Page 94 of Please Open Me
I turned to Mattie. She looked like she was enjoying this.
“I don’t want to lie down. I want Sophia to answer my question.”
Sophia tilted her head, her expression the same syrupy one she used on Jasper and Juniper when they misbehaved.
“Honeybee… Why would you even ask that? Has someone been putting ideas in your head?”
Her gaze slid past me, locking on Mattie. The air went colder.
“No one’s putting ideas anywhere. I just want to know—yes or no.”
Sophia clicked her tongue, shaking her head like I was a child who’d said something ridiculous.
“You’re upset, and when you’re upset, you start imagining things. Remember last month? You thought Cam was mad at you because he forgot to say goodnight, and it turned out he’d just fallen asleep on the couch.”
The memory hit, but it wasn’t the same. That night we’d argued about Rosie, about whether she needed therapy. This was different.
“This is different,” I said weakly.
“Is it? Or are you just feelingvulnerableright now?” Her tone wrapped around me like silk, but it tightened like a noose.
“I’m not imagining things,” I whispered, though the conviction wavered in my chest.
Sophia reached for my hand, curling her fingers around mine despite my pull back. “You know I love you more than anyone else here. I would never hurt you. So why would you think I could hurt anyone else?”
Mattie cleared her throat.
Sophia’s expression didn’t change, but her eyes sharpened like glass. “I don’t appreciate you coming into my home and poisoning my girl’s thoughts. Mason’s fragile, you know that.”
“Fragile like a bomb, not glass,” Mattie said. “She doesn’t need coddling.”
The space between us felt like it disappeared. Cameron’s hand landed on my shoulder.
“Mae, let’s go lay down. Soph gets ugly when she’s mad, and you don’t need stress right now.” His palm slid down, lingering on my stomach, a silent reminder of the pregnancy I couldn’t forget.
I shrugged him off. “Why didn’t she just laugh it off?”
“I’ve known Mason forever,” Sophia said smoothly. “I know what’s best for her.”
“And I know you’re dodging the question,” Mattie countered.
Sophia’s jaw twitched. “The fact that question even left my sweet little bee’s mouth is disturbing. And frankly,Matilda, you should be ashamed.”
The sound of Mattie’s full name made me flinch. She hated it. And how did Sophia even know it?
Sophia turned back to me, her attention heavy enough to crush. “Honeybee, Mattie's gotten you all worked up, and that’s a terrible thing for someone to do. I know you don’t know what good relationships look like anymore, but she’s using that to manipulate you.”
She tapped just above my heart. “If there were something wrong with me, you’d feel it right here.”
It was meant to be comforting. It landed like a threat.
“Or maybe,” Mattie said slowly, “You’ve just gotten good at hiding it.”
Sophia didn’t even blink. “Matilda, you’re in my home. Show me some respect.”
“Yeah,” Mattie leaned forward, “But your home’s got a very weird vibe right now.”
Cameron’s arm tightened around me, protective. “Okay, let’s all take a breath—”
