An Unexpected Friendship

Chapter 20

*Alex's POV*
"Soph come on! We need to leave!" I yell up the stairs. "Alright alright I'm ready. You don't have to yell you know," she says, making her way down the stairs. "You don't have to wait until we need to leave to get ready you know," I shoot back. She sticks her tongue out at me, unimpressed with my response.

"What am I gonna do without my two girls here?" Servando asks. "Oh please. I know you're not that upset about us being gone. You're probably gonna invite the guys over as soon as we leave," I chuckle. "I'm gonna be sooo lost without you. Might just have to keep you here," he says as he goes in for a kiss.

"Ew. Seriously I don't need to see you guys getting up on each other," Sophia groans as she makes her way out of the house. I laugh as she leaves then return my attention to Servando. "I better get going. The last thing I need is to be late to camp," I say and then peck him on the lips.

"You ready to go?" I ask Sophia as I get settled into the car. She continues looking at her phone and completely ignores my question. I quickly grab her phone out of her hands which startles her. "Are you even listening to anything I'm saying? What are you doing on your phone anyways? You've barely stopped looking at it since starting school," I say. "Alex stop. Give it back," she pleads while trying to grab it from my hands.

I notice a couple of texts appear and see that Tucker is the one who sent them. "Oh does Tucker have something to do with it? You like him don't you?" I smirk. "Can you stop?" she huffs. "Relax. I'm just messing around with you," I say handing her phone back. She doesn't respond which makes me believe I may have upset her.

...

We arrived at O'Hare International Airport late Friday evening as it only takes a few hours to get to Chicago. Sophia was still giving me the cold shoulder after I had teased her about Tucker earlier in the day. I checked us into the hotel that the team was staying at and then the two of us made our way to our room.

"Are you still mad at me?" I ask Sophia as I unpack my suitcase. She mumbles something but it's not loud enough for me to hear it. I walk over and remove the headphones from her head so that she has to talk to me. "Hey!" she says in frustration. "Will you talk to me, please?" I sigh. "There's nothing to talk about," she says, still dismissing me. "There clearly is," I press. "I'm not mad. I just don't want to be teased about Tucker," she explains. "Noted. Won't happen again," I apologize and then walk away.

...

I'm awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of talking. I rub the sleep from my eyes and then look around the room. I realize the sound is coming from Sophia and quickly switch the lamp on. 

'She must be having another one of those nightmares.' 

The talking becomes louder as she begins to thrash in her bed. Suddenly, her eyes snap open and she begins to panic. I watch as she grips her chest in an attempt to force air into her lungs. I immediately throw the blankets off of me and make my way over to her.

Her fear-filled eyes look at me as she wipes the sweat from her forehead. I place my hands softly on either side of her face and try to help her calm down. "Hey it's okay. It was just a dream. You're safe," I soothe. "Alex I ca- I can't breathe," she stutters. I hold her hands above her head and get her to match my breathing. After a few minutes, she's able to calm down, but is still shaken up.

"You okay now?" I ask, still feeling concerned. "No," she whispers. I see her expression change as tears begin to fill her eyes. My heart breaks seeing her so upset. I wish I could take away the pain and fear that she's feeling. "Come on. Let's go for walk," I say extending my hand out to her. "But it's 4am," she says slightly confused. "I know. Bring a blanket," I tell her.