Rystelle

shadows.

Will do. Sophia replied. She gave her parents hugs and kisses farewell and loaded up her car with the goodies her mom had given her. A couple of minutes later she was parked over at her family's cafe. Grabbing Tim's jeans--now clean-sshe walked over to the building where the bakery was located, entered the side door, and made her way up the stairs. She opened the door and made her way in. Tim was nowhere to be seen, but she could hear the water running in the bathroom. Sophia sat down on the couch and put Tim's jeans down on the coffee table. Thinking it best to let know Tim she was there, she sent him a quick text. I'm here. Waiting in the living room.

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The reply was simple. Extremely simple. And yet it made Sophia happy regardless. She knew Tim didn't always have the right words for certain situations, but she was glad that he had at least replied in some way. She sent back the same emoji, coupled with a smiling one, just for the hell of it. You didn't always need words to express what you felt. Deciding to do a bit of house cleaning before bed, Sophia went into her bathroom where she stored her dirty laundry and grabbed the basket. Tim's jeans and sweater were already in there. After doing the laundry and getting it all put away Sophia decided it was time to go to bed. Heading to sleep, she text Tim as she curled up underneath her blankets. I'll see you tomorrow. She didn't say it, but Sophia had put on a pair of pajama pants and Tim's sweater to sleep in. She didn't know why but it gave her a bit of comfort, and after the day she had had she needed it. Sophia put her phone on to charge and pulled the blankets over her. It took a little while but eventually she drifted off to sleep. No nightmares disturbed her, and she was able to sleep through the night. When morning came she dressed and went to visit her family for a while. Her mom had two pies for her--one cream with bits of fruit and nuts, and the other lemon meringue. After her visit Sophia sent a text to Tim saying: Happy Thanksgiving! Coming to get you now. Be ready. =)

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Sophia smiled when she's saw Tim's text. What he didn't know was that Sophia wasn't inviting him over simply because of what happened in the past. In fact, that wasn't even her main driving factor. She wanted to spend the holiday with Tim because she liked hanging out with him. Even with all his awkwardness he was fun and nice to be around. And she would honestly rather spend Thanksgiving with just her and Tim, rather than her family. Family was good and all, but Sophia knew that if she was to be with them for dinner tomorrow she would get bombarded with the same questions she did at family gatherings. "How's school?" "How's work?" "Are you still seeing that David fellow?" "No? Well do you have a boyfriend?" "No? Then how are you ever going to get married and give your parents grandbabies?" It was the same old thing over and over and Sophia was sick of it. She was sick of listening to family yammer and go on and on about how she needed to find a man and start settling down. For once she wanted a nice quiet holiday with just herself and a friend or two. The only person available was Tim, but Sophia did not mind. If anything, Tim was the only person she really wanted to be around at the moment. Sophia's thoughts drifted back to Tim, the comfortable sweater he had let her keep, accidentally falling asleep beside him last night, seeing him smiling happily. She caught herself day dreaming and shook her head to clear the thoughts. She looked at her phone for a moment and wondered how she replied. Eventually she just said: Thanks. It actually means a lot to me.

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Sophia paused in the middle of cooking to check her phone. She made a great show of rolling her eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh as she read Tim's message. He kept saying that he was fine on his own--and maybe he was--but Sophia wasn't taking that chance. Besides, she had already canceled on her family. It would seem pathetic if she turned up after all because Tim had refused to come. The thought made her feel sad. She typed out, You're coming over tomorrow and that's final! oT_To No more arguing! She hit send and then went back to making her dinner. If Tim doesn't come tomorrow, Sophia thought glumly, then I'm going to start putting salt in his coffee. Sophia wouldn't really do that, of course, but she liked to imagine Tim's face as he drank salted coffee. Dinner ready, Sophia sat back down on the couch to eat and watch TV while waiting for Tim's next reply.

