Twisted Secrets

Ch7-Sofia Volkov

The minute he's out of sight I press my back against the glass wall separating the outdoor showers with the backyard. I breathe in heavily as I try to calm down from our interaction.

He doesn't like physical touch.
He hates it.
So why did he do that?
Did he change that much?

My chest squeezed just a bit when a flash of hurt went through his eyes when I called him Lorenzo. He shouldn't even be hurt in the first place. He hurt me. The first few months after he left I was pretty sad. Not exactly depressed but definitely not happy. After that I was so angry at him. Then- and now I just couldn't give a shit that he left. It was his choice. I just learned to come to terms with it.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is why in the world is he still calling me that god awful nickname. Awful because it brings back that night, the night he kissed my tears away. The night he tucked me in to bed and gently took off my makeup along with my high heels. He took care of me that night. He made me feel safe. That night he also told me I was an inconvenience and a child and that he didn't want me around in front of everyone. I accepted and moved on, except I don't know how long I can keep trying to act normal when he still looks into my eyes like I'm the piece of art he's been searching for.

I rinse my hair of the chlorine water before finding myself a towel. Inside Nico is playing a video game. I pass him and go straight to the kitchen for a lemonade. The others should be back shortly since it looks like it's gonna be raining soon. Just after I close the door of the fridge I hear the front door open and the rest of the family come in.

"Oh my god, you should've came Sofia! The water was so nice." Dahlia says excitingly, and Camilla in a whisper; "the boys there were not half bad either."

I slightly laugh. "Wow so elegant your royal highness!" I say sarcastically. She rolls her eyes even as she's smiling.

"What are you three gossiping about?" Aunt Jules comes in with a wondering smile.

"Nothing.." me, Cami and Lia say at the same time even as we're giggling.

Stella comes in and Christian goes in right after her. Like a puppy on a leach. "Hey girls, do you know if we have any lemonade left?" Stella asks. Cami reassures her that we do when I suddenly remember something.

"Oh! Lorenzo came in a few minutes ago, I told him he could take a nap though since he looked jet lagged." All eyes turn to me in surprise, a huge smile takes up Stella's face along with Dahlia's.

"Hey.." we hear a deep voice before Dahlia basically squeals and jumps on her older brother. He barely catches her, caught off guard. He sets her down but she doesn't let go of his torso.

"Dali you saw me 3 weeks ago, let me go." He says stubbornly even though it's very noticeable how happy he is in that moment, and yet a smile is still non apparent.

"Shut up." Lia says before going back to hug him. He rubs her back gently as Stella looks at her children while leaning on her husband. Me and Cami spare a glance at each other before mutually deciding we're interrupting something.

As we head out my eyes catch Lorenzo's for a second. In that second it's like all my emotions spilled through them. The hate I felt for him those few months, the admiration I still do. All of it.

I still walk out, deciding he best catch up with his family. There's a sunken living room and an almost full circle couch the rest of the family sits on. Except Ethan and Nico who are siting on bean bags playing video games against each other. Cami and I sit behind the two boys. My parents are on my side and hers are on her side. Aunt Jules and Uncle Josh sit at the edge, making bets on who's gonna win the game.