Controlled

Chapter 13- Sophie

Chapter 13: Sophie

"Sophie dear, you have to wake up. It's morning."

I blinked, wincing against the bright sunlight that flooded into my room. My mom was looming over me with a calm smile.

"W-what?" I mumbled. I looked around, seeing it was just my mom and I. "Where...?"

"I sent them home last night. You were out like a light." She moved over to my window and pulled the curtains open more. I shielded my eyes with my arm as more sunlight spilled across my room. "You've been asleep since yesterday afternoon, honey. You have to get up."

"What time is it?" I asked. I knew my mom wouldn't like it, but I wanted to go back to school today. Midterms were next week; I couldn't skip school even if I wanted to. "I need to go back to school."

My mom turned to look at me. She was picking up laundry from around my room and folding it over her arm. "Are you sure that's such a good idea, honey?"

I threw the covers off of me and got out of bed. "Mom, I'm fine. Nothing seriously bad happened to me to make it okay to miss school."

"You were attacked, Sophie!" she argued.

Looking myself over sarcastically, I said, "I don't seem to have any injuries... I think I'm fine to go to school today."

"Sophie..." she sighed.

I ignored her and walked into my bathroom to brush my teeth. I heard my mom sigh again and leave my room, taking my laundry with her. That man who attacked me probably wanted me to be scared; he probably wanted me to sit in my room and wait for him to be stupid enough to get caught. I've seen enough crime shows on TV to know that much.

I finished in the bathroom and got dressed in some jeans and a hoodie. Naomi barked from the doorway. "What is it, girl?" I asked, looking over in her direction. She barked again and padded down the hallway, her nails scratching the wood floors. I followed her to the back door. "Okay girl, let's go outside."

I opened the door and she pushed past my leg. She went out the doggie door build into the screened-in porch and out to the grassy area. I stepped outside and looked around, then froze.

"What the..." I whispered. Over the surface of the pool were floating rose buds and petals. They were everywhere- even on the deck surrounding the pool.

"Mom?" I called. I wanted to believe it was Justin that did this, but I knew in my gut he wasn't the one behind the romantic gesture.

My mom came up behind me and asked, "What is it, honey?"

I motioned to the pool and her expression became confused. "Who did this?"

I waited a moment, dreading her question. I was really hoping she'd say it was Justin. Showing any sort of emotion would only make things worse. All I wanted to do was scream. I wanted to find the man who kept harassing me and ask him why he kept doing this, but Darius told me that that's what the man most likely wanted; to get a reaction out of me, see me weak or frustrated. As hard as it was, I managed to keep my expression calm. "Call Darius," I said, turning and walking back into the house. "I'm going to be late for school."

~

I walked down the hall, trying to ignore the hushed whispers and stares towards me. Zoey walked next to me closely. I had told her about the rose petals in my pool this morning. She seemed as creeped out as I was. Ever since we'd gotten to school, she was quiet. It was unusual for her, but I didn't bother to ask her why.