An Unwritten Chapter

Lost Girl

"Hmm, he won't look away either, but why? If he wants, he could easily ask out a model, why is he interested in me? I'm not interesting to anyone in any way. Thoughts of both Mia and Braydon filled the air blended with the coffee aroma. Meanwhile Rache was in her own little fairyland catching Mia up with everything she had missed. 'You know Joe's mom is in hospital?', Rache dropped a bomb so casually that Mia didn't pay attention to it first. But Rache didn't notice that she went on saying, 'yeah she got triggered by his attempt to take his life.' She stopped and waited, waited for Mia to comprehend what she had just said, 'oh, how did you hear about it?' was all Mia asked, no detail whatsoever as to why he did it. 'Mia', she snapped her fingers in front of her eyes, she turned her gaze from the guy by the window and looked into Rache's eyes, there were no expression on her face.

'I honestly don't care Rache, I moved away from that place and those memories, and I don't want to hear about it. That's it.' And buried her head in her hands. She might be tough, but the topic about Joe will always be overwhelming for her, but she had once decided to not let it get to her. Rach was staggered by Mia's response, she felt guilty for doing what she did just now, it was her who tried so hard to pull Mia away from that toxic relationship but yet she reminded her of him again. But this wasn't any other situation, Mia looked up again, there was no sign of tears; maybe she was just resting her eyes. 'Sorry for lashing out at you Rache, but when I decided to move here, I decided to put myself and only myself first and not care about anything or anyone at all. Especially him. Tough life for him and his family, but us talking about it or even thinking about it is not going to change anything because I have decided not to make any changes in what I have now.' Rache was proud of what Mia had become because she now realised, she won't go back to that miserable place again, she apologized for bringing him up and started talking about her relationship. Her wedding arrangement were underway, and she begged Mia to be there no matter what.

Observing all of this from a distance Braydon realised that his assumption about the lost girl was right, she had lost something in her life, and based on what he saw, it wasn't something external but rather a piece of herself and she doesn't want it back either. He didn't and couldn't listen to what Rache had said, but Mia's voice got carried through; maybe because he was paying too much attention out of curiosity to know what she sounded like. In most scenarios a guy would find a girl's voice melodious and sweet, but hers, hers was bold and behind the boldness was pain. He was still waiting for a window to walk up to her and talk, but as long as the friend was there, he didn't want it. But he saw an opening coming when her friend stood up and canvassed to find the restroom. As soon as she moved away from the table and out of eyeshot he stood up and walked over to the table. Mia was randomly scrolling her Instagram as always, he waited there for a few seconds waiting for her to look up, 'you know you should really stop using Instagram when you're out and pay attention to who is standing next to you.' Mia felt that impatience in his voice, yet she didn't look up, but she smiled, coz it finally happened.

'Well, if you had notice, I noticed you walking over here', she replied with a smirk on her face but still looking at her phone. 'Then why won't you look up?', he longed to hold her gaze once more 'you scared you might not be able to look away if you do?' the confidence in his voice made Mia mad. How dare he give life to her thoughts with his words? She didn't respond, instead she acted like she was ignoring him. Her attitude challenged his ego, but he knew she was worth entertaining that attitude. 'Alright then madame, if you ever feel like acknowledging me, you know where I sit.', he took one of the two remaining pieces of her croissant she had cut and put it in his mouth and gave a satisfactory sigh while he walked back to his table. He packed his belongings and walked out the door, while Mia was still staring at the same post for over 3 minutes now. Once she heard the chime, guessing he had walked out, she decided to turn her head and look out the door only to find him standing at the entrance holding the door open and looking back at her. His face beamed with satisfaction that she actually turned, as for Mia her whole face flushed with colour. He gave a smile and shook his head and walked out the door, while Mia sat back and watched him disappear into the dim lit road.

'Is everything alright?', Rache was back from the washroom, and looked pale. She informed she was still a little nauseated from the flight and had thrown up everything. 'Can we at least go now?', Mia stood up with the remaining piece from her plate in her hand and tossed it into her mouth. 'I could use a lemonade and some sleep', Rache slumped onto Mia's shoulder and yawned. Deep down she wondered the sudden change in Mia's mood, it had lightened up a little. 'Just coz you won't talk about him doesn't mean I wouldn't notice', she murmured under her breathe. 'There's no him Rache, and don't think I can't hear you.' Rache looked up at Mia placing her chin on her shoulder and smiled, 'Mia, sweety I know you, if you're not ready to talk about it then its totally fine.' Mia didn't take this well, why does she have to share every single thing about her life and emotions with everyone she meets? Rache for sure doesn't do that, there are parts of her Mia doesn't know and she didn't want to ask about them either, coz it was her life. Yes, it was Mia who used to share everything with her but that doesn't mean she can't stop, and more than anything there wasn't anything significant to share in the first place. 'You know what Rache, maybe you should focus less on me and more on you and figure out what you are gonna do with your life soon.' She didn't shrug her off her shoulder or asked her to take her head off her shoulder, she continued to hold her as well, as she always did and always would continue to do so. This was different, part of her healing requires some boundaries, she didn't want to make the same mistake and get everyone around her know about her entire life let alone influence her decisions. But Rache was only half conscious to fully understand that, but they can talk about it again another day, they walked back home and turned in for the night.

Mia couldn't sleep, he wondered at the thought of what he said right before he walked away, how does she know where he sits? What kind of stupidity was that she realised what he said wasn't stupid but in fact it was her who was stupid. It took her a while to realise that he was talking about the café and his seat. The possibility of seeing him again stole her sleep, and in the corner of her mind the haunting thought of going through something horrible again lingered long enough to snatch that excitement away. But questions like whether he'll be there in the morning or the afternoon, or whether he'll be there tomorrow in the first place itself clouded her mind. She felt giddy thinking about him, and those eyes were the only thing that was in her mind. She hasn't even taken a proper look at his full appearance, his built, his hair and that daunting smirk was still a little hazy for her. But she would recognize those eyes even among a million pair. Her eyes fought to keep up with her racing mind, but finally gave in and she fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning with Rache staring at her with a mug of coffee in her hands, 'is that for me?', she extended her hand. 'Its mine but we can share', she gave the mug to Mia to take a sip, 'hey Mia, sorry for everything I said yesterday', she gave a weak smile while she tucked Mia's hair behind her ears. 'Well, I was dumb enough to not talk to you properly yesterday, and weeks preceding that. If I had you would've expected what you're walking into, I'm sorry too. Anyway, what's your plan for today, where do you wanna visit?' It was their way of making up, and they didn't need any more to be said to understand it. 'I sort of gave my man my word that I would visit his brother and his family, so that's what's on my plate today. And knowing you, you definitely would not come with me, so I guess we're on our own to do what we want.' Saying this she smirked, maybe she guessed the instant thought that flashed in Mia's mind. She was ready to bet her life that Mia would sleep in for the day, but sadly she was wrong. That was not what flashed through her mind, those icy blue eyes were what was constant in her mind. 'Hmm, maybe I'll run some errands', Mia sighed getting out of her bed. 'You, Mia? Is going to step out of the house on a Saturday?' Rache gaped. 'Well, when you start living alone, you'll realise', Mia rushed in to take a shower and get started for the day leaving Rache utterly surprised with her mouth open on the bed.