Chapter 39

Sophia could barely believe it, but it had only been two months. Two months it had taken her to catch up with all of the schoolwork and time she’d lost during her Senior year.

Doubtlessly, this had been one of the toughest years of her life, and Sophia had honestly thought through most of that time that she would never make it through high school. But here she was. She’d done it!

Two months of vigorous homeschooling, pressuring herself into doing more than twice the amount of work that was expected daily, and ensuring she constantly employed strict self-discipline tactics that Scott had taught her, she had finally made it.

Sophia couldn’t help but feel her chest swell with pride as she looked down at that plain piece of paper, which didn’t have much to say, other than congratulating her on finishing her diploma. Well, technically it was congratulating Nikita Madden, her fake name – which was a very obvious fake name in her opinion by the way – but still, it had been Sophia who had put in the work, and it was Sophia who had made it through her Senior year. Something she didn’t have much hope for before Neil and Scott unwittingly stepped into her life.

Without Scott’s unending patience and his diligent tutoring, Sophia doubted whether she would have made it. Whenever she had felt overwhelmed with the amount of work, or found herself struggling to understand certain concepts properly, Scott had been there to help her through it. He had been a tough tutor though, as he never gave her any answer straight, always saying that she had to get to the answer herself.

“There’s no shortcuts in life, Sophia. Not any ones that would do you any good anyway,” Scott had said to her when she just wanted to look up straight simple answers from the internet, instead of reading through long chapters in her textbooks to get to those answers.

And even though Scott played a huge part in her education and being able to finish her diploma in two months, Sophia couldn’t have done it without Neil’s reassuring presence supporting her through the process as well. How both of them could have just come into her life and so quickly became not only her saviors, but also her counselors, mentors, supporters and protectors. They were true heroes to her in every sense of the word.

Her last official day was December 15. Obviously, Sophia didn’t get to go to any official Graduation event or celebration, but that didn’t bother her in the least. She did her schooling at home, so she was happy to do her celebrating at home too, along with the very two guys that had made it all possible.

She had brought her Grade Point Average from a one point seven to a three point two for her Senior year, and that alone was a miracle from the Goddess she’d never expected to be able to achieve. Neil and Scott had already been talking about popping champagne and getting tipsy for the night.

Sophia had never had alcohol before, and when she’d told them this, they got excited looks in their eyes. She preferred not to dwell on what those looks meant, but she was sure they were planning to get her intoxicated.

Thinking back on all the work she’d done over the two months, though it had been tough and a lot of work, Sophia had realized that maybe she hadn’t hated class as much as she thought. She had actually found that she’d looked forward to sitting down and starting her ‘school day’ many mornings without needing much motivation, other than a strong cup of coffee.

This led her to the conclusion that it had been the school, the place itself, her classmates, and most of the teachers that she’d hated all along. Well, everyone that had made her life miserable at school was the cause of her associating going to school and class in general was what she loathed.

Sophia’s bad associations made her believe she hated studying and learning as well, whereas now she found that was all she wanted to do. She’d found that learning made her more inquisitive about things, and her inquisitiveness led to her learning more, and it was exactly what made her feel more resourceful and smart, which were things she would never have associated with herself in a million years.

Her old self. Her old life. It had all seemed so long ago. It was like a different life or a bad dream. Sophia wasn’t sure what the next step was, but Scott had started talking to her about college. He sure was big on education. He had told her that it never hurt to be prepared and to have skills that were valued outside this pack. What an interesting word choice that was. This pack. But she had shrugged it off. He had even lectured her at the high school that she needed to focus on her studies. Neil took a more relaxed approach. He told her she had time to figure things out and that she didn’t have to worry about a job or money. With the free time, she had taken to doing the guy’s laundry on top of the cooking. Scott still liked to cook occasionally or would keep her company in the kitchen, dicing vegetables, making sauces and dressings. Not Neil, he stayed out of the kitchen, and Scott assured her that was a good thing. She had replied that he did fine cooking for them on the night of the full moon. “Of course, he did”, Scott had told her, “Because that was an open fire. There’s nothing he can’t do in the wilderness.”

Things had been going so well, that she no longer had restless nights or sleep filled with night terrors or bad dreams. It had been going so well, that she hadn’t been prepared for nightmares that started when she was deep in slumber that night.

Sophia stood outside the window of her childhood home and peered through the panes of glass. Her father stood in the kitchen, rapidly pacing from one end to the other. He was yelling, raging. His hands flailed about. He stopped in front of Leo and gave a hard shove. Leo reeled backward and during his fall to the floor, he hit his head on the corner of the table. He yelped and grabbed at his head. When he pulled it away, Sophia could see the blood. Her stomach churned and she strained to hear what her father was saying to him. Just stay down, Leo, she silently prayed. Just stay down. Her father picked up a chair and threw it at Leo. He scuttled to the side and barely missed getting hit with the chair. Her father picked a glass off the table and threw it at the basement door, spreading sharp shards across the floor. He paced again, still yelling. His hair stood on edge like he had run his fingers through it many times and his eyes were crazed. Sophia knew that look. She knew what it meant. She cried out then covered her mouth with her hand. Her father knocked a chair onto its side and continued to pace. He went to the basement door and kicked it hard enough the wood splintered, and the doorknob almost fell off. Leo started to get up. I don’t know if he heard her pleas for him to stay down or if something else stopped him, but he held very still. Her father knocked things off the counter, swept his arm across the table upending anything that had been sitting on it. Then he hovered over Leo, yelling, and poking at him. He slapped him on the side of the head. Sophia knew what that felt like too. Leo looked petrified. He knew what had happened to Sophia, but living it, and knowing it were two completely different things. Then her father reached for his belt buckle. He pulled it through the belt loops and curved it in half. Sophia sprang into action, and she ran for the door. She tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge. She yanked hard. She could see through the window that her father had raised the belt high, ready to whip Leo with it. She screamed and pulled at the door. Fighting to get it open so she could save Leo. Then her father lifted it higher, his gaze looking out the window, mid swing. He snarled at the window looking right at her. Then he smiled.

Sophia awoke to Neil standing over her on the bed.

“Wake up. Wake up, Sophia.” He hadn’t wanted to touch her or shock her out of it, so he used his voice. She snapped her eyes open at the second command. She was crying hysterically. Neil sat on the side of the bed and scooped her into his arms.

“Neil,” she sobbed. “Help him, help me.” Sophia pleaded, desperation in her voice.

“Shhh. Shhh, Soph. It was just a dream. Just a bad dream. Nothing can get you here.” He rocked her from side to side and rubbed her back.

Scott ran into the room and at Neil’s head shake, he slowed and leaned against the wall.

Her body convulsed with heartbreaking tears that were ripped from somewhere deep inside her soul. She couldn’t stop. She wasn’t even sure if she tried.

“It’s okay, baby. Shhh.” He continued to rock her and sooth her. Scott looked at him questioningly and Neil shrugged. “Go ahead back to bed. I’ll wake you if it’s necessary.”

“Find out,” Scott whispered, then left the room.

Neil pulled Sophia closer, so she was cradled against him. His chest was now covered with her tears, and he could feel her body shuddering beneath him. “Come on now, baby. I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me what’s scaring you.” He leaned back against the bed frame, still holding her against him. When she finally calmed enough to speak, even with broken words and sentences, Neil was relieved.

“Dream.” she said.

“I know, I know it was a bad dream. Just take another minute or two then tell me all about it.” He stopped rocking back and forth and switched to making large circles on her back. He kept his pressure steady and his pace the same with each stroke. He still whispered calming words to her until she finally stopped completely. He didn’t remove her from his arms and continued to rub her back.

“What happened?′ he asked.

Sophia told Neil about her dream. About standing outside the kitchen window and watching her father abuse her brother. She told him how when he removed his belt to whip him she ran to help him but couldn’t get the door open. Then, with a gulp and a tremor that shot through her entire body, she told him how her father had made eye contact with her through the pane in the door and how he smiled viscously.

Sophia could tell Neil was disturbed by that part of the nightmare. His arm had stilled on her back and his body stiffened. But she broke down crying again.

“Please help. You told me you would, if Leo was in trouble. Please check on him.”

“Of course, we will. You don’t even need to ask. And if he needs to be removed, we will find a way to do it.”

Sophia visibly relaxed and Neil started to slide out from under her while he lowered her on the bed. She wrapped her arms around him.

“Please don’t leave me. Yet. Please don’t leave me yet.”

“Okay.” Neil settled back against the bed again and played with her hair until her breathing steadied into the rhythmic pattern of the sleeping. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head then slid out from under her, lowering her to the soft mattress. He quietly padded across the floor then stopped at the doorway and watched her for a minute. He sighed then slipped back into the living room. He sat on the couch and rubbed his temples for a minute. He flipped open his laptop that was sitting on the coffee table. It was going to be a long night.