Undone (8 page)

Bella shrewdly gauged her sister’s reaction to those words. She wasn't surprised at the strained expression that flitted across her face, which was seconds later replaced with a gentle smile. "You too." Oh, well damned if that wasn't a slap in the face. It seemed there was trouble in paradise.

The ride to Lulu's was fifteen minutes of tense silence and when they finally arrived, both Bella and Dylan reluctantly stepped out of the car and allowed Sophie a few minutes to say goodbye. It took all but thirty seconds before the Lexus was zooming down the congested downtown streets. Their sister joined them and together they silently entered
the ice cream shop. Dylan had called the chauffeur on their way here and the man would no doubt be out front by the time they were through. Expediency was, after all, the driving force of every employee at the mansion. Their father had made sure of that.

Lulu's Creamery was
, by far, the best ice cream shop in the entire city. Made up mostly of bright florescent lights, even brighter pastel walls and colorful balloons, the fun décor added to the ambiance. Bella always felt like a kid when she came here. The small shop accommodated no more than ten people comfortably, anything more was asking for trouble.

During the hot summer months, one could expect to find a queue outside of Lulu's doors long enough to have you melting on the sidewalks while you waited. The wait, any devotee would argue, was most definitely worth it. The prices were reasonable and the flavors of ice cream as diverse as the fans that followed. Tonight, because of the cold weather, they were not made to wait and soon they all had their respective flavors in hand
. Dylan offered to carry their mom’s pint of Banana Strawberry Paradise.

They shuffled outside and filed into the limousine's sleek interior. Once they'd settled
, Bella opened her mouth to deliver her long awaited rant, but before she could, Dylan beat her to the punch.

"Your boyfriend's an asshole
,” he said frankly, popping the lid off his ice cream cup he took a spoonful and shoved it in his mouth. "Everyone's pussyfooting around the situation, trying to be nice to him for your sake, but the guy's a major dick. The family doesn't like him, Belle and I don't like him and I bet even Grayson doesn't like him. That should tell you something."

"That no one
likes him,” Sophie dryly stated.

Dylan pointed his spoon at her
. "Exactly. You know it's only a matter of time before he does something incredibly stupid to piss off Pops. If he'd acted the way he did tonight in front of him, you know Pops would've decked him, right? I say you save the guy some pain and dump his ass ASAP."

"Wow, I didn't know everyone felt like this."

Another spoonful of ice cream disappeared in his mouth before her younger brother spoke again, only this time his tone was a lot less harsh. "Like I said, Soph, they wanted to be nice to him for your sake. Otherwise, he would've been gone the second Pops found out about his age. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised he's lasted this long. If I'd been in his situation, I don't know what I would've done. He's no good for you, Soph, and I definitely think you can do better."

"Dylan's right, Sophie," Bella piped in, resting a comforting hand on Sophie’s knee
. "Andrew's not good for you. I'm actually really glad he left because we wanted to go out with you tonight so that we could talk to you alone, you know siblings to sibling, but Andrew tagging along kinda ruined it. Look, Soph, we're not trying to gang up on you, we want you to know that we love you and we don't want to see you hurt. Like Dylan said, you can do better, you deserve better and unfortunately, Andrew isn't it…," she said tentatively, prudently gauging Sophie’s reaction.

Her features remained so impassive that Bella feared she'd overstepped her bounds. She anxiously glanced at her twin across the way and found that his concern matched her own. He feebly shrugged
, seemingly at a complete loss for words.

Bella's brows drew together
. "Sophie…?"

"He hit me." Those three little words, uttered so softly that they seemed no more than a sigh, brought time to a startling halt. It took Bella a stint to grasp the significance of those words and an even longer time to swallow it down without wanting to retch. She'd suspected, had even contemplated going to their parents about it
, and now having those suspicions confirmed nearly unraveled her.

"What the fuck do you mean he hit you?" Dylan asked very slowly, his anger so palatable that Bella could nearly taste it in the small confines of the limousine. It was a marvel how he could go from
a lighthearted goofball to a fearsome defender in a blink of an eye, but she could see how that was possible in this situation. She herself was feeling particularly homicidal right about now.

"Exactly that, Dylan; he came on a little too strong, I told him no and he hit me."

"And you're still with him? Why?" Dylan asked incredulously.

"It wasn't a big deal and he apologized…"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this shit right now! Soph, the fucking bastard hit you and you sit there and defend him?"

"
Dyl…"

"No
, fuck that, Belle, this is some crazy ass shit and I can't believe it's coming from my genius of an older sister. You're supposed to be smart, remember Sophie? Class Valedictorian and all that shit! What the hell happened to that girl?"

"Don't be mean, Dylan."

"I'm being honest, damn it!" He fumed and as though too angry to say anymore, he averted his eyes to the window, muttering obscenities under his breath. Bella, the far calmer of the two, chomped on her bottom lip in silent contemplation, considering how best to word her next sentence without causing Sophie any undue stress. "You have to break up with him, Sophie, now more than ever." Deciding that the direct approach was the best one, Bella continued resolutely, “And…and I think it'd be best if we told Mom and Daddy."

"No," Sophie firmly replied, "this conversation does not leave this limo. I told you two because I trust you to keep it to yourselves. I don't intend on keeping this from them, but I want to work it out on my own first. I'm an adult and I certainly don't need to go running to our parents every time I have a problem. I'll figure out something and until then I want you both to promise not to say anything to either of them."

"Oh yeah, Soph, this is real adult of you," Dylan caustically bit out, a glare aimed at her, "making your brother and sister promise to keep a secret to protect your scumbag boyfriend. Yeah, can't fucking wait to grow up and gain all that wisdom you've got under your belt."

"I didn't realize you could be so mean, Dylan."

