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were making love against the wall. He listened to those soft pants of hers he d grown to love. He may
have enjoyed catching up with Asia again, but where Sofia would get the idea that anyone else would
ever do was beyond him.
***
Monday morning, Sofia stretched as she walked through her backyard toward the back gate. Wh
banbsen she got out, she held on to the gate with one hand and stretched her leg behind her with the
other.
The conversation she d had with Eric that weekend still lingered in her mind. Even though she
gave into him and didn t storm out of there like she had intended after he admitted to having coffee
with Asia, the doubt still loomed. She d hardly slept the night before just thinking about it. Eric could
continue to talk to Asia every day and she d never know about it. He still hadn t mentioned anything
about her going out to visit him.
After stretching a bit more, Sofia began running. She d only been running for five minutes when
Brandon was by her side. Sofia smiled, looking down at Troop. He d finally started walking on his
leash without Brandon having to drag him.
The sweat dripped down Brandon s face. You re late today.
Yeah, I slept in, she said. It felt good, too.
Late night?
She shook her head. Actually, I was in bed early, but I had a hard time sleeping. She considered
taking off in a sprint to beat him to the park, but she didn t think Troop would be able to keep up.
When they finally did get to the tree, Sofia bent over to pet Troop.
You gotta hurry back again, or do you have a few minutes to talk?
His eyes gave Sofia that funny feeling she got from him on Friday. The dark stubble on his hard
chin made the blue of his eyes that much more piercing. She glanced away, petting Troop some more.
I have a few minutes.
Brandon sat down on the grass He pulled a few blades of grass out of the ground, then looked
back at her. I wanted to thank you.
Thank me? Sofia searched his eyes.
Yeah, there s no way you d know this, but you re the reason I enlisted in the Marines in the
first place.
She shook her head. Me?
Yeah, you, he smiled. Remember when we used to talk in Geometry class and you would talk
about doing whatever it takes to reach you re goal, and never give up?
Sofia remembered the conversations. But she was so into trying to keep her spot on the relay
team back then, most of her motivational speeches were geared by that. She sat down across from him,
but not too close. Yeah, I remember.
Brandon smiled and gazed at her for a moment, making her avert her attention back to Troop.
Back then, my life at home was crap. Always had been, actually. My dad had always been abusive,
mostly to my mom, but on occasion, he turned it on me, too. I hated life I hated everyone. I talked to
nobody, and I mean nobody. I had no friends and wanted no friends. I think you were the only one I
ever opened up to. I thought it was ironic too cause I d been such a jerk with you growing up.
Troop jumped on Sofia s lap. She hugged the puppy, petting him all over. You weren t so bad. I
thought maybe you just did it to get to my brothers.
Brandon look> Blocked at her incredibly. Why would I want to do that? Alex has always been a
monster, and he wasn t even the biggest one back then.
So why did you?
Brandon glanced away. I don t know. I think I just didn t know how else to react to you.
Anyway, he lifted a shoulder. I thought a lot about what you said back then. You were always so
cheery and optimistic about everything and it sort of motivated me to do something with my life. I
hated school but I hated coming home even more. Then one day you talked about the career center at
school. Did you know I never even knew our school had a career center until you brought it up?
You re kidding me? That s all the teachers and counselors ever harped about.
Yeah, like I was listening, he scoffed. So I actually went down there and picked up the
information on the Marines and started reading up on it. That s how I decided it was the best thing for
me. I knew college wasn t for me, and it would get me away from my dad. I felt bad about leaving my
mom, but sometimes I got the feeling she felt worse about me having to see all the crap he did than
her having to live with it.
He stared at Sofia for a moment. She d always known there was more to Brandon, even back
then. Hearing him talk about his family now made her feel terrible. It wasn t his fault. She couldn t
even imagine being such a loner and no family support.
Seeing me as a Marine changed something in my dad. It s like suddenly he had something to be
proud of. Everything in my life changed, including my dad. Life at home is so much better now. I
always said I had to thank you some day formally.
No way, just cause I mentioned the career center? Brandon, I m sure you would ve heard about
it eventually. She laughed nervously.
It s not just that, Sof. You were so kind to me even after all I d done to you as kids, and if it
hadn t been for you I probably wouldn t ever showed up to class. I think that class was the only one I
never ditched.
You just needed a little push, that s all.
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