Lahat ng Kabanata ng Sin With Me, Sunshine: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Sofia"Honestly, Sofia," my mother sighed, dabbing at her temple with a lace-edged handkerchief. "You admit yourself she wears... trousers to church sometimes, she doesn’t stay in the hostel some night, definitely drinking and clubbing, she is not the kind of person you should be in the same room with, you have to stay somewhere else." She lamented passing a verdict on my new roommate for my final year. My father adjusted his tie, his expression stern. "A young woman of God does not associate with such... influences. These worldly distractions will pull you away from the path." He leaned forward, "We worry about your soul, Sofia. Being in the same room with someone who lives like that... it taints you."Taints me? I sat on the edge of the sofa, my hands clasped tightly in my lap, my knuckles white, storm raged inside of me, but on my face was a placid, obedient mask I had perfected over twenty-one years. "She's... she's not a bad person, Mama, Papa. She just... lives differently, I h

Sofia I couldn’t believe I had actually said yes to Clara. I stood watching Clara toss clothes around, I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. What was I thinking? Attending a birthday party, at a club?“Okay, absolutely not,” she finally declared, holding up a pale blue linen skirt that reached my ankles. “We are not taking you to a club looking like you just stepped out of a church social. Which, I know, is kind of your whole… thing, but tonight, we break the mold, okay? I will lend you something that shows off… well, you.”“No,” I said quickly, perhaps too quickly. “You know I won’t wear short, tight dresses.” Clara sighed, dropping the top she was holding. “Sofia, seriously? You can’t go in one of those skirts. Trust me, you’ll feel completely out of place. More than you already will.”“I have a pair of jeans,” I offered hesitantly, hoping it might be a compromise. I rarely wore them, but they were technically less formal than my skirts. I quickly searched for them and threw them

SofiaMy eyelids fluttered open, feeling heavy and unwilling, before snapping wide in a blinding jolt of panic. I looked around the room I was in, it wasn't my small, familiar bed in the hostel. The sheets were silk, and the air was filled with an unfamiliar scent of something musky, expensive, and unsettlingly masculine. My heart hammered against my ribs. Where was I?I pushed myself up, my head throbbing with a dull, persistent ache that felt less like a hangover and more like a physical manifestation of guilt. I look around the room filtered by the morning sun through the heavy velvet curtains. A king-sized bed, dark wood furniture, and modern art on the walls. This was definitely not the hostel.I pressed my hands on my head trying to calm the headache that I felt when flashes from last night invaded me. I could hear the thumping bass of the club, the dizzying sweetness of the drink Clara had pressed into my hand, the music vibrating through my bones until I felt unbound and weight

SofiaA soft touch, light as a butterfly’s wing, brushed my hand. My eyes fluttered open and found Clara’s face hovering above mine. Her expression was muted, a soft apology etched into her brow. She didn’t say a word, just squeezed my fingers. I wanted to yank my hand away, to turn my back, to pretend the last twenty-four hours were nothing but a fever dream, but her grip was surprisingly firm, grounding me.“I’m so sorry, Sofia,” she whispered, “For everything. For taking you there, for… for introducing you to all of it. I didn’t know. I never meant for…” Her voice trailed off, thick with genuine remorse.The knot in my chest, the shame and anger I felt all loosened a fraction. My own tears, which had felt like a permanent fixture behind my eyelids, finally spilled over, tracing hot paths down my temples into my hair. I didn’t know what to say, I was just being stupid too, “It’s not just you, Clara,” I choked out, my voice raspy. “I… I’m just as guilty, I went with you and I let it

SofiaThe sudden knock on the door jolted me awake, my heart still thrumming from a dream I couldn’t quite grasp, only the lingering heat and a shameful, unfamiliar sensation that pulsed deep within me. I groaned and went for the door, I saw Clara’s cheerful face peering in. “Morning, sleepyhead! How was your night?”“Fine, Clara, just fine,” I mumbled, pulling the sheet higher, a flush creeping up my neck. The memory of the dream still lingered even though I had taken a drink last night to help with the hotness I felt, I couldn’t just dismiss how vague, wet warmth it was, it was still too vivid, too mortifying not to remember. “I’m just going to have my bath.”I practically fled to the bathroom without waiting for her reply, the moment I stepped into the bathroom I took off my clothes and I stood naked under the warm water.I couldn’t help the thoughts that came rushing in. What was wrong with me? Why did my mind keep straying to such… ungodly things? The image of the man, his touch