Damsel In Distress

“Hey, Sophia,” Teddy greeted me on Monday morning, walking up to me at my locker. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.” I grabbed one of my textbooks and a binder, then I turned back to him.

“Well, uh,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck, as if he were nervous. Then I noticed he wasn’t smiling or laughing. I was just about to ask him what was wrong when he took a deep breath, then continued, “I had a lot of fun with you at the party on Saturday.”

It was then that I realized I had left him at the party to hang out with Tyler. Oh, God, I thought. He probably hates me now.

“I’m so sorry about leaving,” I apologized. “I…I…”

“It’s okay,” he assured me, attempting to smile. “Caitlin told me something had came up. And…I saw you leave with the new boy.”

My jaw dropped a little in surprise. I felt absolutely terrible. Not only had I ditched Teddy, but he had seen me leave the party with Tyler. There was a little pain in his eyes, and I kicked myself mentally when I realized I was the reason it was there.

“Teddy, I-” I started, but he interrupted me.

“Don’t apologize. I’m not your boyfriend or anything, so it’s not a problem if you hang out with other people.” He tried again to give me a reassuring smile but failed terribly. “And if you have feelings for him, then you have feelings for him. He’s a lucky guy. But what I really wanted to say to you was that I’d like if we could be friends. I mean, you’re really fun and cool. And I don’t think I’m too bad of a friend.”

I laughed softly, and Teddy finally smiled.

“That sounds great, Teddy.”

“Great. I’ll see you later, Sophia.”

“See you.”

He walked down the hallway, waving to almost everyone as he made his way through the walls. Some people asked him what was wrong, but he just shrugged them off and kept walking. When he disappeared from my sight, I grabbed the rest of the materials I needed for my next two classes and closed my locker. Tyler was already sitting at our table when I walked in. I wished Caitlin was there, so I could tell about Teddy, but her seat was empty.

“How was the rest of your weekend?” Tyler asked as I settled into the seat beside him.

“It was good,” I answered. “Yours?”

“Alright,” he replied, shrugging. He let me pull out my notebook and set up a piece of paper before he asked, “So, how’d you like your first ride?”

“It was amazing,” I said. “I absolutely loved it. Thanks for taking me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Loud voices and footsteps were audible as a group of people came in. Caitlin was among them, talking to one of her popular friends. When she was finally done and headed for her seat, I started to open my mouth to tell her something had just happened but Tyler asked a question that almost left me speechless.

“Are you dating that Teddy kid?”

I turned to look at him. He was looking at me, his eyes told me he was curious.

“No. Where’d you hear that?” I asked.

Teddy hadn’t told anyone we were dating, had he? I doubted it, but you never knew.

“No one told me.” I relaxed a little. “I saw you talking to him at your locker, and it looked pretty serious.”

“Oh, no.” I shook my head. “Teddy and I are just friends.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, casually.

I gaped at him. Was it rude for someone to just come out and ask you such a personal question? I had never had a boyfriend before, and I hardly ever talked to the opposite sex so I had never been in a situation like this before.

I shook my head, and Tyler’s eyebrows raised. Was he really surprised?

“Wow,” he said. “That’s really hard to believe.”

“Why?”

“As pretty as you are, I figured you’d be taken already,” he admitted.

I didn’t even bother trying to conceal my red cheeks. Any attempt to try to hide the fact that I was flattered by his compliment would be a waste. Tyler didn’t seem like the type to give compliments often, so I allowed myself to feel special.

“Thanks,” I said softly. Then I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been brewing in the back of my mind. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Nope. I've got my eyes on someone, though.”

His lips pulled up a little as he gazed at me. I finally experienced the sensation of “having butterflies in your stomach”. My heart was racing, and my palms were sweating. I hoped he couldn’t tell how much of a mess I was becoming.

“Okay, class,” Mr. Devlin started, causing us to finally look away from each other. I felt flushed and light-headed, but I focused on what Mr. Devlin was saying. “I think we’re due for a project, don’t you think?” A few students let out audible groans. “Wanna make that two?” The students quickly shut their mouths. “You’re each going to have a different, unique project that you can do at home and bring into class to present. I’ll be handing out the rubrics in a few moments. Find a partner, then have a seat at one of the tables.”

The room was suddenly filled with activity. People were getting up and going to their friends, the legs of their chairs scraping against the floor. Tyler and I just stayed seated, looking around at everyone else.

“I know I’m pretty useless and everything,” I turned my attention back to Tyler. “but do you think we could be partners?”

I looked up to find Caitlin; I usually worked with her on projects. Surprisingly, she was still sitting beside her lab partner, and I swore I heard the words “I’m surprised you want to be my partner, don’t you usually work with Sophia?” Caitlin looked back at me and gave me a look that said “I’m doing this for you, idiot. Say yes to Tyler!”