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Sophia heard her phone buzz. She quickly finished off the lizardfols she had been fighting and paused the game. Pulling out her phone she couldn't help but smile when she was it was from Tim. She smiled further as she read his message. She was glad that he had finished his work today. It meant he wouldn't have to finish it tomorrow. That's awesome! She texted back. The finishing the work part. Not the bored part. Remember to eat! I'm about to myself, after I beat this one section in my game. Kinda slacked off on getting dinner. She hit send, put her phone back on the coffee table, and picked up her controller. Sophia un-paused and continued her game until she was able to get to a good spot where she saved and quit. Setting the controller aside, she stood up and stretched, feeling at ease now. Still, she couldn't help but cast a wary eye at her bedroom door as she made her way into the kitchen. She looked through the fridge until she decided what she wanted to make. Once all the ingredients were together she started cooking, all while mentally planning what she would make for dinner tomorrow for her and Tim. But Sophia had no idea what dishes Tim might like and dislike. She decided to go ahead and send him another text. What kind of things do you like to eat? It's for tomorrow. I don't want to make something you won't like.

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Sophia heard her ringtone go off but she ignored it. She was too freaked out right now. Her door to her living room was now a fucking portal to the... the other world! She couldn't go out, couldn't escape. Not unless she climbed out her bedroom window. But that she was on the second floor. Should she call Tim? What would he even be able to do though? Sophia realized she was trapped. She would just have to wait it out. Just wait until the thing disappeared. She paced around and around her room like a caged animal. Occasionally she would spare glances at the door, wondering how long it would take for it to disappear. Suddenly Sophia felt herself not over come by fear, but by rage. That stupid cave! If only she and Tim hadn't gone into that stupid cave none of this would have happened! What was with that other world anyway? Almost everything was exactly the same, but wherever they popped out seemed empty. There was no life there. Except in one case there had been. When Tim had been trapped in the bathroom and tortured by the vision of his past. What the hell kind of world was that? She had promised Tim they wouldn't go to that place anymore. She had promised... They wouldn't go through it. But she alone would. "Fuck it!" Sophia cried angrily. She stormed to her closet, threw open the door, and pulled on a spare pair of tennis shoes. She grabbed one of her knives and held it in her hand. If she just pressed a button the blade would pop up. Feeling as ready as she could be, Sophia opened her bedroom door. Sure enough, the tunnel was still there. She took a deep breath and walked through it with a slight idea of what she might find on the other side. Sophia walked through the tunnel until she came to another door. She opened it and stepped out into what looked like her living room, but wasn't. None of her furniture was there. None of her knickknacks or gaming systems. She searched the rooms and found no one. Sophia walked over to the doors leading out to the balcony and opened them. She stepped outside and looked around. She could see the other buildings of her apartment complex, but they all looked empty. Balconies and windows that she knew were usually filled with things were now void of all decorations. The air was quiet. No birds chirped. No traffic could be heard along the main road. It was eerie. Unsettling. Suddenly Sophia heard a voice whispering in her ear. She whipped around to see who it was, but no one was there. "Who's there?!" Sophia demanded. Silence, and then... "Sophia..." The voice was in her ear again. Low, menacing. Sophia whipped around again. No one. Her heart was beginning to race, her palms started to sweat. "Sophiaaaaaa...." The next moment there were a medley of voices playing in her head. Soft ones, loud ones, sinister ones. Encouraging her to do things. Sometimes unspeakable things, other times just weird things that seemed to make no sense. Shadows seemed to swarm all around her, reaching for her, grasping at her, laughing at her. Sophia bolted back into the apartment and slammed the balcony door closed. But still the voices followed her. She pulled her bedroom door open to find that it was still connected to the tunnel. Instantly the voices died away, but Sophia did not stop running until she was safe in her room. Her real room. She dove for her bed and hid under the covers. The voices were gone now but still she shook violently. She had been so scared. Scared that she was schizophrenic like her Aunt Madeline, like her Grandma Ann, like her great-grandmother, and that until now it had just been latent, waiting for the right time to show. Sophia knew what schizophrenia could do to a person, what it could cause them to do. She was scared of what she might be like, what she might do to her loved ones. Might she one day succumbed to imaginary voices that told her to try to strangle her grandchild in the middle of the night? Sophia remembered the frightful night when she had stayed at her grandmother's house. Her Grandma Ann had not been taking her medication. No one knew. In the middle of the night Ann got up, followed the voice of a "higher power", and tried to strangle Sophia to death. She might have succeeded if it wasn't for her dog Rueger who had been sleeping with Sophia. The dog adored Sophia and wouldn't let anyone harm her--even family. Rueger bit Ann, causing her to release Sophia so she could escape. Sophia recalled running through the house, grabbing the house phone, and locking herself in the pantry where she made the hysterical call to her parents. Sophia closed her eyes against the tears and wished that Tim was there with her. She didn't want to be alone. Didn't want to be by herself in complete and utter silence. But Tim had work to do. She couldn't bother him all the time. And she didn't want to tell him that she had gone through the tunnel again when she had said they wouldn't. She remembered why she had tried to leave her room in the first place. She had been going to find dinner. But now Sophia had no appetite at all. Pulling out her phone she saw Tim's message and checked it. She responded back, Glad to hear you've gotten a lot of work done. Be sure to get some food though! She herself probably wouldn't eat for a while, but she wasn't going to say that. She didn't want to give Tim any sort of idea that everything wasn't ok. She had to get back to normal. Crawling out from her bed Sophia went and checked her bedroom door. Everything was as it should be. Letting out a sigh of relief she walked into the living room, went to turn on the XBox 360, thought about it, and turned on the Wii instead. She grabbed the controller and plopped down onto the couch. She would just play some Legend of Zelda for a while, she decided. That would calm her down.

