Chapter Twenty-Six
The hours passed quietly. Mia relaxed on the bench, enjoying the sunshine and people watching. As the final hour approached, she saw planes coming in and out, wondering if one held her brothers. At 4:20, she got a message from Melvin.
Melvin : Landed!!! Getting off the plane now! Will call when we know which exit you need to meet us at!
Mia sent a thumbs up; her hands were shaking with excitement and messing up the texts she tried to write back. She headed towards the airport, walking slowly despite her desire to run. If she let her nerves take over, her anxiety would go through the roof. As she approached the door, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“BUG!” three voices screamed her childhood nickname.
She smiled wide and laughed as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Where are you guys?”
“Uhh,” Matty said. “Exit 4E.”
Mia glanced up. “Okay, I’m at 7C. I’ll start walking to meet you.” There was silence on the other end. “Guys?” Suddenly, she was lifted off her feet; several hands grabbed her, squeezing tight and holding her in the air. She let out a squeal and closed her eyes; the scent of home overwhelmed her. They smelled like freshly squeezed oranges, warmed in the sunshine. She could feel the air from home clinging to their skin.
“Bug!” Melvin cried.
They set her on her feet, and she looked them up and down. They were all tall, and they all looked like her dad. She couldn’t believe they were in front of her.
“You look…” Tears rolled down her face. “…just like Dad, guys.”
The brothers exchanged glances. “Yeah,” Mikey said, a tear of his own on his cheek. “We know.”
“You look just like Mom,” Matty said, and Melvin slapped his shoulder.
Mia frowned a little; she had no pictures of their mom, but she supposed her curves had to come from somewhere. She smiled again and hugged each one separately. Melvin kept his arms around her the longest; he had always been her ferocious protector.
“Missed you, bug.”
“Missed you too, BFG.” Melvin smiled at the nickname. When Mia was a kid, her brother had to read the book for school. She loved to pretend he was the BFG, and she was the little kid stolen away in secret. Melvin had grown into the nickname, too, since he was taller than even Aurelio and almost as muscular.
“Well, bug, where’s the old girl!” Melvin asked, grinning.
Mia laughed, walking towards the exit, her brothers in tow. Melvin grabbed her hand as they crossed the street, and the warmth of his touch melted her heart. He stopped them, looked both ways, and crossed. Mia rolled her eyes as they made their way to the Bug and loaded the luggage onto the roof rack. Mia went to the driver’s side but stopped when Melvin held his hand out, pouting.
“Please?” he begged, batting his eyes. “I haven’t driven her in ages.”
Mia relented, handing him the keys and moving to the passenger’s side. Her brother grinned wildly. Mikey and Matty kept pushing each other in the back, fighting over space.
“Knock it off,” Melvin barked at them, making them stop.
“Just like teens.” Mia turned to look at them and their sheepish, smiling faces.
Melvin patted the dash gently, eyes bright. “Hey, old girl. Ready to roll?” he asked the car more than the passengers, turning the ignition. The car came to life, the engine purring perfectly. “Mia, you have taken good care of her!”
“Well,” Mia said slowly as the car reversed and entered the traffic. “My boyfriend gave her a tune-up not too long ago.”
The car stopped, making horns honk behind them. Three pairs of eyes were glued to Mia. Melvin looked mad and suspicious. Mikey was open-jawed and wide-eyed. And Matty was grinning wildly; his innocent little sister was dating.
“What?” Melvin said first, resuming driving before a riot broke out behind him. “Who?”
“Well, he is a… mechanic.” That was close enough to the truth.
“What’s his name?” Matty asked, pulling himself between the driver and passenger seats.
“Aurelio.”
“Seriously?” Melvin’s eyes were trained on the road, jaw set. “Aurelio?”
“Yes, seriously,” Mia confirmed, getting annoyed with his reaction. “He is a great guy, amazing really.”
“Ahhhmazing.” Matty dragged the “ahhh” inappropriately.
“Mathew!” Mia slapped his hands. He let go, falling back into his seat and laughing.
“Oh, little sister, you are in for it!” Matty whooped. “Mia’s getting laid!!”
“Oh my god!” Mia groaned.
Melvin glanced in the rearview mirror, giving their brother the evil eye. “Enough.”
Matty shrugged down in the seat. Mikey blinked a couple times, finally closing his mouth, and smacked Matty, glaring at him again.
“A mechanic,” Mikey said finally. “Nice. He likes cars then?’
Mia laughed out loud, the irony of that statement going over her brothers’ heads. She composed herself and nodded. “Yes, he likes cars.”
“When do we meet him?” Melvin probed, turning out onto the highway. “Today?”
“No, graduation. Somewhere nice and public.”
“Why wait? I think we all will get along swimmingly,” Mikey inserted.
“He has to work today; there’s a big job to do.” Her phrasing was not quite right.
“Big job?” Melvin caught on. “What does that mean?”
“Oh.” She swallowed. She could never lie well to her brothers, and they were intently focused on every word she said. “A big collector is coming in today.” She nodded slowly. “He comes once a year and has all his cars serviced. It’s an all-day, sometimes two or three-day thing.” She smiled sadly. “I may not even hear from him till Tuesday.”
“Then we will meet on Tuesday,” Melvin said as a matter of fact.
Mia let it rest; there was no point in arguing about it. She would just have to let things play out.
“How’s the diner?” Matty asked, thankfully changing the subject for her.
“Don’t know; David fired me,” she sighed. “I was focusing too much on school he said.”
“Fuck him then. You should be focusing on school. You’re gonna be a doctor, for fuck’s sake.”
“Ugh, not a doctor doctor, just the degree.”