“Yeah,” I agreed, turning back to Tyler. I gave him a small smile. “I’d love to be your partner.”

“Good.” He smiled back at me.

“We could start right after school, if you’re not already busy.”

“You don’t have dance practice or something?”

Normally, I would but Miss Elaine told me I was only to come to class Tuesday and Thursday. She told me I was too young to be worrying so much about dance and that I needed to focus on being a teenager.

“Not today,” I replied. “You could come over, and we could start figuring out how to go about this project.”

He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

***

“Nice house.”

I was giving Tyler a quick tour of the downstairs, since this would be our working area. It was still had to believe that he was even in my house.

After the last bell at school, I had gotten in my car and drove home, Tyler following behind me on his motorcycle. My neighborhood was always very quiet and empty, so I was a little worried about the loud roar of his motorcycle. Luckily, no one peered out their windows disapprovingly when we got to my house.

“Thanks.”

We ended the tour in our spacious living room. I sat down on the couch that faces the television and placed my books on the coffee table. Tyler did the same. He sat up straight, tense. Was he nervous about being in my house? Then I noticed that he still had his leather jacket on, even though we had already been in the warm house for fifteen minutes.

“You can take your jacket off, you know that right?” I asked, laughing a little at the end.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just everything’s so….” He stood up and took off his jacket, exposing his well-defined biceps. Carefully, he placed his jacket on the arm of the couch and sat back down. He looked at me, asking with his eyes if it was okay that his jacket was there.

I laughed out loud and shook my head slightly. Ignoring his questioning look, I reached forward and grabbed my notebook. I flipped to the page that I had designed for our project outline. The criteria were already written at the top. I read them aloud.

“So…what should we do?” Tyler asked after I finished.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself to tell him my plan. The only problem was, I hadn’t figured one out yet. I let out a small sigh. “Honestly, I have no idea.”

“Then the best thing for us to do is watch some TV,” he suggested, leaning forward to pick up the remote from the coffee table.

He pressed the power button, and a teenage girl and a little girl appeared on the screen. I didn’t see how watching Teen Mom would help us with our project, but I didn’t ask him to turn it off.

“You know, I could see you being a teen mom,” Tyler said, smirking to let me know he was joking.

“Definitely,” I agreed, playing along.

“I mean, look at what you’re wearing.” I looked down at my white shirt and ripped, light blue skinny jeans. “You’re basically asking to have sex with your legs exposed like that.”

I laughed, and his grin grew wider.

“And I know the real reason why you put your hair into a ponytail today.”

This morning, I had woken up late. Mondays were always my worst days, and after getting a manicure and pedicure with Caitlin, I practiced all of my routines in the living room. My homework was the last thing I had gotten to, and I didn’t finish until one this morning. I didn’t have the energy to do my hair, so I just threw it into a messy ponytail.

“Why?” I asked, curious to hear his answer.

“It’s easier for guys to kiss your neck,” he explained. I covered my mouth as I giggled. “It’s always easier to find the soft spot when the hair’s out of the way.”

My stomach was starting to hurt from laughing, but for once, the pain I felt was good. Tyler was laughing, too.

“I can’t believe you actually figured out my secret,” I said when I had finally controlled my laughter. Tyler shrugged, grinning. “But it’s okay, because I know yours.”

His eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Oh, really?”

“You’re insecure because you’ll never have the opportunity of being a teen dad,” I joked, causing him to laugh again. “Girls don’t really fall for that curly-haired, beautiful-eyed bad boy type anymore. Sorry.”

Our laughter filled the room. Tyler looked at me as he chuckled. His dark green eyes shone with amusement. I had never seen a more beautiful sight. Suddenly, he stopped laughing and just watched me. The silence wasn’t awkward; it was actually nice.

My palms started sweating, and my heart started racing. It was just like it was back in class earlier. I hoped he couldn’t hear how fast my heart was beating.

Unexpectedly, he leaned forward and brushed a few loose strands from my ponytail behind my ear. His gentle touch made my skin tingle. He let his hand linger on my cheek for a few moments, then he placed his hand on top of mine, right in between us on the couch. He leaned into me, never once looking away from my eyes. His face was only an inch away from mine when his stomach growled.

I giggled, and Tyler’s cheeks flushed.

“If you were hungry, all you had to do was say so.”

Tyler removed his hand from mine, so I could stand up. I started heading for the kitchen, Tyler’s footsteps echoing behind me.

“Do you like pizza rolls?” I asked as I walked up to the refrigerator.

“Yeah,” he replied, absent-mindedly.

