Blood Is Thicker Than Water // Lahote - [EDITED]

Part 20 - [EDITED]

Mia woke up with Paul next to her. She eased into his touch until she realized that this wasn't in fact a dream and he really was in her bed. 

Her eyes shot open. "What are you doing here?"

The corners of his lips curved. "Checking you?" 

She squinted her eyes. "Mom killed us and now we're in heaven, right?" There was no other explanation. 

He chuckled at that. "No babe, we are both very much alive,"

"But you're on my bed," 

He nodded. Was it just her or did she miss something? "Where's my Mom?" 

"She left for work a couple of hours ago,"

Mia buried her face in her hands. "I need my coffee before I can process... anything,"

"A-ha!" Paul flicked his tongue and the bedsheets ruffled. When she raised her head she saw that he was holding a cup of coffee.

Were they sure this wasn't heaven?

As Mia gladly took a sip she turned to her boyfriend. "How did you know?"

He shrugged. "Your Mom told me that you start to roll around about twenty minutes before waking up. So when you started doing that I made some coffee,"

Her heart tugged at her chest. "You still didn't answer my first question,"

"Well, your Mom caught me last night," She furrowed her brows. "Last night, she technically told everyone to get outside of the house. Not go away. So I didn't,"

"Then around 3 AM she just opened the door and called for me. I was hiding pretty well too so I don't know how she knew I was there. Anyway, she prepared the couch for me to sleep on but I couldn't. We chatted for a while and she was checking up on you. In the morning I told her to go to work and that I could take care of you, so yeah, I think that sums it up pretty well?"

Mia was stunned. She didn't know how to answer it. 

"Your sister also called to check up on you and I think your dad is going to swing by too," he continued. 

"Oh, okay," she said. "Can you help me to the bathroom?"

He nodded and Mia put down her mug on the nightstand. Then Paul took her in his arms like yesterday while they were bringing her home. "You know you don't have to actually carry me, right?"

"I'm the nanny, I get to decide," 

After she was done he grabbed her again and put her down on the kitchen table next. He pulled another chair for her to put her leg on. He then disappeared for a second and came back with her coffee.

He kneeled next to her. "Do you need anything else?"

She shook her head. "No, you're already doing more than enough," she replied, which was the truth. 

He tilted his head. "I'm not doing enough," 

"Hey! What does that mean?"

"You know," he mumbled, "I'm the whole reason why you're in such a state. The least I could do is take care of you after I failed to protect you," 

Mia pressed her lips together. She didn't have the energy to tell him he was wrong last night. She placed her hands on his neck and forced him to look at her. She was even more shocked to see tears in his eyes. "You didn't fail at shit, we knew there were risks and at the end of the day, it's only my ankle. Which will heal in a few days. It wasn't your fault, okay?"

He tried to look away but she prevented him from doing so. "When you screamed out in pain... and then your voice disappeared from my mind... I thought that I... fuck, Mia, I can't lose you. I just can't,"