“But if you wanted, you could be Dr. Mia Thorne,” Mikey said, eyebrows waggling.
Or Dr. Mia Valen, Mia thought, smiling.
Mikey took it as her agreement and whooped again.
“Where am I going?” Melvin didn’t know the way to the loft, so Mia focused on directing him there. She didn’t have time to explain about the break-in or her Oliver problems before they pulled into the alley and parked. They all piled out, and when they got to the building, Mia looked at the door with trepidation.
“You okay, bug?” Mikey asked, a hand on her back.
“Yeah,” she assured, deciding to explain it upstairs. “Let’s just go in.” Luckily, the hallway was empty, but her broken mirror was still sitting outside the door.
“Shit, bug,” Melvin muttered, recognizing the vanity’s mirror. “What happened?” He bent over to inspect the broken wood, gently grazing it.
“I’ll explain,” Mia said quietly, unlocking the door and sliding it open. “Just please, come in.”
They gave her a concerned look and moved inside, piling into the open loft.
“Mia.” Melvin crossed his arms over his chest, standing tall and looking like her dad. “What’s going on?” All three of her brothers assumed the same posture as if her dad had been copied and pasted in front of her.
Mia slid the door closed behind them. “Okay,” she breathed out hard. “Let me explain a few things.”
Over the next hour, Mia told them all about Oliver and his exploits. She explained that the cops had come and done a sweep for evidence. Melvin was skeptical; they knew how crooked cops could be, especially when it came to one of their own, but Mia told him she had a feeling Detective Daniels was different. He was good. The boys listened carefully, their faces making the appropriate reactions as she relayed the words Oliver had said to her. She finished by saying she was going to move out after graduation because she no longer felt safe alone.
“Come home,” Melvin insisted as she finished talking, catching her off guard.
“Mel, I can’t do that to you guys. I’ll find another place…”
“No, come home.”
“Mia,” Mikey started. “We paid off the shark.”
Mia placed a hand on her heart, feeling like if she let go, it would beat out of her chest. “You did what?” she said, both shocked and angry. “Why?”
“We miss you; we are sick of you living in exile like this. Dad would never have let it go on like we have.”
“We pooled our money, our savings, and paid him in full,” Matty added. “He is off our backs, gone.”
Mia didn’t know what to say. To think she could go back home. She could see her brothers anytime she wanted, to be free. She knew the feeling Aurelio had been craving to feel for 10 years. She breathed deep; it was suddenly easier to take in breath. A weight she hadn’t known was there was suddenly gone. “I don’t know what to say.”
The boys nodded.
“Just say you will think about it,” Melvin insisted, reaching out to pull her into a hug. “We don’t leave for a bit, you have time to think and decide.”
“Okay.” Was all she could manage to choke out, tears spilling over.
Mia felt Mikey and Matty wrap their arms around her. They stood like that for a long moment, just letting the feeling last as long as it could. A sudden knocking interrupted them, and she was scared it was Oliver. Melvin slid Mia behind him as Mikey walked to the door and slid it ajar.
“Can I help you?” Her brother’s voice was much deeper than she knew it to be.
“Hi.” She heard the smooth voice of Oliver. “Mia home?”
“Who are you?” Mikey inquired; his face was hard.
“Just her friendly neighbor.” The sound of his heavy boots shifting on the other side of the door, itching to look in and see if she was there, was audible. “I was wondering if she had a moment to talk about some trash that needs taking out.”
Mikey, using his body to block the door, shook his head no slowly. “She’s not here, pal. In fact, how about you act like she never is.” Mikey started to pull the door closed, but Oliver’s hand shot out to stop it.
“I don’t know who you are,” Oliver said with a dark edge in his voice. “But a muscled-up jack-off isn’t going to stop me from talking to her.”
His foot moved past the threshold, and Mikey reared a fist back, letting it fly. Mia cried out as it connected, and Melvin kept her behind him, his large hand on her arm.
Matty walked up behind Mikey, tapping his shoulder as Oliver stumbled back. “There a problem?”
Mia couldn’t see Oliver but knew he was seething, and his nose was most likely busted. Her brothers stood in the semi-closed door; the small crack was only wide enough for half of each of them to be seen.
“I’m a detective,” Oliver said, his voice nasally. “I can arrest you for assaulting an officer.”
“Assaulting an officer?” Mikey wiped his knuckles on his shirt. “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ bout. Do you know?” He turned to Matty, who shook his head no.
“Not a clue,” Matty agreed. “As far as I saw things, you were trying to force your way into this loft. A loft that’s not yours.” They crossed their arms, looking like bouncers at a club.
Melvin glanced at Mia, his eyes telling her to stay there. She nodded. He stepped forward, his height putting him above his brothers and looking down at Oliver. “There a problem, officer?”
She wished more than anything she could see Oliver’s face when he grasped there were three large men in her loft, protecting her. She was sure he was cowering, but what she heard next made her realize he felt untouchable. A scoff, a snorting indignant sound.
“How many muscled heads is she fucking?” Oliver’s voice sneered out.
Mikey and Matty moved at the same time, pushing toward the door until Melvin placed a hand on their shoulders to pull them back.
“That’s our sister,” Melvin said calmly. “You sick fuck.” He pushed past the others, having at least a few inches over Oliver. “And if you were to talk like that about her again…” He brought his knuckles up, cracking them audibly. “…or even so much as think of her, I will ruin you.” The threat was calm, even, and rang out quietly.
Oliver’s foot falls backed away towards the stairs. “Did you just threaten a police detective? Because…”
“No.” Melvin shook his head calmly. “No threat.” His body moved halfway out into the hall, face tilted to the side a little. “Just simple promises.”