𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝

twenty-one

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ | not soon enough | ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

real life | miami
the rivera house
- november 25th, 2021

       WITH TEARS BLURRING her vision, Sophia stumbled into her childhood bedroom. She closed the door behind her and locked it before resting her forehead against the wooden door. Dinner just ended, and Sophia took her opportunity to escape at first chance. She hated it here. She hated coming home— It's not home. She hated coming to Miami. Every time she did, Sophia left feeling worse about herself.

Turning around to face her childhood bedroom, Sophia let out a shaky sigh. She hated this room too. The walls were an off-white because her mother wouldn't let her paint them a fun color be side she thought Sophia would change her mind. She probably would have, but at least the room would be less depressing now. The room was blank. You couldn't even tell she ever lived here.

Sophia wished she was one of those people who actually left personal items in her childhood bedroom—Extra clothes, old stuffed animals, just things— But no. If she left this room today, she would never have to come back. She took everything with her when she left for Los Angeles. So the walls were blank. Every drawer was empty. The comforter set on the bed was one her mother to replace the one Sophia took with her to LA. This wasn't her room.

Wiping some of her tears, Sophia wasn't surprised when more tears flooded her eyes. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with her family. Taking a deep breath, Sophia thought the next couple hours through carefully. She could go to bed now, sleep for a couple hours, and then wake up early to go to the airport extra early. She would much rather wait in the terminal of the airport for a few hours then be in this house. Hell, if she could, she would leave right now.

The blonde was pulled away from her thoughts when she felt her phone vibrating in her back pocket of her jeans. Looking down at the phone, Sophia's eyes widened when she saw a FaceTime call from Andrew. Shit, she told him to call her.

Sophia positioned the phone for the camera to face the ceiling and answered while she rushed to a mirror, desperate to not look like she was crying. "Hey."

"Hi Moony, so happy you're still alive." Andrew smiled at the phone and Sophia couldn't help but blush a little at his appearance. How did he always look so attractive? "Moony?"

"Yeah?" She replied back, wincing when her voice cracked. Closing her eyes, Sophia prayed that Andrew didn't know her well enough to be aware that something was wrong.

"Show me your face," He told her sternly and Sophia let out a sigh. She lifted the phone up, revealing her tear-stained face. "What happened, love?"

"The people I'm related to happened." Sophia whispered softly as she leaned her phone against the mirror of her childhood vanity. She hugged her legs, leaning her chin on her knees. "I lost count of how many times they said the phrases we were counting."

"What did they say?" Andrew asked in a gentle voice, just wanting to relax the girl.

"It's time for you to come home and begin your life, Sophia! Get married, have children, find a real job!" She rambled dramatically. "And they'll use any chance they get to bring up the fact that I don't have a college degree!"

"I don't understand how they think these things of you. You own a beautiful house, you have enough money to last you a lifetime, you have one of the most successful YouTube channels," Andrew sighed, shaking his head. "You're also a bloody actress who has a series coming out this summer and are a front-runner for a role in Marvel, one of the biggest companies ever! And you did all of this before you turned 25!"

"But that's not enough for them." Sophia whispered, tears verging her eyes and Andrew's heart broke at the sight.

"Then their opinion shouldn't matter to you," Andrew told her, shaking her head. "Because you're pretty fucking amazing, Sophia."

"Thank you." She gave him a sad smile and her next words were leaving her mouth before she knew it. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, love," Andrew whispered, giving her a grin. "But I'll see you tomorrow."

"Not soon enough." Sophia admitted, wiping some of her tears and Andrew laughed.

"You text me as soon as you leave the mall tomorrow, okay? So I can be at your house when you get there," Andrew said and Sophia nodded excitedly. "So I can hug you and hold you in my arms and not let you go."

"Till Monday." She reminded him.

"Had to bring that up, didn't you Moony?" Andrew smirked. "Come to London in December."

"Okay." Sophia agreed softly.

Andrew's eyes widened on the screen and he grinned, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously," Sophia smiled back and both of them grabbed their laptops. "I'm paying for my ticket though."

"No the hell you're not." Andrew scoffed, shaking his head and Sophia giggled, rolling her eyes.