69 66. The smile never faded

"Aiden!"

Snapping out of his daze, Aiden heard his name being called out. "Huh?"

"You alright? I said I'll sleep with it but it's only sleeping okay nothing else. Don't get your head in the gutter. If you dare touch me I'll make sure you can never get your little brother up again. You hear me?"

Aiden just nodded his head like a broken record. His eyes were a bit unfocused as he looked at Sophia. His gaze never directly stared at her nor the background. It seemed to be lingering between the edges of consciousness.

"Yes, yes." As he spoke, Aiden started turning around like a robot following a command with a one track mind. Just as his foot lifted to take a step forward he stopped. His body stiffened up and his mind jolted awake. Turning his eyes to focus on Sophia's face, he spat out words that reflected his shock, "You said what now?"

Sophia seemed to face palm herself mentally once again as she let out a slightly raspy sigh. Nonetheless with much patience in her part, she once again informed Aiden of her intentions.

"We're going to sleep, Aiden." Putting a hand on Aiden's shoulder and aided him in turning to face the bed. Once his back was facing her, Sophia put her other hand on his other shoulder and slowly guided him towards the bed. "Let's go to sleep, Aiden."

As though following the flute of a pied piper, Aiden followed her words. He walked towards the bed. His heartbeat beating heavily against his chest with each step he took. Desperation seemed to have suddenly made their way towards his brain.

The alcohol in his system made it harder for him to control them all. By the time they both were in the bed laying side by side under the same blanket but on two ends of the bed, Aiden felt hot tears seep out through the slits of his bloodshot eyes.

He truly felt the loneliness and anxiety of the situation. Not because of any sorts of sexual tension between the two but rather of everything he seemed to have bottled up over the past few months. Especially the last week where everything just went south…

Trying to control himself as best as he could, Aiden turned his head as slowly as he could towards Sophia's side. Her eyes were closed and her face seemed relaxed and her breathing was also very rhythmic…

'She's already asleep…'

Aiden lingered his gaze on Sophia's sleeping face for a few seconds before starting to turn his head away when he heard her voice.

"What happened now, Aiden?" Despite the slight hint of frustration in her voice, Aiden was touched by how patient and soft her voice was. Coupled with her relaxed figure that made him want to get closer to her, Aiden mustered up some courage. It wasn't always that she wasn't giving of a cold vibe…

"Can I hold you to sleep?..." His voice was very soft. By the end of his sentence it seemed as though he was afraid of her.

Sophia really didn't know what to do about him. Without a care in the world, she replied back. "Sure. Whatever. So long as you can sleep."

Hearing her words, Aiden hesitated for a bit before inching himself closer towards Sophia. He extended his hand and held onto Sophia's shirt before closing his eyes to sleep. His legs pulled closer to his body and one of his arms gracefully holding or rather pinching a small portion of Sophia's shirt, Aiden slept.

Sophia who watched him do so was left speechless. Softly snapping her fingers twice, the room went dim and the night lights turned on. The atmosphere was also quiet, making Sophia sleepy. The day was long and dealing with a drunk Aiden was no easy task…

Closing her eyes, Sophia soon entered a deep slumber...

"Sophia… sister…"

"Wake her up…"

"They have all gathered. 20 in total. We have more registered for the following week. Shall I call them in now?"

"Send them in 10 minutes. For now it's time for… medicine."

A chill ran down Sophia's back as the words entered her ears. They were all so familiar yet they seemed too far away. Far too deep in her mind. Deeper than she could reach yet it somehow always seemed to reach her bones in the middle of the night…

A familiar sensation filled her body as she felt gushing liquid enter her body through her arms. Based on her medical knowledge, the position allowed for whatever they had just injected to her to directly enter her bloodstream and act faster than normal.

It was also a much dangerous way for operating as unexpected circumstances such as sudden shock could lead to… death.

Sophia was stuck. She tried moving her hands but she felt nothing but numbness and her legs also felt restrained…

She tried screaming for help but everything was so hard!

Her mouth seemed as though it was sealed with some f*cking strong glue and her eyes were also closed tight.

More than that she felt her whole body heat up by the second. The slight breeze that made their way through the fabric covering her made her feel unusually comfortable…

hngh...

"Looks like she's almost awake. Give her a 'shower'." The voice belonged a woman. A woman who had given lots of nightmares to Sophia…

She was none other than Layla Harper. Sophia's adopted sister or rather her 'beloved' sister from another mother?

A mocking sneer formed in Sophia's lips despite the unfamiliar yet so familiar feeling within her body. She really felt sorry for Layla… for living the miserable life that she did…

The unexpected smile from Sophia irked Layla. Her facial features scrunched up into something ugly. Frantically searching for something, she spotted the man who had just entered the room with a bucket of cold water.

"Give me that!" Her words were sharp and loud. The man flinched before gathering himself to hand over the bucket of water to Layla.

Using what strength she had, she lifted the bucket like a maniac and walked over towards the brand new single bed that laid on the floor.

On top, was the body of a twenty-six year old Sophia who was laying on top of the bed all naked besides the almost see through fabric that served to cover her vital parts. Not that it was impossible to have ideas even after seeing everything that was left uncovered and exposed to the cold air within the room.

Sophia's eyes were still closed but the smile on her lips never faded. Even when the bucket of freezing cold water splashed directly on her already heating and naked body.

Not even when the hard ice cubes hit her body like a hail falling from the sky…

The smile never faded.