Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 40

Fitz's P.O.V.

"Come on, dude! We're like, totally gonna be late!" I flinched at the voice of my soon-to-be brother-in-law. It wasn't like I had anything against Derek, he could just be... well, to put it bluntly, extremely annoying. 

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "I just need a minute." 

"Well, we don't have a minute, dude!" Derek exclaimed. "Dude, you should've already been out there. Dude." And then there was this whole other problem: referring to everything and everyone as "dude". Now, within context, I thought there was nothing wrong to call your friend or something "dude". But he just took it to a whole new level and was now really pushing my boundaries. 

"Dude?" Derek asked. "Are you good, dude? Dude?"  

"I'm. Fine." I bit my lip so hard I thought it would start bleeding. 

"Cool, dude." Derek nodded with a salute - which I found odd - before waltzing out of the room. He really was one interesting dude- fellow. I'd had enough 'dudes' to last me a lifetime. 

"Come one, Fitz," I told myself. "Just go out there and..." And marry someone you don't love, I silently finished. I sighed. Why couldn't I just do this? After all, it was only marriage! Yeah, only the most important moment of your life, my brain retorted. It was in these moments I seriously wished my brain would just keep quiet. 

"Um... Are you okay?" 

"Derek, this is NOT a good time!" 

"Well... I'm not Derek?" I froze and slowly turned around. I should've guessed the moment I heard her voice. 

"Sophie?" Perhaps I was hallucinating, but when I pinched myself, I definitely wasn't. Sophie was really here... On your wedding day! my brain reminded annoyingly. I don't care, I thought. And I really didn't. At that moment, it didn't matter I was about to get married in the next ten minutes. 

"Why... Why are you here? How are you here?" I thought my brain would explode with all the questions I had, but I refrained from asking them. Instead, I walked up to her and hugged her as tightly as I could. Maybe the universe hated me, but that certainly wasn't going to stop me from living a happy life. And even if Sophie and I couldn't be lovers, I was perfectly fine with just having her in my life. 

"I missed you," I whispered. 

"I missed you, too," Sophie whispered back. I finally let go of her and saw her face for the first time in weeks. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it - if not even more beautiful now that I'd gone a month without seeing it. 

"Sophie, I know this isn't ideal but..." I paused, wondering what to say. Should I just come right out and tell her I loved her? Or would that be the selfish thing to do, considering I was about to get married? 

"Fitz, you don't have to finish that sentence," Sophie interrupted. "I came here because my friends told me that I'd regret it if I didn't. And... I'm really glad I listened to them. But Biana also told me that you were getting married, and I have no intentions of stopping that - even though she really wanted me to. I only wanted to see you one last time..." 

"Wait a second. Biana?" It dawned on me that I hadn't seen her all morning. 

"Um, yeah," Sophie confirmed. "She had this whole plan, apparently." In any other situation, I would've been mad my sister had been meddling in my life again. But this was one time I was grateful to have a sister who cared so much about me. 

"Um, thank you, for coming this one last time," I told Sophie. Then I immediately wanted to take it back. The love of my life had just gone through all this trouble and basically poured her heart out to me, and I just thanked her? 

"I mean," I quickly added. "I just... I'm not very good at this kind of thing, especially since you're the one person I've ever truly... loved. And I wish we were under different circumstances, but..." 

"Fitz." Sophie looked at me with those big, brown eyes of hers. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. I... I love you, too. And even though you're going to get married basically right after this, I'll never stop loving you - for as long as I live." I hugged Sophie one more time and hoped with all my might that it wouldn't be the last time I did so. 

"Sophie, I don't know how I'm going to live without seeing you every single day." Sophie laughed softly and I realized how much I'd missed that laugh. Her sweet, kind laugh, that could make anyone who heard it join her. 

"Facetime," she simply responded. "Every day." 

"Every day," I repeated in agreement. We gazed at each other for a few more minutes before Sophie cleared her throat.

"Well, I guess you should be going by now," she said, taking a few steps back. 

"And I guess this is goodbye for now," I sighed. Sophie went up on her tiptoes and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. 

"Goodbye," she whispered, before hugging me one last time and disappearing through the exit doors. 

I stood there in the silence for a while, not exactly wanting to enter the room my wedding would take place. No, it would be too painful... But luckily, I didn't have to. Because the last person I would've ever expected came bursting into the room, her eyes filled with tears. 

"Fitz! I can't let you do this!" she cried, nearly tripping on her huge dress. My jaw dropped as I stood before my future wife. 

"Julie?" I asked in shock. "What are you doing here?" 

"Stopping you from making a terrible mistake!" she exclaimed. "I heard enough to know that you really love that girl. And I can't allow you to marry me because it wouldn't be fair on either of us." 

"I... I'm really sorry, Julie. I didn't mean for you to get hurt like this." 

"Oh, I'm not hurt," she informed me, wiping her tears. "I'm just very emotional, and that goodbye was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever heard - even more than those sad romantic movies I watch all the time." 

"Really? So you're not mad?" I asked. Julie shook her head. 

"Fitz, I like you, I really do, but I honestly didn't feel a connection," she explained. "And now I realize it's because I couldn't ever compete with Sophie. I saw the way you looked at her - so full of love. And honestly, I'll be fine." 

"Julie, you're the best almost-future wife I could've ever asked for." 

"Oh, don't thank me," she reassured. "I'll be happy enough if I knew you and Sophie are finally given the chance to be together." She smiled. 

"Now what are you waiting for?" she exclaimed. "Go get the love of your life!"