One Chance (Hogan Brothers 1)

She had so many questions, and nobody seemed to want to answer her.

“Sophia.” Braxton’s voice from the door drew her back from her thoughts. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

Her eyes narrowed on him as he held the door open for her, obviously thinking she’d leave. “No. I should be in here. Everyone keeps acting like I’m some fragile little pixie and not telling me a damn thing! I won’t leave until I have answers. And since this is the only place my father will step foot in within the house, I’ll either wait here or leave and never come back.”

His bark of laughter at her threat was insulting. “Where are you going to go, Soph? Do you have a friend that would let you stay for free with no job and no skills? What exactly are you going to do?”

His words punctured a hole into her heart.

“Don’t be stupid, Sophia. You can’t leave. It’s not safe out there for you.” Braxton continued on.

There it was. Even someone she considered as a new friend thought her stupid.

She was so tired of feeling like nothing and nobody to everyone around her. She was never treated as an equal. Barely tolerated as a human being.

Standing up, she smoothed the skirt of her pleated dress against her thighs before walking forward. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, refused to let him know the words he’d spewed had hit their mark.

Stopping after she’d walked past him, she said, “If I’m such a nobody, why are you here?” She didn’t care if he responded or not. She left.

Going up to her bedroom, Sophia switched out her pumps for the Chucks she’d bought forever ago, grabbed a jacket because the sun wasn’t out, and her purse. Quietly walking down the staircase, she heard voices from her father’s office as she passed. She stopped only long enough to make sure that Braxton was in there with the man and to be sure the coast was clear.

Leaving through the massive front doors that always seemed more pompous than welcoming, she walked on down the driveway and to the street. Pulling her phone from her purse, she searched for Lennox’s body shop, hoping she wasn’t being too forward by showing up unannounced. Deciding she’d send him a quick message, she saw that he’d sent her one early that morning.

Sophia: Good morning. I have to come downtown today, was hoping I could stop by?

Putting the phone back, she resumed her trek. With nearly twenty miles to walk, she knew she would either have to hail a cab or catch a bus, eventually. While not out of shape, she certainly wasn’t prepared to walk such a far distance.

The cloud-covered sky and cool breeze made her decision quicker than she anticipated. Shivers racked her body as she walked until finding a bus stop. With a quick search on her phone, she found the next bus would come in eight minutes.

Lucky timing on her part.

Searching through her wallet, she found the right amount of change. Now she just hoped she wouldn’t get lost when it came time to switch buses. The wait was nearly torturous as it seemed like

time stood still and the wind picked up, making the small bus shelter basically ineffective.

Her cell phone chimed in her purse just as the bus made its appearance. Once on and her fare paid, she sat in the first available seat, hoping she didn’t sit in gum or something else. Pulling her phone out, Braxton’s name flashed across the screen as a missed call and two texts. She debated even opening them, not wanting to speak to him after his harsh treatment of her.

As she put the phone back, all those TV drama shows passed through her mind about tracking through cell phones. Quickly making a decision, she shut her phone down, hating that if Lennox did call or text her back, she would miss it.

Hopefully, she would be with him soon, if she didn’t get lost first.

The bus was mostly empty, only a few young kids sitting at the back talking. Being on it, she realized just how sheltered she was. It was quite literally the first time she’d taken public transportation.

It wasn’t horrible, but the smell of stale sweat made it not so great either. Watching as the neighborhoods passed by, going from her upper-class community into what she thought would be the working class was depressing. Seeing her nice clean streets turn into these cracked, pothole-filled ones made her sad.

What made rich people so special that they got an entirely new road when potholes occurred? Why did they deserve all the finer things? She’d bet her bottom dollar that the families living in these homes paid more in taxes than hers did. She hated that there was even a difference in society.

Before her mind could get too lost, the bus pulled into the depot where she was to catch her next one. Stepping off the vehicle, she searched the signs for the number of her connection.

Men watched her as she walked, almost like they knew she didn’t belong there. That she was too rich to be taking public transit. Technically, she wasn’t rich, her parents were. Sophia didn’t have a dime to her name other than the trust fund her Aunt Millie had left her, and she couldn’t touch that until she was twenty-five.

Seeing the sign with her next bus number on it, she took shelter in the small structure just behind it, sitting next to a young woman with a small child of about five. They were huddled in coats that had to be two sizes too big.

“Hi,” the little girl whispered once she was settled.

Looking down to the crystal clear blue eyes staring at her, she smiled. “Hi.” Sophia’s voice just as quiet.

“You have pretty hair like Cinderella.” Her voice was full of wonder.