Dark Red | Tara Carpenter

05

05/29/2017
Freshman Year

Sofia didn't think that becoming friends with Wes would have such consequences.

First, she met the boy in the infirmary after he got injured at football practice. She recognized him from her mother who was a regular customer of her parents' bakery. They barely talked.

Then secondly Sheriff Hicks had the Bensons over for dinner one night and once again she had to talked with Wes since he was the only other teenager.

And finally, Chad being friends with Wes and Sofia. Decided that the next time they would hang out, would be all three of them together. And that's where it clicked. The two quickly became very good friends.

It was nothing serious, they would play video games together, and sometimes Sofia taught him how to bake cakes for his mother, or he could teach her the rules of football.

But Tara didn't see it that way. She was bursting with jealousy.

She had stopped biting her nails years ago, but now she couldn't stop herself from tearing the skin off her fingers until they bled just at the sight of Wes and Sofia together.

And as for how she handled this sudden change in Sofia's behavior, who only wanted to hang out with 'her friend' Wes. Tara was just giving her the silent treatment. This was what she couldn't stand from Sofia or anyone because of her mother. Being ignored, neglected.

She was acting like she hated her mother or Sam had been to her before. Because in those moments she could only express her pain by reproducing it on others.

Tara was suddenly cut off from her thoughts when someone slammed her locker.

"Sofia."

The Benson girl's cheeks were red, and her frown was evident as she stared at Tara with a look she had never seen in her eyes.

"Why would you do that ?" She whispered, taking a step forward. "You ignored me for a whole week. You've never done that before."

The answer was simple

Tara just couldn't stand seeing the photo Chad posted a week ago. It was Wes between Sofia's legs as she bleached his hair. At the time, when she first saw the picture, she had broken the glass she was holding in her other hand so as not to throw her phone violently at the wall.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged her shoulders. "I just had a lot of homework."

"Don't lie to me, please."

"I'm not." She pursed her lips.

She couldn't help but pushing her away. But it was the only solution. If she really loved Sofia, she should save her from having such a mess like her as a friend.

Sofia suddenly had a spark of disappointment that crossed her eyes. "Guess I'll see you around then. Bye Tara."

05/15/2017

The silent treatment wasn't something Sofia was used to unless it came from her siblings.

Silas and Abigail Benson had always educated their children so that communication will never be a problem in their household. Everyone should feel able to express themselves and express their feelings.

And the one who were the most responsive to it was certainly Sofia. Because for her, the emotions would always be really overwhelming and made her uncomfortable with herself. You could tell by her body language if something was wrong and vice versa.

Most of the time she was happy with everything, satisfied with her life, she had nothing to complain about, never had a reason to. And above all she didn't want to do. She had attended her grandmother's funeral two years ago, and she still had the chills of the deep sadness she had felt that day.

The downward spiral of negative emotions was something she couldn't fall into. It will be a total mess for her or her loved ones. No one had ever seen her cry, or hit someone, or get angry. In society, this was something normal. She was just a normal kid.

But the lack of Tara's presence was quickly becoming a problem. Her mind would raced sometimes until late at night, wondering what could have done to make the brunette reject her so much.

"Hey."

Tara sighed, slightly disappointed to not having a reaction from Sofia. "I'm sorry, okay ? And I miss you."

No matter how many times she would pushed Sofia away, Tara would always come back to her.

"I shouldn't have acted like that." She added in an almost inaudible voice as she approached the girl with gentle steps. "I'll change that. I'll fix it, I promise."

"It's okay." Sofia replied quickly, standing up, almost as if she had been burned by Tara's words. "You don’t have to fix anything."

The two were standing in front of each other, unable to close the distance between them.

Until Sofia raised her hand lightly and reached for the necklace around Tara's neck, letting her eyes wandering on it before she lift her eyes to meet hers again. "Can I ?"

Tara hummed, nodding slowly.

The Benson girl brought out the heart pendant with a smooth gesture. "Tara, what I’m about to tell you may sounds weird. But right now I feel like you are the embodiment of flaws in perfection."

"You are a perfect friend, the best friend I have ever had. But sometimes your emotions take over, you always let them get in the way. But I don't care, it makes you, you." She whispered, fiddling with the pendant. "You don't need to fix it. You need to express it differently."

Tara raised an doubtful eyebrow. "Well, how do you want me to express differently that Wes' an asshole-"

"Tara !" She giggled, playfully nudging her friend's shoulder.

The Carpenter girl couldn't help but smile. She hadn't made Sofia laugh on purpose, but she didn't regret it. She had missed her a lot, too much for not enjoying this kind of interaction like it was the last thing she was ever gonna see.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Tara."

The two girls didn't know it at the time, but it was only the beginning of the end.