					THE FINAL STRAW (chapter 4)


That was the conversation Sophia kept replaying in her mind. They had more, over the next week and a half-their newly discovered mutual adoration of the Red Sox led to lots of free-agent-signing wishes and an entire evening waxing rhapsodic over the majesty that is Pedro Martinez-but that conversation was the one she kept thinking about.

He had held her up as an example of how he would treat someone he was in love with. She asked him point-blank if he was in love with her, and he avoided the question. He jokingly asked her to marry him-yeah, it was a joke, but with the rest of the conversation.........and he told her that she wasn't alone, because she had him.

It was inescapable. Coupled with the attention he showered on her, how he treated her, some of the things he said to her-it was inescapable. Warren Kelleher was in love with her, she realized one day. 

The first question she asked herself was why? Why her? This was Warren, the Prep Boy scholarship genius, why the hell would he want to have any kind of anything with a lost cause like her?

Because he doesn't think you're a lost cause, she said to herself.

And as that one hung in her brain, the next question popped up-OK, Sophia, what do you do about it?

It almost didn't seem fair. It didn't seem fair that they had become such close friends-if Warren had fallen for her, he must be in a "so near but yet so far" loop all the time. 

But he didn't seem to mind. 

Sophia sighed. This all could wait. It was the weekend, and there were parties to go to, and Scott.
And why did she not feel like going this weekend?


Monday arrived, and with it another afternoon shift at Dunkin' Donuts. Warren had come to look forward to Mondays, because he got to see Sophia.

He walked into the back room, saw her standing there with her back to him, and walked up to her and touched her on the shoulder. And felt her flinch, hard.

"OH! Warren."

"What was that all about?"

"I'll tell you later", and she turned around. And Warren looked into her face and saw someone who looked like they had just emerged from hell.

"Soph, you do not look good."

"Later, Warren. I promise. This is not the time or place."

"Whatever you say."

The shift passed with barely a word between them. At quitting time, Sophia walked up to Warren, and said, "Walk me home, please?"

They started walking. Warren was uncomfortable, because they were walking in silence, which never happened.

"What's up, Sophia?"

"When we get to my house."

"Oh-kaaaay."

They got to her house. "Come on in. Nobody's home. Mom is at work, and the kids are with their father."
Sophia had explained that her brother and sister had a different father-her Mom's second husband-and that they often spent time with him. Sophia's father had disappeared when she was three. 

Warren had never actually been in Sophia's house. She showed him in and led him to the living room, shedding her coat as she walked. She looked like she wanted to scream, and was holding it in. Something was seriously wrong, and Warren had no idea what.

"I need to show you something," Sophia said. And proceeded to take off her shirt. Warren was completely dumbstruck-until he saw the bandages. She peeled those off, and stood in front of him naked from the waist up.

If he hadn't been in shock, Warren might have thought that he was seeing something he had dreamed about for two months. But this was no dream, this was a nightmare. Sophia's entire left side was one big bruise. Her shoulder got the least of it-the side of her ribs and the left part of her back and her left breast were purple. It was horrific.

"Oh my God."

"Three of my ribs are broken. My shoulder and back are badly bruised. And there might be some kind of permanent damage to my left breast, they're not sure yet."

"How did this happen?"

Sophia snorted. "I fell down the stairs, didn't you know? Or, at least, that's what we told the hospital. Scott said if I told them the truth, I'd get it worse. The last time he was upset because he had messed up my face, you see. This time he wanted to keep it less visible, but still make sure I could feel it. He did a wonderful fucking job, wouldn't you say?"

"Soph, I don't know what to say."

"I was kind of expecting 'I told you so'".

"I'd never do that. What set him off?"

"I don't know. It was a jealous rage from somewhere."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm not sure. But you are right. This has to end. I do not deserve this. It took me a long time to realize that, but I don't. The problem is, I'm scared shitless."