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When Sophia returned to her apartment she realized it felt a bit lonely without Tim around. She shook her head to clear the thought. He had work to do, and so did she. They couldn't be together all the time. Sometimes you needed to be alone for the while. Besides, he would be over tomorrow afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. That reminded Sophia. She needed to call her mom and let her know of her plans. Pulling out her phone Sophia unlocked it and dialed her mom. The phone rang a few times but finally Renee picked up. "Hey, mom," Sophia greeted, smiling a bit as she paced the living room. "Hey, sweetie," Renee replied. "Enjoying your time off." Sophia nodded without thinking about it. She caught herself and said, "I am. Been hanging out with my friend Tim." "So you two are getting along well then?" "Oh yeah," Sophia answered as she grinned happily. "Do you know if he's going to see his family tomorrow?" Sophia grimaced a bit as she recalled the story of Tim's mom. She couldn't tell her own mother that so all she said was, "Nah, he doesn't have any family around here." Even though they were over the phone Sophia could tell her mother was smiling as she declared, "Then bring him over here! No one will mind, and he seems like an awfully sweet boy." Ah, here was the hard part. "About that," Sophia started off a bit slowly. "I've already invited him over to my place for dinner. He's actually really shy and kind of bad with people. I don't want him to feel crowded, but I also don't want him to sit home alone on Thanksgiving, ya know? So I thought we could do something simple together." Sophia felt bad for not going to dinner with her family, so she quickly added, "But I'll still come see y'all in the morning! I hope that's ok?" Renee let out a light chuckle. "That's my daughter," she said happily. "Ever the thoughtful one. Don't worry about it, sweetie. You two have fun. If you like I'll make a nice cake or pie for you to take home with you after your visit tomorrow. Does that sound good?" Sophia's face split into a wide grin. Her mom was so kind and understanding. "Sounds great! Thanks, mom. Listen, I need to get working on some school work now. I'll see you tomorrow. Tell dad I love him." "Will do, baby. Good luck on your work. See you tomorrow." The call ended and Sophia couldn't help but keep grinning. She was relieved that her mother understood her reasons--though she always had--and also if she was honest she was really excited that her mom would make them something for desert. Feeling utterly blissful, Sophia stripped down and went to take a shower. After washing off and changing clothes she sat down at her desk in her room, powered on her computer, and started to work. It was late evening now and Sophia had just finished all her work. She stood up from her chair and stretched, glad that she was finished but happy that she had been productive today. "Alright!" She declared to herself. "Time for some supper!" Taking out her phone she looked at it to see if she had any messages. There was nothing of importance. Looking at her old messages Sophia decided to text Tim, just for the heck of it. How are things going? She asked. I just finished all of my work! ^_^ Time for dinner now! Sophia typed even as she walked across her bedroom. She stopped before her closed door to hit send, then put her phone in her pocket. She opened her door and found herself looking out--not at her living room--but at a corridor of rock embedded with sparkling gems. "SONUVABITCH!" Sophia shouted angrily, quickly slamming the door again.

