by Ford, Mia
I don’t like the way he says ‘fun’. It makes me very uncomfortable. My body physically freaks out at the thought of him coming anywhere near me. I will fight like fucking hell to keep him away.
Noah glances backwards at me, worry completely consuming him. I can see he thinks that I shouldn’t have gotten out the car. I can’t help but agree with him. That was really stupid of me.
I try not to look behind me to see if the police are here yet because I don’t want to give them a clue, but they really need to hurry up. Surely, the gun shots are enough of a crime. They can take them down with that.
But no. Apparently not. Bryan makes a painful show of counting out the money in front of us which seems to take forever. Even Hayley gets fidgety and up until this point she’s kept her cool. It’s almost as if she can sense something bad about to come her way. I wonder if Noah’s eyes are piercing into her as he tries to work out what’s become of the woman that he once loved. I remember giving the same look to Wesley when I caught him in a bed with someone else. Of course, that wasn’t as bad as this, but still pretty crazy.
“Okay, I think we can safely say that all the money is here.” Bryan gives everyone a sinister smile. “That’s good news. Hayley was right to trust you, I wasn’t too sure myself, but here it is. The cash. Lucky you can spare it, hey?” He laughs and I’m sure I can see Noah seething. I squeeze my hands together praying that he doesn’t go and do something stupid right now just when this could all be over. “I suppose I should get you the kid.”
Panic courses through me, I wonder if this is all going to come to an end without the police turning up which I think is so important. I don’t want these people to get away with it. But as the scared looking boy comes into view I know that this is what’s really important, this boy getting his father back.
“Daddy!” His eyes light up and he races towards his father. “Daddy, I miss you.”
Noah murmurs into Alex’s ears, comforting him. His shoulders shake, probably with tears. I watch Hayley to see if there’s any kind of reaction from her but she’s blank. I don’t think that she has a maternal bone in her body. How she even managed to have a child is beyond me. I’m sad for Alex.
“You have to go now,” Noah commands. “Take that money and leave, like you promised.”
“Go? Who the hell promised you that?” Bryan laughs. “I’m the king of this city. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Hayley said you wanted a fresh start, to go somewhere else.”
“Nah, I love it here. This is my home, mate.”
“No way, you have to…”
“Police, put your hands up.”
Oh, thank goodness! I put my hands up too, just to protest my innocence, not that I need to. The cops know that I’m not a part of this. Hayley spits out angrily, yelling expletives and Bryan does too. I think they are both shocked to see that Noah hasn’t followed all their stupid rules after all.
The evil glare I get from Hayley suggests that she knows that’s my fault. I smirk back, safe now, and proud that I made this happen. Now, Noah might even get to keep the money and the child. After all, he’s the one who deserves it all. Hayley should get nothing.
They are cuffed and shoved into the back of a police car, both looking so much smaller than they did only moments before with weapons in their hands. As they drive off, I breathe a deep sigh of relief, glad that this nightmare is over, don’t for good, and the good guy won out in the end.
Now I just hope that the poor boy, the innocent victim in all of this, is okay after his ordeal.
21
Noah
As soon as the cops car is gone, I lean down and hug Alex once more. Surprisingly, since everything that has happened, he doesn’t seem too traumatized, a little confused maybe, but that’s it.
“Are you okay?” I ask him quietly. “Are you hurt or anything?”
“No.” He shakes his head, determinedly. “Mom gave me a new toy.”
He shows me his new robot thing all proud of it. It seems one fear wasn’t necessary, she at least treated him well while she was looking after him. It doesn’t make up for what she did though, or the missed years.
“I’m glad you’re okay, I think we should go home though, don’t you?”
“Yes, I want to go to bed.”
I turn with him in my arms and see Mia behind me. My rock through all of this, looking like she’s shell shocked. I’m hardly surprised, that was incredibly weird. But it’s over now. Yes, there will be police statements and a court case if Hayley and Bryan don’t plead guilty, but they are bound to get jail time. I don’t have to panic every time my cell phone goes off anymore, I don’t have to freak out about my fucking baggage, it’s gone.
I get Alex into his car seat rapidly, checking him all over quickly and kissing him softly on the head. Life feels so much better with him by my side. He just makes everything worth living again. I don’t ever want to lose him again. I’m sure as hell going to work less now to be with him more, I need to.
“Thank you so much for helping me, Mia.” I pull her in for a hug. “It means so much.”
“Don’t forget your bag of cash,” she murmurs into my chest. “The cops left it for you.”
I laugh and shake my head. “The money barely matters. I have Alex back.”
“I know, but I can’t in all good conscience leave that amount of money here where criminals hang out.”
“Okay, I’ll get it, then we need to get back to my place. My mom will be freaking out.”
“I think Jenny needs the good news too, poor girl is a mess.”
I rush off to get the bag and leave Mia to get into the car, grateful that we all got out of that with our lives intact. When Mia screamed about the gun I freaked out that it was all going to go south.
