All We Will Never Know

Chapter 1 - Mia

Emilia Fitzgerald stared at the face of her alarm, the noise echoing in her ears. To the rest of the world, it was just an average Tuesday morning in August, yet for the town of Everwood, it was far more. Mia didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but the possibilities were endless. All she knew, from the articles in the paper and the news vans that had been circling the neighborhood, from the gossip that kept the town alive, was that Will Armstrong's imminent release from jail was going to cause an uproar. And it was happening today.

Despite the fact that his return had little to nothing to do with her, she found herself tossing and turning throughout the night, her mind spinning with possibilities. And despite the truth, the rumors, and the odds, she felt sorry for him.

With a sigh, Mia sat up in bed and ran her hands through her hair. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about it. She shouldn't be worrying about someone else's problems when she had a handful of her own, but constant stress was one of the many characteristics she had inherited from her mother. She just couldn't help it. As much as she wished otherwise, it would be on her mind all day long.

She tossed her duvet to the side and got out of bed, stretching her arms high above her head and letting out a yawn. Even though her mind was reeling, she had to get ready for school. It was the first day of senior year, and as much as she wanted to curl back under the blanket and go back to sleep, she couldn't be late. As she climbed out of bed, she thought that maybe the reason she had been tossing and turning all night was not because of Will at all, but because of Bella, his younger sister, who would not be joining her classmates in the halls of Everwood Academy today.

Mia shuddered, trying her best to push her thoughts aside long enough to get ready. I shouldn't worry about it, she repeated. After all, there was nothing she could do to change what happened. No one could.

"Damn it!" Through the paper thin walls of her family's home, she heard her younger brother, Wyatt, screaming at the TV. He was playing video games, which meant he mostly likely hadn't slept a wink all night.

"Turn it off and get ready for school!" Mia banged on the wall and yelled over the noise. She half-expected him to ignore her, but surprisingly, the TV clicked off a few seconds later.

Mia walked across her room to her closet and admired the gorgeous, brand-new Rebecca Taylor dress hanging on the door of the armoire. The dress happened to be the only thing that made her remotely excited about starting senior year, so much so that she had been keeping the closet door open just to take a peek every time she walked by. Ever since she and her friends saw it at the boutique last week, she had been excited to wear it. It seemed silly to be so enamored over a piece of clothing, but Mia simply needed something to make her happy.

When she imagined this day several years ago, she imagined it much differently. For starters, she had always pictured her mother here with her, preparing her for the ups and down of her last year of high school, teaching her how to enjoy herself while also staying focused on the future, instead of resting in a mahogany casket at the cemetery across town. She pictured entering school wearing a leotard under her clothes so she could rush to pointe directly after, to practice all night long until her toes were sore and bleeding, to be preparing for the audition of a lifetime. She imagined walking through those double doors, hand-in-hand with Jake Delrossi, her head held high, knowing that she was happy and loved and life was perfect. But none of these things were happening. Her life had changed so much in the past five years, and it really didn't matter how many times her father and her grandmother and her friends told her that bad things and unforeseen changes happened for a reason, she wished nothing more than to rewind back to when she didn't have to force herself to be happy.

Mia wiped the tears from her eyes, embarrassed even though she was in her room alone. She told herself she wasn't going to cry, not today, but here she was, blubbering in her closet anyway. Over a dress. She was crying over the dress, right?