The Slot (Rochester Riot #1)(23)

Chapter Nine

“Sophia!” Eloise screamed, her throat hurting from calling out for hours. “Sophia!”

Cold. Wet. Inconsolable.

Twigs snapped beneath her feet. A nefarious howl in the distance – splitting her ears in half. Only the wind, she told herself. Scared, so scared. She couldn’t see the path in the darkness, couldn’t see the naked branches that reached out to scrape her bare arms like witches’ claws. Hannah bawled her head off as Eloise dragged her in tow.

“Sophia, where are you?”

Her foot struck something solid, and she stumbled forward, falling against the cold stones of the bridge footings.

“Ellie,” a tiny voice whimpered.

Sophia. The name popped up in stark white on the phone’s tiny screen as Eloise rolled over and grabbed it off her nightstand. She was thankful to have been wakened from the awful dream and equally grateful that it was Saturday morning. A respite from the residuals after her fall from grace.

“Hey, Soph,” she croaked in her morning voice. Hoping her sister wouldn’t see right through her happy weekend charade and start demanding answers. Because she had none to give. She hated herself even more than Sheehan Murphy or Cole Fiorino hated her.

“Did I wake you?” Sophie’s smooth voice floated over her, coating her frayed nerves in sisterly solidarity. No questions asked.

Eloise rubbed her eyes with her free hand. “Yeah, but I’m glad. I was dreaming about that night you got lost in the woods behind our old house. Freaky that you called.”

Sophia fell silent for a moment. “Maybe you were dreaming about me for a reason,” she said, her voice cracking.

“What’s wrong?” Eloise asked immediately, fully awake now and in take-charge mode. She’d always been the one to look after her sisters and could tell when they were upset.

“It’s Phil,” she said, a sob forming in her throat. “We broke up yesterday.”

“Oh no, honey. I’m so sorry. You guys were together forever. I thought he’d proposed to you ages ago. What happened?”

“He said he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to be married. We were driving around in that new subdivision, looking at the Parade of Homes just for fun, you know. I started noticing all the kids’ rooms and nurseries and said how nice to have a room like that for our kids someday. He didn’t say anything then, but when the salesman started talking to us, assuming we were a married couple and talking mortgages and financing, he just snapped. He sulked in the car all the way home, and when I asked what’s wrong, he said he doesn’t want to get married. Ever.”

Eloise let out a long sigh. “That’s harsh. I’m sorry, Soph. I wish I could help, but I’ve given up trying to understand men. They just seem to do what they do, no rhyme or reason.”

Sophia sniffed back tears. “That’s not all,” she squeaked.

“It’s not?” A feeling of dread crept up Eloise’s neck, the hairs at her nape beginning to stand on end. “Tell me.”

“Oh, El, I’m so scared.”

As scared as you were when you got lost in the woods and hid under the stone bridge? As scared as I was, hunting in the dark for you, dragging Hannah behind me? As scared as I was, waking up abandoned and alone there with half my clothes off and pain so severe between my legs I puked up the remnants of half a bottle of liquor?

“The reason I was so hyper focused on the nurseries was, well…”

“Oh no, honey.” Eloise closed her eyes, fearing the words that might come next. Anticipating. Knowing.

Sophia audibly sobbed, trying to collect her voice. “I think I might be pregnant.”

Eloise felt a golf ball sized knot form in her throat. No. She did not just hear that. She swallowed hard. “You think? You’re not sure?”

“Not yet. I’m afraid to go to our family doctor, in case it gets back to Mom and Dad. I don’t want to break their hearts. I’m not married.”

“There’s patient confidentiality, Soph. That won’t happen. You should go. You’ll feel better once you know either way.”

“I know, I know. I don’t suppose you could come home for a few days?” her sister’s voice rose with every plea she made. “I miss you, and I could really use your company, your advice. You’ve always been the strong one, El. You always know what to do. Could you come?”

Eloise’s heart thumped in her ears, threatening to split and burst. She loved her sisters more than anything, but she couldn’t get away right now. The strong one. Always knowing what to do. Yeah, right. She didn’t feel so strong at the moment. And what she’d just done. Well… it was wrong on so many damn levels.

“I’ll see. Let me work on it. In the meantime, go get one of the drugstore test kits. Maybe it’ll be negative. Don’t get upset until you know, but do it quickly. How long since your last period?”

“I’ve only missed one. I’m a week late.”

Praise be to God. “Okay then, don’t worry. Get the test and call me back.”

“Okay. Okay, I…I will.” Sophia took a big breath in, her sniffles lessening. “Thanks, El. I’m sorry, I’m being selfish burdening you with all my problems. What about you, how are things going in Minnesota? Are you dating anyone?”