Calling In a Favor
1496 Words
Sophie was on her knees by the mantlepiece where a marble cherub once stood but was now reduced to rubble and powder.
Aunt Lucia avoided the broken statue like the plague, preferring the cuts of broken glass, to cleaning up the marble.
Her grandfather had sculpted it a few months before he was forced to go into care.
She, like Sophie, knew with the way her grandfather's health was steadily declining, that could very well be the last art piece made by the man who had raised them with all the love and care a child could dream of.
And now it lay in pieces, surrounded by broken luxuries that could never be as expensive a loss as it was.
Guilt made her clean it up so Lucia wouldn't have to because, though Aunt Lucia would shut down any self-blame, deep down Sophie felt she was responsible for the attack.
"A friend's warning," the leader had said. "You've flown too close to the sun, Sophonisba, and if you don't back down, you might lose your little wings."
They finally left with a promise to return for a final visit if they contacted the authorities.
Lucia entered the room with soft muttering, frowning when she saw how small a dent they had made in cleaning up.
They had gone to bed after hours of trying to calm Benji's anxious wolf, agitated because they were surrounded by the scents of the men who attacked them.
The plan had been to clear the mess and get rid of the scents before Benji woke up, but it seemed he would have to suffer another day at the pace they were working.
Sophie felt Lucia approach her and then drop to her knees beside her.
Wounded manicured hands began helping her gather the marble, lovingly cupping the powdered piece in and pouring it into the Trash bag.
"I-I'm sorry this ha..."
"To truly create," Lucia began.
"Is to know true loss," Sophie finished with a smile, having heard it from her grandfather too many times to forget.
"This isn't your fault, flower."
"I can't help thinking it is," she sighed, turning back to the little dust that remained where the statue once stood.
Then, a thought occurred to her and she voiced it.
"What if they come back?"
Shoulder to shoulder, Sophie could feel Lucia's shiver.
Of course, Lucia had already thought of it; she wouldn't be the woman she was if she hadn't.
"We might have to leave and lay low for a while. Until we're sure, no one's coming after us."
Sophie shook her head. "But you love the house, and what about Benji's school?"
Lucia smiled, but it didn't reach her warm honey-brown eyes. "I don't think we have much of a choice."
F*cking werewolves and ruining everything, came the bitter thought but then Sophie remembered Benji, who was good, and immediately felt guilty.
But there was another shifter who wasn't quite as good but could be with the right incentives.
"I have to make a call," she decided out loud and rose to her feet.
"Take your time. We need to pause for breakfast anyway."
Sophie nodded then hurried away and up the stairs before she lost her nerves.
The attic Sophie and Ava called their own was colorful, the walls a testament to Sophie's creativity. It was large enough to support two beds and separate areas for Sophie's art and Ava's sewing machine, mannequins, and other supplies.
She headed for her cluttered desk and found the music box easily.
The card was right where she had left it, and beside it was the ring.
Grabbing the box, she perched on her unmade bed, set it down on her lap, and brought out her phone.
Her heart jumped at the sound of the first ring, and her stomach tied in knots at the second.
It continued ringing without any sign of a response, and she worried about her bottom lip, suddenly feeling nervous.
The sun was just rising on the horizon, and she could see some movement in the street, so it couldn't be too early for him to take calls.
The call ended unanswered, and she pulled the phone away from her ears, disappointed.
Maybe it was a sign...
~Take it from me, there's no better team.
Take it from me, we're living the dream.
The heights that we've...
Startled, she hit the answer button before she was ready and brought the phone to her ear.
"Sophie?" Nicholas' sleep-roughened voice greeted her.
"Good morning. I— wait. How did you know it was me?"
"Giving you my card was a formality. I've had your number since New Year."
Why did he have to be so damn creepy.
"Did you call to demonstrate your breathing skills, or do you have something to say?"
"I need... Yes."
"You need, yes?" He repeated with all the patience of a sinner.
"No," she smiled, feeling oddly amused. "We were attacked last night by a group of guys..."
There was rustling in the background, and Sophie tried to picture what the bed in his room looked like. Probably the same one she had been tempted to roll around in after her shower.
"What happened? Was anyone hurt?"
"They trashed the living room and said some stuff to me about flying too close to the sun."
His breath hitched.
"We're all a bit shaken, my cousin especially cause he's a shifter but we're fine—"
She paused then shook her head. "No. We're not fine. I'm scared. My aunt says we might have to leave the house and lay low for a while and I don't want that for us. Having to spend months or maybe years looking over our shoulders, waiting for the next attack. But I don't know what else we can do so I called you."
Her rant came to an end with a swell of tears in her eyes that she quickly wiped away.
If she let one tear slip, she would be full-on sobbing in a matter of minutes, and she had already been too vulnerable with him.
"I'll be there in an hour or so. No one leaves the house until I get there."
Sophie nodded and the call ended with a beep, no goodbye or reassurance
It painted a worrying picture of the kind of life she was about to commit to, but she had no choice.
Sophie laid down, dark red hair spilling across the pillow, and allowed herself to get lost in her breathing.
The plan was to close her eyes for a little while and rest until she was called down for breakfast. But she was far more exhausted than she had thought, and Sophie soon found herself sinking into sleep's embrace.
"Sophie." A voice whispered as hands gently shook her awake.
The redhead grumbled and burrowed her face deeper into the pillow, hoping it would make the person go away.
Rather than leave, the hand began traveling, down her shoulders until they rested on the curve of her hip, covered by her pajama shorts.
She frowned, debating whether to open her eyes or not but that decision was taken from her by the sudden burst of pain on her butt and the echo of it in the room.
Sophie launched herself upright, hissing softly when the fabric of her shorts brushed against the inflamed skin.
She turned to the man, sitting innocently on the edge of her bed, with wide shocked eyes.
"Did— did you just slap my *ss?"
"It got you up." He answered, shamelessly.
"Is slapping the asses of unconscious women some kind of creepy kink you have?" She whined as she rubbed at the sore sport.
She was exaggerating, really.
Nicholas hadn't hit her that hard, as if he knew how much strength to put into the blow, but Sophie didn't like that she had been exposed to his pervy eyes and hands while asleep.
"I forget my manner around beautiful women," he practically purred, blue eyes flicking down to her exposed thighs and then back up to her shocked browns. "Especially the beautiful woman who is about to become my wife."
He grabbed her hand and softly stroked the ring she had definitely not had on when she went to sleep.
"Lucia told me everything I need to know and I think I have an idea of who is behind this visit."
Sophie perked up, her lips curving with a relieved smile.
"So you can stop them and we'll be safe?"
Nicholas' expression became careful and still, like a doctor delivering bad news, and her smile dulled.
"I'm afraid it's not that easy. Do you remember when I said being engaged to you has opened doors for me?"
She nodded.
"Well, there are people out there who will do anything to close those doors, including scaring my Fiancée out of marrying me or worse."
An otherworldly chill swept over Sophie and she shivered. "Worse?”
- Writer
