WHY ALWAYS HER? - (TNN - REECE & VARIOUS)

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Can I speak to Mia alone?" Reece knew he had to face this, or else his anger would keep resurfacing.

"Er..." Charlotte looked at Mia, hesitant to leave her alone with the man who had just treated her so poorly.

"It's alright Sweetheart, I'll be fine." Mia knew this would be the perfect opportunity to get some things off her chest too.

Charlotte and Marjorie stood in unison, retreating to sit with Autumn, Winter and Carly. They both felt nervous - what if Reece blew up again?

Mia shifted one place over, so she now occupied Charlottes empty seat. She noticed that Reece leant away from her ever so slightly, which prompted her to loudly sigh.

"Alright Reecey, hit me with it. I know you're angry with me for some reason, so you might as well just tell me why." The red head sat back in her chair, awaiting his response.

"I'm not angry with YOU Mia, not really. I'm just...my whole life has been a fucking lie for the past two decades." He knew this was his opportunity to ask her what he really wanted to, but he was afraid he might not like the answer. "Did I ever hurt you?" He blurted out, searching her eyes for her immediate reaction.

Mia looked back at him, giving absolutely nothing away. "Hurt me?"

"Well by all accounts, you find me physically repulsive. So you were forcing yourself to be with me...that can't be good for your body during...you know" he looked away, momentarily - he knew she got the gist. He watched as she lowered her gaze, and his heart sank. He knew the answer was yes.

"Reece, that's all in the past. I kept so much from you, so you didn't know. You did nothing wrong...and for the record I don't find you physically repulsive, I've never said that. You're just not my type. I do care about you, and I can tell you feel hurt."

Mia looked back up at Reece, taking a shaky breath. "I'm sorry Sweetheart. I'm not trying to take anything away from you. I know you don't like that Carly and I are close, but she only comes to me for advice because we're so similar. It's usually girly things, it's not a slight on you Reece. She adores you."

He knew that Mia was right. Carly did love him like a Dad, but of course she would seek advice from the women in her life, she was a teenage girl.

Reece leant towards the red head slightly and said "we've made such a mess of everything Mia. Both of us, too terrified to get hurt, so we stayed together even when we knew it wasn't right. But at least we knew we'd never break each other's hearts - we never had each other's hearts in the first place."

Mia smiled and said "we kept each other safe. Two little messed up peas in a pod Reecey. But it's over now. Neither of us need to be the bad guy anymore, and we both have someone who truly loves us. It's time to let it all go Sweetheart."

For the first time that night, Reece cracked a smile as he nodded in agreement. Marjorie really did love him, and for the first time in his life, he felt hope for the future. It made him happy to see the way Mia's face lit up when she saw Charlotte, she'd never been so happy and content. They really had done it - they'd set each other free.

After speaking with Charlotte during their many 'therapy' sessions, he understood that his anger was holding him back. But gradually, he had been letting things go. The time lost with his sister - he would never say this out loud, but he loved Autumn so much it hurt, even when she kicked his shins black and blue. He'd been angry at himself for years for not protecting her enough, but Charlotte had made him see that he was a child too, and nobody can do everything. For so long he'd been terrified that he was just like his Father, but the way Carly trusted him had shown him that wasn't the case. The choice to be a better person was entirely in his hands, and maybe he didn't get it right every time - for example, tonight. But he cared enough to try and fix his mistakes. He'd felt afraid that he was unlovable until he met Marjorie, now he knew that not only was that untrue, soulmates really did exist.

"I'm glad you're happy now Mia." He really meant it.

"And I'm glad you're happy now too." So did she.