I pulled a box out of the freezer and closed the door. Looking back into the hallway, I saw Tyler reading a piece of paper. Quickly, I put a plate of the pizza rolls into the microwave and started heating them.

“What are you reading?” I asked as I walked over to him.

“You’re having a recital?” he asked, tilting the flyer in the air so I could see it.

Since I was in most of the recital this year, Miss Elaine had chosen to put me on the flyer. I was in a basic fifth position: arms held above my head with my feet crossed. You wouldn’t even know it was me until you read the print all the way at the bottom that read “dancer pictured: Sophia Manson”.

“Yup,” I answered. “I’m actually really nervous about it.”

“Why?”

“Some people from Julliard are coming to see me dance. If they like me, I’ll be getting an early admission to the college with a full scholarship, and I’ll be able to attend their summer camp with a discount."

“Damn,” he replied, eyebrows raised. “You really are an amazing dancer, aren’t you?”

I shrugged. “Apparently.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I came, would you?”

I looked up at him, my heart stuttering at the question. Tyler Evans wanted to come see me, Sophia Manson, the shy ballerina, perform at a recital? Obviously, it wasn’t his idea as a cup of tea, but he still wanted to come, just to support me.

“I’d love it if you would come,” I admitted. I smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

The microwave beeped. “I’ll get it.” Tyler offered.

I nodded, then Tyler placed the flyer down on the table and walked into the kitchen. I was just about to go into the kitchen with him when I noticed something that caught my eye. Picking up the pile of papers, I skimmed through them all until I found the one I was looking for. It was a letter to my father from his lawyer, Martin Simmons. The envelope was already torn, so I had no problem pulling out the piece of paper inside.

Surprisingly, the letter had a greater effect on me than I thought it would’ve. As I quickly read it, my heart started to race. My father’s lawyer was contacting him to tell him that my mother and her lawyer wanted to take him back to court, to dispute over their custody agreement.

Tears gathered in my eyes. My mother wanted to fight for me. She wanted to see me, possibly even have me live with her. Looking up at the top of the page, I saw that it was dated two weeks ago. My father had had two weeks to tell me this, and he had chosen not to. Fortunately, my joy outweighed the anger.

“What’s wrong?”

I spun around, clutching my heart as it nearly jumped out of my chest. I had been so caught up in what I had just discovered that I hadn’t heard Tyler walk up behind me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized, that concerned look still etched all over his face. I didn’t respond, just hastily wiped the tears from my eyes. Why did I have to be so emotional? Why did I have to embarrass myself in front of the only boy I had ever had a crush on? Tyler quickly grabbed my hands as I reached for my face again. “Sophia, what’s the matter?”

I stared down at our intertwined hands, surprised at how well they fit together. They weren’t supposed to, though. I was a shy, quiet ballerina who had a terrible secret that she would never reveal to anyone. Tyler was a tough, dangerous bad boy who was supposed to never show any feeling. So, why was he so worried about me? And why did I want to tell him all my precious secrets?

I turned my attention to his gorgeous face. His features were usually hard and tough, but at the moment, they were soft and caring. He cared about me. Tyler Evans cared about me for a reason unknown. However, at that moment in time, it didn’t matter that we were different and that I didn’t understood why he cared so much about me.

I confided in him, told him all about how my parents had divorced when I was younger and how I wasn’t allowed to see my mother. I didn’t dare tell him about my father’s abusive ways; I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Tyler listened without interrupting, waiting patiently during the few times when I started sobbing so hard that I couldn’t speak. He just squeezed my hand gently, letting me know that it was okay, that I could take as long as I needed.

“…and now my mother wants to fight for me again. She wants to take my father back to court to fight for her custody over me,” I concluded, my voice barely above a whisper.

Tyler removed his hands from mine and wrapped them around me, pulling me into his chest for a hug. The simple embrace had me crying again. I sobbed into his chest, my tears soaking his t-shirt. He held me tighter, occasionally rubbing his hand up and down my back.

A few minutes later, my tears finally ceased. I pulled away from Tyler, his arms lingering around my body for a few seconds before he pulled them away.

“Sorry about your shirt,” I apologized, hiccupping slightly.

“Don’t even worry about it. It’s black, anyway, so nobody will even notice.”

I smiled weakly. Tyler grinned, then reached forward and wiped away the remnants of my tears with his thumbs. My skin tingled from his touch.

“Thank you for telling me that,” he said, cradling my face in his hands. I had no choice but to look at him. “I know it was hard for you to tell me; I could see it in your eyes. Just don’t ever be afraid to talk to me, Sophia. I’ll always be here to listen.”

There it was again. This strange kindness. I couldn’t help the words that tumbled out of my mouth, “I don’t understand. Why are you being so nice to me? Why do you care so much?”