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Tim's embarrassment spread to Sophia and she felt her cheeks flare red. She hadn't expected him to tell her to keep the sweater, not that she didn't like it. The design was minimal and it was big on her, but it was comfy and warm. Something she could probably easily sleep in. And Tim thought she look good in it. Sophia tried not to blush further and managed to succeed in not appearing too... embarrassed? No. Happy? Yeah, that was it. She was happy. Incredibly so. And it was probably over the stupidest, strangest thing. But still Sophia was happy. "Alright," Sophia agreed after a while. She managed to give Tim a lopsided smile. "But I'll still return your pants later once I've washed them. Anyway, we should probably get going now." Sophia took their empty dishes and stacked them in the sink. "I'll wash those when I come back," she said as she shrugged on her jacket. Then she put on her shoes and grabbed her keys and wallet and phone while waiting for Tim to get ready. Sophia put her hands in her jacket pockets and found the pocket knife she had borrowed the other day. Handing it to Tim she said, "Here you go. I forgot this was in my pocket. All ready?" Tim took the knife and put it into his pocket while nodding. "Ready." They left the apartment and Sophia drove them to Tim's place. She walked with him to the door of his apartment, both feeling a bit nervous. What if there was one of those tunnels in there again? What if it had never disappeared? Tim opened the apartment door and quickly pushed it open. The kitchen wall, from what they could see, was smooth and whole once more. Still, for security of mind the two did a quick sweep of the entire apartment. When it was found to be clear they relaxed and were able to breath more easily. Tim walked Sophia to the door and she stood in the hallway looking at him. "I had fun," she said, giving him a smile. "Thanks for hanging out with me, Tim. I'll let you get your work down now though. Just call me again if anything happens--both weird or normal. I'll come and get you tomorrow. Just text me what time would be good for you." She stood there awkwardly for a moment, shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Sophia wanted to give Tim a hug--she hugged all her friends--but she knew that, when awake, he was still a little awkward on physical contact. That and the incident of last night deterred her a little. Eventually Sophia just decided against the hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tim," Sophia said. She managed to give him a smile and turned to go.

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Sophia was a little disappointed, but at the same time she was extremely happy. Tim wanted to hang out with her. Just a few days ago he was holing himself up in his apartment, interacting with no one unless he had to. But now here he was, already starting to get comfortable around Sophia and wanting to be around her and do things together. It made her happy that he had already progressed so far in so short a period of time, but she was also happy to have a friend to do things with. They had been together a lot the past couple of days, just having fun and goofing off. It was time to get some work done. And Tim's work was really important because it was his job. Sophia didn't want to be a distraction. Still, the way he bit his lip was too cute. In general Tim was really adorable and Sophia just wanted to hug him and gush over how cute he was even with--or perhaps because of--all his awkward mannerisms. But that was getting off subject. "It's alright," Sophia reassured him with a smile. "If you need to do your work alone, then do what you need to do. But you have to catch up today 'cause tomorrow's Thanksgiving." She grinned, recalling last night when she had playfully threatened to kidnap Tim and drag him to her apartment for dinner. "Anyway, I'll drive you back to your place," she said as she stood up and collected the dishes. Suddenly she noticed the sleeve of Tim's sweater--the one she was still wearing, the nice and comfy one that smelled vaguely like Tim and his apartment--and exclaimed, "Oh! Your clothes. I'll wash them today so I can return them to you tomorrow. I also need to get my pajama pants from your place. I left them there yesterday morning when... You know, when we left in a hurry."

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Hearing that Tim wanted to hang out with her and that he considered them friends caused Sophia to smile brightly. All awkward and dark thoughts were gone. She was simply happy. Until just a few days ago Sophia was really only around family, people at school, or cafe customers. She hadn't hung out with any of her friends in over a month. They were all so busy. The most interaction with friends she had were the ones she played games with online. And while that was fun Sophia craved face-to-face conversations and activities that could be done together. Both she and Tim had work to do, but that work was done over computers. Sophia knew Tim worked from his laptop, and all her assignments were submitted on line--which she could use her laptop for. An idea started to form in her mind. "If you want, Tim..." Sophia slowly started to venture. "All my work is done online. I know yours is too. If you want to hang out still, I could always grab my laptop and we could go to your place and work there."