#sofia kurylenko

After about a billion text messages and phones calls followed by four planes, two trains, and three different taxis driving to five different locations before Ronnie had finally arrived at her final destination. Getting out of Launceston had proven to be a much more difficult task than even Ronnie had been prepared for. Add on the extra baggage that now came with traveling with a newborn and Veronika was just happy to not be sitting down anymore. 

Her legs had gone numb during one of the taxi rides, she was sure. But still, she knew that it would all be worth it to see the look on Sofia’s face.

Marcello was the only person who Ronnie had told about her travel plans for obvious reasons. It had taken a bit of convincing, but Ronnie had made it clear that this trip was necessary and non-negotiable. Even if he hadn’t been entirely happy about it, he understood. He had been helpful in getting Ronnie out of the house with Nathan and without being followed, so long as Ronnie promised to call and text every single day while she was gone. She was certain she’d hear an earful from her family when she arrived home, but Ronnie didn’t care. 

Aaron had proven to be just as helpful in Ronnie’s super secret plan, despite his own reservations about the plan as well. The extra traveling and cars and locations had been necessary precautions, ones that Ronnie had been happy to oblige to. Especially now as she stood in the middle of Andy’s playroom with Nathan tucked safely in her arms. Sofia would be arriving home any second and Ronnie was practically jumping up and down with excitement. At the sound of the front door opening downstairs, Ronnie quietly listened as Aaron insisted Sofia head up to the playroom to check out a present he’d bought for Andy. As Sofia’s footsteps drew closer, Ronnie bit down on her lip in anticipation and in an attempt not to start crying before Sofia even got into the room. 

The moment Veronika’s hazel eyes met her best friend’s familiar brown ones as Sofia entered the playroom, it took every ounce of strength Ronnie had not to run straight into her arms and hug her. Fortunately, the sound of Nathan’s soft baby cooing reminded her of the main reason Ronnie had taken this trip in the first place.

“Hey, do you mind holding him for a second?” Ronnie asked with a smile on her face. “I’ve been traveling all day and my arms are really tired.”

”What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again.” - Anne Frank

It was a line that glaringly stood out the first time she’d read the diary, and it was a line that she’d been repeating to herself time and time again as the boxes were packed, taken out as discreetly as was possible, given the circumstances. She could never compare her current circumstance to that of the thirteen year old girl in the midst of such a heinous time in history, yet Sofia couldn’t help but wonder if the emotions she was feeling were even half of what she’d felt. 

Leaving in the middle of the night, at the darkest part of the night, the most silent time... that made her wonder all the more.

There was a silent agreement between the toddler’s parents that they’d wait until the last possible moment to wake their son, until everything was confirmed ready to go. When the last box had been taken out, when Aaron and Sofia had ensured that all of their most precious belongings were heading for the same destination they were, only then would they wake him.

After all, they were about to upset Andy’s entire world, to uproot him from the only place he’d ever known.. at the very least, they would let him sleep as peacefully as he was, for as long as they could.

Standing in the kitchen at this hour, the darkness enveloping every corner where the sunshine normally splashed the walls, she was reminded of the night she’d given herself over to the Italians, to save her husband, and all those she held dear. It was an hour such as this that all those things had occurred, and it left her wondering... could anything good happen at such an hour? Her dark eyes scanned the kitchen slowly, memories of the meals cooked, tears shed, and discussions had enveloping her mind, one by one, an endless string. 

Sofia’s attention turned to the family room, laying to rest on the place where Andrew had taken his first steps, the spot on the couch where Sofia and Aaron had fallen asleep together so many nights, drifting off as he indulged her in the viewing of a black and white film. It was the place where they’d met their friends at the base of the stairs when she’d miscarried their first child, before they’d gone into the yard for their service. The memories played one after another as she gazed around the room, a deep sigh escaping her.

Veronika’s fingers tapped the side of her steering wheel, nervous as to what it was Sofia had to tell her. Ronnie knew her best friend well, which meant she knew when she was hiding something. Ronnie hadn’t spoken to Sofia since before the charity gala, which was probably more of a cowardly thing on Ronnie’s part. It wasn’t like Ronnie wanted to ignore Sofia, but she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to say to her. Ronnie didn’t want to lie and pretend like she was sorry because she wasn’t. Despite how much love Ronnie had for Sofia, she held an equal amount of hatred for the people that Sofia called her family. And it wasn’t as if it was a one-way street; Ronnie was well aware of Sofia’s feelings towards Alessia. 

