The Lawyer

6-Best friends

Sophie POV

"Wow" Eddy says, mirroring my shock from yesterday, "so, have you told the guy?"

"You're not angry? Don't you want to shout and scream at me? Tell me how stupid I have been?" I ask.

"What would that achieve? You're probably stressed out enough as it is Soph. I'm not planning to pile on it." We sit in silence for a moment, my head leaning on his shoulder as we stare out at the view of the city from our place on the park bench.

"I want to be honest with you Sophie, I'm not ready to raise a child" he says quietly. I don't respond. I already knew this, I never expected him to. But the confirmation that I am losing him still stings.

"I'll be his favourite uncle though. Kid will be sick of me stealing his cookies and stuff" he jokes gently nudging me. "Just because we won't be a couple don't think you can shut me out ok? It's still Eddy and Sophie forever. It's just a different type of forever."

He wraps his arm around me bringing me closer into his side for a cuddle.

"I don't deserve you, I sniff as the tears begin to fall."

"Well no, I am pretty awesome" he smiles. "But no more tears. I'm not going anywhere, still gonna take you to Paris next month, it'll just be a bit more clothed than I planned" he promises, with a cheeky wink.

"Come on let's get back before you catch your death out here" he orders. Standing to pull me up by the hands. For the first time since we started speaking I look directly at his face. His red puffy eyes hit me like a physical pain in my chest. He is trying so hard to hold it together.

We link arms slowly walking back to Louise's house.

"So, does he know?" Eddy asks again.

"No."

"Not cool Sophie. You have to tell the guy." He chastises.

"I will, I just have to wrap my head around it myself first. I just need a little time." Eddy nods in understanding.

"I think I met him." He says after a pause, making me stop.

"What?"

"When I got back to our apartment there was a guy, he asked for you. I said you had moved out. I figured it was him, he's a bit older than I expected"

"Older? What did he look like?" I ask, I am not sure of Mr Canossa's age but it can't be much different to ours.

"Stocky bloke, but muscle kind of stocky, not fat. Around 5'10", Black hair with a bit of grey I'd guess around his fifties..."

"That's not him Eddy, it sounds like his driver. I wonder why he was there?" I say more to myself than him. "I'm really sorry about all this Eddy"

"You don't have to apologise, this was always a risk with our arrangement. Honestly I always thought it would be me that slipped up, and if I had I know you would have been the better person and stayed with me, while I'm a coward..." He shakes his head softly.

I don't say it but I know Eddy is right, if he had got a girl pregnant we would have worked through it, but that doesn't make me better than him. I take his hand, lacing my fingers between his and giving it a squeeze. Hoping to silently reassure us both that this is going to all work out.

Stroking the soft skin of his thumb with my own. We continue our walk back to Louise's.

"I'll have to buy a house." I say aloud as the thought occurs to me. Eddy nods slowly.

"I'll help you look if you want?" He offers.

"Yeah maybe, that would be nice." I smile softly, as we reach the house unlacing my fingers from his to fish the keys out of my bag.

Matt POV

"He said that she moved out, but he didn't give a forwarding address. Said If I knew Sophie so well I could ask her myself" Leo reports. I was hoping for better news when he returned from London.

I know I need help but I am not willing to risk asking anyone who works for the family business in case it gets back to Marc. My only other option is Nico, he has connections of his own, but we haven't spoken properly since our fight when Sophie left.

I know I was being irrational but at the time I blamed him for Thornton's death. It later came out that Thornton's death was an accident. He was driving towards the Alps when his car skid on ice hitting a snow bank. He wasn't found for days.

I called him to apologize when I found out but he is still being cold and I didn't want to push it. Then he'd think I only apologised to get information. But I'm out of options, I think calling his cell.

"Nico? I know you're pissed off, that's fair I'm a dick. But I need your help to find her before Marc does." I say into my cell. I am met with a stretch of silence before the call cuts. Fuck!

I sit with my elbows on the hard desk, resting my head in my hands. At a loss for what to do. Nico has been my friend as long as I remember, he's like a brother. It stings that he is still mad.

I just can't stop fucking up can I? Nico hates me, Sophie hates me, and when Lili finds out why Sophie left, her, Maddie and Marc will hate me too.

My cell vibrates against the desk, seeing it's Nico, I quickly answer.
"Nico?"
"She got a flight from Marco Polo to Rome. Stayed there until the sixth and got a flight back to a UK airport." He said, in less than an hour, he had made more progress than I had made in a month.

I want to respond but the lump in my throat is threatening to choke me.
"I'm working on an address, so when are we flying out?"