Authors Note—
Hello my Angels! Please make sure you have tissues nearby when reading this chapter! Please take good care of yourself and you are always, always loved.
I love you guys!
Huge trigger warning for domestic violence
Mia had never seen someone as passionate about board games until she watched Charlotte bringing the iron fist down on the girls. They were playing a game of "Sorry" and she'd catch them in their attempts to shuffle around the cards, tickling them and calling them out. It was adorable to watch her lose herself in the moment with her daughters, Mia could get used to this. She wasn't used to a normal, loving family. She was more than acquainted with a coward, disappearing father and a mother who was stuck in the moment when he left her.
Her mother, Annie, was caught up in herself and couldn't leave the past behind her. Mia was mothering her and wiping away her tears when she needed someone to wipe her own. She'd find her passed out on the couch, beer bottles littering the floor around her and she'd have to wake her up, bring her up to bed and hope she'd not choke on her own vomit.
She was so focused on taking care of Annie that many times she'd forget to take care of herself. She'd doze off during class and Reece would have to nudge her awake, but most days he allowed her to sleep. He'd just help her with the homework later on because he knew what she was going through at home. Reece could see the way she was burning out, not only did she feel responsible to take care of her mom but she did her best to shield Autumn from
Roger.
It was a team effort between them, they'd talk all the screaming and yelling if it meant she was tucked away in her room. Reece hated the idea of Aut being in the middle of the war zone in their home. He knew how much she loved Daddy dearest and that she was the favorite of the two, but he never resented her for it. He was glad he never had to worry about his father putting his hands on her because he knew he would go to prison for life.
No one was allowed to treat anyone with disrespect like that in front of Reece, he wasn't one to stay quiet. He was once a teenager and knew what tricks the boys had up their sleeves and did his best to shield not just Aut from them but also Carly. He wouldn't hesitate to put his hands on a man, well actually a boy, who dared put his hands on someone much smaller and powerless against them.
There had been a time or two while he was dating Mia that men would take things a bit far and continue to push her to flirt, when she had said no several times. He knew Mia could handle herself but watching the way she grew uncomfortable so quickly made him angry and he'd step in to shut it down. Highschool had been hard enough on Mia due to her beauty and the men threw themselves at her practically.
But there was only one other person Mia cared about and that had been Deliah. They had met by chance, running into each other in the bathroom and started to complain about some stupid science project they couldn't find a partner for. Something clicked and she suddenly had someone else to consider her friend. Mia couldn't believe she was loveable enough to have 3 friends who cared about her. She had always been quite the bubbly girl and even after her father left and Annie became lost, she did her best to keep up with her previous personality. The happiness lived on in her heart but her mind was a wreck, and she got to step away from that mess when she was with Deliah, Autumn or Reece.
Mia could remember the first time she opened up to Deliah while she was helping her get ready for her first day of 10th grade. She wasn't sure how to explain how she felt but that didn't matter to Deli, she just wanted to listen and make her feel heard. They were intimately close as Mia effortlessly blended the eyeshadow on her eyelids, she hummed and talked about how she wasn't sure what she was into. She loved Reece but wasn't sure if she'd ever see him as more than a friend, she felt that way about most men she had met.
