Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 65: Fourth Crack

Lucas

I waited on the front porch at Sophia's house.

The clock on my phone read 11:25 pm but I didn't give a damn how tired I felt.

Sophia's parents, Mama May and Papa Ben had invited me inside around 10:00 but I wanted to sit on the step outside. It was one thing to talk to Liam, it was completely another to lie about it. And she had lied. She'd broken our dinner date, she'd called me on the phone and lied about her whereabouts. Lied to me directly.

I watched for her bike, my jaw tight. I didn't really care what her alibi was. There was really no excuse for something like this. All she had to do was tell me that she wanted to talk to Liam, that she was worried about him, and I would have been okay with that. Not thrilled, mind you, but okay. So why all the secrecy?

This wasn't the way things should be. This wasn't the way she was supposed to treat me.. or anyone she cared about, for that matter. And what if actions like these continued into the future? Did I really want to spend my days wondering if she was really where she would be?

No. No way. Not a chance. Sophia either loved me or she didn't. Simple as that. And blowing off dinner with me to spend time with Liam made it seem pretty obvious how she felt.

I didn't care that they were friends, and I didn't care whether she thought she was being supportive, either. All she'd had to do was tell the truth. That's what this was about.

As angry as I was, I had to admit I felt a stab of hurt as well. I'd chosen to live and study in Manila so I could be closer to Sophia. I could have attended college elsewhere, but when Stacy had approached me and Bryce with the insane plan she'd hatched up for her sister to be happy, I was intrigued, which led to one of the biggest decisions of my life.

I came here because of her.

And now she was lying to me. Not once, but twice, and as I felt my stomach constrict, I was uncertain whether to punch the wall in anger or simply cry into my hands.

I was still sitting on Sophia's steps when she arrived an hour later. As she dismounted from her green bike, she seemed surprised to see me but then walked toward me as if nothing were amiss.

"Hey," she said, hoisting her backpack over her shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

I stood up from the steps. "Just waiting," I said before glancing at my watch. A few minutes before one am.. whatever she had been doing, it must have been highly important for her to surpass her 9:00 curfew by four hours.

Though I made no move toward Sophia--and she seemed to notice this--she leaned in to kiss me anyway. If she noticed my relative non-response, she gave no sign.

"It's good to see you," she said.

I looked at Sophia. Despite my anger-or my fear, if I was still being honest-she looked beautiful. The idea of someone else taking her in his arms was devastating.

Sensing my roiling emotions, the bespectacled brunette tugged at my sleeve. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I answered.

"You seem upset."

It was the perfect opportunity to say what was on my mind, but I found myself hedging. "Just tired," I said. "How was Spencer?"

Sophia tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "Worried," she sighed. "Her boyfriend, Xavier, might be moving back to London for his internship next year and she doesn't know how to handle the situation."

I stood straighter. "I take it that you spent the whole evening with Spencer, huh?"

"Pretty much," she answered.