Page 36 of Between the Lines

Sophie sat in one of the chairs on the front porch, knees pulled up, arms wrapped loosely around them. She wore yesterday’s sweatshirt, hair pulled back without much care, bare feet tucked under her. She was staring out at the water, eyes seemingly on the horizon, like she was waiting for something to appear. Answers, maybe.

Essie stopped in front of the door.

For a moment, she didn’t move. She didn’t want to startle Sophie. The young woman looked fragile in a way Essie rarely saw. Mostly because Sophie never let that part of her come through. She seemed stripped of her sharp edges and guarded posture.

Just a young woman sitting alone with her thoughts, the waves holding her gaze.

Essie took a breath, slid one of the doors back, and stepped onto the porch quietly, but the shush of the door on its track gave her away.

“Morning,” she whispered, trying to preserve the calm.

Sophie glanced over, eyes tired but alert. “Sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to sneak around or anything.”

“You’re not sneaking around,” Essie said gently. “You’re allowed to be here, or wherever you want to be in the house.”

Sophie nodded, then turned back to the water.

Essie took a nearby chair, careful to leave space between them. She didn’t mention there was coffee. Sophie could see that for herself. And Essie didn’t ask questions, even though she wanted to. She’d learned that sometimes the best thing she could do was simply be present.

“The house is quiet,” Sophie said after a minute. It wasn’t an observation so much as a statement of fact. Was she trying to make conversation?

“It is,” Essie said. “But it won’t be for long.”

Sophie exhaled out a short breath that sounded light enough to have almost been a laugh. “No. Kids don’t do quiet, do they?”

Essie sipped her coffee and said a prayer that if this was an opening, she’d know how to use it properly.

They sat in stillness for a while, the sky slowly shifting from pale blue to a more brilliant color that announced it would be another beautiful day. Essie let the silence stretch, resisting the urge to fill it with reassurance or plans or suggestions.

Sophie wouldn’t want any of that from her.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Sophie said finally.

“I hate when that happens,” Essie said.

Another pause.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” Sophie said.

“Don’t think that,” Essie said. “I don’t.”

The pause was shorter this time.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Sophie said, her gaze straight ahead. Her voice was flat, but the words carried weight and pain. “I keep thinking if I sit still long enough, something will make sense.”

Essie looked out at the water with her. “Sometimes it does,” she said. “Sometimes it doesn’t. Sitting still is good, though. It can’t hurt having time like that to think.”

Sophie nodded, pulling her knees closer. She didn’t look at Essie, but she didn’t get up and leave either.

Essie didn’t want to lose this momentum, because that was what it felt like. She shifted slightly in her chair. “Do you want some coffee?” she asked. She kept her voice relaxed, like it was the most ordinary question in the world.

Sophie hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. That would be good. Thanks.”

“I’ll be right back,” Essie said.

She went inside and moved quietly, mindful of the sleeping house. She poured the coffee into a mug, added cream and sugar the way she thought Sophie would like it. Essie paused with the spoon in her hand, considering, then added a little more cream.

She’d seen the sort of coffee drinks Sophie liked to share on her videos. They were always fancy. To Essie, that meant light and sweet.