Chasing Sofia

Chapter 23 - A War of Many Years

Sofia

"You're gonna be fine, Sofia. Remember what we talked about."

I gulp and look towards Adrian as we approach the entrance to my house. I'm beyond terrified about confronting my parents. I've now had five hours to contemplate it and with each hour that passed it only made me fear it more.

It was a huge step for me to confide my secret to Adrian this morning, and now I have to do it all over again. Even though it'll be the second time, I know this one will be much more difficult. With Adrian I just felt it spill out, but with my parents I'm not sure what to say or even how to act. But I know it's the right thing to do, and if I don't come out with this now, I probably won't have the courage to do it ever.

I nod at him, yet hesitate to open the door. I know Adrian is waiting for me to do it until I feel ready. Problem is, I don't know if I'll ever feel ready for this.

"Darling, if at any point it's too much, you tell me and we leave, okay? No questions asked," Adrian says.

"How can I tell you without tipping off my parents?"

"We can come up with a code word," he suggests.

"Okay." I try to think about something nice and pleasant. "How about Teddy?"

He smiles at me. "Perfect."

I straighten my back and shoulders as I open the door. They say that if you appear confident it'll help you feel confident. I really hope they're right.

We walk into the living room and my parents are there, already waiting for us. I had called them during the drive back to let them know I wanted to talk, and also make sure Uncle Frank wasn't around anymore, so they were already expecting us. While my mom looks extremely worried, my dad looks royally pissed.

I notice he shoots a displeased look towards Adrian before his gaze falls on me. I hate the fact he's already putting him at fault for something he has no clue about.

"Let's go talk in my study," my dad says, standing up.

I nod and we start to follow him. Before we go in, he looks back at Adrian and adds, "Alone."

I immediately freeze and look towards Adrian. I hadn't visualized doing this on my own. I don't think I can. I instantly regret this and already consider using our code word.

He smiles at me reassuringly. "It's okay. I'll be out here if you need me."

How can he act so calm when my dad is being nothing but rude to him? Before I realize what I'm doing, I lean in to him and wrap my arms around his waist.

He doesn't react at first, but then folds his arms around me, rubbing my back. "Go, darling. It's gonna be okay," he whispers in my ear.

He pulls back from me and looks in my eyes, caressing my cheek with his thumb before signaling towards my parents. I unwillingly drop my arms from his waist and look in their direction. They both have surprised expressions on their faces. But my dad's looks more like he's trying to solve a puzzle and my mom's looks like she's just solved it.

Adrian nudges me forward and I feel the loss of his warmth and comfort as the door shuts behind me and I take a seat to face my parents. They're looking at me expectantly to start talking, but I've lost my voice. I realize I don't have the strength to tell them because once they know it'll crush them. If their reaction is even half as bad as Adrian's, I don't think I'll be able to endure it, and I know he was holding back on me because he was stoic the entire time.

"Honey, you know you can tell us anything," my mom says.

My head drops in my hands, trying to find the words. This is going to be even harder on her as Uncle Frank is her brother and I know she'll blame herself for it.