Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 25: The Pain of the Past

Trigger Warning: mentions and descriptions of verbal abuse, physical/domestic abuse, pill abuse. Please be careful when reading and know you are worthy and loved. My inbox is open if you want to talk. This is the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233. Don't be afraid to reach out to others for help. 

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The next few weeks passed by like normal. Go to school, do homework, hang out with Hazel and Nathan, eat dinner with her parents, watch Netflix, go to sleep. She and Nathan hadn't looked at the jar either, both swamped with homework or it being a simple matter of not having enough time. Currently, Mia and Nathan were laying on her bed, silently scrolling on their phones. Hazel had left half an hour ago, her parents calling her home to do her homework and chores. Mia was laying back on her headboard when Nathan, at the foot of her bed, let out a laugh. "You'll never guess what Claire posted on Instagram, go look." Mia went to her profile and started to chuckle when she saw the 5'0 girl yelling at men twice her size for their behavior.

"She is one of the coolest people that go to Redwood."

"I wouldn't want to get on her bad side," Nathan added. "Hey, what do you want the next fear you conquer to be?"

Mia thought about it. "I don't care, as long as it's not poetry or asking someone out."

"Why not asking someone out? It's easy enough once you let go of your nerves."

"You're joking, right? The possibility of rejection and the fact that guys scare me just means I don't want to do it anytime soon."

"Now you have to be joking. How do guys scare you?"

"I'm not joking. Every guy except you and my Dad scares me."

Nathan sat up and faced her, confused over her admission. "But why? You stood up to that asshole from Pat's just fine."

"That was different," she muttered, staring down at her turned-off phone.

"How is it different? Just explain it to me. Why are you scared of guys?"

"Can we just drop it?" she asked, her tone harsh and full of steel.

"Of course," he said. He started scrolling again, the curiosity eating him alive.

It was only five minutes later, when the comfortable silence had settled, that Mia spoke again. "If I tell you," she sighed, "do you promise you won't look at me differently?"

"Mia you don't have to tell me. I shouldn't have pressured you and you have no obligation to tell me."

"I know that. But I trust you and want to tell you. I'm just scared."

His hand reached for hers, a comfort. "I'm serious. If you're not ready then don't tell me. I just can't keep my mouth shut sometimes," he feebly attempted to joke.

"I want to tell you. Just promise you won't look at me differently. Pinky swear," she held out her other hand to him, pinky extended. He wrapped his pinky around hers and Mia brought her mouth down to kiss her fist. Nathan did the same to his own fist deciding not to question her pinky promise methods.

"I promise," he swore. He wondered if it had to do with her ex.

With a sigh, she started, the tears already clouding her forest eyes. "When I was younger, my Dad was abusive."

"Brian? He seems so nice. Wait, why is he still here?" he asked. The fire in his eyes burned bright as if gasoline had been poured on them.

"What? Omg, is that why you asked if I was Black all those weeks ago? Brian is my stepdad. My biological Dad is White."