Undone (2 page)

Nicholas, of course
, had managed to talk some sense into her, and over time, it'd gotten easier to hear from Sophie without the need to go to her. Now special occasions, such as holidays and school vacations, brought her home and it was those times Ellie treasured most because they came few and far in between.

A short while later, Ellie left her mother in the kitchen to go attend to Noah. She took the spiral staircase
up taking a left at the west wing to the nursery attached to their room.

“
Hi, Mom,” Noah greeted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with a big yawn. “Is Dad home yet?”

“
Not yet, babe.”

Nicholas was Noah’s favorite person in the whole world and vice versa. Nicholas loved all his children equally, unbiased, but Noah was his little soldier and as such Nicholas doted on him, making sure to spend as much time as he could with him when he was home.

Ellie greeted Mrs. Whitman with a smile before retuning her attention to the little boy that was so much like his father in both personality and looks; he’d inherited Ellie’s curls, but had Nicholas’s facial features—nose, cheeks and mouth, and those light eyes that were associated with his twin siblings. While they headed back downstairs, Noah talked incessantly and practically tumbled down the stairs when Ellie told him about his grandparents’ arrival.

“Mom,” Sophie quietly called, standing before her parents’ bedroom door. She knocked twice more, receiving silence as response, she tried the handle and entered when it gave way beneath her hand. The soft murmurs from the television drew her into their sitting room. Expecting to see her mom on the cherry-gold divan, Sophie was disappointed to find that she wasn’t.

She did
, however, find the remote control on the coffee table, which she then aimed at the television to turn it off before making her way further into the bedroom. The imported plush carpet silenced her footfalls, making it easier for Sophie to sneak up on her mom without rousing her from her deep slumber. Standing now, just opposite of where she lay, Sophie was able to make out her features, peacefully relaxed in sleep, while her head poked out from the mound of comforters she'd burrowed under.

Memories of years past rushed over Sophie, times when she'd been younger and she and her siblings had tiptoed into this very bedroom, anxious to wake their parents. They'd crawled into bed and pretended the mattress, big as it was, had been a trampoline made solely for their wicked amusement. She remembered when they’d played hide and seek and discovered that their parents’ closet made the best hiding place. Nicholas, when he’d been home, had joined in the games and their mom, meanwhile
, had pretended to be angry at all of them, even though they knew she’d found their antics funny.

Those memories Sophie treasured dearly, for those were the times she'd realized that they'd become a real family, the sort of family she'd always wanted. With a wicked grin playing on her lips, she abandoned the remote she'd been holding and climbed on the bed. She crawled towards her
mom and settled on Nicholas’s side of the bed. Seated cross-legged and facing her slumbering parent, Sophie leaned down and, very quietly, she said, "Mommy, I'm home." It didn't take long for Ellie’s eyes to flutter open, groggy from sleep it took a moment for them to adjust and when they did, they widened considerably and Sophie giggled when her mom bolted upright and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Hi
, Mom,” she said warmly, settling her head on her mother’s shoulder. "I've missed you." Truly she had, there was no other place Sophie preferred to be than in her mother’s arms, where worries and troubles faded to nothing.

"God, Soph," Ellie sighed and pulled away, "I've missed you too. Look at you.” Ellie brushed her cheek and swept her long dark curls behind her ear. "You're growing up way too fast, my little monster,” she affectionately whispered, a warm smile on her lips. "How was your trip? When did you get in?" She frowned. “And why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"My trip was long and uneventful, we…I just got in about an hour ago. Belle wanted to wake you up, but I told her I'd do it. I wanted to surprise you, are you surprised?"

"I'm overjoyed, best surprise by far. So…
we
?" Ellie stared pointedly at her child and smiled at the pink that immediately kissed her cheeks. "Thought I wouldn't catch that?"

Sophie ducked her head, her hair curtaining her face from her mother’s intrusive stare. "I had hoped you wouldn't
.”

Ellie laughed, tilted her head and met Sophie hooded gaze
. "So…what's his name?"

Sophie finally lifted her gaze and met her
mom’s smiling face. Her enthusiasm immediately put Sophie at ease and she returned the smile, although hers was a much more reserved one, fear of telling her mom everything made her nervous. "Andrew, Andrew Hunter,” she finally replied, bringing her knees up to her chest. "We met in biology class."
He was my T.A., I fell in love with his gorgeous eyes and we’ve been dating for eleven months now. Oh, and he happens to be nine years older than I am. What do you think, Mom?

