Chapter 8 Sophie #2
Another moment passes before he glances at her and finally turns away, cursing one last time. Then he puts on his shoes, grabs the gun that was lying unnoticed by me on a side table, and leaves without another word.
Only when I hear the distant slam of a heavy door do I realize that my shoulders are shaking and I’m sobbing.
"Hey." The woman’s now gentle voice reaches my ears before she moves to stand in front of me. "It’s okay. He’ll calm down again. Don’t worry."
Blinking a few times, I force myself to look at her. She’s slightly taller than me and probably older, too. Her face is delicate, pretty as a picture, and framed by long lilac hair.
"I’m Jules." Smiling, she wipes the tears from my cheeks with her thumb.
"Your hair is purple," I say incoherently between two sobs.
"It is. You like it?"
"Yes. It looks beautiful."
She takes the cup from me, sets it on the kitchen counter, and hands me a tissue. "For now, we’re going to forget what a jerk Cole can be and take care of you, okay?"
Nodding, I take the tissue and blow my nose.
"Do you live here, too?" I ask afterward, hoping she would be here in case Cole gets angry again.
Jules shakes her head and turns away to pick up a large duffel bag that was lying on the floor by the stairs. "No. I moved out a few weeks ago. The room back there used to be mine." She points toward the closed door next to the lockers.
I watch her carry the bag to the couch and open it to rummage around in it like she’s looking for something. "And you still have a key?"
"Yeah. Just like Cole has one to my apartment." Her tone suggests that it’s totally normal for her, but to me, it’s completely foreign. I didn’t even have a key to my own home.
When she looks at me and sees my astonishment, she stops her search.
"I heard what you said from the stairs… So you were only ever with your mom and never allowed out?
" Her words sound gentle and very different from Cole’s.
While he, too, seemed puzzled, there was a constant hint of anger in his voice.
I answer with a nod, and Jules exhales loudly. Then she comes to me and puts her hands on my shoulders. "Can I give you a hug? I feel like you need one."
A big lump forms in my throat and prevents me from answering with words, so I just nod again.
Jules puts her arms around me and presses me against her. I freeze for a moment, but then I relax and return her embrace. It feels nice, and I involuntarily wonder what it would be like to be hugged by Cole.
I can’t tell how long we stand like that, but when Jules lets go of me again, I feel much better and can even return her smile.
"Well, let’s see if we have something for you here," she says and turns toward the bag once again. "Do you have a favorite color?"
"I don’t know," I answer truthfully and go to stand beside her. "Maybe green?"
She examines me with narrowed eyes. "No. Green’s not your color." Then she rummages around in the bag again. "I did pack it, didn’t I?" she mutters to herself, until she pulls out a sweater. "There it is!"
I look at the dark-blue fabric and shrug because I’m not quite sure what she expects from me.
"And these ones to go with it." With her other hand, she holds up what looks like tights without feet. "I do have underwear, too. They’re new, of course, so…"
"Okay." I take the things from her.
"Come. I’ll show you the bathroom so you can change and freshen up.
" With these words, she takes my hand and leads me to the door Cole came out of earlier.
Behind it is a bathroom with a tub, a shower, a vanity, and a toilet.
The room has no window, but the brick walls here have been painted white, so it still looks bright and friendly.
Jules hands me a new toothbrush and a fresh towel, then leaves me alone.
After using the toilet, brushing my teeth, and washing my face, I take off my clothes and look at the small pile of things Jules put together for me.
The underwear is black, but plain. Still, my mother’s words immediately come to my mind.
Only women who want to sin wear black underwear.
I don’t know if that’s really true. Nevertheless, I put on the panties and bra and stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, which is in the corner of the room, to look at myself.
The dark fabric is soft and stands out against my skin starkly, but I can’t see anything sinful about it.
Turning, I look at myself from all angles and run my fingertips over the cups of the bra, which are much sturdier and firmer than I’m used to.
