Days in the treehouse were always brutal in the wintertime. I remember my dad told me he first went to the treehouse with my mom during the winter, and he wasn’t properly dressed for the cold. When he was my age, every electronic was either on a cord or needed 5,000 huge batteries in order for it to work. Thank god for things being wireless these days.
I walked up to the treehouse with a little portable heater in my backpack; I had taken it from Jennifer’s studio back at the house. I climbed up and sat in the treehouse, taking all of my supplies out of my bag.
I can’t lie; I was nervous to talk to Sophie. How could someone that you once felt so comfortable talking to and telling your secrets now feel like a complete stranger? I guess I was used to it with Mollie. I didn’t even feel bad leaving her house to come here; why was I celebrating someone’s birthday who didn’t care about my thoughts or how their actions made me feel? She wasn’t the same person I once called my best friend. She spent all of her time with Aaron; I don’t even think she shows up to dance rehearsal, according to Jennifer. That wasn’t like Mollie; I knew she loved to dance. The Mollie I knew loved to dance.
I started to hear some noise underneath the treehouse, which made me look out the window. I saw Sophie standing there, taking out her phone from her pocket.
“Scout,” I called out. Sophie looked up at me, answering to the nickname I gave her back in middle school. Even after not being on good terms with her, she still answered to the nickname. It made me smile. She began to climb up the ladder toward the treehouse; every step closer to the top made me more nervous. She finally got to the top and entered the treehouse. She was quiet, nothing like our time together before our huge fight the night of the showcase. I hate how that night panned out.
“You’re not cold?” Sophie asked me once we saw me wearing just a hoodie and a light jacket. The truth is I was, and I hated that I took the wrong jacket before leaving my house. I blamed Mollie for getting me angry before I left.
“I’m okay,” I said, adjusting so that Sophie could sit comfortably in the treehouse. We didn’t say much at first; I think the both of us were not sure how to bring up what happened that night, but I think it hurt me more to not be on speaking terms with someone that has come to be my only friend at this point. “Thanks for meeting with me, by the way.”
“Yeah,” Sophie said back, playing with the string attached to her coat. I knew she was nervous when she felt the need to play with any small object during a serious conversation. I would remind her to stop picking at her nails or pulling on tags or strings when she did. I guess she didn’t realize she was doing it, and this time was no different. I placed my hand on top of hers, stopping her from pulling at her coat string any longer. She looked at me before I quickly yanked my arm away, feeling embarrassed. I couldn’t help it; it was more so a reflex than a nice gesture at this point.
“I meant what I said over the phone,” I began to say. “I really am sorry for hurting your feelings and for putting you in a position you shouldn’t have been in. I shouldn’t have dragged you into my mess with Mollie.” I looked at Sophie for a quick second, but she didn’t seem to react to anything I was saying. I wanted her to know that I was genuine in the words I was saying; I really did miss her being such a big part of my days. I didn’t realize until it was taken away just how much Sophie’s company and friendship meant to me. I didn’t realize until it was too late that Sophie had seen me in the way that I saw her.
“It’s more than just you and Mollie, Milo,” Sophie finally began to say. “It’s the fact that you didn’t consider what I was going through that night being the first showcase. I was nervous, I was anticipating the audience leaving the auditorium when the strings came up on stage. I was sad that no one from my family could come to my first-ever showcase. I just felt like you glanced over that.”
“I didn’t mean to,” I defended. “But I know that doesn’t excuse how I acted towards you when I found out you and Aaron had a conversation. That guy is just bad news and I don’t want him to get to you or make you believe anything he says about the strings or–“
“You?” Sophie said, finally looking up at me. I didn’t know what to say; was it selfish to say yes? Was I that worried about Aaron taking another person that I cared about? Did I think Aaron was that persuasive to get someone to think badly of me? Yes. He’s done it with Mollie. She knew the answer when I didn’t say anything back. She sighed before she said anything. “I mean this in the nicest way, but not everything is about you, Milo. He was genuinely asking about Mollie and if she was okay.”
“I believe you,” I began to say. “I just felt hurt when you knew that Aaron and Mollie were dating and you didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t know fully until Mollie said something,” Sophie confessed. What? Why would Mollie tell her? “She was the one that pretty much confirmed they were dating.”
“Why though?” I questioned. Sophie’s face changed and she looked nervous to say. “Why would Mollie confirm something like that to you and not tell her best friend.”
“I don’t want this to be all about Mollie,” Sophie said, putting her foot down. “Why are we so worried about other people and not about each other? We’re supposed to be friends, right?” We’re supposed to be friends, right? It was kind of a relief that we didn’t have to bring up our feelings for each other, and I think she sensed that. Not talking about our feelings became the new normal for us, and I think this time it was even more serious since in reality, Sophie was now my only friend.
“Of course,” I answered. “Of course we’re friends.”
“Then let’s try to not let other people affect our friendship,” Sophie pleaded. “I’m sorry for hurting your feelings and for not telling you about what I knew. I just didn’t want to get caught up in drama that was not my business to begin with.”
Sophie was completely right, and I was happy that she was understanding get logical in the way she handled this situation. I know Sophie well enough to know that she would’ve preferred to not have known about Mollie and Aaron. She wasn’t trying to keep secrets from me; she was just trying to stay away from a situation that was just too deep to get involved with.
Stupid me got her into the situation, and I feel bad for doing so.
“You did nothing wrong,” I finally said, looking at Sophie. “You’re a good person for not spreading around anyone’s business like that, and that’s really all that matters.” Sophie smiled, appearing to be more comfortable in the treehouse. I couldn’t help but give her a hug. She tensed up as soon as I gave her the hug, but immediately melted into it, hugging me back even. “I missed you, Scout.”
“I missed you too, Milo,” Sophie responded. “I missed being in the treehouse with you.”
Letters From Liz. 