Chapter 5 #3
Over the next fifteen minutes Mia regaled her with an outrageous tale that broke her heart despite Mia’s attempt to put a humorous spin on it at every turn.
She’d been scared of being molested, prepared herself to fight off her date, reached for the seat belt and got a handful of hard-on, making the guy think she was all in.
After kneeing him in the groin—practically killing him, according to her—things got real in a hurry.
Turned out the guy had only wanted to kiss her, and Mia figured she’d blown it with the first boy who didn’t see her solely for her breasts.
Gabriella closed her eyes tightly, hoping for the right words.
“What do you think about putting dating on hold for a while?” She’d asked the question more than once after a bad interlude. It seemed like Mia was so lonely she didn’t care who she went out with, as long as she had company.
Over the last two years Gabby had convinced her to see her guidance counselor and to confide in her caseworker, but because she and Mia were both members of a support group, Gabriella tried to create a different dialogue with the girl.
She tried to maintain a connection that wasn’t threatening in any way, a line of communication Mia wouldn’t close because an adult pushed her too hard.
“Are you kidding?” Gabby could hear some kind of pop music in the background. “This was the closest I’ve ever come to a normal date. It’s the universe’s sign that the right guy is out there.”
Right guy? Mia was sixteen. She’d had such an opposite reaction to her assault compared with Gabriella’s.
Gabby had retreated from men completely, crushing on her older brother’s best friend, who was more like a brother to her than anything else and totally safe.
She hadn’t taken an interest in other men until she was twenty-two. But Mia dated with a vengeance.
If only Clayton would intervene. Give the girl a safe out after her father died. But it wasn’t her place to talk about any of that. At least, not with Mia.
“Can we meet one day after school to talk about it? I’m finally in Tennessee this week for that trial I told you about. Probably not too far from you in Heartache.” She hadn’t shared her real name with Mia, but she had asked her two weeks ago if it would be okay to meet her in person.
“Oh my God, you were serious about that?” Enthusiasm lit her voice and for the first time in a long time, Mia sounded like a kid. Happy. Excited.
“Yes. I grew up in Heartache. My brother still lives here.”
“That’s insane.” She snapped a piece of gum on the other end of the phone. “And yes, let’s meet. I go to Crestwood and I stay late every day to do all my homework at school. You want to just meet there?”
Gabriella’s stomach tightened to think of how much independence the girl had at sixteen.
She didn’t need to ask permission of anyone to meet with a stranger, apparently.
And wasn’t it scary to think of her going on date after date with no one looking over her shoulder?
No one worrying about what time she’d be home?
At least Gabriella had Zach and Sam Reyes to watch over her as a teen.
“How’s tomorrow?” She’d planned to stay in court all day, but she was worried about Mia. Gabriella could leave the courtroom early.
“Sure. The late bus comes at four. Want to just pick me up at the school instead?”
“Yes. Look for a white compact car with Kentucky license plates. I’ll tie a pink ribbon to the antenna.” Gabriella pulled the ribbon off the cupcake container and set it on the nightstand so she would remember. She could drive her own car to the trial tomorrow in order to leave early.
After the way things had ended with Clayton tonight, he would probably be just as glad not to have her on the back of his motorcycle.
“And I’m the tiny brunette with big knockers. Trust me, you won’t miss me.” There was a bitterness in the words she didn’t bother disguising, but then, Mia had a history of body image issues, blaming her early development for catching the attention of the older boy who’d molested her.
“We can get something to eat at the Peachtree.” Gabriella had seen the name of the restaurant on the back of one of the cards in the goody bag—Nina Spencer’s card, in fact.
The restaurant hadn’t been there when she’d been growing up, but then, plenty had changed around town. “They have great cupcakes.”
“Sounds awesome. Thank you, Ellie.” Mia disconnected on her end, reminding Gabriella she should share her real name tomorrow. Everyone in Heartache knew her as Gabriella.
She needed to maintain Mia’s trust. To help her handle whatever came next in a life that had been full of upheaval.
If only Clay would arrange to meet his sister.
Maybe then he’d understand why Gabriella was worried about the girl.
Understand why a family member needed to step in and keep an eye on her after her father died.
There was a desperate determination in Mia’s dating. Gabriella feared if someone didn’t convince her to be more careful—or watch over her—Mia would push her risk-taking behavior too far.
And as one of the only responsible adults in the girl’s life, Gabriella would never forgive herself if anything happened to the teenager.