(Sophia)

I feel like so many of my emotions are tied together into a huge lump that I can't seem to untangle. My thoughts feel like a river that's flowing through my head that has no plans of stopping. My head is dizzy from all the emotions running surging throughout my body. I'm constantly blinking to alleviate the insurgence all the emotions in my body. 

At the same time, I'm paying attention to the road ahead of me. I'm making the right turns and twists while at the same time trying my best to avoid any accidents. 

Eventually, when I get home, I can see that almost all the lights in the house are on. My parents' bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room are all illuminated. I need some condoling right now. I need someone to talk to at this moment. I just can't keep this in any longer. 

When I park the car outside my house, I scramble out of the car as fast as I can. I slam the car door behind me, and I quickly walk towards it. When I get out, the crisp October evening air hits my skin, in an attempt to cool me off and calm me down. I take deep breaths to help calm myself before I storm inside the house. 

As I open the door, the familiar, yet faint, smell of food wafts towards me, which I can't help but inhale deeply. I close the door behind me, and hear footsteps leading out of the kitchen, and into the living room. 

My older brother, Anthony, walks into the living room, clutching a tall glass of water. "How was tonight?" he asks. I purse my lips together, give him a simple shrug, and walk up the stairs. Anthony raises an eyebrow at me, and when I reach the top of the stairs, his eyes widen.

 "Oh no, something happened. What happened? You can tell me anything," he says, and I nod. 

"I will. But where are Mom and Dad?" I ask, and he sets his glass of water down. 

"Mom's on a conference call. Dad's out getting some last minute groceries. Now, tell me, what's on your mind?" He sits down on the couch. 

I sit along with him, and I just let it out. "Ray laughed along, and agreed, with an insult about my weight." 

Anthony's jaw drops like someone pulled it open with an attached rope. I nod a little bit to confirm that it is in, in fact, true, and he just shifts a little bit in his seat. "Wait, first of all, why is it such a big deal for you?"  

I raise an eyebrow. "Anthony, you know that my weight is a really sore topic for me. Do you not remember all the years of fat shaming, because of her? I just cut contact with her only last year, and I'm fresh out of it. Do you get-" 

He puts his hand up to silence me, and he nods. "No, I get you. Don't you worry. I get why it's such a sensitive matter for you. And I kind of agree with you. He knew that it's a sensitive matter for you, and he still laughed along with them, and confirmed it. But, at the same time, don't overreact. Don't make a huge scene out of this. Like, don't run around screaming and crying that Ray did that, but just keep things at a cordial level. Let him figure out that he did something wrong,."

I nod. "That's kind of fair, I guess. Thanks, Anthony." he pats my back. 

"Hey, no problem. Oh, and sorry that I couldn't see you before you left today. Evening classes, they're a pain in my ass. But you look gorgeous, and that just proves we both share the gene." 

I roll my eyes. "If you had the gene, then Diana wouldn't have dumped you for the MVP of the soccer team."

Anthony puts his hand over his heart. "Ouch. That hurt. My heart," he says, as he collapses towards the side of the couch, letting out an exaggerated final breath. 

I start to laugh uncontrollably. "I killed you with that roast. I wonder how the coroner is going to word the cause of death in the report." He continues to laugh along with me. 

Soon enough, we joke so much that tears are dampening my eyes from laughing so hard. Anthony wipes the tears from his eyes, and looks at me. "I think you should change and wipe off your makeup. I don't want you to look like a melting panda from the mascara running down your face."

I nod. "Wise choice," I say, and get up from the couch. 

I make my way upstairs, with Anthony following. "I need to check my paper on the computer. I can't screw it up otherwise my grade is going to be in a crap hole."

I shrug. Eventually, I make my way to my room, where I take out my pajamas. I go to the bathroom to change, and to wipe off my makeup. 

When I turn on the light, I examine myself in the mirror. The light reflects on my soft pink, floor length dress, with gold thread sewn in at the waistline to make a 3 inch long border along that area of the body. My bright pink lipstick matches it, with the sharp winged eyeliner contrasting the subtle pink color greatly. Surely enough, there's a bit of tear mixed mascara right below my eyes. I pull the bobby pins that held my dark hair in a tight, elegant updo. 

