Sofia smiled and looked at the pretty woman beside her. There was a natural sense of cheerfulness to her that she liked.
"May I … could you shake my hand?" she asked lamely.
Linda's brow furrowed, but she held out her hand. Sofia gripped it, the touch enough to reveal a future like Traci's, filled with love and joy.
"Am I pregnant, too?" Linda teased. "That's an awesome pregnancy test, by the way."
"No, you're not," Sofia answered with a smile. "You will be soon."
Linda grinned. "We better get Rainy in here before he tears down the hospital looking for her."
"I'm not staying. He's an inch away from wringing my neck," Sofia said, following. Her stomach growled.
"You wanna get some food?"
Sofia bit her lip and crossed her arms, unable to admit she couldn't really eat. "Sure."
Linda sent Rainy to Traci and walked with her to the cafeteria. Pierre trailed them at a distance just out of earshot, and Linda looked at her curiously.
"He's wearing the color of the bodyguards," she observed. "You must be someone important."
"Not really. I'm a lost sheep," Sofia said.
"Strange. You seem to know what you're doing."
"I'm … new to Damian's organization. One week new, to be exact. I don't really know which way is up right now."
"Wow, Sofia. First, welcome, and congrats! These are the finest men you'll find anywhere," Linda grinned.
"Thanks."
"Second, who's your sponsor?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, no one gets in without a reason. Someone brought you in," Linda said wisely. They sat at a table near the windows.
"Why did they bring you in?" Sofia asked.
"Lon found me. I'm a Natural. I have the ability to levitate things."
"Really? Like anything?"
"Yep."
"So, if Lon said something stupid to you, you could toss him into the air and leave him there until he agreed to treat you with an ounce of respect. And if he didn't, you could leave him there and do whatever the hell you wanted for the day?" Sofia asked with more emotion than she intended. Linda looked at her, and she cleared her throat, anger spiraling through her again.
"I guess I'd never thought of that," Linda admitted, a smile pulling up the corners of her mouth. "But yeah, I could do that."
Sofia watched her take a bite of a muffin, at once longing and agitated. She was hungry. After her explosion at Damian, she'd have to beg for food. And she'd never demean herself to that man. She'd just have to starve to death.
"I do understand how frustrating this all seems when you first join," Linda went on. "Well, you don't really choose to join."