Chapter 6 : Chasing her back

"Sophie, what do you think you're doing? How dare you walk out on me? Have you suddenly lost respect for me? I dare you to come back home now. We still have unfinished business. Can't you see it's late?" Shawn glanced through the window and called Sophia repeatedly, trying to make her return but she ignored him and kept walking faster as though Shawn never existed.

"Did you see what your cousin did? Sophia just walked out on me. She's not even responding to me. When did all of this start? She wasn't like this before.

Did you two plan this? If I find out about your involvement in this, I'll forever be angry at you. You should be a mediator and not a destroyer.``

He turned to Joanna to vent his frustration. He has every reason to believe that Joanna might have been involved in this. Perhaps, Joana herself orchestrated it all.

"Shawn? Please stop this madness. It's making me so uncomfortable. I don't deserve any of this treatment from you.

How would you think so low of me? You know I don't support immortality. I've always been on the side of truth and honesty. Sophia's behaviour has nothing to do with me.

I'm equally confused as you are," Joanna explained to vindicate herself. She tried all she could to defend herself but it wasn't working. Shawn doesn't seem to buy her truth. He still believes she's covering up for Sophia due to what she would benefit from her.

"Are you sure about this? I'm still not convinced. What do you want me to say? My head's spinning right and I can hear some voices directing me in the right direction to follow."

"Stop doing this, Shawn. You're beginning to sound like a broken record.

I'm not going to stand here while you look down on me. I deserve an apology for your false accusation, Shawn. How long have we known each other now? Have you noticed any illegal behaviour from me?" Joanna cried out. She couldn't stand Shawn's troubles and decided she would return to her room to avoid Shawn's wrath.

She knows Shawn is just searching for someone to vent his anger on.

"Sounds like a good plan to me and I hope it favors all parties... This allows me to go find Sophia and bring her home myself."

Shawn said. He made a move to open the door and stepped outside but was rather intercepted by Joanna. She hurriedly stepped up to stop him.

"What are you trying to do? I hope it's not what I'm thinking?'

" She held the door handle.

"What does it seem like I'm doing? Of course, I'm going out there to find my girlfriend. You don't expect me to sit back here and wish for a miracle to happen, do you?'." He queried her.

"You don't even know where she is. She might elsewhere chilling with a few friends while you're getting yourself so worked up. Do you want to endanger your life?" Joana scolded him.

"I Can't believe this is coming from you.

But why? You're smarter than what you said. Isn't it obvious that she's gone to see that bloody bastard called Mathew? Or do you want to act like you weren't aware she was going to see him?"

"Are we still bent on doing this? I'm fed up already.

We should have gone past this already. I suggest you call her over the phone and be certain of her whereabouts. Don't you think so?" Joana proposed. Sophia is her cousin but she's equally looking out for Shawn too. Letting Shawn step out in this condition isn't what Joana would want to encourage.

"You of all people should know its mission is impossible.

I doubt if she will pick up my calls. You saw the way she stepped out right? I am the last person she wants to talk to right now," Shawn protested and later agreed to call Sophia even though he knew she might ignore him.

He picked up his phone from the sofa and dialled Sophia's number. It kept ringing for minutes without a response.

"I told you Sophia would ignore my call but you insisted. See what just happened. That girl is a thorn in my flesh. She's just making everything difficult for me. Are you happy now?" Shawn blamed Joana. He wished he never listened to Joanna.

"Don't speak like that. Winners don't quit easily.

Let's just lose hope yet. We just need to be a bit patient and keep trying," Joanna urged. She's calm and optimistic, unlike Shawn who appears to be losing hope already.

"That's it! This is the height of it all.

I'm done trying to reach her. She's shunning me. For what reason though?"Shawn lamented. He stopped calling and completely gave up.

"It's obvious that she's sick.

I don't want to freak out. I just hope my cousin is safer wherever she is right now," Joana panicked. She can't keep pretending anymore. Sophia's departure is beginning to get to her.

"I have no idea whatsoever. Let's just keep our fingers crossed. I just hope it works this time and if it doesn't..." Shawn snapped his fingers and cracked his head to come up with a suggestion he feels is the best. He suggested that they could reach out to Sophia with Joana's phone instead.

Sophia stands a chance of responding to her cousin's call rather than his.

"Are you sure about this? I would understand if you don't want to. You may be her boyfriend but I'm her cousin. We are family! Myself and Sophia practically grew up together. If there's one thing I can't dispute from Sophia is her level of smartness and assertion. The girl is blessed in that aspect and I am not going to deny it. She would know you were the one calling. I mean, you called her a few minutes ago and she declined. Seeing my incoming call would make her believe you're with me. Of course, you know what that means. She'll also ignore mine,"

"Let's give it a try. It's too late to give up now. I am scared for her safety. From what I believe, she might be attacked by thugs out there. It's dangerous for a lady to be out there alone in this crucial era," Shawn stressed. He finally convinced Joana with his little illustration.

