Loving Your Imperfections

Brace Yourself

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Mia

I braced myself for what else was to come, looking between dad, Nikki, and my stepmom, Phoebe. "Ok, talk," I demanded, folding my hands over my chest. I clenched my jaws looking sternly between the three. I was tired of being treated like a child.

I know technically, was seen as the baby of the house; that is, until Bailey and Phoebe joined the family, making Bailey the youngest. She was a month and a half younger than me. And even then, I feel like they treat her with more respect than me, trusting her more.

Dad looks at mom with slight concern, rubbing the back of his head and clearing his throat. He was ready to talk, when the door jolted open.

"Hello, hello! I'm home!" Bailey yells as she comes into the room, clearly intoxicated.

I look at her in shock, this wasn't like her. She has never drunk before, and she's practically a hermit when it comes to parties. She doesn't like going to parties, doesn't like to socialize, or any of the sorts to be honest.

She's...well... I guess you can say she's your typical nerd who likes being invisible. We both are, that's why we became best friends right away.

"Hey, you're back! Wait... Did you guys really finish moving everything out of the house already? Dang, that was quick!" she says slurring her words and making my heart drop. My eyes widen in shock as I look toward my parents who don't know whether to scold Bailey for her drunkenness or hide behind a rock for the news she just told me.

"What did she mean move out?" I blurt out, unfolding my hands. "Aannnnd- this is my cue to go. I'm going out for a walk around town, you wanna join me, Bay? I think fresh air will help bring you back to your senses, don't you think?" she says, pulling Bailey out of the room with her and closing the door behind them. "But, I want Mia. I wanna go with Mia, Nikki," she says, hiccuping as her voice becomes faded.

"Sweetie, we wanted to tell you, it's just," Mom says, making me turn my attention back to them.

"What did she mean move out, dad?" I look at him with eyes furrowed, making his mouth gawk openly. "I... Baby, I guess there's no point in us keeping this from you anymore. Mia, we lost the shop, and the house. We... We hit a few too many rock bottoms and had to sell the shop, in hopes that we could save the house, but... Even with the money from that we... We weren't saved from bankruptcy."

My mind was running wild, I was in both shock and anger as I hear the news. How could they keep something like this from me? Did I not matter to them? Am I even part of this damn family?

"You two are unbelievable. How can you say that you comfy in me when you clearly don't trust me enough to tell me these things? How could you let this happen, dad?"

"Sweetheart, we didn't want you guys to worry. But, our partner did some bad deals behind our back. He got into some deep debt and ponded the shop's title to settle part of his debt. We had no clue until we got a visit from the IRS saying we owed a lot of money. He's nowhere to be found, and,"