Chapter 39

As Charisse stepped out to the hotel entrance, someone called her in a sneaky tone, "Charisse, hey! Charisse!" She paused, puzzled for a second, then lit up when she saw who it was. "Sophia?" Charisse quickly ran up to her. "What are you doing here?" The girl in front of her was Sophia, her college friend. They weren't in the same major, but they shared a mentor and did a lot of part-time work together, so their bond had grown strong over the years. "I... I came to find you," Sophia said, grabbing Charisse's hand tightly. "I didn't know who else I could turn to." Charisse frowned, concerned. "What happened? Something wrong?" Sophia bit her lip, looking like she didn't know where to start. Charisse picked up on her hesitation and offered, "Why don't you get a room first and settle in? We can talk after that." Sophia nodded, then immediately shook her head. "I... didn't bring my ID." "No worries. I'll book it for you." Charisse used her ID to get a king room and brought Sophia upstairs t