Novel & Cerita Outsiders Sodapop

**Chapter 127: Sophia’s Wisdom** I needed my best friend more than ever. The walls of the penthouse felt like they were closing in with the board vote hanging over us like a death sentence. Damien arranged a secure location — a private rooftop lounge at one of his hotels, completely booked out for us with heavy security. No press, no surprises. Sophia arrived armed with wine, takeout sushi, and her unstoppable energy. The moment she hugged me, the tears I’d been holding back spilled over.

“Who said I’m taking it as mine? Ireregalo ko siya sa isang tao.” The guy laughed in return. “Hay nako. Hindi ko na kailanga’ng hulaan kung sino.” He shook his head. “But I don’t think your lifetime crush will accept this. At higit sa lahat,” he breathed out, “aanhin ni Devon ang kabayo?” Now, these strangers are planning to take me as a present for someone who is an equal stranger. These lower beings . . . ! Once I turn into my real self, I will devour them with no fail!

To save 50 dollars on rent, I took over the snow shoveling and trash removal for the entire run-down apartment building. My move into the basement fell right on my birthday. Down on my knees, I scrubbed the moldy floor three times over. Then, with the little change I had left from my part-time job, I went to the convenience store and bought the cheapest discounted cupcake there. Just as I was about to light the candle, my phone suddenly blew up with a flood of push notifications. It was the local financial news—the headline read that Fabio's company had successfully gone public with a ringing of the bell.

I'd stood at the station in the frigid cold, tears rolling down my cheeks as I waited for nearly two hours before I finally got an Uber. Things like this have been happening ever since Vivian arrived in this household. Every time Mom and Dad were displeased about something, they would immediately blame it on me. They blamed me for moving away from them after marrying Kevin and told me that Vivian was the only one keeping them company. They called me an ingrate and a jealous bitch. And now that I thought of it, I had indeed been demanding too much of them as an outsider after all. Dad got goosebumps as I kept staring at him. He cleared his throat.

He put his shirt back on, grabbed a soda, and sat down in a lawn chair. “Want a drink,” he asked. “Help yourself.” “Sure!” she said. “Thanks.” She grabbed a soda, struggled with the pull tab for a bit, opened it, and took a long drink before sitting down next to him. “Ahhhh! That’s good!” she said. “I’ve never had this kind.” He looked at her. It was a very popular drink. “My parents don’t let me have sugar and caffeine,” she said, a little embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I hope you don’t get in trouble.”

He greeted her, as she gave him a hug. At that same time, Alexander was coming our way. While Chris moves to my other side to give room for Alex. "Addie, I was waiting for you. You look, beautiful Princess." He whispered in my ear, his tone was a bit threatening but sexy at the same time. He was making me giddy on the inside, especially when he lowered his voice down as he called me Princess, which made me wet instantly, and from his smirk, he definitely knew. "Oh sorry. Alex, this is Shane the owner of this establishment and one of my college buddies. Shane, this is my boyfriend Alex." They shake hands briefly, and a bit tense. But from Shane's looks, I assumed he was used to this kind of a

Celeste and I made ourselves comfortable near the bonfire on a log, each with a hotdog in hand and a soda in the other. I insisted on another beer, but she refused to let me have one. The soda—which was supposedly cherry, tasted stale with a sour after taste. I pulled a face, chugging it out onto the sand beside me. The juice splattered onto the sand, sending a spray onto my one leg and onto the leg of a girl sitting nearby, practically eating her boyfriend’s face.

" The call ended quickly, yet I knew things wouldn't be that easy to resolve. After all, it was impossible for leeches to give up on a refillable blood bag. … As expected, my lawyer told me they refused to cooperate. They were still staying there when I returned home half a month later. Dad was the one who saw me first. He came over to greet me happily, wanting to give me a hug. "You're finally back, Heidi! I'm sure you haven't been eating well on the cruise. What do you want to eat? I'll cook them for you," he said. I stepped aside to avoid him. "There's no need to trouble you, Mr. Jordan Lewis."

I get us some refreshments and sit opposite her, she looks at all the different types of soda. “Take whatever you like Lizzy” I say as I sit, she looks at the collection of soda’s and snacks. She points to the can of pepsi max, I smile at her “Of course, you can have them all if you like” She just smiles, then surprises us all. “Thank you” Lizzy says just above a whisper, it's our turn to go wide eyed.

She holds her backpack steady on her back gripping the straps tightly with her hands; Troy gestures her to stop, placing a five dollar bill inside the slot and grabbing two soda cans out the machine for each of them. "What? No soda for me? I get it, it's because I'm not long haired and beautiful like Sophie huh?" Dylan startles them, walking behind them. Troy chuckles and hands him his can of soda." I was kidding man, I'll get my own." Dylan smiles, pushing the soda back to Troy. "Nah, it's cool. You can have it. I'll get another one." He says as he turns and places another bill and grabs another soda off the machine.