Sophia, Marisa Redhead16 [phonics reader txt] 📗

fault." Tony said. Nina leaned over and placed her head on his chest. Now we know whom she liked more. "It's mine, too." she said. Tony kissed her. "Don't blame yourself, baby. I couldn't resist you, I knew it was a matter of time before we-" he stopped suddenly and looked at me. "What happened?" I said. "It was all my fault, little brother. I never took Nina home some of those days and nights. Or I stayed hours longer than I should have." Suddenly I knew what he was talking about. Without thinking, I raised my fist to hit him. Nina blocked my blow. "I'm a blackbelt, " she explained.

I was a blackbelt too, but I was not about to hit someone I loved. Tony knew I was infuriated. I hated him more than anything at this point. I walked downstairs and saw Kalonice gripping Sophia, pinning her down, and kissing her. He was forcing her to have sex! He was eighteen, and she was fifteen! "Kalonice, please stop..." she murmured. He totally ignored her and began to take off her seude skirt. I grabbed him by the stomach and yanked him off her. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he said. "She told you to stop, but you starting taking off her skirt. You could get arrested for rape, anyway." Kalonice glared at me. "Not like she'd tell. She loves me." I glanced at Sophia, expecting her to cut in, but she was staring at a spot on the carpet.

"You deserve better than him." I whispered in her ear before I left. "I'm not deaf!" Kalonice snapped, his accent more established. "Sophia, come here darling..." he said. "I love you..." But when I got home, I got on my laptop. I had to find out if he had a criminal record. I pulled up his public records. Sure enough, he had counts for robbery, statury rape, and endangering a minor by pulling her to a window while he screwed her. He'd been kicked out of his parents house twice, he'd run away. Why did Sophia not know this? But what if she did?

I called her brother. "He's going to destroy her!" I snapped. "Oh shit, I did not know any of this, she told me he had a clean record." "He was screwing her before I left, or at least tried to." I told him what happened between us. "I'm gonna kill him." Kevin said. "Get your bro to help me." "Okay." I called Tony. He didn't answer, but he called back using Nina's phone. "I'm in a house with a pedophile? Shit."


By the time I got back there, laptop in hand, Tony, Kevin, and Talia's brother were holding him down. Apparently Tony had to punch Kalonice in the stomach to get down, he'd literally just eaten. Talia's brother was tall with smooth mahogany skin. Sophia was crying and Nina was keeping her back. "Kill me, then." Kalonice said. "Fuck you." he said when he saw me. Sophia got past Nina and yanked Talia's brother off. He was lanky enough that she could. She leaned against him.

I showed Kevin the records while he held the perv. "Let him go!" Sophia said. "I do love him." Kalonice glared at her. "This glitch is telling the truth. Fine. If I never talk to your sister again will you let me go?" he said. "Fine. Go." Kevin said. "Kalonice, wait..." Sophia started, going after him. He ignored her, got his backpack, and left. He drove off in a black Nissan Coupe. Sophia started crying like crazy righ then.

She left, went up to her room, and shut the door. "KALONICE!" she yelled. "It's all my fault. I should have done a background check. He had just finished screwing her when I found him." Kevin said. "What about your parents?" I said. "Our dad works twenty-four seven at restaurants. Our mom just doesn't care, she only comes here to shower, and both our parents are cheating on each other." Kevin said. Interesting. I thought.

I could admit that Nina loed Tony, not me, bt I could not admit to myself that Sophia now hated me. I probably should not have done what I did. Kalonice was a true pedophile, but both Maureen and Sophia loved him. I went home and took a shower. It was almost dinnertime now.


At school, Sophia stayed secluded. I saved her from a pedophile, but she now hated me for it. Billy tried to flirt with her, but she ignored him too. He still hated me, he pushed me into a cheerleader's locker again, but I pushed out of his grasp. I just did all my work at school. Sophia did the same. On Sunday, I'd called her five times but no answer. When I arrived in Science, Mr. Reed pulled me aside before the bell rang. "Tobias, are you all right?" "I'm fine." I lied. He saw right through it. "Okay, well, if anything, you can talk to me or my brother." he said. My heart ripped when he said 'brother'. Tony had taken all of us to school this morning.

I was totally depressed. I tried to listen to Mr. Reed's lecture on velocity and speed. After school, I stayed outside and watched the cheerleaders practice. I saw Chris Potter and Brittany Ford making out. I felt jealous. They had each other. I saw Beth and Lang flirt. I felt lonely and jealous. Tony walked up to me fifteen minutes later. "This whole thing is my fault. All my fault." I muttered. "I should not have done what I did to Nina. It's my fault, too." Tony said. He let me lean against his chest again.

