Chapter 71 - 71: Did You Know Each Other Before?

Ryan Sampson's stress levels were on a roller coaster, going up and down. He almost couldn't take it. But now, it seemed settled.

Kevin, Mariah, and Dave got into Pearson's car, and the rest of them took the bus.

Kevin wasn't bothered about being in the car, but when he knew Pearson would be on the bus, he didn't want to be cooped up with him for hours.

To him, Albert Pearson would always be his sister's assistant. He had even helped to arrange the funeral, and now when Kevin saw him, it always made him think of his sister, and he couldn't help but feel sad. He had said hello to him in Bridge Town but couldn't bring himself to say anymore.

Barry had the opposite problem, he wanted to take the car, but he didn't want to let Pearson spend several hours with Sophia without him there.

Katherine, the tour guide, didn't mind this new arrangement, but she did ask that the car should be in her sight at all times. After all, she was responsible for the safety of her group.

They got on the bus and took their seats.

When Sophia got on, she took a seat at random.

Barry immediately followed, wanting to sit next to her.

But, a gloved hand stretched out and pulled him into the seat in front.

Ryan smiled darkly, "Sit next to me, boy!"

Barry frowned, "Who would…"

He looked back and saw that Pearson was now sitting next to Sophia, calmly, as if he were supposed to be sitting there.

The journey was going to take about six hours, the car with Kevin and the others ahead and the bus following behind it.

"Kevin has been avoiding me" Albert was looking helplessly at the car in front.

Sophia had noticed that already. Throughout the trip, Kevin had barely spoken two words to Pearson, and yet Sophia remembered how friendly they had been before. Sharing jokes with each other, Kevin teasing Albert for eating too much and generally getting along when Kevin came to see Sophia in the lab.

"Did you know each other before?" Sophia asked, following his train of thought.

"Yeah. I was his sister's assistant. It's funny, and his sister had the same name as you, Sophia Green." There was something in his face, in his eyes that shifted when he said her name, a depth of feeling, or something.

Sophia nodded, "Yeah. I know. Kevin told me about that. I was actually there at her funeral."

Albert was surprised, "Really? I was there too, well, I helped Kevin arrange it. In fact, he didn't talk to me much then either. Maybe I remind him of his sister, and it makes him sad!"

"The funeral, you arranged it?" Sophia looked at him in amazement. She had heard from Kevin that his sister's colleagues had helped arrange the funeral, and while it had crossed her mind that it could be him, she hadn't really thought it possible.

What an amazing person, what an amazing assistant! Albert Pearson was incredibly kind.

Pearson nodded slightly, "Yes. Kevin is really still just a child, and his family situation is not good. He and I are friends. I wanted to help." He said with some sadness in his eyes.

Sophia quickly changed the subject, "How about your clothing business? Is that going well?"

Ryan had been listening to their conversation. When he heard Sophia ask about the company, he interrupted, "It's great. My boss is doing an excellent job!"

Barry glared at Ryan. What was he trying to do? Make a good impression on Sophia because of his glowing career and money? It wasn't fair, just because he was still a student. He didn't like these guys.

Sophia laughed, "That's good."

She always thought Pearson would succeed if he left the lab to do something else. Now it seemed that she was right.

But this comment sunk Barry into an even greater mood.

"That's good," what did that even mean? Did that mean she liked Pearson? That she wanted to be with him?

Sampson saw the look on Barry's face and suddenly laughed, "Boy, how old are you?"

Barry gave him a dirty look, "Eighteen. Why?"

"I hear Sophia is nineteen, right? Girls, nowadays, don't tend to go for boys younger than them!"

"Bullshit! You're not a girl, and you don't know!" Barry retaliated.

He was not even sure what his feelings were for Sophia. He just found her fascinating. She was so different from any girl he'd ever met, and he wanted to get to know her more.

And he didn't like to see this handsome, older guy getting close to her.

The bus was approaching a dangerous mountain pass. Katherine stood up from her seat and warned them all loudly, "Please fasten your seat belt, everyone. This is a dangerous stretch. I'll come and check in a moment to make sure they're all done."

Most of the passengers put them on, but Sophia noticed a few who were reluctant, and so she persuaded them one by one until all the passengers had done them up, and she went back to her seat satisfied.

There were many bends on the road, and it was quite bumpy. The bus driver was very careful.

As the bus made its way along the road, they suddenly heard a loud crash in front of them. The bus veered to one side, scraping along the side of the mountain, before eventually coming to a halt.

A man in the bus screamed, he held his hand on his head and shouted at the bus driver, "What the hell was that?"

Passengers looked over at the man, and they noticed that he hadn't been wearing his seat belt. He must have unfastened it again after Katherine finished checking. As the bus veered off, he had been thrown against the window and hit his head on the glass. Fortunately, it did not seem particularly serious, just a little surface wound.

The driver wasn't paying any attention to him, and said with a tremble in his voice as he pointed in front of him, "It seems that… there's been some crash."