Page 40 of Muse (The Forbidden Hearts #1)

SOPHIE

E very day this week has felt like punishment. Like being forced to sit in the front row to my own heartbreak.

I mean it. I’d prefer to be water-boarded than to have to see him every single day, but never get a moment alone. No accidental touches, no quick flirty conversations, no early morning meet-ups.

Theo decided I shouldn’t come to class early anymore. It’s too risky. Anyone could walk in, get suspicious, and that’s the last thing we need.

My parents, mostly my mother, have been all up in my business. Creeping outside of my door at night. I haven’t been able to call him, too worried their prying ears will overhear. I’m not on lockdown, but I might as well be.

My mother told me that Cole’s parents are furious about the entire situation. The way Cole told the story, you’d think they have a right to be. According to him, he ran into me and some “old guy” at the fair, and he was trying to protect me from the “creepy groomer.”

The story isn’t even believable. In what world does that make any damn sense? Doesn’t seem to matter though, regardless of his plot essentially being made of swiss cheese. My mother, and his mother eat it all up. He can do no wrong, the golden boy of our town.

Despite all of it though, Theo hasn’t been found out. My parents haven’t been able to get anything out of me, despite their trying. The constant questions, interrogations. Every night, it’s like clockwork. “Tell me again about this man?” my mom will ask with a sneer on her face.

They don’t believe me, that much is clear. And the fact that both Cole and Mrs. Crenshaw describe him as old doesn’t help my case. It’s much harder to explain away than if it had been some teenager I’d been hanging out with.

Neither of them, somehow, was able to describe him further. Which protects both of us. It’s a blessing I won’t take for granted.

I see now how naive I was to think we could go together, be out in such a public space. My stupid, teenage self. I’d convinced myself it would all be okay, that we could do this, that no one would ever catch us. How dumb.

I almost ruined everything because I couldn’t just be patient. Because I couldn’t handle Cole myself. No backbone here. The guilt of it almost consumes me when I think about it too deeply.

Now, it’s Friday afternoon, and I’m home with no plans to go out. Even better, my birthday is tomorrow, and I don’t want to do a damn thing but spend it with him.

But I can’t.

My parents haven’t even mentioned it, likely too upset to even try and pretend they care. Fine by me. Sal wants me to go over to her place, but I’m wallowing in self-pity, and for once, even that doesn’t seem fun. I’d rather stay in bed and pretend the world outside of my room doesn’t exist .

I make my way upstairs, quickly showering and throwing on PJs, and climb into bed. This weekend, and my entire mood, calls for binge-watching television and rotting in bed until I’m forced to go to school again come Monday morning.

My phone vibrates next to me, and I pull it out from under the duvet.

Theo: Happy almost birthday, Trouble. I miss you.

Sophie: I miss you more.

Theo: What are you doing?

Sophie: About to watch TV. Want to join me?

Theo: Actually, yes. Queue up GOT, we have episodes to watch.

I smile, my eyes lining with tears. I close them, pretending he's next to me, arm slung over my shoulder like always. I imagine leaning into his side, stealing his popcorn, hearing him laugh at something dumb. At least, in this way, we can stay connected.

So I do. We watch together, episode after episode, and I fire off text after text. I spend the night as close to him as I can get, a virtual date. It’ll have to do for now.

I wake up Saturday morning, my birthday, to an empty house.

Even though I’d prefer it, it still stings the smallest bit when I find not even a card left for me on the kitchen counter.

As much as I want away from them, a small part of me, that inner child, still screams for love and acceptance.

Still hopes for a day when my parents tell me they are proud, that they love me, that they accept me for who I am.

Is it silly at this point, to keep hanging onto that hope? Yes, I’m sure it is. One day, I’ll probably need to unpack that with a therapist. Today is not that day.

I check my phone, finding texts from both Theo and Sal wishing me a happy birthday. Theo’s is accompanied by a selfie of him, smiling big just for me, looking cheesy but adorable with his dimple on full display.

Sal’s text comes with a dirty gif, and I burst into laughter. I love them both, so much.

Sal: Get your ass over here, sweet cheeks. My parents are gone, we get the house to ourselves.

Sophie: Not really feeling it, I’d rather rot in bed all day.

Sal: Not an option. I will pick you up and drag your ass here if I have to.

Sophie: Ugh, fine. But I don’t want to do anything but chill.

