Finding Mia

VI

KEVIN

Kevin wasn't used to people genuinely caring about him. He always thought they had some kind of ulterior motive - and most of the time they did. But Kurt seemed to actually want to get to know him. Kevin had never had any other family before, and finding out about his mother's side all at once was slightly terrifying but mostly amazing. 

He'd always been told that his mother didn't have any other family. That she'd been an only child and that her parents had died when Kevin was too young to remember much at all. That had turned out to be an incredibly large lie.

Kurt explained how his mother - Kevin's aunt - was the leader of the Chicago branch of the Day family, and how he was the heir. He said that he'd sent Mia to protect Kevin - which was becoming more and more believable by the day - and that he had nothing to worry about when it came to his safety in her hands. Kevin wanted to believe Kurt - he almost did - but there was something holding him back from laying his complete trust in his cousin.

The next weekend, Mia unlocked the dorm door - not for the first time - and walked right in, ignoring Nicky's horrified curses. Kevin looked up momentarily from the essay he was writing and then rolled his eyes, staring back at the page. There were a total of twenty words written; he had to get two thousand by Wednesday and was about to head to the fridge to drink himself into a coma. A hand on his arm had Kevin looking up again. Mia was standing there, blank faced and unapologetic. 

'What the fuck?' Kevin asked. Mia didn't say anything as she hauled him to his feet and pulled him across the room. Mia paused by the front door, pushing Kevin out into the hallway and turning back to Nicky.

'Tell Andrew we'll be back in a few hours.' Then she turned and slammed the door shut. Nicky made a squeaky sound from inside the room. 'Move,' She instructed, but Kevin folded his arms over his chest, not doing as he was told. Mia raised an eyebrow at his defiance. 'I said move.'

'No.' Kevin said. Mia went to reach for her boot - the place she kept her longer knife, Kevin had quickly come to realise. 'Fine, fine,' He said, stepping backwards and then again before turning around and heading down the corridor. 'Where are we going, though? You'd better explain that to me at least. You owe me that.'

'I don't owe you anything,' Mia said from behind him. It startled Kevin and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He hadn't heard her footsteps. 'And I don't have to explain anything to you.'

'Then why have you?' Kevin asked. Mia didn't reply, and he supposed he hadn't expected her to. Mia was an odd person - if the fact that she was part of the mafia was anything to go by - and didn't like talking or explaining things until it was absolutely necessary.

Mia led Kevin to the carpark and picked the lock on a fancy looking car. Kevin sighed. He supposed he should be used to this by now, but still hated the idea that she so calmly did illegal things. The locks popped and Mia motioned for Kevin to get in the car. He did, and Mia climbed in the other side. She hotwired the car and began driving out of the carpark.

Neither of them spoke on the drive over to wherever Mia was taking Kevin, and he looked at the boring and familiar scenery that was South Carolina. At least when he'd gone outside of the Nest it had looked different each time - he hadn't gone outside often.

Eventually Mia pulled up beside the footpath and parked the car. She stepped out and Kevin followed her down the street a little before she opened the door and waited for Kevin to enter the building. He didn't like this, but didn't seem to have a choice, so he went in.

He had not been expecting the scene that was sitting in front of him; foldout chairs were arranged in a circle in the centre of the hall, many of them already occupied. Some people looked up when Kevin and Mia entered, while others continued the conversation they were apart of or just kept their heads down.