Finding Her Joy

I Was With Her

*A/N- Oh, hey... Didn't see you there. So crazy to run into you and here of all places. I definitely wasn't hiding and avoiding this chapter. Totally not. Anyway, I'm sorry it's late again. Yesterday was a really rough day, so I wrote half and then fell asleep early. I needed to be able to put my all into it, and I couldn't do that without sleep. Happy reading! Enjoy!

(MIA POV)
"Hello, Bunny." My father smiled at me. "I'm so happy to see you."

"Happy? You're... happy to see me?" I scoffed. "I bet the next thing you're going to say is that you missed me."

His smile lowered. "I did, Bunny. I really did."

After the emotions of the morning, he was the last person I wanted to see. "Don't call me that. You lost the right to call me anything when you walked out, Thomas." Calling him by his name made him upset.

He reached for me, "Please. I came to explain. I read your letter and had to see you and your mum."

"Don't touch me!" I screamed.

My words were so loud that they echoed through the air. I felt bad because out of the corner of my eye, I saw Char flinch.

"You don't deserve to see her, but it doesn't matter now anyway." I rolled my eyes and moved back to be closer to Charlotte. "She's dead."

She grabbed my hand and the upper part of my arm with her hands. I felt her body pressing against mine, and it was the only thing keeping me grounded. I turned to look into her big, blue eyes.

"I know..." He dropped his head, "I was with her when she passed."

My eyes jumped back to him. I felt like I was suffocating again. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come out.

"You what?" Charlotte spoke up. "How- what- why would -"

I pulled her closer, but to be situated behind me more. Something felt off about this whole situation now, and I felt the sudden urge to need to protect her. My arms were behind me, holding onto her hips as tight as I could.

I tried to stay as calm and focused as I could without letting on how anxious I was feeling. "What do you mean? How were you with her? I was the first one here this morning."

He ran his hand through his hair and looked at me. He made a nervous face like he'd just admitted something he shouldn't have. "What? No. I- I meant... I meant I was with - I was with her in spirit. I only got here right after you girls, so yeah. I couldn't have been with her in the more literal sense."

"Mia..." Charlotte whispered in my ear. Her hands made their way around my waist, and her grip on my shirt told me how she was feeling.

"It's okay, baby. I'm right here," I said sweetly, trying to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.

He took a step closer to us. "Bunny, please. In your letter you said that you weren't angry anymore. You said you wanted to see me. That was only a short while ago, so what changed?"

I laughed, "What changed? Are you serious? My mother just died, and then you show up here and then, the icing on top of the cake: you tell me that you watched her die. Now you're trying to ignore all of that and act like this is just about you and me. There is no you and me."

I was speaking quickly. My blood starting to boil. My knuckles were going white from how hard I was gripping onto Charlottes shirt.

"You're still working with him, aren't you?"

He opened his mouth, but I threw my hand up before he could speak.

"No. I don't even want to know. I don't want to hear anything else from you. 'What changed?' What kind of a question is that? Are you stupid, or are you dumb?"