Sophie mentally sighed and berated herself for her cowardice
; she couldn't possibly bring herself to tell her mom so soon after they’d been reunited. She’d wanted to get back in the swing of things, catch up with her family before the subject of her relationship with Andrew popped up. "We've been together for eleven months now."

Ellie’s brows soared, but kept a careful eye on her daughter, her maternal instinct telling her something was amiss. "Eleven months, wow.
Sounds serious.”

Sophie shrugged
. She needed to appear blithe and confident about her relationship with Andrew, otherwise, her parents wouldn't possibly take her seriously. "It is serious—at least I want it to be." Here she reddened and ducked her head to hide her embarrassment. It was one thing to resolve to talk to your mom about sex, but to actually carry out the conversation was something altogether different.

Comprehension soon dawned on Ellie and she herself couldn't hide the obvious flush rising on her face. She’d known this day would come and briefly, when Sophie had been younger, they'd had the dreaded sex talk. Ellie had hid nothing from her daughter although she’d made sure not delve too deep into the machinations of it until they'd both been ready. Now it appeared that that conversation was at hand and like it or not, they had to speak about it before things moved further. Taking a deep bolstering breath, Ellie took Sophie’s hands within her own warm ones and sighed with an understanding smile when her daughter looked up, trepidation in her dark eyes.

"Are you…
have you…"

Sophie’s eyes widened and she shook her head
. "No…no…not yet. I…we got close once, but I stopped it. He's very understanding, though; he wants to wait until I'm ready."

"And
are
you ready?" She had to ask, pressure of any sort would most definitely not be welcome, no matter how saintly the man was. "There's really no rush, Soph, the only thing that should matter is that you're comfortable and happy and positively sure, when and if it does happen. There's only that one time and then it’s gone, but you'll always remember your first, so you have to be sure that he's a good one."

"Do you regret your first
time?" Sophie cautiously asked, knowing the history behind that delicate question.

"Your father and I had a very dangerous relationship, but I will never regret that you were the end result.” She squeezed Sophie’s hand in reassurance. “You were the best thing he gave me.”

Their conversation went on from there with Sophie telling her mother about school and classes and wisely keeping the most important information about Andrew to herself for now. By the time Bella called everyone down to dinner, Ellie was completely caught up on the nuances of her daughter’s life. Everyone in the household emerged from their respective niches to make an appearance down in the grand dining room, used only to entertain a large group of guests.

On their way downstairs, Sophie asked her mother to go
on ahead without her, needing to detour to her room to fetch Andrew. She followed soon after, her nerves now completely on edge. Sophie took hold of Andrew's hand and squeezed it tightly to both reassure herself that everything would be okay and bolster her spirits. Hand in hand, they made their way down the spiraling staircase, trepidation like heavy stones in her abdomen, but she trudged on.

Only Bella, her Nan and the staff had met Andrew and their reaction had been wonderfully pleasant. Although Sophie had received a curious look from her Nan, which she hadn't bothered to acknowledge, choosing instead to drag a bewildered Andrew from their presence and up the stairs, before anyone else could meet him. They'd unpacked and she'd briefly shown Andrew around the
mansion before she’d headed to her parents’ room, leaving Andrew in her room to catch up on much needed sleep.

He looked completely rested now
. Standing to his full height he towered over Sophie by a few inches. He looked well put together and actually appeared as if he'd put some thought into his clothing. As he was used to throwing on a random shirt, a pair of tattered low rise jeans and, if the occasion called for it, the usual pair of sneakers, Sophie wasn't used to this dapper gentleman standing next to her. Sleek in a pair of dark blue jeans, paired with a navy blue cashmere sweater and a white collared shirt beneath, he looked incredibly sexy.

"You're shaking." He'd stopped them on the last step, holding firm to Sophie’s hand while the other snaked around her neck and pulled her in for a brief kiss. "You have nothing to be worried about.  I promise to be on my best behavior
,” he said with a smile.

