Chapter 4 #2
“Where is he?” Zoe asked, doing her best to keep her tone conversational.
She slapped a mosquito from her arm; now that the sun had set, the bugs were coming out in full force.
It couldn’t have been comfortable for Sophie to sit out here for as long as she had.
“How is it that he’s not here and you’re locked out? ” she asked.
“He didn’t know I was coming home,” Sophie replied repressively. She lifted her head, thrusting her chin out. “What are you, anyway, the police?”
“Obviously not, or I would have arrested you for shoplifting earlier today,” Zoe replied lightly.
She let that sink in for a few seconds before she continued quietly, “Why did you steal that magnet, Sophie?” As soon as she asked it, she knew it was a futile question.
Sophie was never going to give her a straight answer.
Truth be told, she probably didn’t know why she’d stolen it.
Back in her own shoplifting days, Zoe didn’t think she would have been able to articulate why she’d thought it was a good idea to steal a lipstick from the CVS in Torrington. She hadn’t even worn makeup back then.
“Why do you have to keep going on about that?” Sophie demanded irritably. “My dad paid you back.”
“I know, and I don’t care all that much about one magnet,” Zoe replied.
“Although I do care about the principle of the thing. Stealing is always wrong.” She paused.
“But I’m wondering why you’d risk getting in trouble when you’ve just moved to a new place, just to steal something so small that you probably didn’t even want, anyway. ”
Sophie was silent for a long moment, her face once more buried in her knees. “I know why you didn’t tell on me to my dad,” she finally said, her voice muffled against her jeans. “It’s because you think I want to be friends with those losers who came into your place after me. Thanks but no thanks.”
“You mean Ben and Bella?” Zoe replied, unfazed by the remark. She didn’t know how Sophie had figured that out, unless she’d just guessed. “They’re not losers.”
“They looked like losers to me,” Sophie flashed back.
“I’m guessing everyone looks like a loser to you,” Zoe replied, and now she let her tone turn tart.
As much as she wanted to help this girl—and she genuinely did, because she’d been much like her, once upon a time—she wasn’t about to fall all over herself making sure Sophie felt supported and heard, especially when she was acting like such a spoiled brat.
Ultimately, considering her own experience, Zoe knew that bending over backwards wouldn’t help her settle in or find a way forward.
“Well, if you want to be let in, let me know,” she called over her shoulder as she headed back to her own house. “You know where to find me.”
She was opening the front door when Sophie called out reluctantly, “Wait.”
Zoe stilled, a smile twitching at her lips at the sheer predictability of Sophie’s response, the way she’d waited until the last moment to say something. She turned around to see her still sitting on the steps, her head lifted. “Yes?”
“I guess you could let me in, if you wanted,” Sophie told her grudgingly, and Zoe laughed.
“It’s no skin off my nose either way,” she informed her wryly. “I don’t mind if you sit out here all night. But,” she added, her tone turning pointed, “if you want me to let you in, a please or thank you or even both would be nice.”
Sophie’s eyes flashed with irritation and Zoe held her gaze. This girl had tried to walk all over her too many times today. Zoe wasn’t about to let her get away with it again. “Fine,” she finally said, her tone both grudging and furious. “Thanks.”
“I’ll go get the key.”
Zoe checked on her parents quickly—they were still asleep—before getting the key from the hook in the kitchen and then heading back to Juliet’s house. Sophie was standing by the door, her hands deep in the pockets of her hoodie, her whole body seeming to emanate resentment like a toxic fog.
“So, where did you move from?” Zoe asked as she unlocked the door.
She’d had something of a change of heart in the few minutes it took her to get to the key.
Sophie was only fourteen or so and moving had to be hard.
It wasn’t too much to ask to be a little nicer to her, Zoe decided, even if Sophie’s over-the-top attitude was seriously annoying.
“New York,” the girl muttered.
“Right in the city? Nice. I guess this must feel a little quieter.”
“Yeah,” Sophie replied in a well-duh tone of voice that Zoe told herself not to mind.
She opened the door and then stepped aside so Sophie could slouch through.
She hesitated, feeling strangely reluctant to leave her alone in a dark and empty house.
She was certainly old enough to stay home alone, but something about Sophie’s prickly and aggressive attitude got at Zoe.
What kind of vulnerability was it hiding?
“So why did you move to Starr’s Fall?” she asked in a friendly tone. “Do you have family nearby?”
Sophie swung around to face her, her eyes narrowed. “Why do you care?”
“Just making conversation.”
“You mean being nosy?”
Zoe shook her head slowly. “What is with you?” she asked, genuinely curious as to the reason why Sophie was so very aggressive. “Do you hate everyone, or just strangers who are trying to be nice to you, even when you haven’t been very nice to them?”
Sophie glared at her for a full ten seconds, and then, to both Zoe’s horror and sympathy, her eyes filled with tears. Without saying a word, she whirled around and sprinted upstairs.
Oh, jeez. Zoe winced as she heard a door slam upstairs.
Maybe she’d been a little harsh, but Sophie really was such hard work.
Still, what was she supposed to do now? She glanced around the living room as if looking for clues.
There was a laptop left open on a coffee table by the sofa, along with a half-drunk mug of coffee and a dirty plate.
Not much else revealed anything about the house’s new occupants, but once again Zoe had the sense that a woman was not part of this household.
Sophie had never mentioned her mother, but then why would she, considering the nature of their very brief conversations? Still, it made Zoe wonder. Was Sophie’s dad divorced? Had her mother died? If so, she was going to feel really guilty for some of her snappy comebacks.
With a sigh, she considered what to do. Hanging around verged on the truly creepy, but she also didn’t like leaving Sophie alone, especially when she was obviously upset. But she really did need to get back to her parents…
Should she stay or should she go? Did she really want to wait around for Sophie’s dad to come back? For a second, she recalled his dark, rumpled hair threaded with gray, his hazel eyes creased in concern, the way his t-shirt had hugged a surprisingly muscular body…
Okay, she definitely needed to stop thinking like that. What on earth would Sophie’s dad think, to find her here like this, lurking in his living room? Zoe inwardly squirmed at the thought. Okay, so she’d go. Sophie wasn’t a small child. She could take care of herself.
Zoe had just turned toward the door when it opened and a man stood there, blinking in the gloom at her before he reared back in surprise.
“You!” Dan Bryson exclaimed.