Charlotte had found that ever since Theo had been gone and since her and Marjorie had made up, work was a breeze. Usually, she would be counting down the minutes to leave as she couldn't stand being there having to pretend all day but it all felt different now. Every parent that picked a fight with her, she just brushed off. Although the one thing that was keeping that anxious feeling going was that her kids were coming home tonight. She had no idea what she was going to say to them and she knew they would have so many questions. She couldn't decide whether it was the better choice to tell them the truth or keep them in the dark until after the divorce.
At the end of the day she practically ran out of the building and straight into the car. The thought of going home to Mia made her whole face light up. It was one of those lucky days today where every traffic light was green as she drove past it and she had never been more grateful.
Thankfully, her daughters were both at different clubs today so she had an hour or two to plan what she was going to say to them when they returned home. As she pulled up to her house she noticed that Mia's car was still parked right outside. Instinctively, she grabbed a mirror from her bag and began to fix her hair and makeup. She had never done this before for Theo, she didn't care how he viewed her as he never had anything nice to say about her no matter how hard she tried.
She took a deep breath before walking back into her house.
"Hey Mia i'm back" she called out loud enough so if she was upstairs she could hear her. Much to her surprise there was no response. She called out again thinking that maybe Mia hadn't heard her the first time but yet again was returned with silence. This was unusual but she thought maybe she was busy so she would just look for her around the house. She checked almost the entirety of the downstairs and was on the way to check the living room. As she walked in she saw Mia sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep.
Charlotte smiled to herself. This was one of the first times she had seen Mia look so peaceful. She always had some sort of guard up even when they were together like she was too afraid to let anybody see the real her. But as she lied there she looked almost vulnerable. Her entire mysterious mean girl facade had gone to sleep with her.
She did not want to wake Mia but she knew she would want to know that she was home. Slowly she walked over and perched on the corner of the sofa before laying a gentle hand on her arm. She shook her softly as she quietly spoke her name in an attempt to wake her up. She repeated her name a couple of times before Mia finally began to stir. Once Mia started to wake up she slowly fluttered her eyes open.
Instantly her guard came on and she stiffened before speedily sitting up on the sofa. Charlotte drew her hand back as quickly as she could as she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. After a few seconds Mia realised where she was and her gaze softened on Char.
"I'm sorry sweetheart I didn't know you were home. How was your day?" she quickly attempted to avert from her flinching away from her touch.
"No it's okay honestly. My day wasn't too bad but I haven't been able to stop thinking about what i'm going to say to the kids when they get home. Do I tell them the truth and get it over with to prevent them from feeling a hatred for me when they eventually find out? Do i keep them in the dark and let them believe a lie until they're old enough to know? I don't want to mess them up"
she began to chew on her lip out of anxiety and her eyes darted everywhere but Mia's face.
Mia had noticed how anxious Charlotte was growing. She shuffled closer to her and lifted her hands to cup her cheeks so Charlotte was forced to look her in the eyes. Chars puppy dog eyes stared into hers as she fought the tears threatening to pour down her face. She had been crying a lot lately but she had so much on it wasn't surprising. She wasn't afraid to show vulnerability but for some reason she felt embarrassed whenever she cried. This feeling had only started when she would cry in front of Theo. He would call her a baby and insult her when she showed emotion which had an impact on her that she never realised.
