The Reclamation

3

I'm such a fucking idiot. I need to cool down. Just keep walking, Vada.

I try to regain my composure. I've been walking home for over ten minutes now and there are still butterflies trapped in my stomach. That was so close. We almost kissed again and ruined everything.

My mind keeps replaying it. Her hand on my cheek, Mia gazing deeply into my eyes, the way she slowly leaned in... and the look that I could tell was on her face when she choked out, "Goodbye Vada." I didn't have to look to know exactly what face it was. It's the same one she made when I had to drag her out of the sauna after she got drunk and passed out. She looked so sad and hurt that I couldn't look at her for more than a second without wanting to cry. I had to sit on the floor next to her bed while she sobered up to avoid it. Out of sight, out of mind.

My knee is starting to throb again, which takes my mind off of Mia. Only a few more blocks to go. I'm going to be home a few minutes early tonight. My mom set my curfew at eleven since it's Friday, and I've started actually telling her the truth about where I'm going. I can tell she feels weird about how much time I'm spending with Mia lately after I told her we had sex, but she's doing her best to navigate this unusual situation. I can at least tell shes trying. Every time I tell her that I'm going to Mia's, she tells me to "Be safe!". That's her way of saying "Don't do anything stupid even though I know I can't be mad about any pregnancy scares". My mom keeps insisting on meeting Mia though, which is a whole other beast that I don't feel like battling right now. On one hand, Mia is one of my favorite people in the world, and I want to share how amazing she is with my family. On the other, my family is not the greatest when it comes to meeting people that I'm interested in. Amelia has been particularly bad about this.

Every time I come home from somewhere, especially Mia's yesterday, I'm greeted with a barrage of questions. Last night at our long-awaited 'period dinner' she asked what we did, if Mia likes cats or dogs, what Mia likes to do for fun, what her favorite food is... every question that she could conjure up in the time that I was gone. She even admitted that she found Mia's instagram yesterday and she Insta stalked her for a half hour. According to Amelia, she's: "Super cute, but like, in an intimidating athletic girl sort of way." I've made it a point to spend more time with Amelia lately. I didn't realize how much I was pulling away from her until I was an ocean away on Vada island. But since we reconnected she's been overcompensating, which means before I can even close the front door, I'm going to get the third degree. I don't mind, though. That's just Millie.

I'm a block away from my house now. The butterflies are gone, but they've been replaced with a pit. I feel horrible. Mia's voice replays in my head again. She was really upset with how I left things. I would be too. But I did it with us in mind. I round the corner to my driveway, unlock the front door, and take a deep breath as I prepare for my incoming interrogation. As promised, I hear Millie's footsteps as she bounds out of the living room and into the hall.

"Hey V, how was Mia's? What did you guys do? You said she has a pool, right?" she bombards, barely breathing in between each question.

"Good, not much, and yes," I answer, pulling my shoes off and heading into the living room where my mom sat, watching T.V. I wave to her, "Hi mom."

"Hi sweetie, did you have a good time?"

"Yeah I did. Hey, I'm pretty tired though, I think I'm gonna turn in now."

"Oh, okay. Goodnight."

"Night," I say as I walk down the hall to my room. Millie, obviously not satisfied with the results of her interrogation, followed right behind. I walk through the door and throw myself on the bed face first. I hear the door click behind me, and Amelia jumps onto the bed right next to my head.