Chapter Four: The Note
1449 Words
Sophia couldn't stop thinking about him.
The moment she saw that man's face on her way home, everything Lena had told her came rushing back.
The tears.
The fear in Lena's voice.
The way she had described what happened.
And the fact that the man who had done it was walking around freely as if he hadn't destroyed someone's life.
Sophia had barely slept the night before. Even when she closed her eyes, she kept imagining Lena sitting on her bed, staring blankly at the wall.
She couldn't understand how someone could do something so terrible and still walk around without a single worry.
For hours, Sophia argued with herself.
Should she confront him?
Should she stay out of it?
What if he attacked her too?
What if confronting him made things worse?
But every time fear told her to stay away, another voice reminded her of Lena.
Her best friend.
The girl she had grown up with.
The person who had been there through almost every important moment of her life.
Sophia finally sat up on her bed and wiped the tears from her face.
"No," she whispered.
She couldn't just do nothing.
Even if she couldn't undo what had happened, she could at least let that man know that Lena wasn't alone.
Sophia took a deep breath and stood.
Her hands were shaking as she left the house.
She had no idea what she was going to say when she saw him. She only knew that she needed to get the anger out of her chest before it consumed her.
It didn't take long before she found him.
The moment their eyes met, he recognized her.
His expression changed.
For a second, he looked surprised.
Then he tried to walk away.
Sophia stepped in front of him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He stared at her.
"Do I know you?"
Sophia laughed bitterly.
"You know exactly who I am."
He said nothing.
"You're the man who r***d my friend."
The people nearby began turning their heads.
His face immediately tightened.
"Keep your voice down."
"Why?" Sophia snapped. "Are you ashamed now?"
He looked around nervously.
Sophia stepped closer.
"You had enough courage to hurt her, didn't you? You had enough courage to destroy her life. But now you're scared because somebody is saying the truth out loud?"
"Watch what you're saying."
"No, you watch what you do."
Her voice trembled, but she refused to back down.
"Lena trusted you. She rejected you, and instead of respecting her decision, you forced yourself on her. Do you even understand what you've done to her?"
He rolled his eyes.
"That girl is exaggerating."
Sophia froze.
For a moment, she couldn't believe what she had heard.
"Exaggerating?"
"Yes."
"You are unbelievable."
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.
"You hurt her, and you still have the nerve to stand here and pretend nothing happened."
"You're making a scene."
"You deserve a scene!"
Her voice became louder.
"You should be ashamed of yourself. You should be hiding somewhere instead of walking around like you're innocent."
He looked embarrassed now.
People were beginning to stare.
Sophia didn't care.
She had spent too much time watching Lena suffer in silence.
"I don't care who you think you are," she continued. "I don't care how powerful you believe you are. You will answer for what you did."
He stepped toward her.
"You'd better be careful."
Sophia's heart jumped, but she didn't move.
"Is that a threat?"
He said nothing.
"Because if you're threatening me, then you're making a very big mistake."
He glared at her.
Sophia pointed a finger at him.
"You ruined my friend's life. I don't know what you thought would happen after that, but I'm not going to sit back and watch you get away with it."
He scoffed.
"You can't do anything to me."
Sophia looked him straight in the eyes.
"We'll see."
She turned away.
Then she stopped.
Without looking back, she said quietly,
"You will pay for what you did."
She walked away before he could respond.
Her heart was pounding.
She was frightened.
But beneath the fear was something else.
Relief.
For the first time since Lena told her what happened, Sophia felt like she had done something.
It wasn't enough.
It could never be enough.
But it was something.
As she walked home, she kept thinking about Lena.
She wondered if Lena was awake.
She wondered if she had eaten.
She wondered if she was still crying.
Sophia suddenly wanted nothing more than to get home and sit beside her.
"I'll tell her everything," she whispered to herself.
She imagined Lena's reaction when she told her she had confronted the man.
Maybe she would be angry.
Maybe she would laugh.
Maybe she would tell Sophia she was crazy for doing something so dangerous.
Sophia smiled faintly.
For a moment, she could almost hear Lena's voice.
"You're so stubborn, Sophia."
She quickened her steps.
She wanted to get home.
She wanted to see her friend.
By the time Sophia got home, the sun had begun to disappear.
She opened the door and immediately called out.
“Lena?”
No answer.
Sophia frowned.
“Lena, I’m home!”
She dropped her bag on the chair.
“Where are you?”
Still nothing.
She walked through the sitting room and checked the bedroom.
Empty.
“Lena?”
Her voice became louder.
She checked the kitchen.
Nothing.
A strange feeling settled in her stomach.
“Lena, stop playing with me.”
She walked back toward the sitting room.
“I need to tell you something. I saw that guy today.”
Silence.
Sophia’s heart began beating faster.
“Lena?”
She called her friend’s name again and again.
Then she heard something.
A faint sound.
Sophia stopped.
She listened carefully.
It was coming from the bathroom.
Her heart sank.
“Lena?”
She hurried toward the bathroom and pushed the door open.
What she saw made the world around her seem to stop.
“Lena!”
Sophia screamed.
Her legs became weak.
She stumbled backward, staring in disbelief at her best friend.
“No… no, no, no.”
She couldn’t accept what she was seeing.
“Lena!”
Her voice broke as she began crying.
She rushed forward, desperately hoping that somehow she was wrong.
“Please…”
Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
“Please wake up.”
But Lena didn’t respond.
Sophia broke down.
“My friend…”
She cried so loudly that her voice echoed through the house.
“My friend is dead!”
She sank to the floor, covering her face with both hands.
“She was the only person I had.”
Sophia had known Lena since they were children. Their families had been close for years, and eventually, their friendship had become something deeper than friendship.
Lena was family.
She was the person Sophia called when she was happy, when she was sad, when she needed advice, and when she simply needed someone beside her.
And now she was gone.
Sophia couldn’t stop crying.
“Why did you leave me?”
Her eyes moved around the room until she noticed something in Lena’s hand.
A folded piece of paper.
Sophia hesitated before reaching for it.
Her hands shook as she opened it.
There were only a few lines written on the paper.
She began reading.
Sophia,
I’m so sorry.
Please forgive me.
I tried to be strong, but I couldn’t carry this anymore. The memories keep coming back, and I don’t know how to make them stop.
I can’t stop thinking about what happened. I can’t imagine having this child and knowing who the father is. Every time I think about it, I remember that day.
I wanted to be strong for you. I really did.
I’m sorry I couldn’t.
Please don’t blame yourself.
I love you.
Sophia’s vision became blurry.
The note slipped from her fingers.
“No…”
She picked it up again, reading the words over and over as though they might somehow change.
They didn’t.
A painful scream escaped her.
“Lena!”
She cried until her chest hurt.
She wished she had stayed with her.
She wished she had noticed how badly she was struggling.
She wished she had known what to say.
Most of all, she wished she could turn back the clock.
Sophia held the note tightly against her chest.
“You weren’t supposed to leave me…”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“You promised we’d always be together.”
Outside, the evening grew darker.
Inside the small house, Sophia sat alone with the unbearable reality that the person she had grown up with was gone.
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