One Chance

Let's Make a Deal

Thanks for reading! Picture of what Sophie is supposed to look like. Sorry it's short!!! Later chapters will be better and I will come back in for editing once it is finished!
Enjoy!

[RECAP]

"So, Sophie," Tommy started, "Why, exactly, were you outside the hospital?"
And I froze.

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"Um, it's a bit of a long story..." I spoke softly, staring down at a hot plate that was just placed in front of me. The guys received theirs as well, putting a pause on our conversation so the waitress wouldn't hear. She seemed like the type to eavesdrop anyway, and I definitely didn't want her to hear. This subject was very personal after all. I kinda hoped this conversation wouldn't continue after she left.
"Just call me over if you all need anything else, alright?" The waitress clapped her hands together enthusiastically after setting down all the plates and spun on her heel back to the kitchen. It didn't slip past me how she took especially long to deliver them.
Maybe it was the way that her smile looked fake when she spoke that made me worry about her.. Maybe it was something else. Either way, I didn't like her. But instead of putting all of my energy into disliking somebody I didn't know, I chose instead to focus on the food. I hadn't forgotten the hunger that ailed me.
"You don't really have to say anything if you don't want to, you know." Alex leaned into me and whispered as everyone dug into their food. He was close enough that our knees were touching and I could feel the heat of his body next to mine. Even as we sat, he was probably a whole head taller than me. Maybe more.
I kept my gaze on my plate instead of risking looking at him, cutting what looked like an asparagus with my knife. I was unsure if I should thank him, or nod, or do anything. It was a little uncomfortable to be sitting there in almost silence. Maybe more than a little.
Though, it was comforting to be surrounded by people like these for once, even if I didn't know exactly what their intentions were.
So, I settled for a smile, which Alex returned kindly.
Just as I went to turn back to my food, another spoke up.
"You know the nurse, right? From the hospital. An older woman?" Jonah peered at me from across the table, his curly hair bouncing as he flipped it out of his face.
At this, my head snapped up. I immediately knew which nurse he mentioned and why he asked me that question.
Ms. Mason had always been terrible at secret-keeping. Apparently we weren't dropping our previous conversation after all, even though I'd hoped for it. I mean, I wasn't exactly comfortable enough here to share my whole life story. Although somebody already had.
"Yes, I know her." I replied to Jonah after taking a moment to compose myself. My gaze returned to the table, so I wouldn't have to look anyone directly in the face. No matter how many times it was mentioned, I couldn't prevent myself from feeling so hurt. Thinking about my family, about all my families, made me feel especially lonely. After taking a deep breath, I pushed the thoughts of everything negative to the back of my head and returned to the five guys.
Through the hair that hung in my face, I peered around the table at each of them. Some looked at me, a couple didn't. All of them were silent. Of course, I would probably be silent too if I was just told a giant sob story, and from the looks of it, they hadn't known for very long.
"She told you, didn't she?" I asked, my voice and my hands shaking. I tried not to sound like I was going to cry, but my voice had other ideas.
My question received a few nods I could see from the corner of my eye, as I was still hiding my face. The looks on their faces confused and saddened me even more; how could I face people who were able to see right through me from the start? Though that wasn't exactly my fault.
I used the palm of my hand to wipe away the tears and raised up my head, finally meeting the pitying eyes of everyone around me.
"Sorry," Tommy smiled apologetically, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand. His were soft and warm against my cold ones. On my left, Alex reached around and squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, and I turned to see an emotion in his eyes I didn't think that guys could have.
And I wondered why he did that. I wondered why all of them were doing this. It hadn't occurred to me before that I had been basically kidnapped by five strange men. But, somehow, I didn't feel any threat. I just felt.... I guess you could say I felt cared for, a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. Even if I was just a charity case.
I don't know if it was because of my past or the fact that complete strangers would and could be so kind, but I couldn't stop myself from crying then. I usually didn't cry so easily, but something about being here with these kind people made me feel like I could. That, and I was already emotional enough from thinking so much about everything.
How could someone who met me maybe no more than an hour ago be so compassionate?
Tommy didn't let go of my hand, and I used the other one to stop the tears from falling onto the table. Gosh, I hoped I wasn't making a scene. I must've already been a sight: dirty clothes, untamed hair, crying. How embarrassing. I saw that Logan was going to speak when he was interrupted.
"Boys, we should get going." My head snapped up at an unfamiliar voice, and I saw the man who had been with these guys earlier looming above the table and looking out across the restaurant. He was tall and definitely intimidating. His puffed out chest and hard gaze would probably make anyone in that restaurant nervous.
I hadn't realized that the full room of people or the dull buzz of silverware and conversation until the man arrived.
He looked down at me for a moment, his eyes softening a bit, and I wiped my eyes self consciously. The last thing I needed was to embarrass myself anymore. Not like it was any use, though. I knew my face had a tendency to get red when I cried, especially around my nose and eyes. It usually takes an especially long time to calm me down.
"Rahul?" Alex looked up at him in confusion, then followed his gaze across the now busy restaurant. Something seemed to click in his head, and he nodded at the man.
"Ah. Well then, let's go." He stood, gesturing for the others to do the same. I stood hesitantly, unsure of exactly what was going on.
"Sophie? We'll get your food to go, alright?" Logan gestured to my plate and I nodded, stepping out of the booth after him to let the others out.

