they were at her house now. It was nowhere near the size of her brothers' home, though it was quite big and had a more comforting feeling to it. The two girls were panting badly and had to take a few seconds of rest, following which Vera then rung the doorbell.

The door was opened by a woman was much taller than the girls, and had green eyes, black hair and tanned skin. A man also appeared and looked similar to the woman, although he had dark brown eyes and hair instead.

The couple looked very different to Vera and for a second Sofia almost thought they were at the wrong house.

The woman spoke first, "Vera? I thought you were going to the sleepover?"

"I know, I am. I just forgot the keys."

The couple burst into laughter and red-faced Vera rushed by them to get to her room. Sofia stood unsurely at the door, not knowing what to do. Vera's parents gave her a warm smile.

"You must be Sofia! It's so lovely to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Mr and Mrs Garcia."

Mr Garcia snorted, "don't be formal, just call us Luis and Elena! And would you like to come in?"

"It's fine...Luis. We have to catch the next bus anyways."

Elena chuckled, "you'd have to hurry then."

She nodded and Vera appeared, holding a silver key in her hand.

"Ok, I've got it, let's go!"

The girls ran back to the bus and somehow managed to be in time for the bus. They even found some seats. There was a buzz coming from Sofia's pocket, and she took out her phone to see who it was.

Turns out there were messages from Vincent and Luca, the oldest had told her it was fine and Luca had basically said the same thing except he added a bunch of emojis which she cringed at. She sent a short response back and put away her phone to notice an uneasy expression on her friend's face.

"What's wrong?"

"You noticed, didn't you?

"Noticed what?" Of course she noticed, Sofia had worked it out in an instant, but thought it would be better to not comment on it and let Vera tell her when the time was right.

"Oh, n-nothing..."

Then the topic was changed like the chat had never happened.

From the reflection in one of the windows, she realised that the bodyguard was seated at the back of the bus, in close proximity to the girls. He was doing a terrible job of staying hidden, and as for the tracker, Sofia came up with an idea to test out her theory another time.

The stop near Nicole's house came soon afterwards and they got off the bus, along with the bodyguard who clearly needed a career change since he was still very obvious. They walked to a large house along a nice looking neighbourhood and knocked on the door.

It was opened by none other than their friend with red hair.

"You made it! Come in!"