Touching Her Sore Spot

Sophie Martin covered her mouth, laughing gleefully, her eyes crinkling with crow's feet, the sound of her laughter piercing the air. 

Avery Miller stood up, unwilling to cast another glance her way, and turned to leave. 

"What's the matter? Scared?" Sophie Martin called out loudly, her eyebrows lifting in a pride she considered lofty. 

Avery Miller stopped in her tracks, turned around with her pupils narrowing and her gaze intense, scrutinizing Sophie as if she were a sharp-witted officer eyeing a suspect, her presence compelling enough to break spirits and extract confessions.

This technique she had learned from Ethan Montgomery, who always looked at her this way, his eyes harboring unfathomable depths that invariably made her feel guilty, despite never having wronged him, except for her desire to leave.