Sal: Fine by me! Be here by like 2ish?

Sophie: Alright, I’ll try.

I slip my phone into the pocket of my baggy sweats and set about making myself a bagel and some coffee, my go-to breakfast. I pull out cream cheese, a tomato and a red onion, and get to work.

Fancy bagels for the win. I top it off with garlic powder, salt, and pepper and sit down to enjoy my meal in the quiet house, devoid of any noises but my own.

I finish up, clean up the kitchen, then retreat upstairs. Since the house is empty, I pull out my bluetooth speaker and load up the newest Sleep Token album, blasting it as loud as it will go. I sing along as I shower and dress, trying to force myself into a better mood.

I can do this. I can have a good day. Sal always makes me feel better, anyway.

The drive is smooth and I pull up to Sal’s at about two-thirty. Only a few minutes late. Before I can even open my car door, my hand on the handlebar, Sal is running out the front door. She flies to me, throwing her arms around me in a hug.

“Happy birthday, bestie!” The smile on her face brings one to mine.

“Thank you. ”

“Alright, come on. I ordered Chipotle for lunch.”

My mouth waters, my stomach grumbling in response. “You’re the best.”

“I know!” She quips back with a wink over her shoulder.

I follow her inside, finding my favorite burrito bowl waiting for me on the counter, alongside a delicious looking cake and some balloons. I roll my eyes, but inside I am grateful for it all.

“I’m starved, and this is perfect. Thank you, seriously.”

She waves me off, “Yeah, yeah. We can be mushy later. Let’s eat.”

I burst out in laughter, already feeling lighter from just being in her company.

We dig in, our mouths stuffed too full to have any further conversation.

Jace eventually saunters in, grabbing his burrito from a bag on the counter and stalking off with it like he can’t stand to be in the same room with us any longer.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, bud. Honestly, I think it might actually kill him to say something kind.

When I’ve eaten as much as I can, my stomach feeling so full it might burst at the seams, Sal grabs my hand and pulls me to the living room. “Watcha wanna watch? Birthday girl gets to pick.”

“Um,” I say, “I’d rather not. Your choice.”

Her eyes roll so far back into her head I worry they may get stuck there. “You kill me! Okay, fine. At least pick a genre. Horror, romance, thriller?”

“Thriller sounds fun. I can’t do a romance right now.”

She glances back at me, eyes narrowing, but then she leaves it alone. She navigates to some movie called Don’t Worry Darling and presses play.

“I watched this one last week. You’re going to love it,” she says.

I hum under my breath, not always trusting her movie and TV judgement .

My eyes stay glued to the screen from about ten minutes in, I’m completely hooked. I don’t glance even once down at my phone, too enthralled for distractions. When the ending hits, my jaw nearly drops to the floor.

“OH MY GOD. That was so good.”

Sal smirks, “Told you so!”

I slap her playfully on the arm. “Wanna smoke? I’m in the mood to wallow tonight.”

“Nope, not today.”

I quirk an eyebrow, “What? When have you ever turned down a joint?”

“Just not feeling it,” she shrugs. I don’t believe her, though. “Let’s watch some Grey’s and then we can figure out what we are doing for dinner tonight.”

I nod, then check my phone for any texts from Theo. None have come through, and I wonder what he’s up to. I send him a quick message.

Sophie: Hi, miss you.

Theo: Miss you more. Wish I was with you on your birthday.

Sophie: Me too, but it’s not worth the risk.

Theo: I know, Trouble. Next year.

I sigh and Sal glances over at me, then leans in to give me a hug.

“Love you,” she says.

“I love you, too.”

We relax, settling in for some more binge-watching. When Sal’s phone pings around seven, she sits up straight in her seat.

“I’ll be right back.”

I pay her no mind, assuming Jace needed something. But when she comes back in a flurry of energy, she grabs my arm and hauls me up from the couch.

“Come on!”

“What? Where are we going? ”

She shakes her head at me and smiles, not giving me any sort of answer. I follow along anyway, knowing I really have no choice. Where Sal goes, I go.

We take the stairs down to her basement and we approach the back door, which leads to the pool and patio. I notice the string lights around the pool are all brightly lit and I squint out against the halos playing in my line of vision.

She yanks open the door, and seated at a table is Theo.

I practically squeal, running and jumping into his arms before he can say a word.