As I clean the makeup off of my face with a makeup wipe, so many thoughts race through my head. How do I face Ray, after he poked fun of the one subject that he knew was so sensitive? Maybe it was a mistake, but he honestly should've thought twice when he did that. 

What he did wasn't okay, by any means. After I clean my face, I slip out of my gown and into my comfortable pajamas. I then step out of the bathroom, and hang my dress up in my closet. When I close the door, I hear my mom say, "Sophia, honey, can you come here for a second?" I walk out of the room, and into her room, where she is reading a document and taking notes on it. 

"Anthony told me all about what happened tonight, and with Ray. How are you doing?" she asks. 

I shrug. "You know, it does hurt a little bit, but I'll be fine. I promise." 

She nods. "I know it's a really sensitive topic for you. I know you don't want to talk about it too much." 

I nod. "True. But honestly, I know what I'm going to do. After talking with Anthony, he gave me some good advice." 

She nods. "Good good. Say, let's not tell your dad about this until this is all sorted out. Because, when a police officer's daughter gets screwed over by a guy, then the guy is going to be in a shallow grave within the next 24 hours. Your grandfather was never a police officer, but when he heard one of my exes screwed me over, the guy was so scared to step within a half mile radius of me."

I chuckle. "Deal. Ray doesn't need to be pumped with lead." 

She smiles. "In the meantime, take a rest. I know you have a lot on your mind, especially since it's senior year." 

I nod. "Sure. Good night," I say, and I walk out of her room and into mine. I tie my hair into a loose ponytail, and practically leap into my bed. As my eyes start to get heavy, the thought hits me. Maybe I should think this through a little bit more. 

****************
"Oh, that prick did not," Sonia says over the phone, as I nod. 

"Oh, he did. But then again, I don't know. For some reason, the thoughts always come when I'm falling asleep, but I feel like there's more to what I heard. I feel like he wouldn't say that without wanting to take it back." 

She sighs. "Well true. Ray's the kind of guy who would say something screwed up and then he'd apologize a thousand times so that he could take back what he said. But still, it doesn't matter if it was an accident or not. He still had no right to say that about you. He should know that you're sensitive on that topic, and he still went along with that insult. I know it was just a 'true, true,' but I don't think he realizes how much that hurts you. Even though he didn't say anything to directly insult you, he said something to confirm the insult, which is just as bad." 

I chuckle a little bit. "Well, hell, Ms. Psychologist. Sonia Tatarova to the rescue. I like that. But anyways, I totally get where you're coming from. I'm probably going to give him the semi silent treatment. Like, talk to him, but in very basic matters." 

She nods. "Go for it. Say, who did you get for the masquerade ball? I got Ed Sarkisian." 

I sit back on my bed. "You're not going to believe it. I got Ray." 

She gasps. "Out of all people, you got Ray? Wow. I can see why this hurts for you." 

I nod. "He seemed so enchanted with me that night. His eyes were so involved with me, and he just seemed so starstruck, I guess. I don't know what happened." 

She sighs. "He's an idiot for confirming the fat shaming. I think we both know what to do." I nod. 

"Let's do this. Oh, and I think we both know that you're thrilled you didn't get Pete. Because you would've probably strangled him before the first song was over." She nods. 

"You know me so well. Yeah, I pity the poor girl who got Pete. She probably has bruises all over her feet from him stepping all over them." I giggle a little bit. 

"Okay, I have to go. I have to go get lectured by my mom on why my math grade is a 92 and not a solid A. Later," she says. 

"Bye," I tell her, and I hang up. I flop back onto my bed, and stare up at the ceiling, wondering how I'm going to get through the next week considering everything that's happened. 

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Question: If you were Sophia, how would you have dealt with the whole situation with Ray?

Hello again, my dears! It's me! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll be back next Sunday with a new chapter of I Never Imagined! Please vote/comment/follow/share/message if you like this story! Have a great week!

Love you all,

S.V.T.S