Chapter 21: Chapter 21

XVI

Sophie's P.O.V.

A picture.

In my hand, there is a picture and on it is a beautiful girl. She has blue eyes, dark long hair - she's beautiful, especially with the way she's smiling at the camera.

She looks kind, someone I'd like to get to know and probably become friends with. She looks like me, but she's not me.

There's one slight problem that I have with the picture, though. Her arm is wrapped around a younger version of Axel, who is giving her a kiss on the cheek, smiling like a goofball himself.

I have found this picture when I was cleaning Axel's closet last evening, in a box where he also kept a picture of his parents, I think, and a stuffed dog toy - a huskey. It was a small box, but it held a whole lot of past.

After I found it, I decided not to overreact and think over this first before confronting him about it. After all, it could simply be his cousin that he weirdly hasn't told me about, or it could just be a friend.

The odd thing is that this person looks like she had a big impact on him and he definetly looks like he loves her. Why wouldn't he tell me about a cousin he loved this much? Same story if it's just a friend.

I know why he didn't - it wasn't just a friend, nor a cousin. This girl had to be some kind of a girlfriend to him, yet he claimed I was his first girlfriend.

He lied to me all along and it bothers me so much. But what bothers me even more is that she looks so much like me. It's almost like I'm her substitute.

Glancing again at the picture in my hand I feel overwhelmingly jealous of the love they must have beared.

Oh god, Axel's been in love before me.

Pathetically, it brings tears to my eyes. Of course he has, he's an amazing person with amazing looks.

I wonder what happened with the girl- I have to confront him but I'm so scared of doing that. What if he gets mad at me for looking around his stuff? What if there's more that he has hid from me? More pictures...

Sighing, I call him. I can't have him worrying about me while he has so many other things to worry about, and I feel really bad for taking the picture. I should've just left it there but something took over me and the picture was in my pocket before I knew it.

Surprisingly, he doesn't get too mad when I tell him where I am, and I'm so glad about that. I expected him to cuss me out and come get me right away.

"Hey, is everything alright?" my mum knocks on the door and I quickly hide the picture under a pillow. "Yeah, sure, come in."

She comes into the room and sits down on the bed next to me. "Good, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You just came so suddenly, I thought something was wrong. "

I shake my head. "No, everything's fine. I told you that I just wanted to hang out with you a little because we haven't been seeing each other at all lately and I miss you. Axel knows I left and is fine with that." I try to comfort her, putting on my best smile. "As a matter of fact, I was just thinking we could go for a walk if you wanted? You could show me around and all." I offer and she grins. I knew she'd love the idea; we used to go for walks often when I was little and we always had fun.

"Sure. Get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes, okay?" she says and leaves my room.

I sigh, getting up from the bed and putting on something comfortable, but good looking. Mum and coach live nearer the city, not in such a remote place me and Axel live. You can see quite a lot of people walking around and I don't want to look homeless.

Where would Axel and the girl live?

I shake my head, ridding it of these thoughts. I've been having them since I found the picture and they've been doing nothing but torturing me.

Mum and I actually have fun on the walk; she shows me everything that she thinks is beautiful and I can't comprehend how much she's changed in the last months.

But then again, so have I.

We talk about our love lives, about the neighbors and family members, planning our next walk - everything, and by the time we come back, it's lunchtime already. However, it's not lunch that awaits us when we come back, but a nervous looking coach, rushing towards us as soon as he sees us.

"Axel's at the police station. Come quickly." is all he says and the words get me running towards coach and the car.

Anxiety slowly fills me as we drive towards the station, and I'm rubbing my stomach in relaxing movements. We're going to be alright, everything will be alright, even daddy. Don't worry, my pretty little baby.