They almost push my breasts up and make them look plump and inviting.
I like myself in the black underwear.
After putting on the strange, footless tights and the sweater, I fold my old clothes and take them outside where Jules sits on the couch, waiting for me.
She jumps up when she sees me and comes toward me with a smile on her face. "So? How do you feel?"
"Good. I like the black underwear," I confess softly, realizing that my cheeks warm at the words.
Jules’s grin widens even more. "Yeah, black underwear can be quite something."
A little uncertainly, I return her smile before glancing at the pile of clothes in my hand. "Where should I put these?"
"Do you want to keep them?" she asks, raising her eyebrows.
I consider it for a moment but decide that I prefer the new ones. Above all, I want to know what life is really like. It seems wrong to continue wearing the clothes my mother chose for me, so I shake my head.
"Okay, then… Shall we throw them away?"
It’s just clothes, I think. And I never really liked them that much.
I nod and hand the pile to Jules as she holds out her hands. She then walks to the kitchen, opens one of the cabinets, and throws everything into a trash can hidden inside it. "We’ll buy you some new stuff," she declares as she comes back to me. "You can choose for yourself what you want."
I like the idea. Very much so. I’ve never been shopping, and I’ve never been allowed to choose anything for myself.
"There’s one more thing," she says as she steps up to me.
Before I can ask her what she’s talking about, she has already taken out the hairpins at the back of my head so the knot loosens, and my hair falls down my back.
It’s a strange feeling since I never wear it down.
It’s impractical, my mother used to say, and I agreed with her.
Besides, there was no reason to wear my hair any other way.
After all, no one saw me but her, so I didn’t have the desire to please anyone, even if I didn’t find the simple knot pretty.
Jules’s fingers run through the long strands, tug at them gently, and eventually lay them over one of my shoulders.
"That’s much better. But I’m afraid I have to cut and dye them.
" She grimaces apologetically. "The police are looking for you, and from what I understand, you don’t want to go home. At least for now. So we’re going to have to change your look a tiny bit. "
I think about her words for a moment. My mother and the police are looking for a girl with long blond hair. Since I don’t want to hide, I guess I really need to change something about my appearance.
"Can I choose the color of my hair?" I ask, to which Jules laughs.
"Of course."
"Would purple be okay, too?"
She brushes a strand behind my ear and nods. "Whatever you want."
The smile that spreads on my lips almost hurts.
"But first, let’s eat something. I’m starving."
"May I ask you something?" I want to know after we’ve eaten, and Jules is rubbing her belly contentedly.
"Sure." She props her elbows on the table and rests her chin in her hands. "Fire away."
I frown because I don’t know what that means, but I don’t ask further. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-one," she answers.
"And Cole?"
"He’s twenty-three."
"How long have you known each other?"
"For a very long time."
"Are you a couple?"
Jules’s laugh almost startles me before she shakes her head.
"No. We’ve never been together, either. He’s more like a big brother to me.
" She falters and stares down at the tabletop for a moment. Then she looks at me again, her eyes suddenly taking on a sad expression. "Cole’s past is complicated, but he’s a good guy, even if he can’t see it that way himself.
So don’t take it to heart when he loses his temper like he did earlier. "
Her words raise a lot more questions. "So he’s not angry with me?"
She smiles, shaking her head. "No, he’s not. You being here throws him off and probably overwhelms him a little, but he’s not angry."
"Why does it throw him off that I’m here?"
Before she can answer, the loud slam of a door echoes through the building. Shortly after, heavy footsteps sound on the stairs before Cole appears, stops, and looks at me blankly.
"Speak of the devil." Jules jumps up and claps her hands. "Cole, we have a mission!"
Confused, I look back and forth between them. Jules grins broadly, while Cole’s expression hardens and a muscle in his jaw begins to twitch.
"Do we?" he asks after a few moments, though he doesn’t take his eyes off me.
"Absolutely! We need to go shopping."