Sophia’s face reddened. “Then I guess I’m just like my mother. Why did you even bother to take me in? You should have just sent me to juvie and saved yourself the trouble.” She grabbed Blossom, stood up, then raced to her bedroom.
Lord, help me. I have no idea what I’m doing. Give me guidance.
He stood up, then walked to Sophia’s door and knocked. “Soph, that’s not what I meant. Open the door and let’s talk.”
“I don’t want to talk right now.” Her voice cracked.
Liam grabbed the door handle and started to turn it. But stopped. She didn’t need him barging in on her and forcing her to talk. That wasn’t going to do anything but make the situation worse. She needed time to calm down. And honestly, he needed time to figure out how to approach this. He’d give her some more time. But eventually, they were going to talk.
He thought about calling Tom and asking him for advice, but he didn’t need to burden his friend with any more of histroubles. What he needed to do was see what kind of help he could get here in Renegade. He pulled the list of counselors from his pocket and stationed himself on the couch with the laptop.
An hour later, he had researched all of the suggestions and narrowed them down to a few prospects. He’d let Sophia make the final decision. She was the one who would interact with them.
He knocked on her door. “Sophia.”
Silence.
He knocked again.
The door opened. Sophia stood on the other side, wrinkles pressed into her face where she must have slept on something.
“Can we talk?”
“I don’t have anything else to say.”
“Well, I do.” He jerked his head to the front room. “Five minutes.”
She sighed and disappeared into her en suite bathroom.
He sat on the couch and waited for her to join him.
Exactly five minutes later, she plopped down next to him.
He stared straight ahead. “I’m sorry about earlier. I do not think you are your mom. I’m sorry if that’s what you thought I meant. I don’t want to see you end up like her. Soph, you’re smart, and you have a bright future ahead of you. Don’t let some loyalty to people you barely know get in the way of that.”
She looked so much like her mother at the same age. The age when she’d first gotten into trouble. And it hadn’t even been her fault. She’d taken the blame for something she hadn’t done, and that had set her on a path that’d led to her current predicament.
He looked at her. “You’ve been through a lot for someone your age. I’m worried about you, and I don’t know how to help you. It has been suggested that you see a counselor.”
She chewed her bottom lip.
He handed the list to her. “All I ask is that you look it over and think about it.”
She gingerly took the paper from him.
“I know you’re not telling me the complete truth about what happened at the school. But you did pull the lever, and you’ve been suspended from school. And for that, you’re in trouble here as well.”
She sighed.
“No electronics except for schoolwork. I’m home for the rest of the day today, but tomorrow, your phone will stay on the kitchen counter and be used only for emergencies.” He narrowed his eyes. “Real emergencies.”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to him.
Unfortunately, they lived in a day and age where landlines were almost nonexistent. Since he hadn’t had one installed yet, he didn’t want to leave her without a means of communication.
“You can use your laptop right now to look at those suggestions.” He nodded to the list lying on the couch next to her. “Then you can write apology letters to Ms. Duncan and the fire department for wasting time and resources.”
He stood and headed toward the kitchen, giving Sophia some space. When he looked back, her jaw was clenched and she was fidgeting with the list of names. He kept going. Hopefully, she’d come to him if she wanted to talk.