“You right,” she murmured, knowing there was no reason for her to be so nervous. Once they got to know Andrew, her family would accept him with open arms and disregard the gap in age between them. She held his hand a little tighter though when they finally made it to the dining room and saw her entire family gathered at the long table. There was laughter and conversations from one end to another with everyone trying to talk over
each other; their excitement to catch up making it louder than it really was.

Everyone was there and accounted for, except for Nicholas, who
, Bella had informed Sophie, would be along later tonight. A small part of Sophie was glad that her father wasn’t there. He would be the biggest hurdle in all of this and having him absent meant that she could work on getting the rest of the family on her side so that they could defend her when he lost his cool.

The children bustled about, taking their seats at the round table made specifically for them for these occasions, while the adults occupied the larger, expansive long table, set appropriately so by the numerous staff members. The seats at the far left of the head of the table were usually designated for Sonya and
Terran, but with their trip to Aspen this year, they’d been unable to come. Ethan, Nicholas’s brother, was scheduled to arrive soon so his seat was left open. So that left Phillip and Dina to fill those empty seats. Gabe, Ronnie, Maddie and her boyfriend Brent Hayward, subsequently sat across from the other. Sophie’s parents took up the next seats and then she, Bella and Dylan were at the end with the cousins, Ronnie and Gabe’s children. Each holiday season was the same routine, but never a dull one, for there was always conversation around, laughter never too far behind.

At their appearance, standing at the threshold, all conversation ceased, laughter and cheer immediately came to a screeching halt and
, if possible, it appeared as though the children knew exactly what was to happen and stopped to watch, like little bloodthirsty spectators. Sophie, deciding not to turn back and run for the safety of her bedroom, stepped further into the room with her much older boyfriend. With a painful swallow of the egg-sized lump in her throat, she smiled with a confidence she did not feel. "Hi, everyone, happy holidays.” Sophie swore she heard crickets.

"Sophie!"
Her saving grace came from Noah, godsend that he was. Her youngest brother freed himself from Dina’s hold and ran at full speed into Sophie’s legs. Sophie hugged the seven year old to her and instantly heard the collective sigh of the occupants of the room, striking up a bit of conversation.

"Hi
, Noah, happy holidays.”

He pulled away and beamed at her, his hazel eyes sparkling. "Did you bring me a present?"

Sophie laughed. "A few, but I don't know if you've been good or not, I'll have to ask Mom and Dad first.”

"I've been good, I've been good
,” he said excitedly and squealed.  He then turned his curious eyes to the man at her side, and his mouth twitched. "Is that your boooyfriend?" he drawled, eliciting a hearty laugh from Andrew.

Sophie inwardly groaned wishing now more than ever that the floor would open up and swallow her down. “Yeah,” she murmured with
her heart racing rabidly in her chest, “he’s my boyfriend.” She didn’t know why it felt odd introducing him as such.

Noah tilted his head slightly as though studying the tall man standing at his sister’s side. He returned his gaze to Sophie and asked
, “Did he get me presents too?”

"Sophie, welcome home!" Ronnie stood from her chair and headed their way, knowing fully that she needed to bail Sophie out of the awkward situation she
found herself in. She drew Sophie into a warm hug and pulled away seconds later with a smile. "I’m Ronnie Akers, Sophie’s godmother." She extended a hand to Andrew which he graciously accepted with a smile of his own.

“Andrew Hunter, pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Akers."

She swiped a hand through the air. “Ronnie, please. Come grab a chair and join us for dinner. Soph, introduce your guest, sweetie.”

Never
let it be said that Ronnie wasn't her favorite. Sophie thanked her a thousand times in her head, watching her usher Noah back to his seat. Sophie took a deep breath before walking to the table. "Everyone, this is Andrew Hunter, my…my boyfriend." Starting from her grandparents, Sophie introduced each of her family members, until she came to her mother. “Mom…?”

When her mother looked at her, Sophie was able to see the anger she was trying desperately to contain. She didn’t say anything for a long moment before she finally met Andrew’s gaze, the smile she gave him was chilling. "Forgive me for my rudeness, Mr. Hunter.” She shook his hand and invited him to sit.

No further words were exchanged. They took their seats and dinner commenced, although the conversation that began soon after seemed stilted, making it hard for them to enjoy the wonderful food. Throughout their meal, Sophie chanced furtive glances at her mom, who seemed determined to remain quiet, her expression completely withdrawn.