Shadows In Durango

*****Sofia's POV*****

I could feel my pulse quicken as Vincent's text message to Emma's phone repeated over and over again from within my head:

'Daryl's doing better. We should probably talk today. I'll meet you when you get to the hospital later?'

Was this it?

It was direct and straight to the point giving nothing away?

That was Vincent's style...

Was this whole meet up lining itself up to be the dreaded conversation where he's going to tell me it's all over? Whatever spark we had together, now gone? That I was too much of a liability for him, for everyone around me? Most likely.

My mind spiraled with every possible outcome as I finished drying my damp hair, and none of them felt good. Still, I knew I had to face reality sooner rather than later in order to move on in any way I can...

Whatever he had to say to me, whether it be good or bad, I would have to hear it in person, to my face.

I glanced across the room at Emma, who gave me an encouraging smile as she pulled on her peach coloured sweatshirt. "You've got this, Sofia. I can practically hear your thoughts. You need to just talk to him, clear the air, you'll both feel better for it after."

I nodded, even though my stomach continued to do flips. "I know, we should probably go there soon, it's getting closer to the afternoon visiting slots. I'll be ready in two minutes." I announce, sighing once more as I drag the brush through my well conditioned hair - grateful to look somewhat normal again despite the remnants of bruising, but I looked way better than what I had done when I first freed myself from Ashtons grubby basement...

Emma quickly hammered out a message on her phone, probably sending it to Reid since he had offered to come pick us both up, as I placed the brush down on the nightstand.

Everything seemed to move quickly from there, which I hadn't exactly wanted it to, growing more nervous by the second.

Reid turned up, we both climbed in, and thankfully he seemed to have more colour to his cheeks today compared to last night - seeming more back to his usual self.

"Did you sleep?" Emma questioned him, as I chose to remain quiet in the back.

"Yeah Vincent and I managed to take turns during the night, they gave us a small room with a bed when they realised we weren't leaving any time soon which was good." He explains, as I feel relieved to hear that Vincent had managed to sleep a little bit too.

Maybe by having all of us rested now, it would help diffuse things a little easier? Or maybe I was just dreaming up false hope...

The ride to the hospital felt like it went by in a flash, even though it was just a short drive from Emma's place - I had hoped that it would feel longer today. Emma helped to fill the silence with firing random questions at Reid, clearly trying to distract us all, but I could barely focus on anything that was being said.

My mind was stuck on what Vincent might have to say to me, what his face might look like when we first see each other again today...

By the time we reached the hospital parking lot, my palms were sweaty, and my heart was pounding so loudly that I imagined I could hear it echo up in to my ears. My head maintained a dull ache, one that hadn't seemed to fully leave me alone since my encounters with Ashton...

I groan slightly, rubbing at my temple as I followed them both out of the car, allowing for my body to enter autopilot, as we walked up the familiar steps and in to the same old dreary building.

I couldn't help but remember the last time we were here only hours ago, the fear, the helplessness of not knowing what would happen to Daryl eating us alive.

But thankfully, he was doing good now, at least that was the last we had heard.

When we finally reached the waiting room, Vincent was sat in one of the chairs over by the vending machines and hadn't noticed us come in yet...

The moment we stepped towards him, he turned, his expression hard to read as he eyed each of us carefully on approach...

He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't completely cold either. His eyes softened slightly when they landed on me, but the tension between us was still very much there, remaining buried beneath the surface. "Hey," he greeted, his voice low. "I'm glad you're both back." He states politely, as I push out a tight smile, feeling awkward on the inside.

"Why aren't you in with him? Is he sleeping again?" Reid questions, as he clears his throat before responding.

"Nah his fucking Mom decided to show up so as you can imagine she's in there all over him like a bad rash. Amelia came back not too long ago though so at least she's in there with them." Vincent tells Reid who rolls his eyes knowingly. It was then that I only realised that I hadn't actually been told much about Daryl's family, or Reid's for that matter, and only knew them for living with Vincent at his place.

