"We did," Sophie told Keefe. "We found him unconscious and badly beaten. And Tam insisted on taking him to Tam and Linh's parents' house as a temporary hiding place. Mostly just because we knew it was somewhere no one would look, but I think he thoroughly enjoyed inconveniencing his parents."
Keefe smirked. "You know I'm not exactly Bangs Boy's biggest fan, but sometimes he's almost okay."
Sophie just rolled her eyes.
"You know I still haven't let him in the fan club though, right?"
"There is no fan club," Sophie informed him.
"Keeeeep telling yourself that."
She sighed but decided to drop it. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," he said, angling himself toward her gingerly, the movement causing him to wince.
"Why does Alvar's whole apartment smell so weird?"
"I have no idea," he told her. "But I've been wondering the same thing. Ro claims she searched the apartment and couldn't find the source of it, but I think her sense of smell is just messed up from living in Ravagog. Because it totally smells like rotting toenails and I really wish I could get rid of it."
Sophie couldn't stifle her giggle. "Rotting toenails? How do you even know what that would smell like?"
He shrugged. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he asked with a smirk.
"Actually...I'm not sure I would."
Keefe laughed--and then sucked in a sharp breath.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yep. Just...hurts to laugh, I guess. I honestly haven't done much laughing the last few days."
"Ro not exactly a laugh riot?" She guessed.
"I don't know, maybe if I gave her a chance she would be. I just...I don't know. I've been really worried."
"About what?"
"What do you think?" His voice was suddenly much softer.
"Worried about us going to Nightfall without you?"
"That's definitely part of it," he agreed. "But it's not all. I've been worried about you. About...about us. I keep waiting for some stupid thing I do to be the last straw. I know you say you'll never hate me, but...I've already lost your trust again. You can refuse to be my friend without actually hating me. I think that's what I'm afraid of."
For some reason, that made Sophie's heart flutter—especially the word 'us'—and it made her very aware of the fact that they were sitting so close, still holding hands.
And of the truth she'd been ignoring—that while the bandage around Keefe's torso covered him nearly as well as a tunic would, it did leave his arms bare.
His arms, which had impressive muscle definition. Proof that he was strong, even if he was injured right now.
The longer they sat there, so close, fingers entwined, the harder it was to ignore how good he looked or how fluttery he made her.
She wasn't sure what that meant, exactly, but...she didn't let go of his hand.
"I don't want to stop trusting you," she admitted quietly. "But sometimes you make it really hard."
"I know. But...it feels like you still trust me," he said cautiously, squeezing her hand. "Deep down, anyway. Like...for some reason your instinct is to trust me even when part of you says you shouldn't anymore."
"Sounds about right," Sophie mumbled.
"I'll make that my goal, then," he said softly, tracing his thumb lightly across the back of her gloved hand. "To be the version of myself that your instincts tell you to trust rather than the one who keeps betraying you instead."
"I like that plan." Sophie sighed. "I guess I should let you get some rest. I bet just sitting up for this long is wearing you out."
But she didn't get up.
"Don't go," he said quietly. "Not when I don't know if you're still mad at me." But then he smirked. "You know where I'm staying now. You could totally sneak back and kill me or inflict on me while I'm sleeping. I'll feel safer knowing you're not harboring any resentment."
She couldn't help but laugh.
Which she thought was probably the point. He could probably tell her mood was better than when she'd arrived.
Which, of course, was why she came.
"You going to answer me, Foster, or should I be scared for my life?"
"Sorry," she said. "I was just thinking about how it's hard to stay mad at you when clearly I need you in my life because you always find a way to cheer me up."
She'd said it lightly, with a hint of a grin, but her comment made his whole face light up with a smile.
Not a smirk. A smile.
"So, does that mean I'm forgiven?" He asked.
Sophie's eyes darted down to where his bandage was wrapped around his torso. A wave of nausea washed over her again as she remembered watching Keefe receive that injury.
"Hey," he whispered, responding to her mood shift. "I'm—"
But she scooted closer to him and placed her free hand over his mouth. "You don't have to apologize again. Part of me is still angry, yes. But I have forgiven you. I realize the reason I've been so angry is because I care so much about you." She looked away and said the next words without thinking. "Maybe too much."
Keefe scooted in closer—his free arm wrapping around his torso like he was trying to hold it in place as he did so—and looked in her eyes. "Makes a nice change," he murmured. "My parents always cared too little."
It was a heartbreaking truth he'd just spoken, but this time, there was no sadness in his eyes. Only something more akin to wonder or awe.
She could tell, because they were now sitting very, very close.
Which made her heart flutter some more.
"Sophie," Keefe whispered, so close his breath was warm on her cheeks.
