Sara dragged herself into her apartment, her limbs heavy and head foggy. She tossed her bag onto the couch and collapsed beside it, sighing as her body sunk into the cushions. Her eyes fluttered half-closed, still hazy with exhaustion despite all the rest she'd gotten. But rest didn't always equal peace—and her thoughts refused to let her go.
Her mind wandered—of course it did—to Augustine."What is it with him?" she muttered, rubbing her temple with slow, circular strokes. His cold stare, the tension in his posture, the way her body either wanted to punch him or... fall into him. She grimaced."Why the hell did I react like that?"The ache in her head pulsed harder.
"He has a beautiful wife. A precious little daughter. And still, he walks around like life owes him an apology." She frowned deeper, mumbling more to herself now than anything else. But her thoughts took a detour—to Sofia.
That woman.
There was something about Sofia that stirred her in a way she didn't understand. The kind of feeling that started in the chest and fluttered all the way down, like butterflies had been injected straight into her bloodstream. She should've panicked when she saw the blood, but instead… she wanted to hold her. To whisper that everything would be okay. Why? She didn't know. It made no sense.
"That whole family is confusing as hell," she hissed to herself, opening her eyes—only to nearly leap off the couch.
"God, Mom! You scared the life out of me!" Sara clutched her chest, her heart hammering as she realized Amelia was seated right beside her, arms crossed, lips pursed, watching her daughter mutter to herself like a lunatic.
"What were you mumbling about? Where have you been?" Amelia asked sharply, suspicion laced through every word.
Sara groaned, dragging a hand down her face as she shifted on the couch. "Where else could I be? I was at work," she said, pouting for effect.
"That's funny," her mom snapped. "Because I called Jose, and he told me you resigned."
Sara blinked. "Oh!" she said, snapping her fingers. "Right. I forgot to tell you—I got a new job. Better pay. So I quit." She offered her mother a bright, innocent smile.
Amelia narrowed her eyes. "And you just decided not to tell your own mother?"
"Moooom!" Sara groaned again, throwing her arms around her in a dramatic hug. She nuzzled her cheek against her mother's shoulder like a guilty child. "I've been so busy lately, so much is happening, I totally forgot! But I swear I'm not doing anything shady. I can even show you the contract, okay?"
Amelia gave her daughter a sideways glance but finally gave in, patting her back slowly. "Alright. I believe you about the job," she said, her voice softening. "But don't think I forgot about that date. Who is he? I need all the details."
Sara pulled away with a little groan, her expression now more serious. "I'm still figuring it out, okay? He was... nice. We had coffee. It was good. What more do you need to know?"
Amelia raised a brow. "I need to know if he's serious or not. If he's not, I'm not wasting any more time—I'll introduce you to someone else."
"Gosh, Mom! Can we not do this again?" Sara crossed her arms now, exasperated. "I told you I'm interested. We'll go on a few more dates, figure out if it's worth pursuing. I can't just propose to the guy on the first date!"
"The right man will propose you on the first date," Amelia huffed. "Your father did!"
Sara threw her head back with a loud laugh. "Mom, that's ancient history! People don't do that anymore. Relax—I'll let you know if anything big happens."
Her mother squinted. "I still think you hired him just to get out of that blind date."
"No, I didn't!" Sara started to defend herself when her phone dinged on the coffee table. She snatched it up and read the screen. A message from Elijah.
"Hey, are you free?"
Sara lit up instantly. "See? He texted me. Why would a man I hired for a date text me afterward, huh?" She held the phone up like evidence in a courtroom.
Amelia peered at the message, still unconvinced but visibly annoyed by how hard it was to prove her wrong.
"Fine," she said slowly, "text him back i wanna see how real he is."
Sara dropped her face into the pillow and let out a muffled scream. She had hoped that simply showing her mother the message would end the interrogation. Clearly, her mother wasn't going to fall for that little trick. Huffing, she finally lifted her head, snatched up her phone again, and typed out a single reply:
"Yeah, why?"
The tone was dry—reluctant at best.
A moment later, his response lit up the screen.
"I was wondering if you were free the day after tomorrow. I've got a party to attend and needed a plus one. Thought of you immediately."
Her face fell. A party? With a guy she'd barely met? Sure, they had spoken once, but that hardly made him any less of a stranger than the delivery guy down the street. Her first instinct was to decline, but under the hawk-like gaze of Amelia, she sighed heavily and typed back:
"Sure. Tell me where."
Before she could hit send, a voice piped up over her shoulder.
"What do you mean tell me where?!" Amelia exclaimed, scandalized, arms crossed as she stared at the screen.
Sara whipped around. "Mom! Privacy?"
"I'm your mother. There's no such thing as privacy between us. Now tell that man to man up and pick you up from home," Amelia declared, as if issuing royal command.
Grinding her teeth, Sara hesitated for a moment, then swallowed what little pride she had left and typed:
"Sure, but… can you pick me up?"
She pressed send with a reluctant finger, feeling like she'd just thrown her self-respect out the window. But to her surprise, the reply came quickly—and warmly:
"I was going to suggest the same thing, once you said yes."
Amelia nodded slowly, lips pursed in approval. "Good. Now I get to see this man for myself."
Sara rolled her eyes, locked her screen in defeat, and slumped back onto the couch. She pressed her face into the pillow again, this time whispering to herself.
"Great. So now I officially have a second date. Whoopee~"
And with that, she exhaled deeply and let the pillow swallow her again.