“Thank you.” Sophie’s voice wavered. She knew she should probably just have gone home but she knew she would regret not visiting Margaret, who was expecting her, and she feared that if she went home there might be a chance that she could not bring herself to leave again.

Everything felt wrong, her skin felt too heavy upon her and her head felt too light. The ground beneath her feet was too hard and the air around her too thin.

Sophie stood outside Margaret’s hospital door trying to get control over her emotions, trying to bury the pain that assaulted her. She could feel her phone vibrating in her pocket but she couldn’t bring herself to pull it out. She knew Ashton was trying to call her and she felt too broken to face him now. She was here for Margaret. Taking a deep calming breath, she tried to pull all of her frenzied emotions in tighter against her heart so they wouldn’t show through. Sophie held onto a basket of sweets that she had bought from the gift shop downstairs. Her hands felt numb as she grasped the handle of the basket until it groaned in distress. Finally when she felt as ready as possible, she knocked. When Margaret called for her to enter, she pushed the door open and forced herself to seem unaffected by the storm of emotions brewing inside her.

“Sophie,” Margaret welcomed warmly when she entered. It did offer Sophie some relief knowing that she was doing so well. She was sitting up with a magazine upon her lap. “It’s good to see you, dear.”

“You look beautiful. Are you sure you just had surgery?” Sophie tried to be light but she could hear her words fall heavy to the floor.

“Come sit. I’m a little sore but other than that I’m doing great. The doctor feels good about the surgery and my recovery, so I couldn’t ask for more,” Margaret assured her.

Sophie placed the basket on the table next to her bed. “In case you need something sweet.” Sophie smiled and reached in to wrap her arms around Margaret. “I was worried about you. I’m glad things went so well.” When Sophie went to pull away, Margaret held onto her, giving her an extra squeeze.

“Tell me what’s wrong?” she whispered, holding onto Sophie. She let her go to look into Sophie’s eyes.

“I’m fine.” Sophie tried to sound sincere but she felt her lip tremble. “Nothing that needs to be discussed right now. When do you get to leave this place, anyway?” Sophie sat down beside Margaret’s bed and took in the white room around her.

“It could be as early as tomorrow but what I would really like to know is why there is so much sadness in your beautiful green eyes.”

Sophie shook her head as she avoided Margaret’s gaze. “You would think that they would have clued in that a little color on the walls could make this place a little less stark and depressing,” Sophie said thoughtfully.

“Sophie? Look at me.” Margaret reached for her hand. “I want you to talk to me.”

Sophie looked into Margaret’s eyes and felt her resolve crumble. “My whole life I told myself not to fall in love because I would only get hurt. I saw my mother hurt so many times. I didn’t want to feel that.” Sophie reached up and wiped a tear that fell down her cheek. “I thought I could avoid it…I should have avoided it.” Sophie didn’t want to tell Margaret who she was talking about because she didn’t know how Margaret would feel about her being with her grandson. “It’s my own fault for believing that it could end any other way.”

“What happened?” Margaret held onto Sophie’s hand.

“I stopped on the way here to get you your favorite coffee and he was there with his ex-girlfriend. And she’s not just some girl. She made it her life’s mission to make my life miserable in high school. I saw them kiss. I ran out without the goods…sorry.” Sophie wiped away the tears that ran freely down her cheeks. “You probably really would have enjoyed a caffeine fix right now.” Sophie took a deep calming breath.

“Come here.” Margaret offered her arms for an embrace. Sophie leaned over and fell into Margaret’s comforting hold. “We can’t have the good without the bad, unfortunately. I know that it hurts right now but if there is something that I have learned over my many years it’s that the pain is worth it…I never did like that Lucinda girl.” Margaret patted her arm.

Sophie pulled away and looked at Margaret with wide eyes. “You know?”

“Yes, dear. I don’t know why he was meeting her. That’s something only Ashton will be able to tell you. Though, one thing that I do know is when my Ashton came to me years ago and told me about a new girl at his school, I could see it in his eyes that you owned a piece of his heart even then. He told me that you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Since that first day he spoke of you, you have never been far from his mind. I think he reserved his heart for you since that very first day. Maybe things are not as they seem.”

Sophie shook her head. She wasn’t really sure how to proceed with the information that Margaret had just told her. “I don’t understand. Did you know who I was when you hired me?”

“Yes.” Margaret sighed. “He didn’t want you to know but it was actually Ashton who told me you needed a job. He arranged everything. Though, I am so very grateful you came into my life. I knew instantly why you meant so much to him. You need to keep in mind that fate brought the two of you back together for a reason. When you open yourself up to love it makes you vulnerable to pain.”

“I wish you were right, Margaret, but I fear this crazy road that Ashton and I are on has come to an end. I’m not strong enough for this.”

“I don’t know the history you and Ashton share. I know that it hasn’t been easy for either one of you. You are one of the strongest people I know. You just have to decide how hard you’re willing to fight.”

They both turned toward the door as it swung open and Ashton stood there filling the frame of the door. He was out of breath but looked relieved when his eyes fell on Sophie next to Margaret’s bed.

“Let me explain…please.” Ashton walked up to her, kneeling in front of her.

“Wait.” Sophie placed her hand on his shoulder. She could feel his shoulders tense, unsure of her intentions. “Will you come outside with me?” she asked. He stood and reached for her hand. She let him take it.

“Of course.” He pulled her hand up to kiss it. His contact made the tears sting her eyes because this would be the last time she held his hand. Being close to him made it impossible to think clearly, to know what was best.

“Goodbye, Margaret. I’ll call you later,” Sophie managed. Margaret only offered a gentle nod. Sophie knew it was because Margaret knew where Sophie’s thoughts were.

Sophie led him down the hall to a group of chairs that were away from any commotion, giving them privacy. She sat down and waited for him to take the seat beside her. She looked into his beautiful blue eyes that were full of questions. She would have loved the opportunity to stare into them every day for the rest of her life but it was not meant to be. Sophie leaned over and kissed his lips softly. She pulled away when he reached up to pull her close. “This is my goodbye.”

Ashton grabbed her hand. “Don’t do this.” He was desperate and it tore at her already broken heart. “I didn’t know she was going to kiss me. It didn’t mean anything.”

“You have no idea what high school was like for me. From my first day I was basically shunned by everyone. No one would talk to me because of lies that Lucinda and you spread. It doesn’t matter why you did it. It hurt, every moment of every day was painful for me because no one would even talk to someone that Lucinda and you hated for fear that they would be turned on as well. I thought I could get past it, and what we shared was wonderful…but seeing you and Lucinda together again, not once but twice, made me realize that it still hurts too much. I can’t do this. I don’t want to hurt like that again. We shouldn’t be together, this was a mistake. How could we ever have expected a happy ever after to come from something that was born of so much hatred?”