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Judging from Vincent's opinion of Daryl's Mom shining through when he speaks of her, she may be another tricky one to navigate?

I swallowed, trying to find my voice amongst the building silence. "How's Daryl doing anyway?"

Vincent's expression eased a little more at hearing me speak for the first time, seeming somewhat surprised that I had.

"He's doing better today. Ate his first meal this morning but it wasn't much. He's still groggy, but the doctors say it's a good sign." His tone was lighter when he talked about Daryl, as if the progress was giving him something to hold onto. "That's... that's great news," I replied, relief washing over me, but it didn't last long.

I knew we weren't here just to talk about Daryl... and that he wanted to address the matters between us...

"Well, I planned to head back to the house to grab some things for him, and I was hoping you'd come with me, Sofia. We do need to talk." Vincent stands from his position, as I catch Reid and Emma locking eyes - both of them probably feeling caught somewhere between us both.

The fear inside of me suddenly twisted tighter as I felt my cheeks fall flush.

This was it...

Emma gave me a supportive nod, sensing my hesitation. "I'll stay here with Reid and keep an eye on Daryl. You guys go and take your time."

I forced back a small smile, thankful for her. "O-Okay." Turning to Vincent, I added, "Yeah, I'll come with you."

Without another word, Vincent took off in large strides as I followed after him to leave the hospital.

The silence between us was heavy, filled with everything that hadn't been said yet as we approached and climbed in to his car, before he started it up.

I kept my hands locked together in my lap, fidgeting with the hem of my black sleeve as we pulled out of the parking lot.

For a while, neither of us spoke, the quietness almost unbearable as I began to wonder if he had plotted on giving me the silent treatment as a form of punishment? But finally, Vincent broke the silence.

"I don't blame you for this, you know," he said quietly, his eyes remaining fixed on the road ahead.

I turned to look at him, surprised. "What? I mean, how?!" I babble back, having not expected to start this way.

He sighed, running one hand back through his hair. "I don't blame you for what happened to Daryl. I'm angry, yeah, but not at you...." He trails off, as I scrunch my face up in confusion.

"I feel that I'm responsible for all of this," I admitted, my voice hoarse. "If I hadn't come into your life at all, then none of this would've happened to any of you." I swallow the cold hard truth, allowing another silent pause to fill the space. He's thinking on my words, probably knowing that I'm right...

Vincent glanced over at me briefly. "You didn't bring Ashton into this willingly. He made his own choices, and he hurt people because of his own issues. That's nothing to do with you. What was to do with you though, was not telling me sooner that you knew he was here, in town." Ashton deadpans, his tone growing slightly more stern towards the end as I shift slightly in the seat.

He has a point there... is that what he's pissed at me for? Not telling him on the day that I first saw him?

I swallowed hard, tears prickling at my eyes. "I just... I knew that whatever you were dealing with was a lot... you seemed so stressed and on edge that at the time, I didn't want to selfishly add another problem on top of that... but what I didn't know was that your stress all linked back to contacting my father behind my back... why didn't you just tell me Vincent?"

Our dispute was shaping up to be a back and forth match, each presenting our own struggles with the other, displaying what we believe went wrong and awaiting the others response...

It was still unclear as to how it would unfold, but I prayed for the best possible outcome, one that doesn't completely destroy all hope of my future here, in town.

"Sofia..." He starts, as I angrily swipe back the first tear that falls down from my eye.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I was sick of crying, sick of crumbling, I wanted to stay strong...

"Why didn't you just tell me?!" I breathe, as another tear falls, before he pulls up in to his driveway and puts the car in to park.

He falls forward, head flopping down in to his hands as he thinks over my words.

At the root of everything, I was still incredibly hurt about him involving my father, more hurt than what he even knew.

Could this even be fixed between us?

Maybe not...