A Mialotte Story: Good in a crisis

Tears ricochet

It was only 5am and, after struggling with her keys in the front door, Mia finally made her way inside Charlotte's house, stumbling as she did. She shut the door behind her and fell against it in defeat, gradually sliding down to sit on the floor. Her knees now pulled up to her chest and her head thrown back against the door with her eyes shut.

Charlotte wasn't expecting Mia's arrival, but this was the first time she had looked at her girlfriend with a feeling of terror. Her eyes darted straight to Mia's hands, her knuckles all cut up and covered in blood. Then as she paid closer attention, she noticed a gash on her lip and what seemed to be a black eye taking its form. "Hi Sweetheart" Mia exhaled in sorrow as she heard Charlotte creep down the stairs. Mia didn't even lift her head to make eye contact with her.

Charlotte didn't know how to respond, and of course her heart ached at the sight of Mia being beaten, bruised and covered in blood. However, her tone took more of an accusatory hold rather than a caring one, as she raised her voice. "So, you're not even going to look at me? Mia, what the hell happened?!"
"Charlotte, I'm really not in the mood to talk right now" Mia muttered, still not making eye contact.
Charlotte bit her tongue and huffed off to the kitchen as Mia stayed put, not moving an inch or saying a word.

A few moments later, Char returned with the first aid kit and Mia was startled as she felt her love tending to her wounds. Mia hissed in pain as Charlotte took to her bloody knuckles with the disinfectant. The redhead slowly lifted her head finally meeting her sweetheart's gaze. She stared lovingly at Charlotte, who had just selflessly contained her anger to prioritise her injured girlfriend. Ironically, if Mia had been able to contain her anger, then she wouldn't be in this mess right now.

Charlotte finished dressing Mia's wounds handing her a cold compress for her eye to help with the swelling. She then delicately placed a featherlight kiss to Mia's injured lip, being careful not to make her wince. The two didn't speak the entire time, but now there was a hovering cloud of uncertainty waiting to be addressed. Mia broke the silence with a loud sigh that quickly transitioned into a sequence of violent sobs. "Char, I'm sorry!" Mia's internal pain now evident from how her tears ricochet. "I'm so, so sorry" she continued to cry out. It shattered Charlotte's heart to hear, and despite whatever Mia had yet to tell her, Char still loved her. She knew she wouldn't get any answers out of Mia in this state so, she sat herself on the floor cradling her girlfriend in her arms until the sobs subsided.

"Baby, I didn't mean to upset you, but please help me understand what's happened here" Charlotte requested, still holding on to her mean redhead tightly.
"You didn't upset me, Char, I'm upset with myself. Charlotte, you're like a lighthouse" Mia paused as she saw the confusion in Char's face. "Your light shines bright, no matter how cloudy the conditions" she continued, "you take care of me even when I'm so undeserving of you, because that's the kindhearted person you are. I've tried so hard to be better for you, Char, to be a person you can be proud of. But I failed today."
"Mia, no matter how bad it is, I'm not going to suddenly stop loving you, okay?" Char reassured Mia, gently kissing the top of her head.
"After you told me about what that parent did to Carly," Mia swallowed and continued. "I just saw red. So, I made some calls, I got a hold of Graham's address and, I took the first flight home. I was so angry, Char, I had to see that the pervert paid, for what he did to Carly. Sure, he got a couple throws in but, I think he learnt his lesson in the end."

Charlotte was quiet for a minute as tried to take it all in. She slowly let go their embrace and turned Mia to face her at eye level. "Amelia Roberts, don't you see?"
"See what, Char? That I'm a leopard who clearly hasn't changed their spots?" Mia responded sarcastically, hoping that her smart quip would save her from any pain that Charlotte was about to inflict. She was so sure her sweetheart wouldn't want her back after this.
"In fact, quite the opposite. Mia, you only set out to hurt that man because of a threat to someone you love. I'm not saying that violence was the right choice, but you weren't doing it to antagonise or for your own pleasure. You did it to protect Carly. That certainly seems like growth to me!" Charlotte explained with a warm smile, caressing Mia's cheek with her hand.

Mia couldn't believe it, her sweetheart still loved her? Perhaps Charlotte had a point. She knows what she did was wrong, but she did it for the right reasons. Since being with Charlotte, she had tried her best to use her words rather than her fists and, this was the first time she'd slipped up. Mia was so used to everyone being scared of her or angry with her, that it never occurred to her that Charlotte would react any differently.

"I love you Charlotte."
"I love you too, Amelia."