Chapter 16 (Part 1)

10.8K 382 38
                                    

Chapter 16

*Victoria*

I reluctantly follow Aaron into the restaurant. At this point I'd rather go home than sit here with him after being so rude. As usual I let my emotions take control and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. It wasn't my intention to hurt him After what I said, I'm not sure where our relationship stands at the moment.

Sophie pulls me from my thoughts as she grabs hold of my hand. I look down at her with a smile, momentarily forgetting about the conversation Aaron and I recently had.

"Will you come over after this?" She asks with a smile. "You haven't come over in forever."

"I'd love to hang out with you some more. But I can't come over tonight. It'll be too late by the time we finish eating." Her smile fades as sadness starts to fill her eyes and my heart starts to sink. "Wouldn't it be better if I came over another time? Sometime earlier? That way we'd have the entire day."

She stares at me for a moment before the smile starts to slowly return. "Yeah, I guess." She says. "But you'll come over soon, right?"

"As soon as I possibly can." She beams up at me and it makes me feel slightly better that I'm still in her good graces despite not being around as much as she'd like me to be.

"You can follow me this way." The hostess says as she grabs our menus. Sophie holds my hand as we follow behind her parents and the hostess. She seats us at a booth where Sophie insists on sitting beside me, forcing Aaron and Grace to share the opposite side. Aaron sits across from me and avoids making eye contact as his eyes skillfully sweep past me. The guilt Sophie made me momentarily forget returns.

"So, what are you going to school for Victoria?" Grace asks with a large smile on her face as she turns her body a bit to face me. "Can I guess? Um, something in the medical field? No, no, psychology. Oh, I know."

"I'm starting law school in the spring." I cut her off.

"That was going to be my next guess. You're smart and have always cared about others. I figured you'd go into one of those fields." She makes it sound like she's known me all my life. I rarely talked to her two years ago and I have even less of a desire to now. Half of me is still upset that she tore Aaron and me apart, but the other half of me doesn't know much about her and can't easily judge her.

"Well what are you going for?" I ask.

"Physical therapy. A friend of mine was in an awful accident a few years ago where she had to learn to walk again. She went through such a hard time, but she never lost hope. It made me want to help others in a similar situation. It's something that's become very important to me."

"That's amazing." I say with a smile. "It has a special place in your heart, so it makes it that much more motivating. I think you'll be a great physical therapist."

"Thanks. I do too." She smiles.

"Sorry for the wait." Our waiter says a bit out of breath as he pulls out a notepad to take our orders. "Are you ready to order, or can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Apple juice." Sophie blurts with a large smile.

"No, she'll take water." Aaron says.

"But I want juice." Sophie frowns.

"You had two juice boxes at school earlier today." He explains. "You need to drink water."

My Perfect SoulmateWhere stories live. Discover now