Page 53 of Searching for Love

They dropped the cats back off at their house before heading to the hospital. When they parked in the hospital’s parking lot, Sophia took her hand in hers.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if she won’t agree to move out of that house,” Sophia said.

“Even living with Graig and his daughter in their small apartment would be better than going back there.”

“We’ll convince her to do something different together,” Lucas said as he took his sister’s hand.

Sophia wanted to stop at the gift shop and buy their mother a bouquet.

When they walked into his mother’s room, Lucas holding the flowers in his hands, his mother was already dressed and sitting on the side of the bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Lucas asked, moving forward.

“Home,” his mother answered. “They’ve released me. I was just waiting for you to get here.”

“I don’t want to go back to that place,” Sophia said, rushing to her mother’s side.

“Sweetie, I can’t afford for us to move right now,” Emily said with a soft sigh as she held her sides. “Besides, I’ve been assured that Diego is being transported to the county jail and that his bond will be denied. He won’t be getting out anytime soon.”

Avery could see that her mother’s words didn’t soothe Sophia any.

As she watched the family together, she wondered what she would do in Sophia’s place. She’d been a teenage girl once, afraid of many things. But to find out at the tender age of sixteen that monsters were real and, more importantly, they were related to you…

She couldn’t keep that thought from her head as they helped Emily out of the hospital and into the truck. When they parked at the house, she felt Sophia sag her shoulders in defeat.

Reaching over, she took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

“We’ll stay for lunch,” Lucas said as he helped his mother out of the truck. “I’ll make your favorite,” he told Sophia with a wink.

Sophia seemed to perk up a little. Still, the moment they entered the house, even with the cats wrapping themselves around her feet, Sophia seemed nervous.

She kept glancing back toward her mother’s room, where her father had abused them for hours. Threatened them. Tried to…

“What do you say we make lunch?” Avery suggested to Sophia when Lucas went back to clean the mess that was their mother’s room. Emily was resting on the sofa, sleeping peacefully.

Sophia shook her head. “No, I should go help.”

Avery took her hand and held onto it. “No, this your brother can do alone.”

Sophia nodded. “Fine. But I’ve never made chicken tacos without Lucas’s help. He makes the best.”

“Yes, he does, but I’m pretty good at making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” she joked.

In the kitchen, she found the ingredients for turkey sandwiches and some cans of soup. Sophia sat at the table while she prepared the meal, watching videos on her phone while the cats snuggled in her lap.

“You have a talent for making those videos, you know,” she said as she worked. “Everyone in Pride is hooked on them.”

Sophia glanced up and instead of lighting up like she had before when they’d talked about her videos, Sophia looked sad.

“He broke my camera.” She ran her hands over the cat’s fur.

Avery stilled. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

Sophia glanced up at her. “They’re hundreds of dollars. I saved up for a whole year⁠—”

“So,” she interrupted with a shrug. “It’s done. We’ll head to the mall after lunch.” She turned around and continued working.

She was surprised when Sophia rushed over and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

“Thank you. For everything,” she said into her back.

She turned in the girl’s arms and held onto her for a moment. When Lucas walked in, they were enjoying their lunch, heads bent close together as they scrolled through Sophia’s phone, looking for the right camera.

The short trip to the mall while Lucas watched over his sleeping mother was one of the best girl-shopping trips Avery’d had without her besties. Shopping with a teenager was different, fun, and expensive. In the end, Sophia’s new camera hadn’t set her back all that much. The stores in the mall hadn’t had what she’d wanted, and they’d stopped by a pawn shop on the way back home and found the perfect camera setup for Sophia and her new adventures.

The young girl was so happy, Avery’s own heart filled at seeing her joy.