Seven - Mia (TNN)

1. Trees

Please picture me in the trees
I hit my peak at seven feet

———————

One summer evening, Mia, Autumn and Reece were sitting in an empty field. For the three of them, it had been a long, agonising day at school.

Reece brought his backpack with them to the field, which carried a picnic blanket and some glasses.

He pulled out a bottle of vodka Mia and Reece had stolen from Roger's hidden stash. He didn't know they knew where it was, and they'd like to keep it that way. If Roger found out they were underage drinking, he'd probably murder them.

They sat in silence, watching the trees blow in the wind, waiting for Roger to call them, threatening them to come home any minute.

Mia lived with Reece and Autumn ever since her mother passed away and her father ran off with Reece and Autumn's mother.

She was only 7 when her mother died and she was 13 when her father ran off. She had to learn to fend for her own needs and teach herself things, as she had no mother figure in her life.

That's why she wanted to make sure that Autumn received proper care.

Autumn was like a little sister to Mia. Reece was like a brother to her. They'd dated for years because of Roger, but they both hated being romantic together. Plus, Mia was a lesbian. She had another person stuck in her mind.

—

"Reecey, pass me the bottle." Mia whined after a while. She wanted to get as wasted as possible and forget everything that was going on around them.

Roger had punished her earlier in the day for failing a test at school, resulting in bruises covering her legs. She wore long skirts to cover her legs and long-sleeved shirts to cover her scar-covered arms.

Reece sighed before he passed Mia the half empty bottle of vodka and watched her chug it down.

"Easy, Mia." Autumn warned. Autumn drank a lot too, despite being the youngest out of the three, but tonight she wanted to stay sober in case Roger found them. She knew Mia was the most vulnerable out of the three, as Roger always saw her as his puppet.

Deep down, Autumn had always loved Mia. At one point, she'd loved Mia as more than a friend, even more than a sister, too. She wanted them to be something more.

Those days were in the past, though.

As Mia continued to gulp down the vodka, Autumn snatched the bottle out of Mia's hands and Mia gasped, her eyelashes fluttering as she looked at Autumn with a confused expression. "Stop," Autumn cried.

Reece reached his hand out to comfort Autumn. "Aut, what's up? You aren't usually this... Caring?"

"Don't touch me." Autumn removed his hand away from her as quick as possible.

"I'm sorry Autumn, if I'm worrying you, I'll stop drinking." Mia looked at Autumn, her expression unreadable. She emptied the bottle and threw it somewhere amongst the tall grass.

Autumn just nodded and looked down. "Sorry it's just... Father."

Roger was an alcoholic and every time he drank, he'd hurt Autumn, Reece, and Mia, both physically and emotionally.

"I know, I know. I'm not gonna hurt you." Mia reassured Autumn, reaching out her hands and gesturing for Autumn to hug her. Autumn didn't like hugs, but she made an exception for Mia.

Autumn crawled over into Mia's arms and leaned into her touch. Reece moved closer to Mia and wrapped an arm around the two girls. He smiled at Mia, and she smiled back. They both promised that they'd protect Autumn no matter what.