The Sudden Call

For the five years that Rhys had worked with Sophie just across from the jewelry and pawn store, they had always been careful to avoid Neal and his business, so he had not been in here many times.

“So, what brings you in here? Mm?” Neal asked.  

“Uhhhh… Man, so you know? Did you hear about the sale?”

He glanced up briefly, then went back to his work. “Do you mean the shops beside yours?”

“Yeah, yeah. That. We got the notice yesterday.”

He stared at Rhys now. With his eyes wide open,.

“What?” Rhys asked.

“Its just I’ve known for a while now. I was just surprised you guys were hearing it for the first time yesterday.” He returned his focus to the work in his hands.

“Just in case you didn’t notice, man, your bakery has some kind of weird energy. It was crushing the other two businesses, and you guys were just there, thriving in between.”

Rhys furrowed his brows. “What do you mean? If anything, they crushed us. I mean, we’re literally sandwiched between the two. Most times, people come by, and they don’t even realize we exist there.”

“You crazy, dude. I guess you ain’t seeing what you guys are doing. Tell me, "How many customers do you guys get in a week?”

Rhys pursed his lips, moving his eyes as he counted inwardly. “I don’t know. I don’t really keep count. But it’s a lot. I know we never have leftovers.”

“See? See? See what I’m saying?”

“Whatever, man. I don’t know what you mean. I’m just here to know if you know anything about our new neighbor.”

Neal shook his head. “Nah. Except he’s got enough dough on him to buy so much property at once, and he’s into business and stuff. No more.”

Rhys nodded. There was nothing more he could learn from Neal or anyone else. Neal was the first-hand pusher of news and information around, and if he said he knew nothing about the new owner, then no one knew anything either.

Rhys left a minute later, after watching Neal twist and untwist a few nuts.

When he returned to the store, Sophie was at his post, signing something into his book.

“Hey.” He greeted me.

Sophie responded with a nod of her head and a raised brow.

“Nothing. Neal knows as much about him as we do.”

She nodded and stood up from his post. Rhys replaced her behind his desk and watched her as she fiddled with her notepad. From across the desk, he reached for her hand and gently held it in his.

“You good?” He asked.

Sophie nodded, but now he could tell she was worried. He saw it in her long stares and as her lips formed an unpleasant pout across her beautiful face and in the tear that threatened to fall from her eyes, and he knew instantly that it was not the new owner that made her feel so threatened and worried.

He had misjudged her yesterday. This emotion, which was clearly shown across her face, was something else. Something he had never seen since the five years he had spent getting to know her.

As he held her, shivering, and took in her quivering lips, Rhys could only come to one conclusion: Sophie Andrew was scared.

It was the first time he would see her show so many emotions at once. The first time she broke apart so much in front of him, it worried him. He stood from his seat and walked across the room to the sign that read ‘open’ and turned it.

They drew the blinds shut, closed the door, and led Sophie into the comfort of her office, not forgetting to take her notepad with them.

Once they were behind the secrecy of Sophie’s office and she was settled in her chair, Rhys placed the notepad and a pen on her lap and drew a chair so close to her that their heads almost touched.

“Tell me, Sophie.” He asked softly, leaning in more towards her. “what’s wrong?”

Sophie sniffled. Her eyes were red from tears, and her lips quivered. She dug into her pocket and came out with her phone, which she handed him.

Confused, Rhys stared through her red eyes and then at the phone. She nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact with him.

He stared at the phone, which was open to messages, and a message that she had received from her aunt the previous morning stared back at him. The message read:

Sophie. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Reaching out to you again was never my intention, not with the way you left after everything. but your uncle has taken ill seriously, and there is no one I can think of to turn to in this hard time but you. Despite our differences, we are still bound by blood. I need your companionship now more than ever, and I would love for you to be here by my side as I go through this.

Love, Eliana Adrian.

Rhys read through the message again and again, not knowing what to make of it. This was the most of her past that Sophie had allowed him to glimpse, but what about it made her cry?  

What was it that scared her so much that she shook like a leaf and made her hide in his arms like a child afraid to face punishment?

He looked up at her as hot tears continued to stream down her face and as she wrung her fingers. He dropped the phone on the table and drew her close to his chest, patting her head lightly.

“Would you like me to come with you?” he whispered.

Sophie broke from his embrace and looked into his eyes as if questioning him.

“If you want me to, I will. You know that.”

Another tear ran down her cheek as she bobbed her head up and down and then put her face in his chest.

What was it in her past that made such a strong woman crumble? If the answer was still in her past, then he could find it and make sure he erased these tears from her face forever. No matter what it took,