I almost knock him over with the force of my momentum, but he picks me up, gripping me under my thighs, and spins me in a circle.

I press my lips to his, hungry to taste him.

It’s only been a week, but it feels far longer than that.

He pulls back finally, softly whispering, “Happy birthday, beautiful.”

My cheeks heat at his sweet words, my body buzzing with excited energy. “You’re here!”

“I am. Your best friend found me on Facebook, and fuck if she isn’t persistent. But I jumped at the chance to see you today.”

I kiss him again, but then Sal clears her voice from behind me, and I remember we aren’t alone. I disengage myself from Theo’s embrace and turn towards her.

“Well, you two lovebirds have fun. I’ll be upstairs when you’re done.”

I blow her a kiss, hoping she can see the gratitude in my eyes for everything she does for me. “Best friend ever” doesn’t even begin to cover it. She turns and heads back inside, shutting the door behind her. Finally, we have privacy, and I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present.

Theo takes my hand and leads me to the patio table where a spread of varied Chinese takeout boxes litter the surface, along with paper plates, and a box that looks like it contains a birthday cake. My eyes flit to his.

“I can’t believe you did this, and that you came… despite the risk.”

His eyes connect to mine, his love for me shining through. “I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world, Sophie. I wish I could have done more, but for tonight, this will have to do,” he shrugs sheepishly.

“No, this is perfect. I don’t want anything but you.”

We sit down and Theo pulls his chair right next to mine, our knees touching. I lean into him, bumping him with my shoulder, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in a week. He begins opening takeout boxes, letting me take my portions first before doling out his own.

“Yummm,” I try to say with a mouth full of food. He bursts out laughing.

“What was that?”

I roll my eyes, swallowing the bite. “You know what I meant.”

“I do, Trouble,” he smirks. “I just love messing with you.”

We alternate between eating and chatting, catching up on our week. We ignore the elephant in the room, the heaviness that lingers over us both—the fact that we are not yet out of the woods. Instead, for tonight, we just have fun.

I set my plastic fork down on my styrofoam plate, having finished about five servings of rice on my own. It was too good. I couldn’t stop. Theo moves our plates out of the way and grabs the cake box, opening the lid.

It’s red velvet, my absolute favorite. I must’ve mentioned it at some point, or maybe he asked Sal, but my mouth immediately begins watering at the sight. I reach out to grab a plastic fork, eager enough to dive right in without even cutting a slice, but he grabs my hand .

“Hold on!” He retrieves a bag I hadn’t even seen from the ground and pulls out candles and a lighter. One by one, he counts out and places twenty candles on the cake, meticulously spaced.

“Why twenty?”

“Nineteen for your age, and one for good luck,” he smiles.

“Huh… I’ve never heard of that. I like it! Honestly, it’s been a minute since I’ve blown out candles on a cake.”

His eyes flick to mine and I see a shadow of sorrow hidden in their depths. “Sophie, you deserve to be celebrated. Every year. Actually scratch that, every damn day.”

I huff out a laugh, “Well, if I eat cake every day, I’ll gain way too much weight.”

“And there would just be more of you for me to love.”

“Okay, okay. Stop being cheesy,” I smirk.

His hand comes to my face, gripping my cheeks and pulling my mouth to his. Fuck the birthday cake. I push him back into a chair and climb onto his lap, kissing him with abandon. I pour all of my frustration, fear, and heartache into it, an outpouring of passion that knows no bounds.

It’s messy. It’s everything. It’s us .

For the first time in what feels like forever, I believe we’re going to make it. That this love, this impossible, beautiful thing between us, might actually survive the chaos.

The night air is warm on my skin, the faint hum of crickets and pool lights surrounding us like a cocoon. He smells like cedar and laundry detergent and something just... him. The candlelight still flickers on the table behind us, forgotten.

I think about Sal, about her ridiculous persistence and her loyalty. I silently thank her. Not just for this. For always seeing me when I feel invisible. For giving me this sliver of happiness.

And then, right there in his arms, I let myself imagine a future. A tiny apartment. Mismatched dishes. Sunday mornings in bed. No secrets or hiding. Just us .

But deep down, beneath the joy, an unsettled feeling still sits in my chest. A whisper I try to silence.

Perfect moments like this? They never last. Still, I kiss him harder, holding on like if I love him enough, maybe this one will.