Page 84 of Beautifully Broken

I’m startled awake by a loud “bang” as my phone lights up next to me with a notification.

The clock shows it’s two in the morning. There are a ridiculous number of missed calls and text messages from Trevor, and even one from my mom.

Yesterday’s events come flooding back to me in the still of my hotel room. Before I can spiral, the loud knock distracts me.

Who would be knocking? No one even knows where I am.

Just as I lay back down, the knocking sounds again. I’m across the room about to tell whoever is there they’ve got the wrong room, but the moment I open the door, the words won’t come out. It’d be hard since my mouth is in an “O” shape because the person at the door is none other than Trevor.

How the hell did he find me? Nope. I don’t want to know.

Closing my mouth, I don’t bother addressing him, I just go to close the door in his face. At the last second, he moves his foot in the way; the door bouncing off of it.

I hold on to the door, making sure it doesn’t leave room for him to think he’s welcome. “Leave Trevor.”

He shakes his head. “I’m so sorry, Soph. I can’t. Not until you hear me out.”

I grip the door, seething. “No. You need to leave.” I can feel the tension in my jaw from gritting my teeth.

Trevor sighs. “Please. I’m so sorry. It’s not what you think. Just let me explain.”

“No. I’m not interested in anything you have to say, Trevor. Seriously, you need to leave.” I try to move his foot with mine, but his foot doesn’t budge.

He places a hand on the frame of the door. “I’ll stand out here all night if I have to. ”

Stubborn asshole.

I should call the front desk, but I don’t want them to think I’m a problem guest. Calling the police would have the same result. Plus, even if I want nothing to do with Trevor, I don’t think getting him in trouble with law enforcement is the right choice, either.

Trevor has a look of determination on his face and I believe him when he says he’ll stay here until I talk to him. I should just get this over with. The sooner he says his peace, the sooner he’ll leave.

I roll my eyes. “Fine. But you have ten minutes, tops.” I let go of the door and move to sit on the bed.

Trevor follows me into the room, and I motion for him to sit in the corner chair. “Your time starts now.”

His face is in hands, elbows on his thighs. “Fuck, Sophia. I’m so sorry.”

I glare at him. “You’ve already said that. You wanted me to hear you out. So explain.”

He looks up at me. “She already told you?”

I blow out a breath. “Obviously. Did you think I didn’t want to talk to you for some other reason?”

Trevor drags his hands down his face. “Damn it. What was her version?”

I place a finger over my mouth, tilting my head like I’m thinking. “Well, let’s see. She said she offered you ten thousand dollars to stay away from me. Oh, and you took it. Is that not what happened?”

He glances off to the side. “It is, but I had no intention of staying away from you. I did it for you.”

“For me?!” I jump to my feet, pointing at myself.

“You did it for yourself! You weren’t thinking of me!

Hell, we spent time together right after and you didn’t utter a damn word about it!

” I take a breath. “No, instead you made me think you were excited about our date, even though you knew you agreed to stay away from me. The whole time you were pretending to care about me.”

“That’s not true.” Trevor stands but stays where he is.

“I’ve never pretended to care about you, Sophia.

Yes, I took the check, but I did it for you.

I didn’t tell you about it because we were in public.

There was no chance I would tell you something that would upset and hurt you with an audience. ”

He walks towards the window and pauses. “My plan was to wait until the check cleared and then give you the money. The way your mom treats you is the furthest thing from how she should. I wanted to help you be able to live the life you want, Sophia. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you when we got coffee, but I swear I was just waiting for the right moment. ”

I don’t know what to believe. Of course, my mom wouldn’t know what Trevor’s intentions were. She believed he wouldn’t come near me with a ten-foot pole, so he had to have made her trust he would stick to his word.

I cross my arms over my chest. “And when was that moment going to be, Trevor?”

Trevor hangs his head down and his shoulders slump.

“I was hoping to tell you after the event on Saturday. And yes, I know that is still days away, but I wasn’t going to be in the office for the rest of the week so your mom wouldn’t see us interacting together.

She planned on having Joe cover for the event, but I was still going to meet you there. ”

I sit back down on the bed, not sure of what to do or say. This situation is so messed up and, of course, it all stems from my mother.

Trevor comes over to me and kneels next to the bed.

“I’m so fucking sorry I hurt you, Sophia.

All I wanted to do was help you get away from Cheryl.

You have to believe me. You shouldn’t have to deal with the way she treats you.

I’ve told you before and I’ve meant it every time, but baby, you deserve the world.

” He cradles my face and I don’t flinch away from him.

I see the sincerity in his eyes and feel it in his touch.

My guard is slowly falling with his words. I have this gut feeling that I should believe him. Trevor has never lied to me before, and I don’t think he’d start now. All he has ever done is be there for me, encourage me to be myself, and build my confidence.

He leans his forehead on the bed. “You are the strongest person I know. All I want is to see you happy and thriving in life. Your beauty shines inside and out and no one should ever make you feel you aren’t good enough.

” He takes a moment before continuing. “And if I made you feel that way, I apologize, because that was never my intention. You are more than enough and perfect the way you are, Sophia. ”

Lifting my hand, I run it through his hair. He turns his face towards me and I see the tears that threaten to fall, which solidifies my decision. Trevor isn’t an actor and if I know him as well as I think he truly thought he was doing something good for me.

I nod. “Okay, I believe you.” He reaches his hand to hold mine. “This doesn’t mean I’m not still mad at you. You should’ve told me before she did. But I can see your heart was in the right place.”

He brings my hand to his lips, placing a kiss. “I’m so sorry. It really was all about you, I swear.”

“Come here.” I tug on his hand.

Trevor stands up and I move over on the bed, giving him room to sit next to me. “You don’t have to apologize again. I appreciate that when put in a shitty predicament, you thought of me first. Trevor, no one has ever done that for me before. Thank you.”

He puts his arm around me and my head falls to his shoulder. It isn’t long before he stretches his legs out and I follow suit.

Trevor pulls me close, dropping a kiss on my forehead. “So what happened?”

I pull back slightly to look up at him. I recount everything that happened and how I ended up here in my hotel room.

He shakes his head. “Damn, I’m so incredibly proud of you. That took a lot of guts to do.”

“I didn’t really even think about it at that moment. I just did it. It was like a switch went off, you know?” I curl my head back into the crook of his neck.

“You are so amazing,” he tells me, brushing his hand through my hair.

Wait a minute.

I sit up, narrowing my eyes at him. “How did you know where I was?”

He chuckles. “I went by your house. Cheryl had some choice words for me, but she told me you packed a suitcase and left and that I really wasn’t ever going to see you again.

I racked my brain trying to figure out where you would’ve gone and remembered you told me about the spa days you two used to have.

I came here and started knocking on doors when they wouldn’t tell me which room was yours. ”

Yup, determined .

I shake my head and lay back down. “Tell me about these choice words Cheryl had for you.”

And he does. He tells me everything she said and then we move on from talking about her. We talk until I’m falling asleep and the last thing I remember is Trevor pressing his lips to my temple and pulling me into him with a tighter hug.

Maybe things will be okay.