Fallin' For You-Part 5

TWENTY-FIVE

"I've got the groceries," Sophie called as she stumbled into the house with all the bags in her hands. "Can someone help me?"

Grady came to the front door and got a few bags from Sophie's hands. "Thank you, kiddo."

Sophie shrugged before placing the bags on the counter in the kitchen so Edaline could unload and put them away.

"Do you have any other plans for today?" Grady asked her.

Sophie nodded. "Since it's April Fool's Day, I am staying at home where I can be at peace."

Grady nodded and, just then, Edaline walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face. But the smile looked very strained.

"Grady," She said. "Can you step into the living room with me? I need to talk to you about something."

"Uh," Grady looked confused. "Sure."

"Is something wrong?" Sophie asked.

Edaline shook her head. "No, everything's fine. I just got a strange text that I need to talk to your dad about."

"Oh," Sophie blinked, confused. "Okay..."

Grady and Edaline left the kitchen, so Sophie decided to unload the groceries and put them in their right places.

Once she was done, she made her way upstairs, thinking about what Grady and Edaline could be talking about.

Was there a new animal coming to the pastures? Were they moving? Had they gone into debt?

Sophie sighed before collapsing on her bed and grabbing Ella, holding her tightly.

Then, suddenly, her phone buzzed, and she picked it up. It was a text from Keefe, and it made her grin from ear-to-ear.

It said: Hey Foster! I'm in California for Spring Break. I have a surprise for you, so meet me at the beach! <3

Sophie smiled before grabbing her keys and running down the stairs, yelling to her parents, "I'm going to the beach, bye!" before running out the door and getting in her car.

Sophie drove a mile in a half to the beach her and her friends usually went to. She got out of her car and bolted to the sand.

There were people scattered throughout the place, but she didn't see Keefe anywhere.

She ran from one end of the stretch of beach to the other, shouting his name and looking for him.

But she still couldn't see him.

She pulled out her phone and decided to call him. After a few rings, it went to his voicemail:

"Hey, it's the Keefester! If you're listening to this then I'm obviously not with my phone or I don't like you. I'll call you back if I feel like it and...you know what to do after the beep. Bye!"

Sophie sighed before the beep sounded and she said, "Hey Keefe, it's Sophie. You're at the beach, right? I can't find you so can you please call me back and tell me where you are?" Then she hung up and sighed, sitting down in the sand and looking out to the water.

Sophie sat there, alone, constantly checking her phone, for probably an hour.

Where was he? Had he lied to her? Was this his idea of a harmless April Fool's Day Prank?

The sun was slowly setting and, after thirty more minutes of waiting, Sophie had finally resigned herself to the fact that Keefe wasn't coming.

She got up and made her way back to her car. But before heading home, she drove into town to get some wallowing-in-my-own-self-pity-snacks.

She grabbed ice cream, chips, lemonade, pudding, cheese sticks, and gummy bears. She paid for all the snacks before driving home, sulking all the way.

Sophie got out of her car with the groceries in her hands. "I'm back home." She muttered, walking farther into the house, looking down at her feet. "Guess what just happened."

"What?"

Sophie's head shot up at that voice and she saw Grady and Edaline sitting in the living room with Keefe sitting on the couch in front of them.

Sophie eyes watered as she dropped the groceries onto the floor. "Keefe...what...why?"

"Happy April Fools!" Keefe said, getting up and holding out his arms for a hug.

Sophie grinned, tears falling down her face and she ran over and tackled him in a hug. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

Keefe laughed, squeezing her tighter. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I just meant to confuse you. I'm sorry, but—ow!" Keefe rubbed his arm where Sophie had just punched him.

"That's what you get for making me think you were a liar," She said before burying her face back in his shoulder. "I'm so glad you didn't lie to me."

"Me too," Keefe laughed again. "But yeah, I texted your mom earlier and said that I was coming over. Then, I texted you, you ran to the beach, it gave me enough time to get here from the airport, and then we all waited for you to get home." He explained, pulling back from the hug. "You were just pranked Foster. How did it feel?"

Sophie laughed. "I didn't feel too great."

"Well, I see you brought some comfort food," He nodded to the bags that were on the floor. "So, if it's okay with your parents, why don't we have a movie night."

"I'd like that," Sophie said with a nod before glancing at her parents. "Is that okay?"

"Of course," Edaline said, patting Grady's shoulder before the two of them got up.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Grady looked straight at Keefe. "Okay?"

Keefe nodded. "Yes sir,"

Within a few minutes, Grady and Edaline had left, Sophie set up the blankets and snacks, and Keefe had picked out the movie.

Once Sophie was done, she turned out the lights and joined Keefe on the couch, snuggling up to him as the movie began.

"What are we watching?" She asked with a smile.

Keefe grinned. "One of my favorite Disney movies of all time: Coco."

Sophie gave Keefe a sweet smiled. "I love that movie."

Soon the movie started and the two of them smiled at each other.

"I love you Keefe," Sophie said with a smile.

Keefe kissed her on the top of her head. "I love you Foster."