Sophia Woods' Point of View
I watched as Victoria stomped out of the house. I soon heard a car start before the noise slowly disappeared. Blake sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before walking over and sitting beside me. I turned towards her as she dragged her hands down her face. I flinched as she let out a loud groan and fell back onto the couch.
"I'm sorry about this Sophia. She's never been like this before. But... I guess sometimes she can be a little too jealous." She said as I studied her features. Her eyebrows were furrowed in frustration and her beautiful blue eyes were staring at me. I felt like I was staring into an endless blue sky, they were just so exhilarating.
I looked down and hid behind my hair as I realized I was staring at her. For how long? I wasn't really sure. But I was assuming it was only for a few minutes.
"It's alright," I whispered as I smiled, gaining enough courage to look at her again. I tensed up slightly when I felt her put her hand on my shoulder. I glanced at her hand before looking at her again. She had a small smile on her face before she opened her mouth to speak.
"How about some pizza, yeah?" She said and before I could respond, she got up and started walking to the kitchen. I quietly followed her as I started picking at my fingernails again. As we walked into the kitchen, I saw that all of the bowls of snacks from the table had disappeared. Peter was already here and sitting on the counter while shoving a piece of pizza into his mouth. Blake and I just looked at him as he chewed a giant bite of his pizza.
"Pwat?" He said with a mouthful. I smiled and heard Blake lightly laugh. I could already tell he was the weird one out of the group.
Blake walked up to the table and grabbed a piece of pepperoni pizza to put it onto one of those cheap plates they give you. I walked up to the table to get a closer look at the pizza. Blake suddenly handed a plate to me. I looked down at the pizza and shook my head.
"Oh no thank you." I hid behind my hair and slowly started biting at my lip. "I'm uh, I'm a vegetarian," I whispered shyly. A minute passed by and she hadn't said anything so I looked up at her. She now had a piece of pizza on a plate for me, but instead of pepperoni, it was cheese. I smiled and took the plate before she grabbed herself a piece.
All three of us walked into the living to eat our pizza. I watched as they both sat on the brown and cream-colored sofas and started eating their pizza. Was I allowed to sit on the couch and eat? Would they get mad? What if I made a mess? Would they think I'm a child?
I hesitated before walking over and sitting on the couch about a few inches away from Blake. I slowly picked up my pizza and as I went to take a bite, my hair fell into my face. I sighed and put the pizza down. I tucked part of my hair behind my ear before picking up my pizza again. I took a bite of the cheesy pizza and relief instantly flooded my body. Why? Probably because I haven't eaten all day. Wait, did I even eat yesterday? When was the last time I ate?
Doesn't matter, you don't need to eat anyway. You'll get too fat and no one will like you.
All three of us sat there and ate our pizza and it was almost peaceful. Like this was where I was meant to be. And even though some of them were fighting, I could tell they were like a big happy family.
I had finished my piece of pizza a long time ago so my plate was just sitting on my lap. Blake and Peter on the other hand were on their third piece of pizza. How they managed to eat an entire box of pizza, I wasn't sure. I could barely eat one piece before my body told me that I was full.
Hunter had come into the living room too. He was sitting on the other side of Blake and had only eaten two pieces. Hunter had told us that Claire went to go to sleep in the spare bedroom. He seemed really distressed though. We could all tell that there was some kind of conflict between him and Claire but no one really said anything.
"You want any more pizza, Sophia?" Blake asked as she smiled at me. Peter and she have been telling jokes to each other all night. I wasn't really laughing at any of them but I would smile here and there.
"No thank you, I'm good with just the one." I picked at my nails as I looked down at my plate. When she hadn't said or done anything, I looked up at her. Her eyes were widened and she seemed to just be gaping at me. Hunter was looking at me with wide eyes and Peter didn't bother to hide the shock on his face.
I felt my hands clam up and my heartbeat quicken.
"I-I'm s-sorry. Di-did I s-say someth-thing wrong?" I mentally cursed at myself for stuttering as I looked down again.
