Mia

Fourteen

Mia

Unable to watch him leave without bawling my stupid eyes out, I hurried to the house, hoping whoever might be watching the house would leave me alone. Both Mom and Dad’s cars were in the garage, so they had to know I wasn’t home, but they hadn’t called or texted to check on me. This shouldn’t have bothered me. I very rarely told them the truth of where I was anymore, but them not caring hurt. Now that I had let myself cry so many times, my emotions were running rampant in a way I had never experienced before. 

            Ava’s car was also in the driveway, and Cade’s wasn’t, which meant she wasn’t with him. That was abnormal as of late, especially since it was only eight. When I got inside, voices carried from the living room where I would have to pass in order to get to the stairs. I had to prepare myself with a story, mostly because I probably still looked like hell. 

            Ava was in the middle of the living room turning this way and that, showing off an adorable gray, three-quarter-sleeved dress that stopped right above her knees and gorgeous black cowgirl boots that I wanted to steal. It was odd that she wasn’t smiling. She didn’t look excited at all. Her grimace mirrored how I felt inside, but I had no clue what reason she had to look that way. Our parents were watching her from the couch, both of them beaming at her. 

            “I just don’t know. Maybe I should get something—” Ava broke off when she spotted me, and a smirk played at her lips. “Hey! What do you think?” She spun for me as if she actually wanted my opinion.

            “It’s perfect!” I tried for a smile, but wasn’t sure how it turned out. “Totally you.” 

            “We told you as much,” Mom told her, patting her on the shoulder after getting up from the couch. Then she approached me with her arms held wide, and Dad followed behind her. They devoured me in a giant hug that warmed my soul and broke my heart all at the same time. 

            “I want in! I want in!” Ava called, squeezing into the smothering hug. 

            And for one moment, the scents of vanilla and cinnamon filled me along with a peace I hadn’t felt in a very long time. My perfect family that I probably didn’t deserve. When we broke apart, Ava announced she was going to change into jammies, but Mom and Dad stayed by me, watching me with concerned eyes. 

            “Where were you?” Daddy asked at the same time Mom asked, “Are you all right, honey?” 

            “Umm. I was with Kenny,” I told Dad, who glared, and Mom’s lips thinned. “And, umm, I’m not great. I broke up with him.” I tugged on my T-shirt, wishing their probing gazes were trained anywhere else. 

            “Thank the Lord!” Dad exclaimed with a giant sigh while wiping away nonexistent sweat from his brow. 

            “Jim.” Mom playfully shoved him but also looked relieved. 

            “I’m sorry if you’re hurting, baby, but it took all my control not to demand you didn’t date that boy,” said Dad, before he squeezed my shoulder and gave me a kiss on the forehead. 

            Deep down I wished he had done as much. At the time, I probably wouldn’t have listened, but it was totally warranted with how much of a douche Kenny had turned out to be. 

            “I love you, Daddy,” I told him, meaning it with all my being. “Thanks for letting me work it out on my own.” I didn’t care that I couldn’t tell them I had actually figured out how much of a scumbag Kenny was, that I had broken things off weeks before, and I had been hanging out with an amazing guy who they loved. That moment of them caring for me meant the world. 

            Dad went back to the couch, but Mom stood right in front of me with a hand on each of my cheeks—something she hadn’t done in a long time. It brought tears to my eyes, which I was so freaking tired of, but this was Mom.

            “Are you really okay?” she asked, a line formed between her eyebrows.

            “I’ll be fine.” I nodded.

            She hmmmed. “Well, I know you’re going to find someone much, much better suited for you.” She patted my cheek before dropping her hands. “In the meantime, since we haven’t gone dress shopping for you yet, and you had a rough day, why don’t you ditch tomorrow and we’ll go find you a dress?”

            I wanted to tell her I wasn’t even going to prom, but I couldn’t pass this up. One last hoorah shopping day with my mom. The perk of not having to put up with Kenny’s s**t the next day couldn’t be overlooked. 

            “You have no idea how amazing that sounds!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her. 

            She laughed, patting my back. “Good. It will just be the two of us, so you go ahead and sleep in as late as you like, and we’ll go whenever you’re ready.” I had the greatest parents known to man. 

            When I went upstairs, I caught Ava heading back down in her sweatpants with her phone stuck in front of her face. She stopped when she spotted me, lowering the phone. That close to her, I noticed dark circles under her eyes and a worry line between her brows that I had never noticed before.

            “Hey. Are you really okay?” she asked me, concern coating her tone. And here I was again. Confronted by the greatest, most loving sister ever, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her, especially since I was going to be leaving in only a couple days. 

            “Sure.” I nodded. “Are you?” 

            “Sure.” She nodded. 

            I snorted. 

            “Everything okay with Cade?” My gossipy, curious side had to know. 

            “Kind of. I haven’t told him about Vanderbilt yet… I don’t think he’s going to take it so great now that I’ve waited this long.” 

            My flawless sister heading off to Vanderbilt, and she hadn’t even told her boyfriend. Of course he wasn’t going to take it lightly that she kept something so huge from him for over two months. I was pretty sure I had even told a few people around school, mostly just to chitchat and talk about what a suck-up my twin was. I had even told that b***h Sydney at that party I got plastered at the night of Cade and Ava’s first date. It was surprising he hadn’t heard it from someone else already. 

            “I’m sure he’ll handle it well, as long as you don’t wait until graduation to tell him. He likes you a lot.” 

            She grimaced as if that were a bad thing, and I kind of wanted to tell her she was an i***t for being so selfish. But then, wasn’t I being even more selfish by taking off on them without any warning? 

            “I’m going back down. You should come down and hang out with us for a bit.” She looked so hopeful for a millisecond; it made my chest tight. 

            “I’m actually going to bed. I had a long day,” I told her on a yawn. 

            She didn’t question it, because I was being the usual Mia, keeping everything to myself and not sharing my space with anyone. Anyone but Pierce. I would share just about anything with him if he would let me. She went one way, and I went the other, brushing my teeth before I headed into my cave. Right when I lay down on my giant bed, my phone buzzed and my heart raced at the sight of Cop on the screen. 

            Cop: Good night, Mia. Please be careful tomorrow. 

            My heart melted a little more. I was still kind of pissed at him for what he had said that morning, even after spending the evening with him. I shouldn’t have texted him at all, but when I came home from school after Kenny had basically tried to r**e me, I sat in my room feeling so alone, wanting nothing more than to die. Pierce was the only person I felt like I could turn to. He had redeemed himself by apologizing, but it still hurt knowing he thought I was so despicable. Mostly because I was that despicable. 

            Me: I’m ditching to spend the day with my mom. 

            Cop: That just made my night. 

            Me: You’re weird. Me talking to you should have made your night.

            Cop: Ha. So full of yourself. It did, but still… you could at least pretend to be slightly less confident in yourself. 

            Me: Then I wouldn’t be me, and you wouldn’t care at all. 

            Cop: You’re probably right. I care an immeasurable amount for you, Mia. 

            That made my stomach hurt. He shouldn't have cared about me at all, not with how terrible I was. But he looked past all the s**t I did, literally. Not telling anyone at his work the stuff I knew. I was such a rotten person for allowing him to jeopardize his job, and even more so for being grateful to him for doing as much. 

            Me: I care about you too, Cop.

            Was all I could respond with. He ended the conversation with a “Sleep good, Mia.”