He thought about it carefully, his head tilting to the side a little. I thought he wasn’t going to answer, but instead, he asked a question. “Why did you tell me about your parents? Why are you trusting me with your secret?”

I gaped at him. He was right. It wasn’t just that he cared about me; it was that I trusted him. I trusted a boy, whom I had just met only a few days ago. What was wrong with me?

“You’re different,” he said, taking me away from my thoughts. “You don’t treat me differently just because I’m a little rough around the edges. I feel like…I can be myself around you.”

Instead of responding with words, I spoke with my body. Standing on my tip-toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed him tight. Tyler’s arms snaked around my waist, and he held me close against him. We stayed like this, embracing in my foyer, for at least five minutes. It was a perfect way to pass some time, a perfect way to clear my mind.

“Let’s go for a ride,” Tyler suggested, whispering in my ear.

We were out the door in five minutes.

***

I read the words once again. “Aria Morris would like to take us back to court to change the custody agreement.” By the end of the night, I’d be saying these words in my sleep.

I was sitting in my father’s study, the letter sitting in front of me on his desk. I had spent five minutes rereading that sentence, the same joy overflowing me each time.

My father’s laptop was open in front of me, the screen black. I looked back and forth between the letter and the laptop, thinking. A dangerous idea had popped into my head while Tyler and I were riding. I’d be crazy to do it, but then again, I’d already been going crazy without my mother.

What if I hacked my father’s email account, emailed his lawyer, and somehow managed to get my mother’s contact information? When I told Tyler my idea, he agreed that it might be a good one but he couldn’t see me doing it. He offered to help me, though, claiming it might be easier if I was there with him. I denied it, just in case I got caught. I didn’t want to get him in trouble. But I knew I had to try something. My desire for my mother was much stronger than my fear of my father.

I took a deep breath. “You can do it, Sophia. You can do this.”

I hesitated briefly before pressing the power button, the screen filling with color as it turned on. I waited the few moments it took for the logon screen to appear, then clicked on my father’s name. Thankfully, he didn’t have a password for it. When everything was completely loaded, I clicked on the icon to get on the internet. The logon screen for his e-mail appeared, his e-mail address already entered. I didn't have any idea what his password would be, but he's always writing stuff down. I wouldn't be surprised if his password was written down somewhere in one of the desk drawers. Scooting the chair back, I opened one of the drawers and started rummaging through its content. Nothing in there. I was reaching for the next drawer when my phone started ringing.

I jumped in the chair, my heart rate accelerating. Looking at the caller ID, my heart raced even faster. My father was calling me, probably sensing I was up to no good. I didn’t want to answer-I was still upset that he wasn’t coming to the recital-but I knew if I didn’t, he would become suspicious.

I picked up my phone and pressed the TALK button. “Hi, Dad.”

“Hey, honey. How is everything?” His words came out clear and kind; he wasn’t drunk.

“Fine.” My voice was hard, bitter.

“Good, good.” Either my father hadn’t heard all the venom in my tone or he just chose to ignore it. “Could you do me a favor, Sophia?”

“Sure.”

“For some reason, the internet isn’t working on my Blackberry, so I can’t check my e-mails.” I knew exactly what he was asking for, and I smiled with joy. “Could you go on the computer and check them for me?”

“Yeah, sure. I was at the computer anyway. I was about to start looking up some ideas for a science project,” I lied, softening my tone as I wheeled back under the desk.

“Sorry to distract you from your work, honey.”

“It’s fine.” I clicked in random places, pretending I was trying to get to the Internet. When I figured enough time had passed, I asked, “What’s your password?”

“It’s your name, first and last.”

I typed in my name, then clicked the “sign in” button. My father’s e-mail was filled with messages, but he only had two that were unanswered.

“You have e-mails from Maria and John,” I informed. Neither names were familiar to me.

“Nothing important. Okay, honey, I’ll let you get back to your project. Love you, bye.”

“Bye, Dad.”

I hung up the phone and placed it back on the desk. Scrolling down the screen, I searched for his lawyer’s name. After a while, I found it. The date it was sent was only a few days ago. I moved the mouse over to it, but I couldn’t bring myself to open it.

My father had trusted me with one of the most private things a person can have. Was I really going to take advantage of that? Was I really going to use the information I found against him? I couldn’t do it; the guilt would eat me alive.

“Why do I have to be such a goody-goody?” I complained aloud, signing out of my father’s account.

Since I also felt guilty for lying to my father, I started searching ideas for the DNA project. It only took me ten minutes before I found a decent idea. Picking up my phone, I scrolled through my contact list until I got to Tyler’s name. I pressed the TALK button and held my phone to my ear as it started ringing. Of course I wasn’t calling just to talk about the idea, but it was a great excuse to get to hear his voice.