Unbreakable (10 page)

“That’s mine, sorry,” Sophie apologized as she stood up.

“No problem, honey. Go see who it is and take your time. We’re not going anywhere.” Her aunt smiled and returned to her conversation with Joe as Sophie made her way to the lounge and retrieved her phone. Picking it up, she felt some of her mellowness dissipate as she read the caller ID. Taking a breath, she answered the call and held the phone to her ear.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, Sophie. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Mom.”

“So how are you doing? I hear voices in the background; I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

“No, Mom. We’ve just finished lunch and are chatting. Can you hold on? I’m going to go somewhere quieter.” Sophie held the phone to her chest as she headed back towards the dining table and bent towards her aunt. “It’s my mom on the phone. I’m going to take this upstairs where it’s quieter if that’s okay?”

“Sure, Sophie. Take as long as you need.” An understanding expression passed briefly over Kay’s face before she smiled. “Wish her Merry Christmas from us.”

“Okay.” Sophie retreated up the stairs and into the guest room, closing the door behind her. Heading towards the bed, she sat down as she raised the phone once more. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sweetheart. I hear you fine.”

“Everyone sends their Christmas wishes.”

“Thank you; tell them Merry Christmas from me, please.”

“Okay.” A few seconds of awkward silence passed between them before Sophie spoke. “So…uh…how’s New York?”

“Oh it’s great! Busy with your aunt and the twins, but it’s been really great. I think you’d really like it here.”

“Say hi to them for me please.”

“Sure, honey. How’s things on the ranch? Are you having a good time?”

Sophie refrained from saying anything for a few seconds as she thought over her time so far on the ranch. “Yes, it’s good.”

“Really?” Her mom was unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

“Yeah, really. It’s been nice getting to know Aunt Kay and Uncle Philip properly.”

“So you get along well with them?”

“I’d like to think so.”

“Good…that’s good.” Sophie frowned as she heard her mother’s voice take on a slightly tense tone. “So, sweetheart, I’m sorry I haven’t called you before now and it’s just been messages. Things have been…busy.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Have you heard from your father?”

“He called three days ago.” Sophie began to get the distinct impression her mother had something on her mind but was reluctant to voice it. Sighing, she decided to go with the direct approach. The sooner this conversation was finished, the quicker she could get back downstairs. “Mom, is there something specific you wanted to talk to me about? It sounds like there is.”

There was silence on the other end that stretched for so long Sophie wondered if the connection had been broken somehow. However, her mother’s voice eventually broke the silence. “Sophie, I really didn’t want to do this on the phone but it’s maybe better to do it this way, especially if you’re getting along well with Kay and Philip. You should know as soon as possible and have people you can turn to.”

“Mom, what is it?” A nervous tension had begun to twist itself into a dull, heavy lump in her stomach.

“I don’t know how to say this…to break it gently to you…” Her mother’s voice broke off and Sophie heard her take a deep breath before she continued. “Sophie, your father and I are getting a divorce.”

Sophie sat completely still, not saying anything. Everything around her had suddenly gone incredibly quiet. She no longer heard the sound of the wind as it gently swayed the branches of the tree outside her window. The laughter and voices coming from the dining room had utterly faded away.

Receiving no reply, Jessica spoke softly. “Sophie, are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry, Sophie. I’m going to call Kay and Philip and let them know but I wanted you to know first.”

“No, don’t do that.” Her voice sounded hollow and far away, but Sophie continued on. “I can tell them myself.”

“Are you sure? How are you feeling?”

Ignoring the question, Sophie asked “When did you decide?”

“We agreed yesterday. Your dad and I spoke on the phone for a long time. We’ve thought long and hard about this, Sophie, and we agree that it’s for the best. Time apart has helped us to realize that we’re better living separately than together.”

“You haven’t even been apart for two weeks. How can you be sure?” She tried to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice but her mother picked up on it anyway.

“Two weeks was all we needed, Sophie. This has been a long time coming; we just didn’t want to admit it to ourselves and each other – and you. Tell me how you’re feeling, Sophie.”

“I need some time to think about this. I need to go. Please don’t tell Aunt Kay or Uncle Philip. I’ll tell them when I’m ready, okay?”

“I don’t know, honey –“

“It’s the least you can do, Mom. You tell me on Christmas day that you and Dad are getting a divorce –
Christmas day
, Mom. Even you have to admit that’s a bit fucked up.”

“Sophie! There’s no need to swear, this is hard enough as it is.”

“Consider it your Christmas gift to me that I can at least tell my aunt and uncle when I’m ready to. I don’t want their pitying looks today and I don’t want to tarnish Christmas for them. You owe me that much.”

The line was silent for a few seconds before her mom replied quietly “Okay, Sophie.”

“Thank you. Bye, Mom.”

“Sophie, wait! I want you to know that your father and I both love you. You know that, right?”

“Mom, I need to go.”

“Okay, honey...”

Sophie ended the call without waiting for her mom to finish. Placing the phone on the bedside table, she sat and stared at the plush rug, forcing herself to examine the individual fibers so that she wouldn’t have to think about anything else. However, as the seconds ticked on it became increasingly difficult to block her emotions out. Anger, betrayal and the urge to break down and cry competed for priority, thrashing inside her as each breath became more difficult than the preceding one. Bunching her hands into fists, she dug her nails into the flesh of her palms, hoping the pain would distract her, but it wasn’t enough to overwhelm the pain inside. Desperate to get her emotions under control before someone found her like this, her mind raced frantically for a solution until coming to a severe halt with startling clarity. Of course; why hadn’t she thought of it before?