"Yeah, well, get a clue and I'll be nicer."

"I don't like this
, Sophie," Bella quickly intervened, "but we promise to keep our mouths shut—for now." At Dylan's snort and scoff, she continued, "But that's only if you seriously consider dumping Andrew."

With a heaving sigh, Sophie ran her fingers through her hair before pulling Bella into a hug. "Thanks
, Belle, and I will, I really will." She pulled out of their warm embrace and kissed her cheek, then turned to her scowling brother, reached out and tugged him forward. Dylan landed in an unceremonious heap on top of her and as much as he struggled to be freed, Sophie held him put, resting her chin on his mop of curls. "I know you're acting like an ass because you love me and you don't want to see me hurt and I'm grateful for that, Dylan." She framed his face with her cool hands. "Where would I be if I didn't have you two to talk some sense into me?"

"Probably in a ditch somewhere
,” Dylan grumbled resignedly, still mildly upset, but a lot calmer now than he'd been a few moments ago. He squarely met Sophie’s dark gaze. "I look up to you, you know,” he muttered, the pink tinge in his cheeks making him look so much younger than he was, reminding Sophie of when they were kids and Dylan became too choked up with emotions to convey them properly. He'd huff and puff until eventually stumbling on a way to say how he felt. He'd gotten a lot better at expressing himself over the years. At least now he didn't throw things, much to Sophie’s relief.

"You’re my big sis
. Looking at all your accomplishments actually makes me want to strive harder to be like you. Shit, I even want to go to Buxom because of you and you know how much I hate all that huffy, stuffy bullshit."

Sophie grinned. "Yeah,
it’ll drive you crazy."

"Yeah, well
, I’m willing to go through that. Look, Soph, what I'm trying to say is that y-you're my role model, ya know? You have been since I can remember and if anything were to happen to you, I-I just don't know what I'd do. So—so don't let it get that far, OK?"

"I promise
,” she said solemnly, leaning down to drop a kiss on his forehead. "And thank you for looking up to me; I'll try not to let you down."

Bella sighed, having stayed quiet all this time, she now cozied up to them and maneuvered herself in their embrace. "It's been a long time since we've all been this close. I'll miss it when you leave." She settled her head on Sophie’s shoulder and sighed once more. "Can't you take a semester off?"

Sophie laughed. "Wish I could, but somehow I don't think Mom’ll be too keen on the idea. Besides, I don't have that long to go—four more semesters and I'm done. And let's not forget my internship this summer. I'll be around so much you'll be begging me to leave.”

The conversation veered on a much lighter topic after that and sooner than they realized, they were home. Having expected everyone to be asleep by now, the three siblings were pleasantly surprised to find both their parents still very much awake and huddled together in the living room, watching a horror movie playing on the flat screen. Ellie sat between Nicholas’s long legs, her back poised against his sturdy chest, while Nicholas’s arm spanned her midsection beneath the frayed Afghan.

With Ellie’s gaze intent on the TV screen, Nicholas was the first to see their children, crowding the threshold with evidence of their purchases hanging from their hands. He gave them a smile over their mother’s head before grabbing the remote from where it laid on the armrest.

"The children are home, Elle
,” he said lightly, aiming the remote at the television to pause to the movie. The aforementioned children noisily filed into the living room, their multiple bags rustling at their side. At Ellie’s inquiry of their time out, Bella eagerly recounted the evening for her, wisely leaving out a few choice details. While she showed them her purchases, Dylan handed his parents their ice cream cups and bade them goodnight. Bella followed suit, kissing them both goodnight before dragging her bags upstairs.

"Where's Andrew?" Ellie inquired of their remaining child, who had taken a seat on the loveseat, situated parallel to where they were seated.

Sophie shrugged. "Something came up," she replied noncommittally, toying with one of the decorative pillows she'd picked up from the carpeted floor.

"Is everything all right?" Nicholas quietly asked, his features
, as per usual, revealed very little of what he what he was thinking.

"I don't know
. I haven't heard from him yet. He—he has a friend who lives around here, something happened with his girlfriend, so Andrew had to hightail it over there. It's no big deal." Right?

She did not utter the last word, though with it suspended in the air between them, it was as if she had.

"We didn't say it was sweetheart, we're just hoping everything's all right. Isn't that right, Nicky?"

"Hmm."
He accepted the spoonful of ice cream Ellie offered before turning his attention back to his daughter. "Do you want me to make a few calls—"

"No calls. No informants. No bodyguards. Just—just let me handle it,
OK?" She smiled to take the edge off her words, but all the same, they sounded strained.

"Exactly what is there to handle,
Soph?" Nicholas pressed and received a pinch on his thigh from his diminutive wife.

"What your father's trying to say is
…is there something you'd like to tell us? You know, are things all right with you and Andrew?"

She wasn't particularly good at telling lies and when faced with both parents, it was nearly impossible not to come right out and spill her guts, but Sophie refused to seek their help. This was her fight, her struggle. She would deal with Andrew in her own way, even if that meant breaking it off with him when they got back to Buxom. "Things are fine.” She came to her feet and set the pillow on the loveseat
. "And no, I don't have anything to tell you. You both worry way too much. I'm going to wait up for him, and then I'll go to bed. Night."

"Sophie," Ellie called.

Sophie halted at the threshold and turned to face them. "Yeah, Mom?"

"You know you can talk to us, right?"

"Of course, Mom, I know. Night." She was gone before they could utter another word, her footsteps shuffling up the stairs penetrated the encompassing silence.

Her hasty retreat didn’t settle right with Ellie and she turned to Nicholas
. "She's keeping something from us,” she said, depositing her ice cream cup on the coffee table. "There's something going on, Nicky, and she's not telling us."