And he was looking at her like...
Like he never wanted to look away.
And then, without another word, he leaned in a bit more—it didn't take much—and kissed her.
She supposed she should've been more surprised, but for some reason, it was almost like she'd been expecting it. Waiting for it.
Suddenly she was hyper aware of everything. The gentle pressure of his lips. The way her heart started beating wildly. The way his hand shook as he disentangled it from hers and ran it up her arm, bringing it to rest on her cheek. How warm his hand was.
And aware of the fact that kissing him felt so comforting and electrifying at the same time.
But then, suddenly, Keefe let out a quiet gasp of pain and pulled back.
"What's wrong?" Sophie asked, frightened. Had his wound reopened or something?
"I'm sorry," he replied, closing his eyes and taking in a few shallow breaths. "Everything is fine, I just..." he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I tried to bring my other hand up to your face, but when I reached for you, it hurt. I'm sorry I ruined the moment, though." He sighed. "Stupid injury."
Sophie studied him carefully. He didn't look pale or sweaty or like he was still in pain, so she didn't think he was downplaying it.
Which was good, because her mind was spinning and her lips were tingling and she really wanted to say...
"You kissed me."
His lips tugged up into a soft smile. "I did," he agreed. "And you kissed me back."
"I did."
"Well, thank goodness for that," he whispered. Then he leaned back against the bed's large ornate headboard. He looked tired. It probably took a lot of work just to hold himself upright with that injury across his abdomen.
"I didn't realize...I didn't know you felt that way," she admitted, her mind—and heart—still racing.
He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Ro's voice shouted from outside the bedroom, "well that much was obvious!"
Sophie winced. She'd forgotten about Ro, who had apparently been able to hear everything.
Great.
Keefe grinned. "Ignore her," he advised. "And...I know you didn't know. Just like I knew you weren't aware of your feelings for me. Empath, remember?"
"Wait...how could you know I liked you if I didn't even know?"
He reached for her hand again. "I told you...the way your enhancing intensifies my empathy is very enlightening. I suspected it before then, sometimes, but then in Lumenaria, I knew I had a shot. I just didn't know which way it would go, since..."
His voice trailed off, and she wasn't sure if he was referring to the fact that she'd been so upset with him, or her crush on Fitz.
Oh, yeah.
Fitz.
What about Fitz? He probably didn't even return her feelings, but still, it wasn't very fair to Keefe to string him along if she was harboring feelings for another guy.
But suddenly the thought of being with Keefe was very tempting.
Now that she thought about it...it had been coming on for a while, her feelings for him. No wonder she'd gotten so jealous when he admitted to kissing Biana 'mostly' on the cheek.
No wonder she'd taken it so hard when he joined the Neverseen.
No wonder Brant had called Keefe 'lover boy' the day they'd captured him...
And Grady and Sandor kept insisting that Keefe was special to her...
"I'm so...confused," she whispered.
Keefe's smile looked more sad as he replied, "yeah, I can feel that."
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"Don't be. You're cute when you're confused."
He was smirking at her now. Lightening the mood.
Giving her an easy out.
She shook her head at him. "I won't be confused for long," she assured him. "I just...need to think through some things. But that kiss just now was..." she smiled. "Eye-opening, I guess is the right word."
"We don't have to jump into anything," he promised her. "I wouldn't want to be with you if you weren't sure. Plus you have a lot of big stuff going on. Give me a few more days and I'll be back by your side—however you want that to look—fighting to get your parents back."
She nodded. "I can't wait. But...I should really let you rest. I've stayed longer than I was probably supposed to."
He smirked again. "Totally worth it."
She blushed. Then she started to get up, but hesitated.
Was she supposed to just say 'see you later' and leave? Just like that?
His smirk widened as he watched her. "If you want a goodbye kiss, I'm more than happy to oblige, but you'll have to be brave and kiss me yourself. I'm not sure I have the strength to straighten up and reach for you on my own right now."
Sophie rolled her eyes. "And whose fault is that?" She grumbled.
But she also leaned over and, feeling slightly nervous, kissed him.
When they finally broke apart, he smiled at her again and brought a hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I could definitely get used to that," he told her. "Just...think about it and let me know what you decide, okay? I'm always here for you...no matter what you choose. I promise."
"I know," she whispered. "Get some sleep. I'll check in with you later and let you know if we have any updates. And I'll see you in a few more days."
She said goodbye and—doing her best to ignore Ro—returned to Sandor outside the apartment door.
But as they returned to Havenfield, Sophie couldn't help but replay everything in her mind over and over again.
And she knew—she could definitely get used to it, too.
And she wanted to.