Standing up, she retrieved the remainder of her weed stash and opened the bedroom door, making her way as quietly as she could down the stairs and out the front door. Luckily the voices in the dining room drowned out any noise she might have made and she was able to successfully escape the house without anyone realizing. Heading round the side of the house, she walked quickly to the clump of trees that marked the start of the path she had followed a few days ago. Crouching down, she leaned against a tree trunk as she rolled a joint but her fingers were clumsy – whether from the cold or tension she couldn’t be sure – and it took her several attempts to get it properly rolled and lit.

She drowned out all other thoughts as she focused on inhaling the calming effect of the drug, welcoming the lessening of the tension that had gripped her body severely mere minutes before. She continued to smoke until her hand no longer trembled when she held it up in front of her face.
That’s it, Soph. You’re doing fine. Everything’s under control
. Not caring about the time, she remained where she was, her thoughts solely focused on her relaxing body. Everybody would think she was still on the phone. There was plenty of time to finish the joint and slip back inside without anyone noticing she had ever left. Tomorrow…well she’d deal with tomorrow when it came. For now, it was just time to focus on getting through today.

***

“Miller, would you mind heading upstairs and letting Sophie know dessert will be served soon?”

“Sure, Kay.” Miller pushed back from the table and strolled into the hallway, taking the stairs at a leisurely pace, partly so he could digest his meal and partly so he could gather his thoughts. Today had been nothing like what he had expected. For starters, he had been completely overwhelmed by Sophie’s appearance. He knew she was a beautiful girl – he wasn’t blind – but he was used to seeing her in casual clothes as she helped out with some task around the ranch. Plus he’d always seen her as Kay and Philip’s wayward niece and someone Philip had asked him to keep an eye on. Today had been an entirely new setting; she had looked every inch the stunning city girl, her beautiful black hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back in a sensuous dark waterfall. He’d had no idea her hair was that long, shimmering and soft, and every part of him had wanted to reach out and skim his fingers through it.

When he’d been close enough to touch her, he’d become momentarily mesmerized by her hazel eyes that sported flecks of green and gold, and how luscious her lips were, especially accented by the lipstick she wore. God, how had he never noticed those lips before? Well he sure as hell was aware of them now, along with the rest of her – he couldn’t forget the feel of her body pressed against his own as he’d hugged her close to him that morning.

He’d also enjoyed playing chess with her, the way her brow would furrow slightly as she thought about her moves, her grin and look of satisfaction whenever she took one of his pieces, the way she’d teased him…

Sighing, he shook his head as he continued up the stairs. He’d enjoyed the time he’d spent with Sophie far too much today. He was meant to be the one keeping her out of trouble and all he could think about was getting into trouble with her. If he let himself be swept away by her, he knew her wild, fun-loving nature could get the better of him and he might end up doing something incredibly stupid.
She’s Philip and Kay’s niece and don’t you forget it
, he chastised himself as he reached the guest bedroom and knocked before calling out to her. “Sophie, dessert’s going to be ready soon.”

He waited but received no reply. Glancing at his watch, he listened carefully but could hear no sound coming from behind the door. It had been half an hour since Sophie’s phone had wrung. He would have figured her call would be finished by now and that she would have come downstairs. Knocking again, he waited a few seconds before turning the handle and opening the door. “Sophie?” Gazing around, it was evident that Sophie was not in the guest room. Curious, he wondered where she could have gone to. The bathroom door was open and he hadn’t heard any sounds from the kitchen. However, he decided to check and made his way back downstairs, glancing in the living room as he passed it on his way to the kitchen, but she was in neither of the rooms.

Coming back to the table, he caught Kay’s attention and murmured “I think Sophie may have gone outside as I can’t find her anywhere indoors. I’ll go check; it won’t take long.”

“Thanks, Miller.” Unconcerned, Kay said nothing further as Miller grabbed his coat and left the house. Heading down the porch steps, he gazed around but saw no sign of her so he continued on around the side of the house but she was nowhere to be found.

Taking a deep breath, he called out her name but received no reply. Reasoning that if she had wandered off somewhere the most likely direction would be the path, he set off towards it and within a few minutes he could make out her figure partly hidden by a tree trunk. He called her name again but she made no move to respond to him or come towards him. Proceeding onwards until he was facing her, he had planned to ask her what she was doing all the way out here but he stopped in shock as he stared down at her.

“Sophie…is that a joint?”

She glanced up at him before giggling slightly. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a smoking tree…”

Realization was swift to follow his initial shock. “You’re high.”

“Am I? I feel rather low…figuratively and literally I suppose.” She took a deep drag, exhaling in pleasure as she tilted her head back against the tree to look up at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

“Shouldn’t you be back inside?”

“Sophie, how long have you been out here?”

“Relax, everyone thinks I’m on the phone. You seriously need to learn to just chill.”

“Sophie, it’s been forty-five minutes now since you received your phone call.”

“Oh, shit…really?” She burst into a fit of giggles. “Hope nobody’s wondering where I am…oh wait, that’s why you’re here, hey…” More laughter followed as she grinned up at him from her slumped position on the ground.

“Give me that joint.” Miller held his hand out and Sophie’s grin widened.

“Wanna join me? Maybe you’re not such a stick in the mud after all.”

“No, Sophie. I don’t want to join you. Just give me the joint.” He leaned down but she pulled back from him, trying to keep the joint out of his reach. Grasping her wrist, he held her in place with one hand while he pried the joint out of her fingers with the other, promptly dropping it on the ground and crushing it with his boot.