A Mialotte Story: Good in a crisis

6 months

Mia woke up the next morning with a horrendous hangover, feeling a heavy dose of shame. Not only did she have a headache, her heart ached too. She knew she would never even think of kissing another woman as long as Charlotte held a piece of her heart but, Mia questioned why her intoxicated self let this woman get so close in the first place. Had she been leading her on?

Mia couldn't shake the image of the kiss from her head, and it hurt more with each replay. She didn't return the kiss, or let it progress, but she definitely could've pulled away quicker. Mia felt stupid, and the image of the kiss was now being replaced with one of an angry and upset Char. Mia would never mean to cause her sweetheart any pain, and she couldn't bear the thought of her finding out. Yet, the idea of lying to Charlotte's face didn't seem easy either.

After a long day of battling her own thoughts and wondering what to do, Mia had to make a choice as her phone rang. It was Charlotte. And just like that, Mia decided to proceed with what she knows best, self destruction. She didn't answer that call from her sweetheart, or in fact, any of her calls for the next few days. Mia's phone was inundated with missed calls and text from Charlotte.

"Mia, answer the phone, I miss you!"
"Mia, what's happened? Is everything okay?"
"I'm worried! Please call me!"
"Amelia Roberts, please answer the phone!"
"Mia, why won't you return my calls? What the hell is going on?"

Days went by and there was now close to a hundred texts and voicemails, all from Char and each one laced with concern. It was killing Mia to not respond, knowing that Charlotte was probably hurting at the loss of contact. However, Mia imagined that telling her about the kiss would be more painful.

After a week of Mia trying to distract herself with literally anything, whether it be reading, swimming, or drinking, she found herself checking her phone to see the latest message from Charlotte. Only to discover, that there weren't any new ones. Her sweetheart had finally given up on her, and that made her breath catch in her throat as a single tear fell from her eye.

Charlotte had become a shell of herself, much like how she was before Mia saved her. She tried to hold it together the best she could for the sake of her girls, and she powered through work as to avoid any questioning. She was too embarrassed to tell anyone that things between her and Mia were over so soon as they'd only been dating for around 6 months. Was it over? Char questioned to herself. There had been no explanation and she started to wonder if it was something she did.

Two weeks went by in a flash, and it was a very painful two weeks for Mia and Charlotte as each was constantly on the other's mind. This was the longest they'd gone without talking since they started seeing each other. Mia's day was interrupted by a phone call from Reece, who had asked if she could come back to straighten a few things out for the nursery takeover.

Mia was apprehensive about returning home, except she wouldn't really be going home. She'd be going back to her empty apartment. As nice as it was, with its modern and luxurious decor, it was missing the one thing that Mia longed for, Charlotte.

Reece and Autumn along with Mia's help, spent the day at the sister nursery gathering all the necessary intel and documentation to go forward with the take over. She was relieved they were meeting at the sister nursery, because at least she wouldn't run into Charlotte. As much as Mia wanted to see her sweetheart, and hold her in a warm embrace, she wouldn't know what to say at this point.

Mia let out a deep sigh, rolling her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts after the mentally strenuous day. She approached her car in the nursery carpark, digging through her designer handbag looking for her keys when suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks by an all too familiar voice.

"Mia?" Charlotte's voice was unsure and full of sorrow.
Mia was hesitant to use her usual greeting as she wasn't sure if it was appropriate, despite her still strong feelings for the sight for sore eyes stood before her. So instead, all she was capable of uttering was, "Charlotte." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two as neither of them knew where to go from here.
"When did you get back?" Charlotte asked, breaking the tension.
"Just last night, Reece needed my help with something."

Mia's tone was dry. She was trying her hardest to suppress any emotions for Charlotte. She didn't want her to get hurt, and she felt the best way to ensure that was to push her away.
"Oh. So, if Reece calls you come running, but you're giving ME the silent treatment? Mia, please just talk to me" Charlotte pleaded.
"I don't want to talk Charlotte, okay? Please, just let me go." Mia was fighting back tears, she didn't mean it, but her face remained expressionless and cold.

Charlotte's face dropped as she heard Mia's words, she couldn't fathom why Mia had suddenly put her wall back up. 6 beautiful months they had spent together, sharing intimate moments, and forming a deep bond. For it all to be over with no explanation? Charlotte couldn't accept it. Was it all a lie? Did Mia care for her at all? Charlotte needed answers, so she took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure.

"Mia, I love you, please don't do this! Just tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, we can work through it together. If it's something I did then..." Charlotte was waffling now in an attempt to save their relationship. She spent years in a loveless marriage and it took all her courage to leave that security. When she started seeing Mia, it was almost as if the missing puzzle piece of her heart had been found. Suddenly, the air around her didn't feel so heavy and she was no longer suffocating. Mia made it easy to breathe.

Mia had zoned out halfway through Charlotte's speech, placing her fingers to her temples in frustration. Hearing the pain in Char's voice overwhelmed the redhead, and heightened the feeling of guilt that was already consuming her. Before she knew it, she was shouting at her sweetheart.

"Oh for god sakes, Charlotte, I KISSED SOMEONE!"

Charlotte was immediately silenced. She spent the past two weeks worrying about Mia, thinking she may be in trouble and, even started to believe she herself had done something wrong to upset Mia. Those were the last words Charlotte had expected Mia to blurt out, and they felt like a dagger to the chest.

Charlotte had nothing more to say to the redhead, she was hurt. She couldn't hold back the tears any longer as they were flooding in her eyes so, she turned around to leave. Mia's eyes were also glassy as she had just done the one thing she had vowed to never do, which was break Charlotte's heart. Now all she felt was regret. Mia quickly tried to salvage any chance of a relationship with Char by reaching out and grabbing her hand to pull her back. Charlotte paused for a moment, holding Mia's hand, as she faced away with tears running down her cheeks. But she couldn't face her, so she retracted her hand and simply walked away.

AN: Please don't hate me!