"No, no sugar cube. But, are ya sure ya only want the one piece?" Hunter asked me as he leaned forward a little more to look at me. His thick country accent was surprisingly reassuring and calm. "There's plenty more for ya." I looked through my hair to see his kind eyes and genuine smile as he looked at me.
"Yeah, cause like, I don't even know what I would do if I only got to eat one piece of pizza. I could eat like a million pizzas and never be full!" He fell back onto his chair and patted his flat stomach.
I shook my head as I looked down at my fingers. I bit my lip as I thought for a second. Would they think I'm weird for only eating one piece? Should I eat another? What about Claire? What if she wants a piece after she wakes up? What if I eat the only piece left and no one told me?
I felt myself hyperventilating and I slowly hugged myself. My heart seemed to be beating in my ears and head. My hands felt clammy but still cold.
Don't freak out, not here. They're all watching.
"Hey." A gentle voice brought me out of my panic attack.
Ba-bump. Ba-bump.
I looked up to see Blake looking at me. I slightly flinched as her hands lightly grabbed my shoulders. I looked at her hands before looking at her. Her brown hair was tied halfway up into a little bun. The rest of her hair fell down her shoulders and down her back. Her bright blue eyes were full of concern and kindness. The small smile that was on her lips showed part of her perfectly straight teeth.
I slowed down my breathing and my hands slowly fall back into my lap again.
"It's okay. You don't have to eat anymore if you don't want to." Her voice was soft as she spoke. She retracted one of her hands on my shoulders and left the other there for a second, her thumb lightly stroking my collarbone.
I was grateful for her. I was grateful for everyone here but especially her. Ever since I've come into this house she's been trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible. Her words were kind and her voice was soft whenever she was around me or touched me. I barely knew her but she still seemed to calm me down with just a simple word.
Was there some sort of connection here?
I shook my thoughts away as I decided what to say back to her.
"O-okay." I whispered before slowly nodding.
"Okay! Here's how things are going to go." Peter stood up from his chair and began to pace around the living room. "Since Claire took the spare, which is okay, Hunter and I are going to sleep in my room. I have a trundle bed that pulls out so you won't have to sleep uncomfortably." He paused before stopping in front of Blake and me. I picked at my fingernails as he stared at us. "And you two are going to have to sleep in here. I don't think my parents would be okay if anybody slept in their room. And my sisters would probably kill me if I let anybody step foot into their rooms. Does that sound okay?" Peter looked at us, expecting an answer from us. I nodded my head quickly and heard Blake whisper a simple 'yeah'.
Soon, everyone had cleaned up their plates in the living room, including me, and we were getting ready to go to bed. Hunter had already gone to Peter's room and Peter was fixing up a blanket on the couch for Blake and me. He had somehow transformed the couch into a bed thingy and was now fixing up some blankets and pillows for us.
The pillows he gave to both of us had pillowcases that were pink and grey with party balloons and had confetti on them. The blanket he gave to me was black and pink and had some sort of art on it. Blake's was grey and had some quote written on it in big cursive letters.
"There you guys go! There should be enough room for both of you so, sleep good! Make sure to turn off the lights before you go to bed. See you guys in the morning." Peter said before skipping away to his room.
Blake started to fluff her pillow on her side of the couch before she grabbed a little bag from her bag.
"I'm going to go brush my teeth. I'll be back." I slowly nodded at her words before watching her walk off and down the hall. I grabbed my toothpaste and brush and set it by me before I grabbed the pillow that Peter gave me. I fluffed it up a bit before pulling my blanket back. I sat down on my side, which was the left side of the couch, and stared down at my hands. I purposely faced away from anybody who might walk in.
They wouldn't want to see this.
With shaky hands, I slowly lift the black long sleeve up my left arm and saw the scars on my wrist. I lifted it higher and saw more scars on my forearm. I ran my fingers over the marks and thought for a second.
