Chasing Sofia

Chapter 2 - The New Girl

Adrian

I’m sitting at the island bar of the kitchen with Nico, both of us scarfing down some eggs and toast as we usually do in the mornings. Neither of us talks as we are too busy eating and it’s too early anyway to engage in any type of conversation.

Although today we actually have something to talk about, but I’m trying to avoid it as much as possible. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that she is here now. Nico hasn’t mentioned anything after yesterday’s fainting incident and I sure as hell won’t bring it up.

I see movement from the corner of my eye, and I lift my gaze to see Sofia walking into the kitchen hesitantly.

“Hola niña!” Carmen, the housekeeper, greets her enthusiastically. “Cómo dormiste?”

“Bien. Gracias Carmen,” she responds, but she doesn’t seem fine or look like she slept well.

She takes a seat next to Nico and looks down at her plate. “Hey,” she says to him quietly and doesn’t acknowledge my presence.

“Hey, sis. Ready for your first day of college?” he asks her a bit too excited. I know for a fact he’s just trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, I guess.”

She picks up her fork and starts pushing her plate of eggs around. She looks like she’s about to take a bite, but then scrunches her nose and puts it to the side. Instead, she grabs a banana from the counter and unpeels it. She then proceeds to cut it with a knife in tiny pieces and only eats a few small bites.

I know I shouldn’t be staring at her so obviously but I can’t help myself. She’s just so different now. I entertain the idea that she might be sick. The way she fainted so easily yesterday, all the weight she’s lost, and the way she’s picking at her breakfast like it’s poison leads me to the hypothesis.

She suddenly looks up and catches me staring at her. I take a quick drink of my orange juice to try to defuse it, but she’s looking at me like I have an extra head growing out of my shoulder. Like I’m out of place.

I know it must seem strange to her that I’m here, but it’s not. At least, not anymore. I have been living here for the last four months and whether I like it or not, this is my home now. This is how I start my mornings every day. I wake up, have breakfast with Nico, go to class, soccer practice, then come back home. On the weekends we usually have a game followed by a party where I mostly end up hooking up with some girl for the night. She just hasn’t been here to know all that. Come to think of it, she’s the one that is out of place, not me.

“We should get going,” Nico turns to tell me.

“Yeah,” I grunt. I can’t help my sour mood.

“Wanna drive? I forget whose turn it is.”

We usually take turns driving in the morning. Usually it’s whoever feels like it or isn’t about to fall asleep. I immediately shake my head. “No, I’m tired.”