Warren left Sophia's house to head home. He was shaken. He was right, he was way over his head. This had gotten worse, and he was at a loss how to help her. He was lost in thought as he trudged along and didn't notice the car pulling up inside him. He didn't see the three older teenagers get out, until one of them was blocking his path.

"Are you the faggot that's been messing around with my girlfriend?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, faggot. I'm Scott Patterson. Sophia is mine, and I'm telling you to stay away from her."

"You don't tell me what to do."

"I'm telling you now. I don't want you as much as looking at my girlfriend." 

"Sophia is my friend. If she doesn't want to talk to me, she will tell me, not you."

Scott snorted, "What the fuck you think this is, pussy-boy? Sophia does what I tell her. And so will you."

"Yeah, Sophia does what you tell her, all right. Because you beat it into her."

"Now you're getting it, pussy. You do what I tell you or you're next."

Warren though for a second. The asshole had two of his buddies standing behind Warren, and he was in front. Warren figured there was absolutely no way he was getting out of this one without getting whacked around. Even so, he had absolutely no intention of knuckling under to this maggot. He looked Scott right in the eye and said, "Go. Fuck. Yourself."

The rest was predictable. The two goons grabbed Warren's arms, and Scott took his couple shots. Warren ended up on the ground, gasping for breath, with the beginnings of what surely would be one hell of a black eye. The ribs were bruised, as was his knee where the maggot had kicked him on the way to the car, with the added threat that he'd "better quit that fucking job at the donut shop, too, as I don't want you seeing her, ever." That Warren had no intention of doing, but he didn't really want to get beat up too many more times either. He dragged his bruised body home, managed to avoid his parents, and attempted to get some studying done. He didn't call Sophia.


Warren made it through Tuesday at school, dealing with the stares and fending off the inquisitive questions. He told the truth to the vice-principal, Mr. Gordon, because he trusted Mr. Gordon, and he didn't want anyone suspecting his parents of abusing him or anything like that. 

He walked into Dunkin' Donuts, knowing Sophia was going to be there. And wondering what he was going to say. He knew-he knew-that there was no way that Sophia had spilled the beans to Scott about their friendship. He just wouldn't believe that. Anyway, he'd find out soon enough.

"Hi, Warren. Why didn't you call last night?" He turned toward her. "Oh my God. What happened to you?"

"The same thing that happened to you."

Sophia gasped. "Scott?" Warren nodded. Sophia stared at him. "Scott....did this to you?" she said in a strangled voice.

Warren nodded. "Him and two of his buddies. Grabbed me on the way home last night. The two goons held my arms while Scott took his shots at me. I'm forbidden to talk with you, don't you know. I'm ordered to quit my job, too." Warren snickered. "I told him to go fuck himself."

"You WHAT?" Sophia looked like she was close to tears. "Oh, Warren.......I never meant to get you involved in this. Look at you!" She took a breath. "I swear to God, Warren, I never said one word about you to Scott. Never."

"Sophia, I believe you. In fact, I never thought for a minute that you did. He must have found out some other way."

"I'll bet Alexandra, my neighbor, saw us. She lives down the street. She used to be my friend, but she's a real bitch, and she wants Scott."

"God knows why."

Sophia snorted. "Too true. But she must have seen you and done some snooping. Warren, I'm so sorry."

"You didn't do this to me, Soph."

Sophia started to sob. "Yes I did."

"Sophia, look at me. Listen to me. NO YOU DID NOT. You didn't hit me. You have no control over what Scott does."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't pulled you into my life........"

"You mean if we hadn't become friends."

"Yeah"

"That was our choice. Scott didn't have anything to do with it. Soph, do you value my friendship?"

"You know I do. But what about you?"

"You know I value your friendship, too."

"But how can you, if it gets you beat up by my boyfriend!"

"Some things are more important than other things. And what you want, Sophia, is infinitely more important to me than what that asshole boyfriend of yours wants. Even if it gets me beat up."

