As Roger sat down at the office desk, Mia smirked to herself. Marjorie looked worried while Autumn and Reece looked livid. Roger was here to dismiss Jodie and as far as Mia was concerned, her devious plan had worked perfectly. There was a part of Mia that still felt angry at Reece for abandoning her and at Marjorie for simply existing. Just as Mia had expected, Marjorie had immediately challenged Roger. What Mia hadn't expected however was for Charlotte to appear. The red head felt proud as she watched Charlotte valiantly explain that the times on the tablet and the computer didn't match. She felt so proud in fact that it didn't even bother her to realise that Jodie wouldn't be loosing her job, at least not on this occasion.
When an irate mother came storming into the office waving an offensive incident form around, Mia felt tempted to laugh. The woman was being so dramatic but it didn't matter, this didn't concern Mia. As soon as she spat that the form was signed by 'Amelia Roberts' however, Mia's eyes widened as she protested "I didn't write that." She watched as Marjorie took the form and asked "Mia this is your signature isn't it?" As Mia snatched the form, everything fell into place as she glanced over at Charlotte. The brunette had tricked her and Mia had never seen it coming, she was even smarter than Mia had first thought. Charlotte looked so guilty and immediately, all Mia could think of was how much she wanted to hold her. She wanted to tell the brunette that everything would be alright and that she'd done the right thing, she'd stood up for what she felt was right. Mia had always assumed that love wasn't meant for her but now, it was all she could feel. So she admitted to signing the form. She could have told them to check the handwriting, but truthfully, she'd rather have died than hurt Charlotte in anyway. Mia wondered if Charlotte felt that too - she must have, or else why would she have taken that risk?
The moment that Roger dismissed her, Mia finally felt free. She felt the chains fall from around her heart as she realised she truly owed that pathetic, manipulative old man nothing. All Mia wanted was to go after Charlotte but as she glared at Roger, she made a decision. It was time for Autumn and Reece to know the truth - at least partially anyway. When Roger tried to silence her she snapped "pipe down Roger, your usefulness has run its course."
"Autumn, do you remember when you opened your front door the night of prom and Reecey was stood there holding a bouquet of dead flowers, did you never wonder who put them there?" As expected, Autumn immediately accused Mia so finally, after two decades of heartache, Mia put her straight. As soon as she uttered the words "not me, it was someone a little closer to home" Autumns face dropped as she realised exactly what Mia was saying.
As Autumn looked over at her father, she felt her heart break just a little more. She listened intently as Mia explained that Roger had paid her money to put that note in Autumns locker all those years ago. Her father had assumed that Kenny Killerman was the object of her affection and he'd known all along that Reece would go ballistic. For the first time in a long time all Autumn wanted to do was cry. As she processed Mia's confession, she momentarily wished that she could throw herself into Reece's arms. Their estrangement had been orchestrated by their own father and now two decades had passed, lost to time and never to return. All this time she and Reece could have been friends, their hearts could have been whole. Autumn placed her hand over her mouth as she realised that the man who should have protected her, had in fact been the one to murder her. He'd held his own daughter's heart within his hands and he'd crushed it with no regard for the consequences. Autumn had assumed long ago that nothing her father did could reach her anymore but now, she knew she was wrong.
Reece watched on as his sister realised just how gravely she'd been betrayed. Now, it all made sense and Reece felt frustrated that he'd never put two and two together. Maybe somewhere deep inside he'd still believed that Roger loved them, even just a little. Finally, Reece accepted that his father was incapable of love or care, he saw people as disposable chess pieces in his sick, twisted games. For two decades, Reece had been the bad guy and eventually, poison was all he'd seen within himself. In actuality, he'd been betrayed too, once again used by the man that should have loved him. He felt his heart start to ache as he thought of all those times Autumn had needed him but refused to call. All those times he could have held her, comforted her, been her big brother but she'd hated his guts over the actions of others. Somehow, Reece knew that this wasn't his fault but it really didn't matter. Once a failure, always a failure.
Mia looked around the room, smirking at each person individually before declaring "now that we've got that all cleared up, I'm gonna go, there's somebody I want to have a chat with." With that, she walked away from everything that had held her down for the entirety of her youth. She knew that she'd hurt the siblings deeply and if she could have turned back the clock, she would have in a heartbeat. Now, all she could do was move forwards and try to build a life that was authentic. As she approached Charlotte, who was stood in the hallway and nervously biting her nails, she instinctively caught the brunettes hand in hers. She smiled slightly when Charlotte allowed her touch and looked into her eyes. "It's alright sweetheart, you don't have to bite off all your pretty nails." Charlotte had never heard Mia speak so softly and as she looked at the redhead, she realised just how deeply she was falling. Mia had been given the opportunity to hurt her, but she hadn't taken it and Charlotte suspected that she knew why. Did Mia feel the same longing within her heart? Did she look at Charlotte and see a whole lifetime flash before her eyes, a life that anyone would die to live? Charlotte was so sure that there was something else within Mia and now, she wanted to prove herself right.
As Mia explained just how deeply she'd been used and manipulated by Roger, any nervousness Charlotte felt melted away. She listened intently and with every comment Mia made, the brunette watched the red heads mask fall away. She wasn't evil, or a lost cause, she was damaged and hurt, trying her best to play the horrific cards she'd been dealt. She'd never wanted to be with Reece and she'd tried to walk away, but Roger's web had always pulled her backwards. Nobody had come to save Mia, she'd had to fight for herself and now she'd finally let go of that battle.
Charlotte wanted to know for sure, just one last thing, she needed to hear Mia say it. "What about me?" The brunette asked. Mia's eyes had widened as she'd replied "I never did anything to hurt you." Charlotte took a deep breath and replied "exactly, why have you been so nice to me?" Mia's eyes were so soft as she said "you think I had an ulterior motive." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. She shook her head slightly and said something that made Charlottes heart start to pound.
"Char, I just like you."
Mia wanted to tell Charlotte that she saw her. She wanted to tell her that she'd finally found her calling in life and that was to love her. Mia didn't tell her that because it would sound so ridiculous, despite the fact she knew that it was true. When Mia suggested that she didn't deserve Charlotte, as she'd expected the brunette had immediately replied that she was married. It was an instinctive reaction but Mia knew that there was no truth behind those words. The redhead looked right into Charlottes lonely, hidden heart as she said "switching your wedding ring to flirt with me is the closest you've come to taking it off." As she walked away, Mia made a promise to herself that she'd become the woman that Charlotte deserved. She was sure that the brunette would be safe, waiting for her.
Charlotte watched her walk away, her beautiful red hair swaying as she went. Mia had said that she'd come back for her, but would she? The thought that this could be the last time Charlotte saw those baby blue eyes, or held Mia's hand made her feel sick. Charlottes actions had helped to free a trapped, heartbroken bird and she so desperately wanted to see Mia fly. More than anything though, she wanted her to come back.
Charlotte had no idea that she was about to hit rock bottom. She had no idea how desperately she was about to need Mia.
YOU ARE READING
THE LAST LEAVES OF AUTUMN - (TNN - PROM NIGHT- AUTUMN/REECE/MIA)
Hayran Kurgu**WORK IN PROGRESS** What really happened before, during and after prom night? How did Roger's treatment and manipulations affect Autumn, Reece and Mia?
