Running from the life that was.

Chaper Ten

The week had dragged on for Maya and Carina. Every day was filled with calls to lawyers, consultations about custody, and an overwhelming sense of urgency to get Mia back.

After many calls, Maya finally found a lawyer willing to take their case. However, the lawyer often reminded her that, due to Lane being Mia's biological father, it was likely that the case wouldn't work in their favour without concrete evidence of the abuse Mia was experiencing. They knew they had to gather any evidence they could find to strengthen their case, working fast to document all their concerns, knowing that time was of the essence. The fight was definitely not easy, but they had gathered some grounds to lean on, with Maya using her own experience as a teenager in her parents' household to illustrate that it was an abusive environment.

As the days went on frustration over the custody battle started to turn into arguments between the Maya and Carina. They would lash out at each other, the stress manifesting in sharp words and heated exchanges. But luckily those moments didn't last long and were always followed by heartfelt apologies and the understanding that they were both suffering with all of this in their own ways.

"Maya, I'm sorry for snapping earlier. I'm just so mad at these people, these people that don't even seem to care about Mia" Carina would say.

"I know, I'm sorry too. I just... I can't stop thinking about her," Maya would reply, her eyes filled with worry. "I can't shake the image of her running to us and breaking down. I hate that it is taking this long to get her back and... and what if we can't win this.... What if she has to stay with him"

Maya would try not to feel defeated but the feeling would keep arising and she felt like her father was beating her once again. Negative thoughts of being a failure threatening to leak into her mind. She tried her best to push these back away, using strategies she had learnt from her therapist Diane to do so.

Throughout the week, their Station 19 family rallied around them, offering support. They all wanted Mia back just as much as Maya and Carina did. When they found they were needing written references to improve their case, Vic and Andy jumped at the chance to help, writing heartfelt letters that highlighted Maya and Carinas dedication to being Mia's guardians and the genuine love they felt for the teenager.

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Across town, Mia felt as though she were trapped in a never-ending nightmare. Each day had blended into the next, a relentless cycle of training that consumed her entire being. Lane didn't take her to school anymore; instead, he dragged her to the track every single day, forcing her to push her body beyond its limits. He was still punishing her for running away and at this rate Mia didn't think it would ever end.

As the sun rose on who knows what day, Mia found herself standing at the starting line of the track again. Lane hovered nearby, holding his stopwatch, his shouts echoing in her ears. "You need to be faster! That's not how you're going to win!" he barked, each command making Mia feel not good enough, leaving her feeling more and more hollow as he piled the negativity onto her.

Mia had little to no fight left in her. When she first returned to her parents, she would argue and resist, but that only made her situation worse. Every ounce of defiance had been drained from her, leaving her a shell of her former self.

One heated argument led to Lane pushing Mia against the wall, the impact causing her to smack her head on the surface behind her. She experienced blurred vision and felt an instant wave of nausea, but she kept it to herself, knowing all too well that revealing her symptoms would only fuel her father's anger. In that moment, Mia felt her fight diminish; she was officially scared of her father. This was the most physical he had ever been with her, and the fear of provoking him into something worse was now more present then ever.