Sofia: Phoenix Rising - Fire Within! Book 1
Chapter Eleven

With a sigh of relief, I flop on my bed, face down, into my pillows. Who knew that high school could be so draining? Slowly I roll over so that I am facing skyward and stare at the ceiling for ten minutes or so before the first chime comes through my phone.

Lori: Hey butt, where’d you go?

Lori: No really, where did you go? Are you okay?

The next text was quite an unexpected one. How did Ash get my phone number anyway?

Unknown: Hey Sofia, heard you left early. I hope you are okay. Text me back when you have a chance.

I respond to Lori’s text first to assure her that I was and am okay and left because of a headache. For some reason though, I am unable to lie to Ash.

Me: Hey Ash, yeah sorry, I couldn’t handle all the things people were saying about me today, so, I ditched. I’ll see ya tomorrow though.

After pressing send I decide to go down to the kitchen to see if I can replace anything to eat since I never ate my lunch. Rummaging through the fridge, I replace some pudding cups and pull one out. Just as I stuff a spoonful of the chocolatey goodness into my mouth, I hear the doorbell chime. Who in the hell could that be? As the thought runs through my head, I make my way to the door and peek out the window to the right of it.

Surprised doesn’t begin to describe my feelings at the moment. Quickly I throw the door open and then push the screen door open at the same time saying; “Ash?” I’m sure he can hear the shock in my voice at seeing him standing on my front porch. “What are you doing here?”

A coquettish grin crosses his lips, “I um, just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Would you like to come inside?” Why did I suddenly feel so nervous? Moving to the side, I watch as Ash walks through the doorway and then once the door is shut, I head back into the kitchen with him following behind. I take a seat at the kitchen table and Ash follows suit.

“Uh, shouldn’t you be in class?” I stare at Ash curiously.

He burst out laughing at my question. Which automatically causes me to scrunch my nose up and give him a glare. I mean, I know why he is laughing at me because I should be in school too, but… rolling my eyes, I shake my head and laugh too. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, but that was funny just the same.”

“Whatever,” I mumble and then proceed to stuff another spoonful of pudding into my mouth. I look up from the cup and catch him staring at me. Swallowing my pudding, I raise an eyebrow and ask; “what?”

Ash gives me an adorable grin before pointing out that I have pudding on the corner of my mouth. My cheeks go red, and I wipe at my lips. Apparently, I did the wrong side because he is laughing at me and then to my surprise, he reaches across the table with his thumb, gently placing it against my mouth and removes the pudding for me. As he touches me, I swear I feel that same current of electricity course between us again, but it was so brief that seconds later, I doubt myself that it occurred.

I stare at him, and he returns the stare. I unconsciously reach up and touch his hand which is still against the side of my face. We both unknowingly have leaned toward one another and are just mere inches from replaceing ourselves kissing when we hear the door from the garage entrance bang shut. The moment is shattered, and we jump apart just as my parents enter the kitchen with bags of groceries in hand.

“Hey Sofie, how come you’re home from school so early?” Dad asks as he walks into the kitchen and places a grocery sack on the counter and looks at me. “Are you feeling alrig-…” Dad stops mid question as he realizes we are not alone. I feel a blush trying to creep up my cheeks and I shift my eyes from my dad to my mom and then to Ash. I seriously don’t know what to say, feeling like a deer caught in headlights.

Thankfully Ash stands up and speaks for me; “Mr. And Mrs. Einan, Sofia was complaining about a bad headache and feeling a little dizzy, so I offered to follow her home from school to make sure she arrived safely. I hope you don’t mind. I stayed to make sure she ate something before I left.”

Mom gives me a sly grin before saying; “and who might you be? And thank you for making sure our daughter arrived home safely.”

“Dad, mom, this is Ash Dritan. He just moved here from Australia.” My dad seems frozen where he stands but mom walks over and shakes Ash’s hand.

“Hi, Ash. It is very nice to meet you. I’m Rene and this is Marco.” Mom releases Ash’s hand and takes a step back to stand next to my dad. For some reason, I feel like I need to replace a dark hole and crawl into it. “Well, it’s nice to meet you both, but I better be heading home. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow Sofia.” Ash waves goodbye to us and then hurries out the door.

I take a deep breath because I want to run from the kitchen, but I don’t. I did nothing wrong well, besides leaving early from school. I stare at my mom, waiting to be scolded... but it doesn’t happen. Instead, mom says; “Marco, would you mind grabbing the rest of the groceries please?” Dad nods his head yes and then heads back to the garage.

“So, is that the guy you went on a date with over the weekend?” Mom gives me a Cheshire-cat like grin after asking the question.

“What? Oh, no. That was a guy named Blake. Ash is just a friend. I don’t think he is interested in me like that. Lori told me that she and he had an impromptu date Saturday night.” There I go rambling again. I give my shoulders a shrug like “who knows” and wait for her to respond.

However, she just stares at me a moment in shock. “Hmm, that’s interesting.”

Now I feel confused, “what’s interesting?”

“Oh, nothing to fret over, I just thought I saw a connection between you two is all.”

I chuckle at her statement, “whatever mom, you’re crazy.” Secretly though, I am smiling inside. So, she noticed it too.

My heart is singing knowing that mom could see “something” between Ash and myself. I am still thinking about her words as I drive into the school parking-lot Tuesday morning. I am humming some random tune to myself as I head towards the school entrance when suddenly I feel something heavy fall across my shoulders. An oomph escapes my lips before I’m able to turn my head to look at what was draped over me.

Blake is looking down at me grinning. “Hey babe, how are you feeling today?” He continues smiling at me and for some reason, it really seems to annoy me. I do all that I can to keep from growling out my annoyance. I force a cheerful expression upon my face.

“Hi Blake. I’m feeling a lot better now, thank you for asking.” I try to wiggle away from his arm and almost succeed but as he moves his arm from my shoulders, he takes my hand in his. I groan inwardly and we continue down the hall to the stairwell, hands linked. Just before I climb the steps, Blake gives me a kiss on the cheek, catching me totally by surprised.

I hurry up the stairs after that, straight to my locker. So many thoughts are running through my head that I have to do the combination three times before I hear the click that will allow me to open up my locker.