Pulling into the parking lot of the cafe, Ronnie saw her phone was already blowing up with text messages. She felt bad about lying, but it wasn’t like she could just come out and tell her security she was going to meet up with Sofia. She had gone so far as to send them a picture of her, admittedly holding up her middle finger and telling them to calm the fuck down, but they knew she was safe. It was probably the last time she’d be allowed out of anyone’s sight for awhile, but Ronnie didn’t particularly care much at the moment. Walking side, Ronnie didn’t see Sofia inside and so she strolled to the back of the restaurant and found a vacant table, ordering herself a glass of water as she waited for Sofia to arrive.

Stepping in the cafe, Veronika spotted Sofia immediately. Mostly because she was the only other person in the cafe with an entire security team standing a few yards behind her, all of whom glared at Ronnie and her security as they approached the table. Lowering herself down into the vacant chair opposite Sofia, which was admittedly a lot more difficult than Ronnie was used to, she smiled over at Sofia. It felt weird, sitting across from her best friend after not having seen her for so long. Even more so, after every that had transpired between them and their families over the past few months.

“How are you?” Ronnie asked, genuine concern in her tone. “I was worried when I’d heard you went missing...” 

“Baby looks healthy,” the doctor said, smiling as she handed Veronika a paper towel to wipe the gel off of her exposed stomach. “Would you like pictures?”

Veronika’s thoughts were a million miles away as she nodded and pulled her jeans back up her legs. She reached for the tiny sonogram photos and without a word smiled at the doctor and quickly made her way out of the tiny exam room. She didn’t have time for meaningless small talk. She still had to stop and see her mother before she left to get an early dinner with her grandfather. It seemed like every single second of every single day as of late Ronnie was busy. It was mostly her own fault; if she kept busy, she wouldn’t have time to stop and think about everything that was going on in her life. 

Standing in front of the elevator, Veronika pressed the down button four times before losing her patients and rushing over towards the staircase. If she had been paying more attention, she probably would have seen the other person exiting the stairwell as she was entering. Even more so, she probably would have noticed said person was her best friend. The two bodies collided, causing Veronika to drop her phone, keys, and sonogram photographs onto the floor.

“Shit,” Ronnie said, kneeling down and picking her belonging up off the floor. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I’m sort of on a tight schedule...” Her voice trailed off as she finally lifted her head long enough to see who she had fun into. Normally Ronnie would have been thrilled to see Sofia, but a lot had happened. Too much had happened. 

“Hey Sofia,” Ronnie said slowly, noticing she had picked up one of the sonogram photos that Ronnie had dropped. “Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going...”

It had been the final straw.

She was certain she had broken every speeding law in the book rushing over to Sofia’s house after her tearful phone call. She didn’t even stop to turn off her car once she had reached the Russian’s home. Sofia stood in her driveway, clearly distraught as Ronnie ran towards her, using every ounce of strength she had in her body not to strangle her.

“I swear to God,” Veronika shouted, her voice cracking. “If whichever one of your twisted fucking family members hurts even a single hair on my son’s head, I will kill them.”

She took a few more steps, her fists clenched and tears welling in her eyes.

Sofia waited until she was announced, the cue she’d been told to wait for in rehearsals coming as it was expected. She was escorted to the center of the stage to booming applause, the butterflies in her stomach escalating as she approached center stage, thanking the young man that had walked with her as she stood before the microphone, a gentle smile on her features.

“Good evening Launceston, and welcome to the 5th Annual Launceston Awards. I’m Sofia Kurylenko, and it’s truly a pleasure to be here with you all this evening. Tonight we’re here to celebrate the winners of the largest popularity contest in the Massachusetts, and quite possibly the northern United States.

All of our nominees were voted in by the residents of Launceston City, and the four individuals selected for each of the categories were the ones with the most write-in votes. Those nominees were then subjected to a blatant popularity contest to determine the winner. So basically, if we’re looking at this logically... Launceston is a high school, and the winners of these awards are the popular kids... the ones that never really amount to anything after high school and show up at the reunions each year flaunting their “Most Likely to Succeed” title from ten years ago? Yeah. Do any of those people actually go on to be successful? Of course not. But look... regardless of that, I think you should think of yourselves as winners. Not all of you, but the people who have won before should think of yourselves as winners. And I know what you're thinking: 'Sofia, that's easy for you to say. You've been chosen to host and that's kind of the highest award there is.' Thank you,” the brunette bowed gracefully, a playful grin on her lips as the crowd chuckled lightly.

“In all seriousness, I’ve had a few tough hosting acts to follow. Last year we had Darcy Belmonte, and the year before that we had Ms. Ellie O’Reilly. They each did a fantastic job in their own rights, and if 'hosting’ trend continues, in the next year I’ll completely disappear from Launceston’s social scene, move out of the city entirely, and do God-knows what with my life. It appears that this hosting gig is now the highest point of my life... although being nominated as this year’s ‘Biggest Drug Addict’ is a close second.

