ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ | ᴊᴀʏ ʜᴀʟꜱᴛᴇᴀᴅ

𝚜𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗.

✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*

Slamming the car door, Mia stares at her childhood home with narrowed eyes, deciding if she really wants to go in or not. She hasn't been here in years and definitely not since coming back to Chicago. When it comes to her childhood, she didn't have the best time, but she also certainly didn't have the worst. Up until moving to Canaryville, they'd been one big happy family; Mia, Jules, and Colin Blake. When the pair were in college, Jules got pregnant and dropped out of school to take care of the baby while Colin finished his degree; the two got married before either of their parents could tell that she was pregnant.

And then everything fell apart when Mia was thirteen, and Colin decided that she and her mother weren't good enough anymore. He left them for his other family, and Jules dragged her to a new house in a new neighborhood just to get away.

After he left, Mia cut off all communication with Colin despite his many attempts to reconnect. Her mother changed back to her maiden name, Murphy, and started to drink away the pain, collecting a string of boyfriends along the way and never settling down again. Jules is a good mom, and of course, Mia loves her, but she basically raised herself from that point on. She spent a lot of time at the Halstead home and virtually all of her free time with Jay.

The baby blue front door opens before Mia has the chance to get back in the car and drive away, an older version of herself appearing in the threshold. Sucking in a deep breath, she plasters on a smile and walks the short distance from the curb to the front steps. One hand on the railing, her heels clack against the concrete stairs, "Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetie," Jules smiles widely at her daughter, a kitchen towel in one hand as she holds them open expectantly. Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Mia closes the distance between them and falls into her mother's arms. Once in the hug, she melts into it, relieved to have some sense of support. The two women pull back from the embrace, and Jules frames her daughter's face with her hands, smashing her cheeks together slightly. Mia laughs, shoving her hands away and moving inside the house. "So, what brings you by? I've been trying to set up another lunch for the last three weeks."

Setting her bag on the coffee table, Mia follows her mom into the kitchen, running a hand through her hair and leaning her elbows on the counter. "I know, I know. I've... been busy with work, but I decided to take a half-day."

Jules hums, bringing over the pitcher of lemonade she was in the middle of making and stirring it with a wooden spoon. "And that fiancé of yours? When am I gonna see him again?"

Scoffing, Mia rolls her eyes, "Austin is leaving on a business trip."

"And I can see that makes you very happy," she jokes, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet and pouring them each a drink.