Mia's pov
"I don't understand what they want with us" I said looking at the retrieval picture of Noodle and I.
"Maybe my father had something to do with it" Noodle said sitting on the couch
"What?" I asked sitting next to him.
"Maybe my dad had something to do with the bomb, with all this"
"Noodle I'm sure your dad didn't mean for any of this to happen" I said grabbing his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Maybe he didn't mean for it to happen, but you heard what Zane said the explosion started in Grovers dads office, my dads office is right next to it. Maybe they were working together on something and it went bad and caused all this" Noodle said.
"Okay, that's a possibility. But there are a bunch of possibilities maybe they are rounding up all the kids who's parents ever worked at the plant or maybe they are going to help everyone that was born here. Natalie didn't move here until she was two and LeShaen didn't move here until he was six it makes sense." I said trying to make Noodle feel better.
"Baby I know your just trying to make me feel better, Violet, Barrett, diesel and Zoey were all born here, I didn't see a picture for them."
"This can't have been your dads fault, I mean I don't think he ever really liked me that much anyway so why would he want to retrieve me? Besides everyone at Keller must know who the retrieval targets are which means that they'd all have to be ok with it and why would they want to retrieve someone that's not even the kid of someone that works there but the kids girlfriend?" I said.
"But your not just my girlfriend, that's my fathers grandchild in your belly, I think that good enough reason to retrieve you." Noodle said
"What about Violet, my mum, my family, don't you think your dad would make them retrieval targets too than."
"He never got a chance to meet Violet and your mum was with mine when this all happened they would have already retrieved her, they knew where she was and our mums probably knew what was happening in that lab so they'd know what to do anyway, they probably wouldn't even need to be retrieved, they might have been there." Noodle said.
"You really think our parents knew what was happening, what caused all this?" I asked
"Yeah I do. It's the only thing that makes sense"
"Do you think they knew it would happen when it did? That they knew it was going to explode or worse did it on purpose? Barrett thought they blew up the place because they were afraid of what we would find when we hacked them, what if that's true, what if Barretts and my actions caused this"
"This isn't on you and Barrett its on whoever caused the explosion. If they blew the place up because they were afraid of what you would find then they were doing something wrong in the first place, so it was definitely not your fault." Noodle said hugging me.
"I love you Noodle" I said
"I love you too" Noodle said pulling away from the hug to plant his lips on mine.
"We should head back to the others" Noodle said once we pulled away
"Yeah" I agreed getting up to look for the others.
"Look, I don't know what the retrieval photo means." I heard grover say causing Noodle and I to follow the voice.
" You chose not to tell me about it, to share it with me." Violet said
"Yes, I was trying to protect you!" Grover said
" Are you leaving or not?" I heard violet say as we rounded the corner and saw everyone.
"What's going on?" I asked
"Grovers leaving" Zoey said, arms crossed staring him down
"Willingly?" I asked
"Not really" grover responded
"Violet you can't be serious" I said
"I am" she responded
"Your choosing the Keller's over Grover?" I asked
"That's not what we're doing" diesel said
"Yeah well it seems like it. Just wait Grover, I'll pack a bag" I said moving too walk away.
"What? Mia you're not going, you're six months pregnant" Zoey said
"I didn't think you'd care" I said surprised
"I can't understand what you did and I dont forgive it but there's no need for you to put your baby at risk" Zoey said looking at my stomach.
"What are you going to do Mia? Give birth on the street in three months?" Zane asked
"Its not safe out there" violet said
"And yet you're sending grover out there."
"Grovers not pregnant" diesel said.
"Its no safer in here, not for me, not with the Keller's. I'm sorry violet you're my sister and I love you, but I dont trust them and I trust Grover. You're not giving him a choice, so I dont have one either."
"We'll find a place. Grover and I'll protect her" Noodle said.
"How can you two trust him? He lied to you" Ollie asked noodle and I.
"Stay" violet said looking in my eyes.
"There's nothing left for me here except you and you're not even trying to see things how I do. I dont feel safe here Violet. Its not safe here for me or my baby."
"Its not safe on the road either, there's freaks everywhere out there"
"Humans are alot smarter than freaks, humans know how to open doors and be sneaky, freaks are easier to see coming before they strike" I said.
"You know you can't trust them." Grover said looking at violet.
"I trust them a lot more than I trust you right now." Violet said to Grover.
"Don't let them use that beacon. " grover said passing diesel before turning back to us.
"I'll wait by the door" grover said.
"Mia" violet said.
"I'll go pack our stuff" noodle said leaving to get our stuff and some gas masks.
"I'm sorry Violet. Happy birthday" I said smiling at her.
"You're really going to leave? Pick grover over your sister?" She asked as everyone watched the scene unfold.
"I'm not picking grover over you. I'm picking Grover over the Keller's, I'm picking Grover over a bunch of strangers and I'm picking grover over a girl who probably wants me dead for killing her boyfriend. Not over you or diesel or Barrett."
"That's really how you feel?" Violet asked
"Yes" I said walking away to go to Noodle and help him pack.
"Hey" I said walking up to him.
"Hey" he said turning around from the bags.
"You sure you want to do this?" He asked
"Do you think I'm making a mistake?"
"Not if its what feels right to you. Does it?"
"Yes"
"Than I'm ok with it. It just means I've got to work a little harder at protecting you two"
"Are you ok with that?"
"Of course, let's go" he said putting the bags on his back and handing me a gas mask.
"I can carry a bag" I said
"You can barely carry yourself" Noodle said laughing as we walked.
"That's not fair" I said smiling.
"Neithers life at the moment, get used to it" he said teasingly.
"You guys ready to go?" Grover asked as we got to him
"As I'll ever be" I sighed
"Hey. I was wondering if I could catch a ride." Barret said walking up to us.
"With us?" Grover asked
"Mmhmm. I think you're right about the helicopter and I'm not excited about waiting for my own execution, so. Let's go." Barrett said causing me to chuckle and put my gas mask on as we all exited and got into the van, Noodle and I in the back of the van, Grover and Barrett in the front.
