1. Sophie #2
“I’m afraid to ask what they have done to deserve such fate.”
“They participated in stealing my magic. Gracie—” My voice breaks at the end of her name and hers, softens.
“What’s going on, honey?”
“I need to have my magic back,” I cry.
“Well…there’s only one place on Earth that can help you with that.”
“There is?” I ask, stuffy but hopeful .
“Oh yes. Welcome to Loverly Cave, Sophie Levidis.”
“Wait, what? I thought you loved your job? Didn’t you spend like a thousand years in classes to be where you are? And now, you what—Wait, what are you doing?”
In hindsight, I should’ve gone to see my older, sensible brother before I was all packed and ready to go. But there was little thinking involved after my phone call with Grace. All I knew was that I needed to get out. I was suffocating, disappearing.
My life made zero sense, and I needed to change that. So, here I am, telling him I quit my job over the phone.
“Flight 2508 with service to Santa Cruz will start boarding in ten minutes…”
“Sophie,” Vassar utters my name slowly and pretty darn threateningly. “Is that—Are you in a fucking airport? Ti diáolo , Soph?”
Ouch. I wince, if Vas is pulling out the mother tongue on me, he must be pretty pissed.
“Um, yes, I am. I’m going to Loverly Cave.” I bite my lower lip, my nose already scrunching in preparation for Vassar handing me a third degree as soon as he puts two and two together.
“Wait, Loverly Cave…isn’t that the hippy town your best friend moved to?”
“Bingo. That’s the one.”
He sighs. “And how long are you planning on staying there?”
“Sooo, here’s the thing…” I trail off, shifting on the uncomfortable airport seat as I tuck in my mascaraed chopped hair into the hoodie I’m wearing.
Why did I think cutting my own hair while having a panic attack was a good idea?
But I’ll deal with that later. After the bomb I’m about to drop. “I’m actually not sure yet.”
Silence.
Dead silence. It’s like I can hear the crickets going off in my brother’s head.
“Not sure,” Vas deadpans, and I can just imagine his identically same brown eyes watching from underneath his lashes .
“Mm-hmm.”
“Either I’m missing something or you’re not telling the full truth about what’s been going on in your life. And for your sake, I hope it’s the former.”
“There is nothing going on.” I chew on my lip.
“So, you just decided to quit your job out of nowhere—the one you worked so hard to get—leave the only family you have left in New York and go on vacation for God-knows-how-long to the weirdest town in America, just because ?”
I sigh. Damn it, I have to give him something or else he’ll follow right after me and drag me back to New York, right into their fancy-ass penthouse.
No, thank you. Been there, done that, and heard way too much of my brother’s sex life to never be the same again.
“I’m not happy with my life right now, Vas. I feel…I feel like I’ve wasted it.”
“Sophie…you are only twenty-seven! What are you talking about? I thought engineering was your dream!”
“Exactly! I’m already twenty-seven and lost. I don’t want to be lost, Vas.”
“This is not a solution! You can’t just run away from your problems, Sophie.”
Watch me , I think to myself.
“I’m not running, Vas. I just need to try something else. I need a break.”
“Then you go on an actual vacation! What is this? Some kind of early onset of midlife crisis? You’re too young for that. Please come over, Kira and I will make your favorite dinner. The kids will be so happy to see you and we can talk it all out. We’ve all been through hell before, we can help.”
My brother and his world-renowned chef wife, Kira, have, indeed, been through hell and back and in all honesty my problems seem laughable in comparison.
No, not laughable—downright childish and that’s exactly how it would seem to them .
They love me! I know they do, and they want the best for me. But…but I’m afraid I’ve been living my whole life based on what others deemed “best” for me.
“I need this, okay?” I say softly, needing my older brother to understand me.
He’s always been the best. Always one to come to my rescue, especially after we lost dad and then mom more recently.
I can’t have him pick up my slack anymore.
He has his own family; his own kids he needs to worry about.
“I’m not saying this is permanent. But I just need this. ”
I hear Vassar exhale heavily, and I know I’ve won. “Stubborn pain in my ass,” he mutters, and a small smile pulls at the corners of my mouth.
That I am.
“Fine, take some time off, God knows I deserve it, but I will call. Daily! And if you don’t pick up, I will come down there and drag you back up to New York if it’s the last thing I do.
” I roll my eyes, not missing the fact he thinks this is a temporary vacation.
“And don’t even think about rolling your eyes at me,” he says as if he can see me.
Tears and a smile both flash across my face at the same time. I have the best brother in the whole world. I guess I’ll take what I can get at the moment and we’ll cross the bridge of me actually living in Loverly sometime later.
“Oh, and another thing,” Vas adds. “I need the number to their local sheriff, hospital, fire department and the mayor for good measure.”
“Um, why?”
“Because in a few hours that poor town won’t know what hit them when you reunite with Grace Levine. God help all those unsuspecting souls.”
This time I do burst out in laughter.
“Stop,” I say, wiping a tear away. “Grace is a married woman. Our wild days are in the past.”
Okay, so that might be an exaggeration with a dash of a lie, but in my defense…I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.