For a second, my mind blanked out.
She thought that somebody had hurt Emma in that manner.
I blinked, processing the information. Trying to recall the moment when I saw Emma with Edward. Though Josh never showed or intended to do such a thing, after his betrayal, I learned my lesson for not trusting blindly.
I accept that my action seemed offensive, but it was just a reflex. The only thing that remained was to explain all of it to her, but how?
Should I tell her just about Josh? Or should I make some excuse?
But before I could choose my answer, Sophie’s voice broke the chain of my thoughts.
"Elena, I know you are not ready to tell me, but..." She held my hand with both her hands as she continued, "I am worried for her...for you."
My heart skipped a beat as I gulped down the lump forming in my throat. I took in a deep breath, as I asked out, "I will tell you everything, but swear on your life you will tell no one about it..." I paused before I darted towards the entrance, where now Edward stood.
"And when I say no one, I mean it." The moment I completed, Edward stepped in, closing the door behind him.
He too sat at the corner of the bed, as silence fell through. My eyes then fell on the sleeping figure of Emma. Just a few days before, we were chained and caged like an actual animal.
A whimper escaped from my mouth as one tear fell from the corner of my eye.
"It all started with an accident..." With this, I started telling them how some people were behind us, and when Josh tried to lure me in, but failed. And before I could notify any of my family, he kidnapped me.
How he brought Emma one day with him, trying to portray this perfect family. The time when he locked us in the room, and how we escaped from there, except for the part where we discovered that surveillance room.
I, myself, was not sure what it was and if that room had some dark mystery which is yet to be unfolded. So, telling them would do no good for them.
The less people know, the better. I thought to myself.
I finally let my gaze move from Emma to Sophie and then Edward. They both did not say anything for a long while, as if they were frozen in their position. While Edward had a blank expression on his face.
Sophie took in a deep breath, as I saw her eyes getting redder by the passing of each second, "Oh Jesus, I am so sorry."
The hands with which she held my one hand now slowly slipped away, as she continued, "I cannot even imagine what you and Emma had gone through."
I just passed her a small smile, which faded the next second. Sophie’s breath started to fasten and shorten. Her steady hands started to tremble furiously.
Her normally sized eyes started to bulge out as she blinked continuously.
My mind froze, not knowing how to process the situation, but unlike me, Edward did not waste another second, as he stood from the bed. Closing the distance between them in one stride, he held her from behind.
As her body started to jerk, his grip tightened on her. Her lips opened, but no word came out of her mouth; rather, a gasp escaped from her mouth.
Edward kept whispering something into her ear, which I could not catch immediately, but when I focused on the movement of his lips and his hushed voice, my eyes widened as I listened to those words.
"Breathe, Sophie. Slowly. With me. You’re safe. Just breathe." He kept repeating those words until she calmed down as her eyes decreased to their normal size, and her chest stopped heaving too fast. Find the newest release on novel⁂fire.net
Sophie gulped as she whispered out in her broken voice, "Wa...water."
Edward and my gaze met at the same time, as I got down from the bed. "The glasses are in the drawer to the left of the door. And the water is in the jug on the counter."
I nodded my head and sprinted off towards the kitchen. Though my steps were moving forward, my mind was still glued to the scene where Sophie was having difficulty breathing.
It was not normal, that’s for sure, but also it felt eerily similar, or if said more precisely, familiar to me.
As I entered the kitchen, I retrieved a glass and started to fill it with water when, my hands mid-way, as realization struck me.
It was the same kind of panic I had seen in my own reflection, back when Josh would corner me with his cruel smile. It was raw. Terrifying, and consuming.
My chest tightened at the thought. My story might have triggered something from her past. This was the only valid explanation for her sudden panicking.
"Elena? Did you get the water?" Edward’s voice broke my trance as I quickly filled the glass. Turning around, I replied, "Yes, I got it".
Returning to the room, I handed the glass to Edward, who took it without hesitation.
Edward slowly moved the rim of the glass towards her lips. Sophie quietly sipped off the water as I stood there watching her like a reflection of mine.
My whole body trembled as my mind started to relive those moments. I jerked my head, not wanting that dark feeling to overwhelm me when it was Sophie who wanted support.
I stood beside them if they needed anything. Time went by, and Sophie finally got stable. Edward retrieved some medication, which she took with the remaining water.
The medication did its work as Sophie’s eyes started to shut, and slowly she lay aside Emma. The two of them got closer, having that bunny between them. They both almost looked like mother and daughter.
For a moment, a strange thought crossed my mind, which made my breath hitch, but the next second, I jerked that thought out from my mind, as my eyes lay on Edward, and before I could stop myself, the words spilled out of my mouth, "Let’s talk outside."