I have my boy, I have the money, and I might even have the chance to get the girl back too.
After this, I’m going to make sure that Mia knows I want her, even if she says no because of Alex I need to know for sure. I will always as ‘what if’ if I don’t at least give her some honesty.
“Right.” I strap myself in, preparing myself to leave this site forever. “Come on then, let’s get the hell out of here. I think we all need some hot chocolate, don’t you think?”
* * *
I can hear Mia talking to my mom as I tuck Alex into bed. From here, it sounds like they are getting on really well which is awesome. If Mom likes her, then she must be awesome. I wont ever defy my mother’s judgement of character again. She is always right about everything, I need to just accept that.
“So, you sure you feel okay, Alex? You can tell me if you aren’t?”
“I’m better now I’m at home. I like being with you best.”
I kiss him gently on the forehead, breathing him in. “I like it when you’re here with me too.”
“I don’t want to see Mom again. She’s not very nice.”
“She didn’t treat you badly, did she?” I’ve checked every inch of him and he seems fine, but I’m still worried. I think this is something I’ll be worried about for a while. “What happened?”
“No, she was just nasty about you.”
“Oh…” Of course that would affect him, I’m the only parent that he’s ever known. “I see. Well, you don’t have to worry about that again, I won’t ever let anything like today happen again.”
“She’s in jail now.”
God, he knows everything! “Yes, she is because of the gun.”
“Good. I like it better when she’s gone.”
Me too! So fucking much. I know that my life will be better from here on out.
“I love you, Alex.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
I sit with him until he falls asleep, only able to pull away when he’s snoring, and I head back into the other room to join Mom and Mia. They are so involved in conversation that they barely notice me at first.
“Oh, son!” Mom leaps up. “Is everything okay with Alex?”
“He’s fine, he’s sleeping now. Did Jenny go?”
“Yes, her sister took her home. She’s very cut up, the poor girl.”
“I know. And I tried to tell her it isn’t her fault.”
“It will just take some time. That’s all. But I think it might be time for me to head off too.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I’m shattered. But I’ll be back to see you all in the morning. I will want to check on Alex again.”
“Sure thing, Mom. I’ll walk you to the door.”
As we go, I can see Mom giving me a side eyed look. I know that she’s got something to say to me, so it isn’t much of a shock when she grabs my arm at the door and she stares intently at me.
“I don’t know the full details of what happened between you both before, but I can see why Mia made you so happy. She is a real keeper. You would be an idiot to let her go.”
I let go of a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. “I’m so glad you like her.”
“So, you think you might try and make things up with her?”
“I would like to… I just don’t know where her head is at.”
Mom looks towards where she’s just left Mia. “That woman is in love with you. I’m telling you that much.”
“How can you tell?”
“She ran a marathon today and she still came to help you after it. That woman is more exhausted than I have ever known anyone to be before, but she pushed all of that aside for you. And she’s still only concerned about you.”
“The marathon… I completely forgot about it with everything what’s going on.”
“That’s understandable, your boy was at risk, but part of the reason you got him back is because of her.”
“I know. She’s been so amazing, honestly.”
“So, go and get her,” Mom chuckles. “Make her see how much you want her. Tell her that you love her.”
“How do you know how I feel too?”
“Son, I can just tell. Now, go and get your girl.”
I wave Mom off and pause for a couple of seconds before I head back into the other room to see Mia again. I must have left it too long because she looks like she’s making a move to leave.
“Where are you going?” I demand, a little bit too needily.
“I was going to go home. I thought you might want some time alone…”
I grab her hands and give her a pleading look. “I want to talk to you first, is that okay?”
“Oh… sure.” She takes her seat once more. “What’s going on?”
“First off, I want to thank you. You were my hero today.”
She blushes, reminding me just how adorable she is. “Oh, it was nothing.”
“No, it wasn’t. You completed the marathon today, congratulations for that, then you somehow managed to find me acting like a crazy person, and instead of running away, like you probably should have done, you saved me. You calmed me down and made me see rationally through the most horrible experience of my life.”
“I just wanted to help, I couldn’t leave you like that.”
“Well, since the last thing that happened between us was you finding out that I wasn’t honest with you about my life, then I wouldn’t have judged you if you did. You opened up to me, you showed me sides of yourself that I’m sure you don’t show everyone, and I kept you at arm’s length.”
“I understand why though…”
“I’m sure you do, but that doesn’t make it right. I should have been more open. I just… it’s stupid, but in the past, I have been rejected for being a single father. One woman even told me I had to send Alex to live with his mother so that she could move in, and I freaked out. Nothing was ever supposed to get serious again. But you… you got under my skin and that scared me. I didn’t know how to tell you anything.”
“It’s okay, it’s clear that you’ve had some bad times…”
“But that’s all behind me now, and tonight has made me realize that I want to put all that behind me now and move on. This is the first day of the rest of my life and I want to do it right.”
