Shadows In Durango

*****Sofia's POV*****

By the time we finally left Vincent's place, I was surprised to find the sky blanketed in darkness. How had it gotten so late, so fast?!

It felt like we had been talking for hours and it was clear now that we actually had been...

My head was still spinning from everything that had come out during our conversation too as I struggled to make sense of it all.

I had used the bathroom briefly before we left, finding my face to be extremely puffy and raw - nothing new at this point since I seemed to always cry over my sad fuck up of a life - regardless of how hard I would try to fight back the tears! But as I now sat amongst the rumbling engine of the car, reflecting, I had to say that the main statement that stole the show tonight was when Vincent said he loved me.

Vincent Walker actually said that he loved me? Let that sink in...

I was still trying to wrap my head around it, the way those words had just slipped out of his mouth so carelessly.

My breathing increased at the memory alone, as I refused to look at him during the entire drive.

Did he even realise what he'd said?

Or was it just something he thought might help to fix things between us?

How many girls had he said the exact same thing to before in the past?!

I had been so angry at him, so explosive, with this being the first time that we had finally rehashed the whole secret dealings he had made with my father behind my back, and honestly, I felt that I had every right to react how I did... Keeping something like that from me... it was a betrayal, no questions asked.

But now, with a long silence settled between us, giving me time to look back on our heated dispute, a knot of guilt soon began to creep its way in.

I had lashed out on him incredibly hard, harder than I had ever done in my whole life with anyone else, and maybe, just maybe, I hadn't given him a fair shot to apologise.

He had said sorry over and over again but I didn't want to fall vulnerable to believing him so easily. I just wish I hadn't yelled like I had, cutting him off whenever he tried to explain things to me...

Surprisingly, Vincent hadn't lost his temper once with me today - even when he was being screamed at. That alone was worth brownie points, and hinted that he did actually feel guilty for it all or he would have made more of an effort to defend himself.

I suddenly felt bad, like I had been the one who had crossed a line with how the conversation went, but would I admit that right now?

No way.

I wouldn't.

Not yet.

All I wanted right now was to hurry up and get back to the hospital. Back to Emma, and more importantly, back to Daryl.

The image of him unconscious, lying in that hospital bed, had haunted me ever since we'd left him there the first time. The thought of hopefully seeing him awake this time, hearing his voice... it was the only thing keeping me grounded.

The car ride was an excruciatingly quiet experience for the both of us.

The silence between Vincent and I felt cold and awkward, like we were both balancing on the edge of something fragile, too afraid to push it any further with one another.

He was giving me space - like he had promised to - but I could feel his frustration in the way his hands gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed strictly on the road ahead like he didn't dare to look at me.

I appreciated the distance though, even though it made my anxiety coil tighter with each passing minute.

As the towns lights blurred past us, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering back to everything we had just gone over.

The stalkers.

The pictures.

The business dealings between our fathers.

The money offered for me.

The proposed marriage.

Ashton.

Daryl being shot.

Every little detail played on a loop in my head, making me question everything.

How had it even gotten to this point?

How had I ended up here, with my father still looming over my life like an attached shadow that I couldn't yet escape, no matter how far I tried to run from him?

How had I fell head over heels for a guy whose damn father was in connection with my very own blood?

I had fucked this up so much that it was hard to see a way out... to find a plausible escape.

My father was managing to pull the strings through the use of Vincent, the last guy I thought he would ever be able to get to... helping him to get to me! Vincent walked right in to his trap...

I shifted in my seat, glancing back out of the window with a shaky breath.

I wanted to feel something other than this gnawing uncertainty. I had no idea what the future held for me staying here in town now.

What good was there here for me? For Vincent? For any of us?!

The hospital was coming up in the distance, its familiar glow a beacon in the dark and for the first time, I was actually ecstatic to see it.

Part of me hoped that being back there, seeing Emma, Daryl and Reid might give me some clarity on what to do, or at least they would be a distraction from the chaos running loose inside of my head. Anything to stop thinking about Vincent's confessions and about my father...

He said he loved me, and I wasn't even sure how to feel about it.

Vincent swiftly pulled into the hospital parking lot, the car coming to a slow, quiet stop. The tension between us was suffocating, each second stretching painfully as neither of us made a move to get out.

I stared up at the glowing hospital entrance, so close but suddenly feeling so far...

There was still so much unresolved tension between us, so much I still didn't know how to process.

"I meant it by the way..." Vincent's steady words find my ears, as I force myself to look across at him.

"I do believe that I love you Sofia..." He concludes, as I swallow the lump of guilt lodged in my throat.

With a small sigh, I unbuckled my seatbelt and pushed at the door handle to get out, stepping out into the cool night air and waiting for Vincent to follow my lead.

Eyeing him from across the car, as his face longed to hear me say something, anything, as I cleared my throat. "Hopefully I'll find a way to move past all of this, just give me time to figure it out." I nod, wishing I could give him more... feeling bad that I couldn't.

It was clear that he was trying, I would give him that.

As we walked inside, the bright lights of the hospital hit me like a shock, momentarily pulling me out of my head space. The familiar scent of antiseptic filled the air, and the sterile hum of the building reminded me of why we were back here. Emma...

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I barely had time to collect myself before I heard her voice.

"Sofia, you're back!" Emma rushed toward me the second she spotted us, her face lighting up with relief.

She threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug that I didn't realise I needed until that moment. I hugged her back, feeling a wave of emotion crash over me but I forced myself to quickly pull it together.

Emma pulled back and studied me for a second, her brows furrowing in concern at the redness of my face, but she didn't push me, not with Vincent standing so near.

Instead, she glanced over at Reid, her gaze flicking back between the two of us like she could sense the tension hanging in the air, as he almost knowingly stepped in to help her out...

"Everything okay now?" Reid asked carefully, his eyes searching ours.

Vincent didn't say anything, but the look he gave Reid was enough to communicate what needed to be said: Don't ask.

Reid's jaw clenched, but he gave us a brief nod, turning his attention back to Emma and me. He thankfully didn't press any of us for details, knowing that it would get him nowhere right now. "How's Daryl doing now?" I asked, my voice coming out quieter than I had expected.

The weight of my earlier anxiety was starting to creep back in, wrapping around me like a choke hold.

Emma's face softened. "He's been in and out of sleep today, but the doctors said he's improving as time goes on. They're hopeful he'll wake back up soon for another bite to eat." She gave me a reassuring smile, as I was thankful for the positive news to help brighten up our dreary moods.

"Can we see him right now?" I asked, my heart racing at the thought of walking into that room of seeing him lying there, asleep again, when I needed to talk to him more than ever.

Emma nodded. "Of course. Come on, I'll take you down. The nurses just let us go in now to see him which is good."

I felt Vincent's eyes on my back as I follow Emma away from the waiting room, suddenly feeling like I could breathe again.

"Things didn't go so great with Vincent today huh?" Emma questions the second that he's out of ear shot as I offer a stiff nod in response.

"I'll tell you all about it tonight..." I promise, as she gives me a lazy smile of understanding.

With that, we both walked on, seeing a short nurse come in to view as her eyes seem to light up when noticing Emma...

"Oh, I'm so glad that you came back just now, he's just woke up!" She beams, as my lips part in shock when realising that I would be able to see Daryl awake for the first time since he was shot... "Ready?" Emma turns to me, her hand finding mine as she offers it a squeeze.

I needed to see him, for my own sanity.

Here goes nothing...