Strange as IT Seems

Chapter 17: Goodbyes

Beep, beep, beep, beep...

Mia's hand comes from under her great-grandmother's hand-made quilt and slams down on the alarm. She moans and stretches out. The cool air that often wafted through her grandparent's farmhouse causes chills to go up to her spine. Her arms retreat back under the covers and she buries her head under the quilt for a few moments. She doesn't want to leave the warmth of the blankets or the safety of the farmhouse... if it can even be considered safe anymore. Anything was better than moving to a completely different town... again. The cycle would never end, as long as Joel Rogers lived, breathed and walked this earth.

Mia inhales sharply and shuts her eyes, wanting to fight the tears rising inside her. Despite always being under constant surveillance and unable to go anywhere on her own, the young girl doesn't want to leave her grandparents or the place she'd been calling home.

Out of all the people that she's stayed with over the years, they were by far the best. They gave her the love and support she needed during this tough time; something her mother could not give while she was out finding a job. The elderly couple were never afraid to do whatever was necessary to keep Joel away and had given her a sense of normalcy, what their granddaughter lacked the most. Even though she wasn't technically their grandchild by blood, they loved Mia and wanted the best for her. They protected her, taught her important lessons like responsibility and working hard to achieving the goals, but most of all, they were always able to make the best of a bad situation. They managed to find ways to help her cope and keep her entertained... she was the undefeated champion of Yahtzee and was working to beat them in Scrabble. Unfortunately, work on the farm, time with the family dog and cat, and parlour games were not enough, and Zeke and Elena Denbrough knew this all too well. Mia needed to be with other children her age and she needed to be able to go places without a pall of fear hanging over her or having to look over her shoulder every minute of every day.

It hurts that she must leave the safety of the farm, and what made it worse was that they were doing this at one o'clock in the morning too. The reason for rising at this early hour was because of the pattern Joel Rogers had established in the months of stalking his daughter and his ex-in-laws. Every night, the drunken monster would frequent at one of the town's bars and stay there until they closed at two p.m. He would then drive to the exact point on the road where the police could not arrest him, and he'd camp out there until the bus came to get Mia in the morning. Some of the other local farmers would see him passed out in his car while they worked near the road during their daily chores. They hated that he was there and knew his reputation, but technically he was on a public road and there was nothing that they could do to get rid of him. If he wasn't badly hungover, he'd follow the bus and again keep his legal distance from the school. He'd then follow the bus home again and wait until night fell where'd he'd repeat the routine over again. Therefore, the grandparents and granddaughter were leaving now to reduce the possibility of Joel following them as he was still probably demanding another drink somewhere.

Down the hall she can hear her grandparents shuffling around, clearly having heard the alarm as well. Their voices were muffled by the wooden walls, but Mia could hear the sadness in their voices. They wanted the best for her, and they wished that things were very different.

The teenaged girl curls up into the fetal position under the quilt and wipes her eyes, wondering why everything had to be so complicated and why the world had to feel so dark and vengeful. What had she ever done to deserve this kind of life? She'd seen the other kids in her class with happy families; doting mothers and fathers and rambunctious siblings that looked forward to seeing them at the end of each day, while she looked forward to being escorted home by armed police. Would it be such a bad thing to just run off and live somewhere by herself? Leaving her past behind and never having to worry about her "father" again.