Page 16 of Missed Notes (Rixon High 5)

God, just the thought of it had my stomach churning like a stormy sea.

“Shh,” Dad soothed, tightening his arm around me and Mom. “It’ll all be okay, baby. We’re here. We’re right here.” His voice cracked and I sobbed harder.

Because hearing my dad—the one man who would do anything to protect me—break, broke something inside of me too.

“We love you, Sofia. We love you so freaking much, sweetheart. You can fight this.” He kissed my head.

And I held on tight, letting myself have this moment of weakness, knowing it wouldn’t be the last time I did.

* * *

“Sofia?”Aaron’s voice rang out through the house.

“In here,” I called from my position on the living room sectional.

I’d been here all day, lying under a blanket, snacking on Oreo minis and Cheetos while I binge-watched Netflix.

Dad stayed with me the first couple of hours, trying to keep the mood light and the jokes flowing. But after a while, he began to get on my nerves, so I’d banished him to his home office.

My brother appeared. “What are we watching?”

“Just some docuseries about— oh, it’s you.” My eyes narrowed on Cole who stood awkwardly in the door.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

“Come on, Sofe. Cut Kandon some slack.” Aaron chuckled, diving over the back of the couch and patting the space next to him. “Get over here, bro.”

“Maybe I should just go,” he said.

“Nah, Kandon. Sofia will behave. Besides, I can’t have my two favorite people arguing all year. It’s not good for my feng shui.”

“Your feng shui? Wow,” I balked. “You are such an asshole.”

“And you’re such a cranky bitch lately, but you don’t see me complaining.” He grinned at me, and I flipped him off.

“Can’t you two go and hang out in the man cave or something?”

“And leave you here all alone? Not gonna happen, Sis.”

“Whatever.” I rolled my eyes and laid back down, refusing to look at either of them. But I felt Cole’s heated stare, feeling everything he wanted to say and wouldn’t, not in front of my brother.

“Can you come back to school tomorrow?” Aaron asked, scrolling on his phone.

“Yeah, I’ll be back.”

“Good. Place isn’t the same without you.” He smiled at whatever had his interest.

“Let me guess, Poppy?” I arched a brow and he smirked at me.

“Correct. We have an away game Friday in Pittsburgh. You’re going to come, right?”

“Is everyone staying over?”

“That’s the plan.”

“I don’t know.”

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