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"Did you enjoy the food? Well, what you actually got to eat anyways..." Louis asked me, smiling. We all sat in the back of the limo riding away from the restaurant after we had gotten our things put in little tiny boxes. The bubbly waitress was more enthusiastic than ever when Rahul had called her over. Though I felt like something was off about her, I hoped she got a nice tip. She probably deserved it. Not that I would notice. I needed to pay more attention to things.
Those were my thoughts as I rode along in the limo. I sat with a box in my lap and had been staring at it during the awkward silence until Louis finally spoke.
I smiled back to him as I responded. "It was very nice, thank you. Really fancy. It wasn't hard to get in at all?"
"You need a reservation."
"You'd already had a reservation?"I questioned, baffled at how they'd reserved for six when they had only asked me to dinner a short while ago. Didn't reservations take months? I hoped I didn't take somebody else's place at the table.
"No, we didn't." Still smiling, Louis winked and gave his attention to the phone he pulled outta nowhere. But if they didn't already have a reservation then...
I wanted to ask Louis for an answer but he looked a little preoccupied.
That's it, I thought. They had to be famous. Or lawyers, doctors, sons of lawyers, sons of doctors. They must have payed well to get in. Or they were very respected people. No wonder the waitress had been so excited...
Suddenly, all five of the boys/men were engaged in their phones, typing away at something or another, and I was left to awkwardly sit there. Uncomfortably.
While I was in the middle of wondering where we were going, Louis piped up next to me. He was the only one who sat on my side of the limo, while the other four were across from me. He was also the only one who was now torn away from his phone.
"You've got freckles," he stated, tapping the edge of my nose lightly and smiling. "We match." Louis's voice was quiet and he looked, well, pleased. Pleased or proud, as he tapped his own nose in the same way to show me his. Or emphasize the point that he had them.
I couldn't help but return the smile and wondered how I hadn't noticed earlier. He had a lot, not to say I didn't, so I should have noticed.
Then it was quiet again as he turned back to his phone.
After a few more minutes of watching the sun set slowly through the window, I gathered up the courage to break the silence.
"Excuse me, would you mind telling me where we're going?" I asked, albeit nervously. So nervously my hands were shaking even as they gripped my box. We'd been driving for a little while, and while I hadn't seen any signs of danger before, I couldn't be sure that these people weren't people I wanted to be with. Plus it was getting dark outside, and I needed to get back to the shelter.
Then again, they were riding in a limo, and they had taken me to dinner for no apparent reason.
All the guys looked up then, sending each other glances across the limo, and I was suddenly more worried than I already was. Where, exactly, were they taking me?
"Sophie, let's make a deal."
"What?" I raised my eyebrows, glancing around at everyone, who stared right back at me. Intensely.
"Don't worry," Logan sighed, "We're taking you back to where we found you."
I looked around to everyone again for conformation and relieved a few nods in reply, though with the way Logan said those words, almost reluctantly, and the looks on everyone's faces, it didn't seem like they really wanted me to go back there.
"Then, what's the deal?" I asked no one in particular, still a little confused by the whole ordeal.
Another exchange of nervous glances between the guys.
Finally Jonah spoke up, taking in a long, deep breath before he did.
"Okay." He looked to the others one last time for reassurance before continuing. "We'll return you to the hospital on one condition: you let us come and pick you up again next Saturday."

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