She giggles, almost to herself. “Funny, that’s what the marathon was for me. Finishing it was so important because it was me putting the past behind me and moving forwards.”
“So, this is the first day of the rest of both our lives then.” I step closer to her and intertwine my fingers with hers. “Maybe we should start it together. What do you say?”
She tilts her head up towards me and looks at me through those long, gorgeous eyelashes of hers. “What are you trying to say, Noah? I don’t want any more crossed wires. I need you to be very clear with me.”
I tilt down and press one gentle chaste kiss on her lips. “I’m saying that I want to be with you, Mia. Properly. Heart and soul. I want to give you everything. I…” No point in holding back now. “I love you.”
“You love me?” Her eyes fill with what I hope are happy tears. “Really?”
“I do. And I think I’ve known that for a while and that’s what scared me so much. That’s why I let you go and didn’t fight for you as hard as I should have done. Because the love I feel for you is so intense, it’s terrifying.”
She cups my cheeks and brings me back down for a deeper, more passionate kiss this time. Her tongue circles mine, thrilling me deeply. “You know I love you too, right?”
“I do now,” I declare with glee. “Thank goodness. That was almost really embarrassing then.”
She slaps me playfully, knowing that I’m messing around.
“So, what does that mean?” She chews her bottom lip coyly. “Am I your girlfriend?”
“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”
Her face breaks out into a grin. “Hell yeah, I do!”
“Good, because I want that too.”
“Phew, thank goodness.” She leans up and kisses me. “So, you’re my boyfriend now. I like that.”
“Come on then, girlfriend, let’s go to bed.”
“Your bed, here?” Mia actually looks shocked at the suggestion.
“Of course! Sounds good, right?”
She tosses her head back and laughs. “Sounds absolutely incredible.”
I scoop her up into my arms and hold her close to my chest, then I carry her weary, aching body through the house so she can finally relax in my bed. If she wants me to, I intend to massage her all over until it doesn’t hurt quite so much anymore. Then tomorrow, when the sun rises and everything starts all over again, we can both be fresh and ready for it, ready for something new, something brighter, something better.
No more Hayley, no more her ex, no more sadness, just me and her and whatever comes next.
I absolutely cannot wait.
22
Mia
“Where are we going?” I ask with a giggle, trying to tug Noah’s hands off my eyes. “And why am I dressed up like I’m going to prom or something? This is very disconcerting.”
“Will you just let me surprise you already? You’re going to ruin it at this rate.”
I stop trying to tug and nod, agreeing to let him do whatever the hell he wants to me. I step where he asks me to and I don’t even question him when I hear a burst of opera music floating through the air. When he asked his mom to babysit Alex so he could take me for a night out, I thought it would be dinner or something normal. I didn’t realize I’d end up blindfolded without a clue where I was going. But I suppose it’s exciting, and fun.
“Okay, now you need to go up three steps… oops, don’t fall. Quite big steps.”
“I’m not stable enough on my feet for this,” I giggle.
“Aren’t you the woman who ran twenty six miles?”
“Yes, I did, but not in heels. This is pure torture.”
“Well, you’ll be fine once you’ve done these three steps. Then we’re inside.”
Finally, the air con blasts onto me, suggesting we’re inside, and Noah peels his hands away from me. I blink a few times to let the light filter through into my vision, then
everything begins to come to life.
“Oh, this is an art show.” My heart flip flops. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Well, I thought since you’ve got back into painting and you’re doing it more and more, then it might be a good idea to surround you with the work of others. Give you some inspiration. Plus, there are some incredible artists here so you can always have a chat to them and make some contacts.”
He believes in me, he really does. Sometimes overwhelmingly so. I don’t know how to take it sometimes, it’s so much. It brings hot tears to my eyes now, I can hardly cope with it.
“Oh, Noah this is so nice. I’m sure you don’t want to be here, so this is amazing.”
“What do you mean? Of course I want to be here.”
“I didn’t mean… I just meant because it’s something that I’m more interested in than you.”
“I want you to teach me. I want you to tell me everything that you know.”
We walk around the gallery with our hands clasped tightly together. Noah listens intently as I talk about the art pieces and my opinions on them. Sometimes he even offers opinions of his own which is wonderful. He really throws himself into something that I’m passionate about, it makes me fall even deeper for him.
“Do you want to go and speak to any of the artists?”
I grab him tight and pull him back to me. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” he laughs at me, unsure about my reaction.
“Because they are legit artists with a show and everything. I’m just…”
“You’re at the stage they were once upon a time. Just starting out.”
“I don’t know. The art world can be really harsh. They might not like me.”
For a moment, I think he might be about to push me, but then he nods and lets it go. Thank goodness. I didn’t even know that I was coming tonight. I don’t know if I’m ready for more.
“What the…?” All of a sudden, I see something that makes my heart stop dead in my chest. “What’s this?”