Loving Him

Chapter 30

Sophie tried so hard to concentrate on the show she was supposed to be watching but her mind kept drifting. She'd been going to the hospital everyday since that first time and if anybody asked, she might dare to say Alex was almost as happy seeing her as she was seeing him.

Except for the fact that he couldn't sit up completely without feeling the pain from the suture point in his abdominal region, and the occasional exhaustion he tried but failed to conceal whenever she was around, he seemed to be healing really well and his doctor had informed them that if he continued that way, he would be discharged in no time.

She felt kind of guilty that she wasn't spending as much time as she probably should have been with her family. She had explained to them that she might not be visiting frequently for the mean time. They were both curious as to why, but she had promised to explain that in due time.

At the moment, she was in the Adams' house, waiting for Raymond to get back from work so she could go to the hospital. It was mid term for Angel and her school was on break so she'd volunteered to stay with the girl during the day but she had to admit she'd been constantly glancing at the clock, counting the minutes that was left before she could go to the hospital.

"Aunt Sophie... Can I ask you something? And you have to promise to be honest with me."

Interrupted from her wandering thoughts, Sophie turned fully to face Angel, she hadn't been conscious of what was going on on the TV anyway. She didn't want to make any promise when she didn't know what her question was so she gave a slightly different answer, "I promise to answer as honestly as I can."

Angel nodded, satisfied enough with that. "Where's daddy?"

Flustered, Sophie blinked. Once. Twice. "What do you mean?"

"He told me he was traveling but I heard him and uncle Ray whispering about a hospital and surgery. I've tried to ask but Uncle Ray has been avoiding giving me an answer. Is he sick?"

Sophie was at a loss of how to respond. She had always known Angel was going to figure it out eventually and there was no way they were going to completely keep her in the dark about this, but how exactly was she supposed to answer?

She finally settled for, "Your dad is fine."

"But he is in a hospital?" Angel probed further.

Sophie kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to lie to her but she wasn't going to be the one to explain the whole thing to her either.

Her silence must have been answer enough because the girl jumped off the couch and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Sophie called after her.

"My room," Angel replied vaguely as she ran up the stairs, leaving a confused Sophie staring after her.

She soon came back down the stairs, dressed in a white T shirt, jean trousers and sneakers.

"And where do you think you are going?" Sophie demanded, although she had an idea where. She just hoped Angel wasn't about to put her on the spot.

"The hospital," Angel replied nonchalantly. "You're taking me to see daddy."

"No, I'm not doing any such thing," Sophie refuted, getting up from the couch and taking on a commanding posture, both hands on either side of her hips.

Angel did the same, assuming a stubborn and unwavering stance. "Yes, you are."

"I didn't even confirm that he was at a hospital," Sophie pointed out, knowing that was a weak argument.

Angel just raised both her brows at her and clammed her lips together even tighter in an expression that read, Really?

"I'm not taking you," Sophie stated, channelling her voice to sound as final as possible.