Sofia’s POV
I was such an emotional wreck.
I felt Matilda’s arms wrapped around my shoulders to pull me into her arms and I hesitated for a few seconds before giving in and squeezing her tight in my arms, the tears I was trying to fight back a moment ago, sliding down my cheeks, drop after drop.
A sound never escaped my lips as I cried soundlessly in Matilda’s arms while Sarah watched quietly for a few moments before she proceeded to cast down her head downwards.
“Sofia?” Matilda whispered out in a soft voice after a few minutes of the sitting room rendered in complete silence after I had started crying. I had already stopped crying after a few minutes but still remained in her arms because it had felt really nice for once in my life.
I pulled out from her arms and her hands fell off my shoulders immediately as I sat up on the couch and stared at her. I had no doubts that my eyes were puffy at the moment due to me crying.
“Yeah?” I whispered back, allowing my eyes to slide close as I caressed my fingers over my closed eyelids while bracing myself for Matilda prying nature to demand the reason as to why I had unexpectedly started crying all of a sudden.
“Do you feel a little bit better now?” She asked and I blinked my eyes open to stare at her, a confused look crossing my face for a few seconds as I watched her closely, wondering why she wasn’t asking the usual questions she’d have started asking immediately.
I nodded my head once and pushed my hair out of my face with my left hand, sniffling in a little and swallowing emptily, my sore throat hurting a little.
“So waffles are alright for you tonight, right?” Matilda asked and the warmth that had been brewing in my heart for a while now, went up a few notches, lighting up the insides of my chest in a good way.
“Would there be blueberry syrup?” I asked and Matilda gave me a look like I had suddenly gone crazy.
“You can request any flavor of syrup for the waffles, remember? Everything here is literally yours as well.”
Matilda admonished, a small smile playing at the sides of her lips and I didn’t miss the soft look that was in her eyes now as she stared at me.
“Oh, I forgot.” I said bash fully and she rolled her eyes a little before squeezing the side of my arm a little.
She got up from her spot beside me and placed her hands on her hips. “You’re just eating waffles? Or lots of it, at least… right?” She started to ask and I slouched against the backrest of the couch with a tiny frustrated huff escaping my lips.
“But remember when I said I wasn’t hungry tonight, right? I am not even sure if I am going to be able to stomach the waffles yet.” I said to her and she sighed deeply– dramatically before informing me.
“Lots of waffles for you, that’s it.”
I didn’t bother replying to her and watched from the side of my eyes as she exited the sitting room, leaving me and Sarah alone to ourselves.
I knew Matilda wouldn’t be able to do a thing if I didn’t end up eating any of the waffles, but I was still going to genuinely try to eat some of the waffles, just to make use of my drugs, at least.
“How are you feeling, Sarah?” I asked after a few minutes of us remaining in a silence that wasn’t awkward nor tense… but I ended up deciding to break it when the whole thoughts of the way Luca had behaved that night threatened to start floating around in my head.
Sarah breathed out a small laugh, one that didn’t sound genuine if I was being honest. “I should be the one asking you that and not the other way round.” She paused before continuing after a few moments had passed. “How are you feeling at the moment?”
“Honestly, the pains in my stomach weren’t as intense as they were before, which I am really grateful for, because those tiny pains in different parts of the insides of my stomach had been hurting really bad.” I replied to her and a small sigh followed immediately after that.
“Oh dear. I am really sorry you had to go through that.” She breathed out and I shook my head a little and shrugged my right shoulder a little – and just noticed at that very moment that I could now move my right shoulder without feeling any kind of pain shoot through any parts of the veins connecting in my shoulder and arm.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. It was not my fault and there was nothing any of us could do about it.” I said after a few moments had passed again.
“How about you? How are you?” I asked Sarah once again, my voice sounding like it was being scratched against a wet well which made me wince a little.
“Why? I am doing perfectly alright.” She replied with a soft smile playing across her lips which I didn’t want to believe was a true one – but it looked so soft on her face, making me unsure for a few moments.
“I just wanted to confirm if you’re really doing fine.” I said to her and she stared at me quietly for a few long seconds before inquiring, “Oh? What makes you think I wasn’t?
I flushed a little in embarrassment and started to shake my hands with my hands being lifted up defensively. “Oh, no. No. I didn’t mean it like that… I was just genuinely concerned, that’s all.”
She let out a soft chuckle and kept on staring at me for a few more moments before finally saying, “There’s no need for you to be sorry, child. The fact that you’re worried and concerned about me warms my heart, if I am going to eat honestly with you. But there’s no need for you to be worried, because there’s nothing wrong with me.” Sarah finally started to say and I nodded my head along to what she had just said after a few seconds, even though a certain part of my heart didn’t buy all that he had just said and still suspected there was something wrong with her.
And she still wasn’t ready to let me know, I guess.
*******
“Matilda! I said only a little waffle.” I groaned out a moment after Matilda settled the plate heaped full with waffles.
“You never said anything like that, ma’am.” She argued back and I huffed before picking up the cup of water on the counter and raising it up to my lips to take a sip, in order to moisturize up my dry mouth and patched throat.
“It’s Sofia, again.” I reminded her with a small sigh and she nodded her head at me and gave me a thumbs up sign just before her eyes widened, dread filling up the whole space on her face.
“Don’t drink the water yet!” She cried out just as I took a small sip into my mouth. I stared at her wide eyed with water held captive in my mouth, my throat dying for me to allow the liquid to slide down.
“Why?” I grabbed out incoherently due to the water still in my mouth and Matilda quickly hurried towards the cupboard to fetch a plastic cup. She walked around the wide kitchen until she was standing beside the high chair I was sitting on.
“Spit it out.” She said as she held the cup beneath my mouth. I stared at her like she had suddenly gone crazy, it was just water, what was wrong with it and why couldn’t I drink it?
I shook my head at her and watched as she shook her head as well before pushing the cup beneath my mouth once again.
“Sofia! Spit the water out.” She said and I stared at her confusingly for a few more seconds before breathing out a harsh singh from my nose and bending over to spit the water into the cup.
“Why did you want me to spit the water out so bad?” I demanded immediately, my cheeks starting to hurt a little due to how I had held the water captive in my mouth moments ago, my throat still feeling extremely parched and dry.
She walked over to the sink and turned the contents of the cup over and I wrinkled my nose a little as I watched her pick up the cup and dispose of it in the trash can which was beside the kitchen sink.
“Because it was going to upset your stomach even more, if you take in water first instead of food, I only asked you to spit it out for your own good.” Matilda started to explain as she leaned against the other side of the counter this time and I nodded my head at all after a few moments and realization had started to dawn on me.
“Oh… I didn’t even think of that.” I said to her and she let out a small grin before pointing at the waffles heaped up on a plate before me.
“Dig into the waffles already.” She encouraged and I stared down at it, being unable to deny the fact that the waffles indeed looked yummy and my stomach rumbled a little after I leaned forward and took in a deep breath of the food, breathing the intoxicating scent in before picking up the fork and pulling the plate towards me even more.