I wanted to kill myself. I'd tried several times and failed. I ensured that one of the loves of my life had a broken heart. I ensured that my other love was in love with my brother. I'd tried to save Sophia from a pedophile, but instead I ripped her heart out.


I did my homework and laid in bed, depressed, I coughed. My head hurt and I felt crappy. Mom came in and felt my forehead. I felt myself sneeze. Two times. Mom left and brought back orange juice. Fresh-squeezed.

I felt sick, physically and mentally. I knew I had broken Sophia apart. I'd torn her. I wanted to ask her to forgive me, to allow me to ask her to date me again. We'd tried, to no avail. Dang. I knew she might not. I took out a piece of paper, and wrote down how I felt. I let myself write down whatever I wanted to, wherever I wanted to.

So there I was, stuck in LoserVille. I knew I might be shunned. Sophia wasn't talking to me, at least. Everyone else was. I was depressed that my crush wasn't. I knew she may never speak to me again.

Eh, at least I found a pedophile and stopped him from hurting her. In the process, I'd hurt her myself. Oh, well. I'd rather have me breaking her heart than a pedophile possibly getting her pregnant or transmitting a disease to her. If she did get pregnant, I'd like to have it be my child.

For now, all I wanted to concentrate on was school. I was one of the top five in my class, and I wanted to keep it that way. All the better to get into film school. Yes, my secret dream is being a camera man or a director. Either or. I've been called practical and resourceful before, but never a big dreamer. My grandmother secretly wants me to get into medical school and my father law school.

No pressure. I was calculating mathematical formulas and had to finish an essay for English. I finished math quickly and began to work on English. Suddenly I heard "Can't you see there's nothing I'd rather do, but try to make it up to you?" I looked up. It was just my radio. Daughtry's 'Feels Like Tonight'.

I ignored it. Well, I tried to. I couldn't. I could feel tears in my eyes. I wiped them with my shirt, and tried to get myself together. No luck. Shit. It wasn't over though. Not until Sophia and I worked things out. This time, I wouldn't involve Nina or let her be. I had to fix this myself.


She was strumming on her guitar when I walked into her room. She looked up. "What do you want?" she said. Ouch. But I ignored the insult. "I-I'm sorry. I was trying to protect you." I said. " I know." she said, adjusting her cushion. "Then why did you get mad?" I said. "Why did you call him out on his shit?" she said. I was surprised to hear a curse come out of those plump lips. "Because I love you." I said. She looked up. "You finally said it. I loved him, but I also loved you. I loved him more." she said. I was shocked and hurt at the same time.

"Y-you loved me?" I said. "Note the past tense." she said. Ouch. She was good. I noticed a book called If. "What's this about?" I asked, picking it up. "It's about five friends growing apart. One is dating a player, one is slowly becoming the most popular girl in school, one is a nerd, one's emo, and one is trying to hold on to an old spark." "Interesting." I said. It was. Interesting context and concept, a lot of big words used, a lot of drama from what I could see. There was even a chapter titled Catfight.

Soph was almost done, from where her bookmark was. But then, I saw what her bookmark was. A school picture of ME. Me, who'd ripped her heart apart. She grabbed the bookmark and the book, and slapped me.

I didn't cry then. I left. I went home and went to bed. Then I started crying. I heard yelling. I had about enough. That man had to go. I went downstairs. I saw him shoving my mother against the fridge. I quickly grabbed his waist and tried to pull him off. He hit me and pushed me on the floor. He grabbed my neck and began to choke me. Then I died.

I remember seeing my body being rushed to the hospital. I saw Jesus. "It's not your time." was all He said. I also saw my guardian angel. He helped me back down to Earth.

The next day, I saw Tony holding my hand, Nina crying behind him. "Dad's been arrested." Tony said. "He'll go to jail for attempted murder. "I died." I said. "I know. Mom's also been hurt, he stabbed her in the chest. She'll have to divorce him now. She can't change him." "Where's Sophia?" I asked. "She tried to kill herself. She slit her neck. Kalonice came to see her. He apologized to her and they made up."

I wished Tony hadn't told me that. But I needed to know it, so he did. Damn. Shoot. Blast. Oh, well.


Two days later we were sitting in Nina's room. Me, Michael, Logan, and Nina. Michael had his arm around her tiny waist, and she had her left arm over his shoulder. They were sitting on her bed. Logan and I were sitting on the floor. Logan was leaning back and absorbing the sunlight. It made his red hair look brighter. "So, that's it." I told them. "I just sat down on the couch and started watching Gilmore Girls." "Nice." Michael said. "Alexis Bledel has pretty hair." Nina play-punched him.

"That's