The Troublemaker's Return

Chapter No. 28

Sophia

Alaric and I were sitting on my bed, face to face, eating the pasta he just cooked. I controlled the urge to moan at the perfect balance of the spices. What's up with the amazing cooking skills of all the boys in my life? First Noah and then Alaric. Then there was me who could hardly boil rice.

In between the bites, I cherished myself with the wine he brought. Alaric was not a talkative person but he could speak much with his eyes. They were enough to keep me entertained.

After we had eaten the last of pasta from our plates, I put the plates and glasses aside and played a movie on my laptop. It was a romcom where the heroine ran away from her wedding and met a guy on the train station.

I switched the lights off and turned on the small lamp to lighten the room a little with the greenish lights; then I put the blanket on the bed and settled beside Alaric.

As the movie progressed, my eyes kept diverting to Alaric who looked quite absorbed in it. I cursed myself for playing an interesting movie and spoiling the chance of getting his attention.

In a desperate attempt of getting noticed by him, I scooted closer to him and rested my arm against his. I acted like I was fully engrossed in the movie and had no knowledge of our proximity.

After a brief moment, Alaric's hand touched the back of mine and he laced my finger with his large ones. Blushing, I angled my neck to look at him.

When I found him staring at me, I passed him a smile. Finally getting the hint, he leaned towards me and I closed my eyes on instinct. After what felt like a century, I felt his lips on my cheeks instead of my lips that made me disappointed a little.

Before he could part away, I snaked my arms around his neck and crashed his lips with mine. At first, he was taken aback by my courage but he eventually give in. Our lips moved again each other in gentle yet passionate rhythm. I was the one to deepen the kiss as my tongue devoured his mouth hungrily.

"Sophia," he tried to say something but I cut him off with another eager flick of my tongue. My hands reached into his hair and I tugged it back slightly.

My hands then left his hair and descended to the buttons of his shirt. With my lips still clung to his, I unbuttoned his shirt and attempted to take it off.

"Sophia," he began to say something again.

"Ssshhh," I put my finger on his mouth. "Let's not use our words, shall we?"

Saying this, I straddled him and unzipped my top, leaving me in my pants an undergarments. His worried eyes travelled down my torso and a strange expression ran inside his eyes, something resembling worry.

I started kissing him again but this time, there was hesitation in his actions. I waited for him to touch me but he remained still. I figured he was the shy kind so I initiated it myself and started kissing his neck.

"Wait," he said and pulled me away from him.

"What?"

His face contorted in pain as he blurted out, "I can't... I am sorry."

I watched him with a parted mouth as he picked me up from his lap and put me aside. He hopped off the bed and ran his fingers through his hair in panic. "I can't do this."

I didn't understand what was happening. "We can take it slow, if you want." I tried to touch him in an attempt to calm him but he backed away, as if my touch burned him.

"I am sorry Sophia. I can't do this. I am not ready to move on." he blurted out in a panic-stricken voice.

Guilt and embarrassment laced me while I watched him with watery eyes. "What... What do you mean?"

"I... God," he groaned. "You deserve someone who can give you his one hundred percent. I wish I could I am not that person for you, Sophia. I am still not over my wife's death."

"Are you..." I gulped harder to swallow the ball of nerve in my throat. "Are you breaking up with me?"

His eyes filled with grief and regret as he cast a long, pitiful glance at me. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have lead you on. It's my fault."

"Is that your final decision?" I asked, trying my best to fight the tears.

"I'm afraid so."

...........

Noah

"Yeah, I'll be there in half an hour." I told Emma on the phone as I buttoned my shirt.

"Wear something nice." she chuckled from the other side.

"Well, I am not planning to say dressed for long tonight so why bother?" I teased her and she groaned in return.

"I'll be waiting, Brown." she said and cut the call.

My mind once again diverted to Sophia and Alaric. They were in her room and I had an idea what they were probably doing. I would rather spend the night with Emma than listening to their shenanigans through the thin wall.

With that thought in mind, I exited my room and that's when I noticed the open door of Sophia's room. The dim light of lamp was spreaded all over the room and there was nobody inside.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion at their absence. As I was about to walk further, I heard something resembling a sob coming from the room.

Unsure of what to do, I stepped into the room and found it empty. I took another step inside and that's when I found Sophia sitting on the floor of the small space between her dresser and closer. She was sandwiched between both and her head was rested on her knees. I stepped near her and slouched down in front of her. "Sophia?" I asked, extending my hand to touch her shoulder.

She raised her head to look at me; her face was pale and dripping with grief. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks were stained with dry tears.

"Oh God! What happened?" I asked in worry. I assessed her from head to toe to check for any injury.

"Is it lame to cry over a man?" she whispered. Her lower lip was trembling and seeing her like this drowned me to sorrow.

"What did he do?" I asked in anger. I should have known; it's that fucker's fault.

"He... He broke up with me." she said and rested her head back on her knees. "Go away, I look pathetic right now."

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. I didn't know what to do but I couldn't see her like this. After contemplating for quite long, I wrapped my hand around her forearm and attempted to pick her up. "Come on, let's go to the bed."

At first, she resisted but then she gave in and stood up with my help. I took her to the bed, seated herself and then poured water for her.

"Here," I sat beside her and gave it to her. She took some small sips after which she pulled her mouth away and rested her face in between her palms.

"It's my fault." she said.

"No, it's not." I told her. "None of this is your fault. He was just not the guy for you."

Saying this, I pulled her towards me and let her rest her face on my shoulder. I felt her body trembling as she cried her heart out. I couldn't help but feel my eyes moisten because of her helplessness.

After what felt like so long, I placed her head on the cushion and lay down beside her. She was still awake but her tears had dried up now. I didn't know what to do to cheer her up.

"Were you going anywhere?" she whispered, assessing my new shirt.

That reminded me of Emma. My eyes moved to my mobile screen which showed fifteen messages from her. Turning the phone off, I passed her a faint smile and said, "No. I am here, with you."

"Thanks." she said and turned to her side to face me. Her soft hands wrapped around my waist as she snuggled deeper into me and hid her face in my chest.

I brought my hands to her back and drew small circles with my hand, until her harsh breathing turned into soft, rhythmic one.

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