Luckily for them, Sophie answered Joana's phone with ease.

"Thank goodness," Shawn sighed.

"Shhhh!" Joana told him not to make a noise. She doesn't want Sophia to have the slightest idea that she's with Shawn.

"Hello, Sophie. Where are you? We are worried about you!" Joanna started the conversation and quickly realized she made a mistake saying WE. It would only make Sophia suspect that Shawn was there with her.

Sophia was confused about Joana's claims. She had to stare at her phone to be certain if the caller was Joana or someone else.

"We? What are you talking about?" Sophia questioned Joana to mount the pressure on her. Joana couldn't find her tongue. For a second, she was mute trying to create a perfect lie too.

"Hello, Joana. Are you there? Why are you not talking? I asked you a question and you haven't responded." Sophia revisited the question and kept pushing for an answer.

"My father and I. That's what I meant," Joana told another to cover up her lie.

"Your father? Why would you disclose such information about your father, Joan? You went too far on this one and I'm not happy with you," Sophia got angry. She wasn't pleased with Joana's approach to the situation.

More troubles for Joana who only wanted to find a solution to the problem.

Lying to Sophia only made matters worse.

"I apologize, Sophia. I was only looking out for you. I never knew you were going to find it odd." She apologized but it wasn't enough to calm Sophia who was already boiling in rage.

She's the kind of person that loves to keep her private affairs a secret.

Joana's Father might be the first family to hear what happened but he definitely won't be last. For sure he's going to get other family members involved and the next minute, they will all show up at Sophia's doorstep wanting to know what transpired between Shawn and her.

"Enough about me. I sincerely apologize. I admit that I went too far and I'm ready to amend. Don't bother asking how because I already got that figured out," Joana assured.

"Where the heck are you? You haven't disclosed your location to me," Sophia requested. It just occurred to her that she hasn't popped the question yet. She was engrossed in the conversation and forgot the reason she called Sophia.

"I'm not going to answer that. I am happy wherever I am right now," Sophia bragged.

"I disagree with you, Sophia. The best place to be happy is Shawn's abode. Any other source of happiness should not be considered at all. He is sorry for what happened and wants you back home,"

"I understood the assignment now. He asked you to call me right? What a coincidence. Your call came in moments after I ignored his calls. What perfect timing," Sophie laughed over the phone

"That's not true. I called because I was worried about you. Shawn is equally worried, too." Joanna admitted.

"Damn, his apology. Who cares? I'm heading to a better place and I'm excited about it. I have no regret," Sophia declared. Since hanging out with Mathew, she feels a lot more confident in her approach and level of communication. She doesn't hesitate to speak what's on her mind without thinking of how Shawn would react to her...

This was the part where Sophia had met Mathew before Shawn.

"Hello, Sophie. Are you there? Why don't you want to talk to me? What have I done?" Shawn spoke out and ruined everything. He completely jeopardized Joana's strategy.

The insults were quite enormous and he couldn't endure for too long.

"Damn you Shawn. You just ruined the whole plan. You shouldn't have said anything. I was this close to sealing everything. The last you could have done was stay mute while I handled everything."

Joanna sparked. She wasn't pleased with what Shawn did.

"You see what I was talking about? I knew there was something wrong somewhere. I know Shawn. He was the one that convinced you to call me with your phone after I shunned him,"

"Yes, it was him. You need to see how pathetic he is now. He realized his mistakes and wants you back. I can't be hiding under the truth and stand for lies," Joana admitted. Sophia already found out and there's no room for liars.

"I need to go now. Your father is calling. I'll be expecting calls from everyone after the conversation with your Dad

I'm pretty sure he must have told everyone in the family since he's the closest person to everyone.

She terminated the call with Joana and proceeded to speak to her Uncle, Sophia's Father.

"Sophia told me what happened but I doubted her. I called to find out the real truth from you and I need an honest response," Sophia's Father asked.

______

"See what you did? Are you happy now that your girlfriend is gone? If only you had stuck to the plan, I would have convinced her to come back home," Joana spoke angrily at Shawn. She felt disappointed and underappreciated that Shawn was ruining her plan.

"I had no choice. You were with her on the phone. You heard the horrible things she said about me right? I just couldn't stay calm and let that happen. I had to do something about it,"

"And it worked out, didn't it? Sophia's reactions were part of the plan. You seem to forget how she left your house. Were you expecting her to come back and dive straight into your arms and apologize to you? Think about it," Joana tossed the question at Shawn which left him astonished. He widened his mouth in awe. It took him a while to realize that.