Yes, we had a few surprising nominations this year, didn’t we? Some totally off-base, some really accurate. You know what surprised me? Most Handsome Man. It seems like a pretty straight forward category, but you all can’t make anything easy, can you? 75% of the category this year is men over forty five... fathers over forty five. I mean, really, we’ve got some wonderfully beautiful men aged 25 - 35 and you all chose three guys halfway between forty and fifty? Granted, they’re far from unattractive, but there’s only one George Clooney in Hollywood... three old DILFs in Launceston seems like a bit of a stretch.

I also found it funny that Laurent St. Pierre tied with the most prominent DILF in the ‘Handsome’ category, Viktor Petrovsky for the most nominations. Does anyone even know who Laurent St. Pierre is? No really... can someone point him out to me?” Sofia’s hand moved to her forehead as she playfully searched for Laurent, her eyes scanning the crowd for a few moments before she continued.

“Who else, who else do we have on the nominations list... oh! How does one become nominated for Best Should-Be Couple and Best Couple? Yes, I’m speaking to you, Ms. Veronika Auditore. Frankly, I thought you were going to hold down the ‘Should Be Couple’ category every single year for the existence of this award show, and it looks like not even you getting married changes that little observation.” Sofia paused, a single brow raised as she paused, waiting for the voice she knew was behind her. “Are you talking shit about me...? Wait...can I say shit? Shit I said it again." Ronnie’s voice behind her turned Sofia’s attention to the side of the stage as her friend sauntered over, a playful smirk on the brunette’s face as she joined her onstage. 

“I told you I was using you in my opening bit.”

"I should have told you to make fun of my Best Humor or Biggest Sass Queen. Should-be Couple is just awkward."

Sofia’s brow raised before she spoke again, her expression playful. “Last year I was nominated in that category with my ex-husband, don’t you think I know that?”

"Well hey, like you said I'm married now and I am more than happy to pass the 'Should-be Couple' torch on to someone else. C'mon, we'll get a head start and help you find someone right now... I know! We can play Would You Rather!" Ronnie’s expression evoked a few chuckles from the crowd, and Sofia couldn’t help but roll her eyes jokingly.

“You know I’m in the middle of something right now, yes?” 

"These guys don't mind waiting, do they? No, of course they don't."

“Oh, my god. Alright, lets get on with it.” The Russian brushed her hair over her shoulder casually, shaking her head at her friend’s suggestion.

“Okay. Would you rather... Ethan Hathaway, or Alexander Reynolds?”

Sofia shook her head quickly, waving her arms as she glanced at Ronnie. “No, no, no... I’m putting a stop to this. No way, Auditore/Lomazzo/whatever your last name is now. Go find your husband and lets get to the award-giving.” 

"Oh, you're no fun. But anyway, the real reason I came out here is to give you this." Sofia took the envelope from Ronnie, a nod of thanks following the gesture, before the Italian spoke again. "And one last thing before I go... after party at Amnesia, hosted by yours truly. Be there or forever wish you pulled the stick out of your ass. Goodnight everyone!"

“Veronika Auditore, ladies and gentlemen,” the Russian waved as her friend exited the stage to applause, her fingers beginning to open the envelope that Ronnie had delivered.

“Now, I was trying to wrap this up so we could get to the good part, but I’m guessing this is important so just... give me one second...” the brunette paused as her eyes scanned the contents of the envelope, nodding slightly at its contents before she returned to the microphone. 

“Okay. before we start giving out awards, the producers of the show have asked me to give you all a few pointers regarding your acceptance speeches, so here we go. Number one... keep it short.” Sofia looked up from the list, her tone shifting as she added her own commentary to the list she’d been given. “Please, keep it short, especially if you’re not up for what’s considered the ‘major’ awards of the evening... no one really cares about the winner of Best Venue or Best Event; everyone knows about your damn venues, we’ve all been to events hosted at each of them at one time or another, and the nominated events have already happened... no one wants to hear you speak. Let’s face it: everyone is waiting for Man and Woman of the Year, and your babbling is going to have them waiting longer. The next thing...” she glanced at the list again, before looking up, her features unamused, “don’t cry... it’s pathetic, it’s just an award. Your dog is still alive, your pregnancy test was negative, and Donald Trump is not the president of the United States. And the last thing, this is really important, so listen up. Much like New Year's eve, tonight will be a night that ends with a lot of drunk, disappointed people swearing that they'll do better next year... please keep in mind that this is a televised show, and drunk and disorderly conduct as well as foul language will almost certainly earn you a ‘Biggest Train Wreck’ nomination for next year.”