Chapter 7

A light knock on the door breaks my fixation on the cardboard box I was staring down. It had gotten here almost an hour ago, but I hadn’t built up the will to eat it yet. Hell, I didn’t even know what it was. I turn my gaze back to my untouched meal, deciding I didn’t feel like answering the door twice in the same hour. I felt drained. The person behind the door knocks again.

“Sophie?’’ I hear Alice say from the other side of the door. “If you need to talk, I’m here for you.’’ She sounds worried and sincere.

I sigh as I get up, dragging the pile of blankets behind me. I really don’t want Alice to feel bad over something that has nothing to do with her. And I especially don’t want her hearing only Nick’s side of the story.

I unlock the door and open it a crack before heading back to the bed. I hear the lock click back into place as Alice closes the door behind her, following me silently. She looks at me with pity in her eyes and I already regret letting her in.

“Nick told me you guys had a fight.’’ She says softly. “Are you okay?’’

“Did he tell you why we fought?’’ I ask, wondering if she’ll be on his side if he did. After all, he had always been her closest friend.

“He didn’t. He was in a pretty bad mood and actually told me to ‘leave him the fuck alone’.’’ She rolled her eyes as she said this.

“We fought because he felt like sleeping with me and I didn’t.’’ I let out flatly. “Made it seem like I owed it to him.’’ My heart throbs as I put words onto the situation. That was really what it had felt like.

“What?’’ she exclaims standing back up. “What a piece of shit! Had it been that long since you guys had sex? He couldn’t keep it in his pants?’’

“He and I...’’ I sigh, hesitating. I had never told anyone anything about my intimate life or rather, lack there-of. “We’ve never done anything.’’ I admit looking down.

“Anything?’’ she asks with wide eyes. “You guys have been together for nearly two years now... Like, nothing, nothing? Isn’t he your first boyfriend?’’

I nod slowly, understanding how that feels impossible to Alice. She was always so free and unbridled with her intimacy that an 18 year old virgin sounded like an urban legend. It was even more strange that the virgin had a boyfriend.

“Wow,’’ she whispers. “I mean... I’m not saying what he did wasn’t a shit move, but I do get why he is... frustrated. I know I couldn’t last that long.’’

I feel tears rush back to my eyes. Maybe Nick and Alice were right and maybe I was just a prude. Who waits more than a couple of months for sex?

“I’m sorry,’’ she adds hastily. “Listen, I get both of your sides, though he went about it completely wrong. But what are you going to do about it? Are you guys going to break up?’’ I can’t tell what she wants me to say.

“I don’t know,’’ I confide. “I feel like I really need time to think things over.’’

“I have an idea!’’ she exclaims. “Just don’t take the bus tomorrow morning. That way, you get all the time you need.’’ I instantly agree with her and nod.

She lays out her plan: she and I both know that if Nick finds out I’m not leaving with them, he’ll either start another fight with me or decide to also stay in Moonstone Fall for the week.

Tomorrow morning, I will wait until the last minute to walk over to the bus and pretend to load up my things with the other passengers. Grant, the bus driver, would tell his colleague to play along and, as people start to get onto the bus, I would simply walk back to the hotel.

Maybe Nick would still be to mad to look for me in the bus and, by the time he would find out, he would be a couple miles to far to turn back. And I would be alone.

I felt a new kind of resolve fill me and finally grabbed my diner. Though it had cooled down a little, I didn’t hesitate to take a bite. I could feel the knots in my stomach untie at the thought of staying here, as if it was the right choice to make. The fight still hurt more than I let through, but I felt a little lighter.