Living for the Music

When I got up to my room, I pulled up my Facebook page for the first time since Seth got back. There were two new messages, one from each Damon brother. I opened Seth’s first.

Sophie – Just wanted to let you know we’re back in town. I’ll catch up with you soon. Seth.

I stared at the message for a second. Wow. He sure seemed like he was dying to see me. I thought of my outburst in the car. Maybe England had changed him more than I thought. I shook my head and opened the other message. If anyone could make me feel better, it was Nathan.

Hey Sophia. Don’t worry – you’ll meet Gabby. Soon. Promise. In the meantime, how about dinner on Saturday? I’ll be home and I’m sure mom and dad would love to talk to you. Nathan. P.S. I’m not taking no for an answer.

I bit my lip, staring at the screen. I wanted to see Nathan, I really did. But I didn’t think I could handle a whole meal with Seth.
Sorry, but I gotta pass. Unless you want me to kill your brother over appetizers. LOL, jk. I added a smiley, trying to make the words seem lighthearted. I had a feeling Nathan would see right through it, but it was worth a try.

I quickly logged off before he could reply. Staring at my backpack, I finally dug out my books and attempted to tackle my math homework.

Two hours later, the numbers were blurring in front of my eyes. I finally shut my book, amazed at how little progress I’d made. Sometimes I wondered how I had missed all the intelligence genes.

I couldn’t help opening Facebook back up. Okay, maybe I was a little obsessed. I wasn’t surprised to see that Nathan had replied.

Nice try Sophie. That’s not a good enough excuse. I’ll see you at 5.

I groaned to myself before checking my comments. Typical spam… nothing from anyone interesting. I glanced at the clock and realized it was long past dinner time. I headed downstairs and hacked some soup out of the container it was frozen in. I stuck it in the microwave and paced for a minute.

I paused by the window. I could see right through the dead tree branches to the Damon’s kitchen. There was a comforting light radiating from the window and I could barely make out the figures sitting around the table.

That had been one thing Mara insisted on: family dinners. Unless they had a valid excuse, Seth and Nathan were both expected to eat dinner with their parents. “Parties can wait until later,” was Mara’s firm statement.

I turned away from the homily scene. I hadn’t eaten dinner with anyone else since Seth left, except for the times Aaron had taken me out. If I was home, I was eating alone.

I grabbed my soup from the microwave and headed back up to my room. I scanned my DVD collection, looking for something fitting. Finally, I grabbed A Walk to Remember and popped it in. I curled up in a ball, cocooning myself with blankets. I felt myself grow warmer as I sipped my soup, enjoying my comfort food. I immersed myself in someone else’s drama, and my own problems drifted away to the back of my head.