Page 126 of Trying Sophie

“Like she said,” Annie answered as she pulled her phone from my grip, “a month ago.”

My eyes found Maggie’s and they glimmered with smug victory.

“Specifically,” I said through clenched teeth, “when was this photo taken?”

Maggie scrunched up her nose and looked to the ceiling. “Let’s see. I think it was the week they beat Cardiff. We were all out celebrating their victory.

I was going to kill Declan. The Cardiff match was the one following the night he and I had holed up at The Georgian House Hotel. The night I told him I was afraid he was going to be with me and then turn around and fuck someone else while he promised that wouldn’t happen. The night he told me he wanted to be monogamous, for our relationship to be exclusive.

And I’d believed him.

Shit, damn, motherfucking cocksucker cheater!

“And this was two weeks later,” Annie added vindictively as she shoved the phone in my face again but I refused to look. “Come on, don’tcha want to see?” she asked, waving the device in front of my eyes. “It’s a really great one of Declan,” she chuckled as I fought back tears.

“Okay, fine. Since you won’t look at it, let me describe it to you. Declan has his tongue down—”

That was it. I’d had enough. I shoved her back and barreled past the evil bitch, slapping her phone out of her hand. As calmly as I could so as not to arouse suspicion, I tugged my jacket from under a pile of other coats in the foyer, shrugged it on, and snuck out the door, just barely managing to hold in my sob until I was safely in the elevator. When I flung the lobby door open and stepped outside, I was hit with a biting, frigid wind that stole my breath and practically froze the tears on my cheeks.

Checking that no one had followed me from upstairs, I stepped off to the side out of the lights and pulled my phone out of my purse. Tapping my fingers furiously over the keyboard, I ended things with Declan. I thought the text fitting since that was the medium where our relationship had first blossomed. Now I’d use it to kill it.

No, that wasn’t you who killed your relationship, my subconscious scolded. He did that all on his own.

Sophie: I trusted you and that was my mistake, but I’m done making mistakes where you’re concerned. We’re through.

Shoving the phone back into my purse, I looked around wildly, trying to figure out which way to go to get out of here since Aidan’s neighborhood wasn’t one I was familiar with. Remembering Declan and I had parked on a residential side street to the left, I stalked to the right, hoping to hit a major road where I could flag down a taxi. Twenty minutes later, I’d found the road but taxis remained elusive. Several had passed, but all had already been claimed by others.

While I wandered around in the dark, I ignored six phone calls from Declan, sending them straight to voicemail. I also disregarded his many text messages. Since apparently tonight I was being a masochist, I decided to read each one before deleting it.

Declan: Where are you?

Declan: Talk to me, what’s going on?

Declan: Sophie, please. WHERE ARE YOU?

Declan: I’m going to call the guards if you don’t tell me where the fuck you are. You’re scaring me.

Sophie: I’m fine. Stop contacting me. I told you, we’re over.

Declan: I don’t understand what’s going on. Everything was fine less than an hour ago.

Declan: Please talk to me. You owe me that much.

Sophie: Ask that cunt Maggie. She’ll be happy to fill you in.

In the normal course of things, cunt wasn’t a word I used often—being a feminist and all. But if the shoe fits, I thought sullenly as I powered down my phone so Declan couldn’t reach me. So I couldn’t cave and let him.

After awhile I let myself wonder what he might say to Maggie, how she’d laugh about it and Declan would scold her for opening her big mouth. She’d convince him it was all for the best and they’d leave the party together to go fuck somewhere while I wandered around Dublin cold, lost, and angry.

Well, they can have each other because I am done.

Done with Declan, and done standing out here waiting for a taxi that was never going to stop for me. I scoffed because yeah, that about summed up my life perfectly. Everything went on just the way it always did with no room for me to squeeze in.

Pulling up Google maps, I navigated my way to the closest train station and bought a ticket on the last DART of the night back to Ballycurra. I cried the whole way home.

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