Why did I survive? What was my purpose? Why couldn't I have just died? That would make everything go away. All of the panic attacks, the scars, the fresher marks, the pain, the memories... It would all just fade away.
I pulled the sleeve back down and laid on my back to stare at the white ceiling.
Death must be so nice, so peaceful.
"Hey, I'm back." I jumped up when I heard Blake's voice. She put her stuff back in her bag and sat down on her side of the couch, facing away from me. Her hair was up in a messy bun but still seemed like it was silky smooth to the touch.
"I'm going to go brush my teeth now," I said quietly. I got up from my spot and walked towards the bathroom. I quickly brushed my teeth and my hair before shutting off the light and pushing up my glasses, walking back towards the living room.
Blake was laying back on the couch, her legs sprawled out and the back of her head resting on her forearms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady. Her shirt was slightly lifted up and the bottom half of her stomach was showing. I thought she was asleep before she spoke, slightly startling me.
"You ready?" I tensed up when I realized I was staring at her again. I quickly walked over to my bag and put everything away before looking at her.
"Y-yes." I crawled under the covers and laid on my right side, facing her. I took off my glasses and set them on the little table next to the bed. She smiled before getting up and walking over to the light switch. Once the lights were all turned off, it was pitch black. But it wasn't like that for long because my eyes had quickly adjusted. The moonlight was shining in through a window from the kitchen and towards my side of the bed.
I watched as she pulled her blankets back before laying down and getting underneath them. She turned towards me as she snuggled a pillow to her chest.
"G-goodnight." I whispered. Her face was dark but I could still see her smile. She closed her eyes and snuggled her pillow more.
"Goodnight." I heard her gentle voice say. It wasn't long before darkness overtook me and I was asleep.
Ba-bump. Ba-bump.
*Later That Night*
I woke up to a strange noise. I sat up and saw that the moonlight was no longer shining on me, but instead on Blake. Except she wasn't laying down, she was sitting up and was leaning forward with her head in her hands. From the sounds of it, I think she was crying. I pulled the blankets back and looked down as I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear.
Should I say something? Would she get mad if I caught her crying?
I opened and closed my mouth, thinking of something to say. Instead of saying anything, I slowly crawled over to her side of the bed. I stood on my knees and hesitated before wrapping my arms around her waist and hugging her. I felt her tense up as I laid my face on her shoulder.
I didn't hear her for a few seconds but then I felt her body shaking as she started to sob. I knew nothing I said could really help so I just thought, what's better than a nice hug from somebody. I pulled back after a while and watched as she wiped the tears off of her face. She then turned towards me and tried to steady her breathing.
"Are you okay?" I whisper as she wiped her nose on her hand.
"Me? Psh, yeah. I'm okay." She tried to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes like before. "Are you okay? Did you need something?" She asked me sounding concerned. Her blue eyes had a sparkle in them from the moonlight shining onto her.
How could she be concerned about me? She just cried her eyes out and she's asking me if I'm okay?
I looked down at my hands before looking at her hands that were resting in her lap. I took her hands in mine, noticing they were a little bigger and rougher than mine, before slowly rubbing my thumb over her knuckles. I looked up at her tired blue eyes that were looking at me.
"I-I don't mean t-to be r-rude but... I th-think you sh-should worry about y-you." I gave her a gentle smile as I continued to rub her knuckles. I gulped before continuing. "Do you want to talk about it?" She hesitated before looking away.
"It's just... Just that whole thing with Victoria." I nodded as I looked at her. How I wasn't having a panic attack right now was beyond my understanding. But I mentally thanked my brain for that.
"Alright, do you want to try and go back to sleep?" She slowly took her hands out of mine so I put my hands back on my lap. She hesitantly nodded before getting back under the blankets. I did the same and found that we were facing each other again.
"Thank you, Sophia. I can already tell you're going to be an amazing friend." She smiled as she whispered those few words. The kindness behind them made my heart swell.
Maybe I could be.