Mia
SOUTH brONX CLASSICAL
I pushed my emotions down as my awful, asshole-of-a-brain decided to remind me that Lilly was currently meeting with the man I’d groped only a handful of days ago. Now was not the time for regret; I had a play to co-direct.
We had the full cast sectioned into groups, rehearsing lines in the seats surrounding the amphitheater stage, and it was time to pull out every inch of compartmentalization I could muster.
Yep. No more thinking about Theo Hudson or the fact that having his cock pressed against my ass in that storage closet was the single hottest moment of my life.
Sigh. Too bad that I wasn’t great at compartmentalizing.
I physically shook myself, and Gem eyed me strangely. She came down from the stage, stood next to me, and said, “You look stressed.”
“It’s been a weird start to the school year.” I tried to smile at her, but my attention, thankfully, snagged on the gorgeous raven-haired woman painting one of the sets. I nudged my chin in her direction. “How’s she doing?”
“Rochelle? She works fast. That porch Theo built should be ready to go in a few days.”
I wanted to kick myself for asking, but, “She’s Kira’s aunt, isn’t she?”
Gem nudged me, her elbow moving in a blur of colorful polka dots. “She is, and she’s been great for Kira. Have you seen her lately?”
I glanced at Theo’s daughter, now at the center of a group, laughing and chatting.
Compared to her usual gloominess, this wasn’t just an improvement—it was a leap.
Seeing her happy and content eased some of the pressure in my chest. No matter what had happened between her father and me, I wanted her to do well.
I was glad to see her settling in with her castmates.
“Do you want me to introduce you?” Gem asked, looking at Rochelle pointedly.
I made a face. I needed less Hudson in my life, not more. “No thanks.”
“Oh, come on. We’ve only got one other volunteer coming, and she’ll be here for the next few weeks.”
I wanted to growl a very firm no in Gem’s insistent horn-rimmed face but decided against it. Rochelle wasn’t her brother, and I didn’t want to be that awkward person who didn’t greet someone when they walked into a room.
“Fine,” I sighed, and Gem led me onto the stage, where Rochelle was dipping a brush into a can of red paint.
The shade almost matched her lips. They were full and pouty, the color setting off the green in her eyes.
“Holy fuck,” I breathed. “If I weren’t straight as a ruler, I think I’d drag her to bed.”
Gem laughed. “She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. We know who her brother is.”
“He’s a bit prickly, though.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Gem, the man is rougher than a sandpaper condom.”
She snorted, then shushed me as Rochelle noticed us. I stepped forward and thrust my hand out.
“Hi, Rochelle. I’m Mia Walker. I teach Language Arts here at South Bronx.”
Something like shock and delight passed over her features, and Rochelle gripped my hand hard, leaning in as though she had a secret she was dying to tell me.
“Mia Walker? You’re Miss Walker?” She pulled me closer, and I felt oddly like I was under inspection. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
There weren’t many moments in my life where I considered myself speechless. In fact, there were many times where I probably should have kept my mouth shut. But as Rochelle’s excitement sank in, question after question raced through my mind, and I couldn’t settle on a single one to ask.
Finally, I managed a strained, “What exactly have you heard?”
She laughed. “Oh god, you’re fantastic. Look at you. My brother said you were beautiful, but that voice?”
Theo said I was beautiful?
As a sweltering flush spread from the tips of my hair to my toes, Gem piped up from behind me, excusing herself. “I’ll just go check on the costumes.”
Rochelle let my hand go, then slid her gaze up and down my torso while I stood there and mentally sorted through every moment I’d had alone with her brother.
And I wanted to slap myself because what was I doing? I had to stop thinking about him.
The fact that he’d spoken to his sister about me shouldn’t have mattered this much.
“Well, that’s just great, isn’t it?” I muttered, trying to deflect. “Theo’s been talking about me.”
There was so much mischief in her voice. “Almost constantly.”
I folded my arms and forced a grin. “Well, you must hate me then.”
She laughed, and it was this full-bodied thing that sounded larger than the woman it came from. “Oh Mia, anyone who can twist my brother around her finger the way you have gets a pass from me.”
I frowned at her. “I don’t have him twisted… He doesn’t even like me.”
She didn’t try to deny it, and I instantly liked that about her. “I’ve heard about your run-ins, but I couldn’t get a lot of detail out of him.”
“It’s a gift of his, isn’t it?”
“That he doesn’t say much?”
“He’s so quiet half the time, and the other half, he’s...” insulting me.
“That’s just how he is.” She gestured to Kira with her paintbrush and said, “Kira’s mom was the only one who could really handle him.”
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and thought about asking something I knew was none of my business. Then I looked at Kira, watched her sit up in her chair as she recited a line, and decided I’d do it anyway.
“Is it okay if I ask about what happened with her mom?”
Rochelle gave me a questioning glance.
“On Kira’s entrance files, Theo was listed as a single father, and there wasn’t much about her mother. Did they divorce a while ago, or…?”
“Didn’t anyone tell you about Tash?”
I shook my head.
Rochelle frowned. “Theo and Tash were friends since they were kids, but the big dope got her pregnant. After that, they decided to co-parent.”
“So… if they were friends and co-parents, why isn’t Kira’s mother in the picture anymore?”
I watched a thread of sadness touch her features. “She died in May.”
My hands flew to my mouth. “Oh. Oh no.” I bit my finger and said, “I didn’t know that.”
My heart sank as Rochelle looked away. “Kira took it hard. Theo found her having a panic attack under her bed after the funeral. They decided they needed to get out of Oakhaven. It was what Tash wanted for them anyway. They were meant to move together after Kira got accepted, but then, when she got sick, it happened so fast.”
Oh god, this sounded familiar. Lilly’s mother died of cancer when she was only a couple of years younger than Kira was now.
She developed chronic anxiety in the months that followed, and now it was something that had to be managed daily.
If Kira didn’t get the support she needed to handle her grief, she might not completely recover from it.
And Theo. I’d written him off as a grumpy asshole all this time, but he was grieving. While taking on full-time responsibility of his also-grieving daughter.
I couldn’t believe it, but in this situation, I was the asshole.
Why didn’t I think to ask questions? Why didn’t I push? I took his attitude at face value and gave him zero benefit of the doubt. And poor Kira. Now her essays about Misplaced made sense.
I could finally see the problem.
But… what could I do about it?
Rochelle eyed me thoughtfully, and I wasn’t sure if she was speaking to herself or me when she said, “I can tell you care about Kira. Well. That’s a good start.”