Warren walked out of the store to pick up the lot. Sophia didn't know what to say to that.


It was close to the end of their shift. Sophia wanted Warren to walk her home, but was terrified to ask him to. What if Scott showed up? What a mess. She stepped into the back room to sip a cup of coffee. Warren was mopping the floor, chatting with Dora. Sophia heard someone come in, but figured Dora could handle it. Then she heard a voice-Scott's voice.

"Hey, pussy. I thought I told you to quit this job. I thought I told you to stay the fuck away from Sophia."

"And I thought I told you to go fuck yourself."

Sophia stayed in the back room, out of sight. She couldn't believe her ears. Was Warren trying to get himself KILLED?

"Listen, pussy, you want more like you got yesterday? I'm telling you to stay away from Sophia."

"Sophia's my friend."

"Sophia doesn't have any friends if I say she doesn't have any friends."

Sophia blinked. Warren was right. Scott just wanted to control everything about her.

"Well, nobody chooses my friends for me. Sophia's my friend. If Sophia doesn't want that, she can tell me. Since she just told me the opposite, then friends we stay."

Scott moved closer to Warren and growled in a low voice, "You don't seem to understand, faggot. Yesterday was just a preview. If you don't stay the fuck away from Sophia, I'll give you a beating that will make the one yesterday feel like a tickle."

Sophia tried to blink back the tears. What the hell should she do? How could she get Warren out of this?

"You are pathetic," Warren said. Sophia couldn't believe her ears. And Warren continued, "You just have to keep control over her. You have to keep her pinned under your thumb. You refuse to let her think for herself. And you keep doing this because you are terrified that if you let her think for herself, if you let her get out from under your thumb, she's going to wake up and realize that she is WAY too fucking GOOD for the likes of YOU!"

Warren, of course, ended up on his back, bleeding from his mouth. He expected that. Scott was just laughing at him, while Sophia stood in the back room, sobbing, terrified.

Warren pulled himself up, in horrific pain, but determined not to give in. Not to this scumbag. Not concerning Sophia. "And you know what, asshole? You can hit me over and over again and it still won't change the fact that Sophia is too good for you."

The next shot went to Warren's already bruised ribs. Dora went running back to tell Antonio to call the cops. Warren tried to catch his breath, kneeling on the floor, gasping. And Scott taunted him: "Want another one, pussy?"

"Better me than Sophia."

And Sophia, who had been hunched over, crying, stood up, with a start. She had always thought of Warren as a bit of a wimp-but here he was, standing there, taking a beating. For her. She was ashamed of herself for ever thinking that he was wimpy. If she ever had any doubts about whether or not he loved her, they were gone. And she knew something else as well.

She knew she had to end this.

She walked out onto the floor. "Scott, that's enough."

"Oh, Sophia! Come to watch me beat the shit out of your little friend here?"

"No, I've come to tell you to get out. Get out of the store, get out of my life. Now."

"Yeah, right, Sophia. What have I told you? You are mine. Get used to it."

Scott had turned his back to Warren to face Sophia, and Warren made a little cheering motion with his hands. Sophia caught it, drew strength from it, and marched right up to Scott.

"I am not your anything. We are through. I am done being a punching bag. Antonio is back there calling the cops. They are on their way. Warren is underage, you are not. Assault and battery of a minor will get you a little stint behind bars. And it will be two, because I've got some bruises I can show them, too. And, for a kicker, I can tell them you've slept with me, a fourteen year old, and you'll get statutory rape on top of it.
I am taking out a restraining order against you as soon as I can do it. I want you gone, I want you out of my life, forever. Do you understand me?"

Warren had managed to stand up, and was smiling and giving Sophia the thumbs-up. Scott walked towards Sophia, an angry grimace on his face, and swung at her. Warren was about to jump him, to do anything to help Sophia, but he didn't have to.

Just as Scott's hand connected with Sophia's mouth, the cops walked in. 





