Page 16 of The Do Over
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Jack had words to say but he didn’t know where to begin. He wanted to apologize but he didn’t know the words to say. Somehow, they had gotten stuck under his tongue and gone out of his head.
Eventually, Sophie cleared her throat. She got up.
“All right. I’ll head in now.”
Jack could only nod and watch as she walked past him, straight for her room. It was only when she had gotten in and closed the door that he realized why he had no words to say.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have the words. It was that if he had opened his mouth, the words that would have gotten out wouldn’t beI am sorry.It would have been—I like you. I like you, Sophie.
CHAPTER7
THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT.
The darkness tookSophie by surprise and she ended up hitting her foot against the bed frame. In her attempt to stop her fall, she ended up hitting her head on the edge of her bedside table. She collapsed to the floor and doubled over in pain.
A minute later, someone burst into the room with a flashlight.
“Are you okay?”
She tried opening her mouth to tell them that she was fine but the only sound that came out was a low moan that betrayed the amount of pain she was in. So she pointed to her head and in the direction of her bedside table.
Then strong arms were lifting her from the ground and cocooning her next to a warm, solid body. She closed her eyes to block out the glare from the flashlight and let herself be carried out of the room and to the living room, where she was gently placed on the couch.
Minutes later, she left something cold on her forehead. “How’s your head?” Jack asked.
She shook her head. “I feel like someone rammed against my head with bricks. I feel awful.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened to the light. I’ll go check on it, see if it’s a general issue and I’ll be back.”
Sophie held on to his hand as he was about to leave, cracking her eyes open so she could stare at him. There was concern in his eyes when he turned to look at her and he reached down with his hand to touch her forehead.
“I don’t feel sick,” she said after they locked eyes for a few seconds without any words. “My head just hurts. I stubbed my toe against the bed frame and I was trying to break my fall when I hit my head against the edge of my bedside table.”
Jack’s low chuckle and the slight smile on his face made her frown. “What? Why are you laughing? I don’t think I’ve seen anyone take pleasure from the pain of others unless you’re a psychopath.”
He quickly shook his head and his smile fell off. “Not that. I’m not laughing at your pain. It’s just…just how it happened. You went from trying to break your fall after stubbing your toe to hitting your head. Sounds like bad karma to me.”
She rolled her eyes. “If anyone is to have bad karma, it should be you. You’re the one who has been making life hellish for me since I got here.”
“How?”
His look of surprise did not fool Sophie. She had known him in college and all his tricks were old chapters in a read and well-worn book to her. She scoffed.
“Don’t act like you don’t know. Driving like an old man, allowing Bethany—whom you know causes trouble wherever she goes to tag along and then arguing with me over something we’ve settled a long time ago.”
“Oh,” Jack said. Sophie rolled her eyes. “You have some sort of explanation?”
“Maybe?”
“Go ahead. I’m in a listening mood. I also think the blackout is a general problem, so I might as well try to be civil to you while I can’t properly see your face.”
In response, Jack moved her legs so he could perch at the edge of the chair. In retaliation, Sophie pushed him to the ground, laughing when she heard his groan of surprise and pain.
“I didn’t tell you that you could sit on the chair. I’m someone going through pain. Have you no sympathy?”
