I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 50

A fresh wave of tears welled in Gwen's eyes.

"You'd never guess it, but I was bullied mercilessly in middle school. When I told my dad, he was drunk, and he just called me worthless. My mom just hugged me and cried. That's why I'm always on the offensive now. I run my mouth and pick fights because I am absolutely terrified of anyone realizing how weak I am."

Sophie wrapped her arms around her friend. The girls who put up the hardest armor were always the softest underneath.

"I'll tell you a secret too. All through middle school, I carried a box cutter in my backpack."

Gwen stared at her in utter disbelief. Sophie looked so perfectly put together, like the quintessential good girl who never caused an ounce of trouble.

"It's true. My first year, a group of girls cornered me in the bathroom and beat me up. A girl with no father makes an incredibly easy target. I bought the knife at a convenience store that afternoon. The next time they came after me, I pulled it out and swung it right at their faces. Nobody ever laid a finger on me again, but nobody ever spoke to me either. I carried that knife for six years."

Gwen suddenly realized that she and Sophie were entirely the same; they just manifested their trauma differently.

Gwen used aggressive bravado to mask her fear.

Sophie swallowed her terror, absorbing the hits until she was pushed into a corner, at which point she would unleash a lethal strike.

"I believe you. The way you body-slammed Scott with your purse and blocked him from leaving was honestly terrifying."

Sophie offered a serene smile. "Even the gentlest prey bites when cornered."

"Oh my god. I'm stuck here for a week. That means you're going to have to deal with Luke all by yourself tomorrow."

The realization hit Gwen like a truck. She looked at Sophie, overwhelmed with guilt for letting her temper create such a massive catastrophe.

"I'm ruined. The doctor said I'll be off my feet for a month. There goes an entire month's salary and my attendance bonus."

Gwen spiraled into total despair.

Sophie remained silent. Amidst the chaos of the ER, she had completely forgotten the professional nightmare looming over them.

She was drowning in mortgage payments and couldn't afford to get fired, and Gwen desperately needed this commission check to survive.

"It's just a job. I'll lock down my emotions and play the perfect corporate lackey."

She braced herself for the torture ahead.

"I honestly think he's still madly in love with you. The night I took him back to his hotel, he was completely broken. He was so drunk he hallucinated that I was you, and he poured his heart out."

"Gwen," Sophie snapped, shutting her down.

Gwen lightly slapped her own mouth. "There goes my big mouth again. Subject dropped."

"It's getting late. I need to go home. I'll drop by tomorrow at lunch."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify