Loving Him

Chapter 26

Alex didn't call or come looking for her to apologize for everything he'd said and profess his unending love for her. Nope, Sophie had to deal with Ama's sympathetic look every time she'd practically jumped at her phone when it so much as beeped only to slump back down in disappointment when she realized it wasn't him. The worse part was; it didn't look like she'd be getting used to that feeling of disappointment anytime soon.

It's been three days and the only sort of communication between them-- if it could even be called that-- had been when he'd transferred the balance to her and even added a little extra. It had surprised her when she'd seen the alert because it was usually Raymond who paid her and it had also irked her because it held too much significance, too much finality.

Ama didn't share her sentiment as she had been more than glad at Alex's generosity-- her words exactly and Sophie was left wondering if it was the same person who had been diligently planning his extinction just the day before.

She probably would have sunk into borderline depression save for the constant reminder that she was going to see her mum and sister in a few days. And the day had finally arrived. She pushed the thought of Alex far back, he wasn't going to ruin her good day.

She was currently at the airport, waiting for her two favourite people to show up at any moment.

"Sophie!"

Her whole face lit up and a huge grin split her face as she heard the sound of her sister's voice. Before she could so much as turn her head, a huge force had slammed against her, almost knocking her to the ground. She laughed heartily as she wrapped her hands around Hope who was currently clinging onto her like a deprived two year old.

"I missed you!" Hope exclaimed as if she wasn't making it obvious enough.

"Me too." And she did. Oh lord, she did. She squeezed her eyes shut and savored the feeling of being able to wrap her sister in a tight embrace after so long without the fear that she might break at any minute. Tears stung her eyes and she struggled to blink them away, refusing to break down in front of hundreds of people.

They stood like that for what seemed like forever until Hope finally untangled herself from Sophie, her eyes as misty as Sophie's were. Sophie had to look up at her because Hope was much more taller than her. She was wearing a denim jump suit and white sneakers. She took in her sister's bright face, the pale and sickly pallor was gone and the light was back in her eyes. She looked so alive, so much different from the last time they saw each other.

Sophie was consumed with so much happiness that she didn't even know when she started tearing up again. "God, I missed you so much."

"I know. Please, don't cry here," Hope scolded gently, wrapping her arms around her briefly. She knew how overwhelming it was for Sophie. It was equally as overwhelming for her. While she had pretended to be optimistic about the whole situation, a part of her had dreaded that she wasn't going to survive and she'd leave and cause pain to the two people she cared about the most.

"I'm not. I'm really not," Sophie insisted even though no one had refuted it the first time, trying her best to stay calm. Sophie's arms were soon gone and were replaced by a much more pudgy ones.

"Mummy," she choked out, wrapping her mum in a warm hug. She'd forgotten for a moment there that her mum was also present.

Sophie could feel her mum's wet cheeks against her own. That was one person that didn't care if they had an audience or not.

"I missed you, mum. So much," Sophie whispered when they finally pulled apart. "I'm so happy you're back, both of you."

"Yeah, that's enough," Hope butt in before her mum could reply. "But let's not forget we're at the airport and people are staring, okay?"