As I'm walking back to the room I see autumn in the hallway,
"Hey autumn"
"Charlotte"
"Oh, if you're heading towards the office, I'd give it a few minutes. Marjorie's about to tear Reece a new one" I warn her
"Oh. Honeymoon period over already?" It must be weird for autumn having her friend (I suppose) and brother dating. Especially the flirty office phone calls she must have to listen to.
"I'm sure that's not it. But to be fair, you and winter are still in yours so I don't think any couple could compare to you two" I gain a little smile from her which is so nice to see. I know autumn isn't one for emotions, but her and winter are so good for each other and it's nice to see that she is true it happy.
"We'll have to see how long your and Mia's lasts"
"Wow. News travels fast"
"It does when it's being carried around by a little eavesdropping apprentice" she replies. Oh Carly.
"Ohh, she listened outside the office" I sigh. I should have known. "Where is she?"
"Staff room" autumn answers
"I need to talk to her. Do you know how much she heard?"
"Only that my father emotionally blackmailed Mia for 20 years. She was never into Reece. Apparently you two make a very cute couple and my brother certainly does not think with his head" well that's true.
"So the whole thing. Great. Saves me some time" I thank autumn before making my way to the staff room.
...
"Hey Carly" I smile as I sit opposite her. She looks up from her phone but does not seem too happy. "I know you overheard my conversation with Marjorie and Reece" I begin, "I'm guessing you might have some questions"
"Well I know you're not a cheater. If your with Mia, I guess you're not with your husband"
"Yeah" I confirm
"When did that end?" She asks
"A while ago"
"So is Mia your girlfriend now?"
"She's my friend" we aren't at that stage yet. Just friends. Friends
"Char. How can you be friends with her? You know what she did to me"
"I know. And I spent a long time talking about that with her. And she, believe it or not, does feel horrendous about it" I reply
"It was horrible. Why does she hate me so much?" Knowing how Mia feels about Carly is upsetting. I can't imagine Mia being anything like Carly, which just makes me feel so much worse about how Roger has treated her. For someone so innocent and kind to be put through that is heartbreaking. Anyone to be put through that is heartbreaking.
"You remind her too much of herself" I answer her,
"What?! I am nothing like her!"
"Not now. But once upon a time she was just like you"
"Mia was?" I can tell Carly is finding that hard to believe. But I want her to understand that nobody is really born evil. I don't think so anyway.
"Yeah. But that was taken from her"
"I don't get it. If I'm like her when she was younger. Why would that make her hate me?"
"It makes her sad. She sees you and it reminds her of how she used to be and what she could have been. You know? Of all that horrible and dark stuff didn't happen to her" I explain, "but you know, there is bits of good in her. You can see it sometimes"
"So because she's a bit sad, she has to be horrible to me?" I get that Carly is upset. I can understand why she wouldn't want to forgive Mia. Mia knows that too.
"I know she's not perfect. She knows that. But she wants to make emends"
"Because it looks good to you?"
"Even if it is just to impress me. She's trying. That's what matters, right?"
"Well, I'm sorry. But there's absolutely nothing that she can do to make up for how she treated me"
"She understands that. And when she gave this to me, she said that even if you tear it up and throw it back in my face, she understands" I rummage through my bag to grab the envelope Mia handed me. I think Carly is gonna like this.
"What is it?" She asks
"It's a voucher" I hand it to her and watch her face change as she read it
"Driving lessons?"
"Yeah. It covers all your lessons and your test. You just need to arrange your provisional and theory"
"She's paying for all my driving lessons and my test?!"
"Yeah. She's got a long way to go. She needs to learn how to say the actual word 'sorry' and not just throw money at the situation"
"She can throw money at me all she wants she got me driving lessons!" She exclaims with the biggest smile.
"Oh. I genuinely thought you were going to throw it back in my face"
"Char are you kidding me? She got me driving lessons! And- oh! That means that Reece can get me a car! Oh my god I'm gonna go online right now" she picks her phone back up. Reece?
"Reece?" I question
"Yeah. I mean I was gonna try and get driving lessons out of him for Christmas but since Mia got it for me, so I'm gonna try and get a car instead" she explains
"How are you gonna get a car out of Reece?" I ask
"Emotional blackmail. Honestly, it's so easy. It's like shooting fish in a barrel" oh Carly!
"You, you do that often to him?"
"I do it all the time. He drives me to and from work everyday, I'm on his Netflix account, he buys me lunch, he's taking me to Thorpe park for the day" she lists. Oh my god.
"Carly, do you think you're taking quite a lot from Reece?"
"Well, he makes so much more than me" she replies
"But you emotionally blackmail him into it. Who does that sound like to you?" She thinks for a minute
"Oh my god"
"You're a lot more like Mia than you think" her jaw drops.
"Oh my god I am Mia" I'm glad she's realising what's been going on,
"Doing it to the same person as well. Now do you understand why she saw so much of herself in you?" She's absolutely shook. I hope she's really going to think about how she is treating Reece.
...
Mia
Carly is over the moon about the gift, thank you x
Glad she liked it sweetheart. I have one for you too x
Me? What is it? X
It's a surprise. Call later? X
Can't wait x
YOU ARE READING
Just us.
Fanfiction"I'm not supposed to love you" "Then don't" A love unintended. A love unexpected. A love undeniable. "There's just something about you that... I can't explain" She never intended to so much as like her. Definitely never expected to fall in love...
