Frayed Edges

A Storm

Meet now.

The anxiety she usually felt was nothing compared to the terror that was filling her chest. It took all her nerve to walk through the door of the diner, especially when she spotted Olivia already sat in their usual booth.

She was never early and this sight alone was enough to set her fight or flight instinct into overdrive.

If it wasn't for the familiar blonde hair and suit she might have mistaken her for any other customer filling the bustling restaurant. She sat hunched in her seat taking long eager sips of the bitter coffee gripped tightly in her hand. Mia doubted she even heard her approach. She seemed too infatuated in whatever thoughts were filling her head and she startled slightly when Mia came into her field of vision.

Olivia cleared her throat gently in an attempt to gain some composure. Mia couldn't help but notice the small flakes of red nail polish that covered the table, and the gaps they left behind on her usually perfect manicure. The familiar waitress approached them and placed a cup in front of her, but before she could fill it Olivia had grabbed the pot and was refilling her own half full mug.

The silence on the table was so strained that Mia held her breath in fear of the repercussions. Their waitress obviously agreed and kept her mouth shut, as she quickly filled the second cup before making a hasty exit.

Mia found it hard to look away from the clearly unstable woman. Her appearance was close to immaculate as usual, but her sunken eyes and smudged eyeliner made her think that Olivia hadn't had a chance to spend the night at whatever lavish mansion she called home.

"How's Alex?" she asked abruptly, causing Mia to nearly choke on the small sip that had crossed her lips. In all the years Alex had been locked up she had never once asked about his welfare. Mia had begun to believe that she had forgotten his name, surely in her eyes he was just a faceless individual she had used to her advantage.

"Erm.. good.. I guess" she tried to keep her tone steady, all too aware that this could be a test. It would be wrong to underestimate her, even if this person seemed like a shell of the boss she feared.

"Good" she said stiffly, clearing her throat once more. The silence enveloped them again and Mia found her brow furrowing as she watched Olivia pick at her cuticles feverishly.

"Olivia.." She began nervously, no one had spoken in over a minute and the quiet was setting every one of her nerves on edge.

"You know we're used to be close." She said quickly interrupting the train of thought that Mia had begun "Alex and I were... very close actually, did you know that?"

"Do you mean..."

"Yes, like you and Drew, your brother and I share 'ancient history' or whatever you call it" she said waving a hand towards her frivolously.

"No, I didn't know that" it was the truth, she had never even suspected that Alex would hide something like that from her. He was never one to talk about his love life, but Mia assumed it was because he didn't want to give her any ideas. Instead it seemed she truly didn't know her brother as well as she thought she did.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, it was of little relevance in this moment and Mia couldn't help but feel that there was an ulterior motive in play. Plus, the image of her brother with anyone was something she certainly didn't want engrained in her memory.

"Why are you telling me this?" Her mumbled voice was barely registrable over the clatter of the diner around them.

"I'm not the monster you think I am Mia" she stated flatly, her eyes still trained on the coffee cup in her hand. "I've had to make tough decisions to get to where I am, I've had to do things I swore I would never do to keep people safe. Nobody else could take my place because they would never have the nerve to do what I have had to do..."