Aren, a boy who talks to few people and cares for no one, meets a girl named Mia and becomes captivated by her. He finds himself suddenly attached to her in a way he doesn't fully understand. She is sweet, cute, and small, and she opens up a part...
The line of questioning at the police station seemed to last an eternity, but eventually they allowed Mia and Aren to go home.
By the time they arrived at Mia's apartment, it was already dark out.
Mia looked around. "What about Jack..."
"It's too late for today," Aren said. "We'll go see him first thing in the morning."
Mia nodded.
They stood silently for a moment.
"I'm sorry..." He finally whispered.
Mia looked down at the ground. "Don't be..." She whispered back. "You weren't too late to save me, so-"
"Not about that." Aren interrupted.
Mia looked up at him and saw tears rolling down Aren's cheeks.
"I'm sorry I've been horrible to you... I'm sorry for hurting you, for leaving you alone, for ignoring you, for everything... I- I'm sorry..." He was too ashamed to even look directly at her.
Slowly, Mia moved toward Aren. She reached up and wiped the tears away from his face with her hand.
Before she could pull away, Aren took her hand in his and kept it pressed longingly against his cheek. He shut his eyes.
"When you started saying you cared about Jack and you didn't want to lose him- I... I thought I had lost." Aren whispered.
"What?" Mia gaped at him.
"When Jack asked to talk to you alone... I overheard part of the conversation. I got worried. I thought he could do a better job of protecting you. It scared me. I've already been left behind by my family... When I heard you talk about how much you cared about him, I was scared you would end up leaving me behind too. It was stupid and selfish of me, but I ran away."
Mia stared at him with a mixture of surprise, empathy, and a bit of anger.
"How could you think I would do something like that?" She asked quietly. "You know how much I love you, but you still made me think you stopped loving me back..."
"I'm sorry..." He said again. The tears kept coming. "I was just scared. I didn't think I could handle losing you, so I left first. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."
"Look at me." She whispered. Her heart melted.
He finally made eye contact.
"You are the only one in my heart. No one else has ever been allowed in. That makes you the owner," Mia smiled at him.
He only kept looking at her.
She went on. "As the owner, you never have to worry about someone taking it away. It's all yours." She put a hand on his chest. "And I know I'm the owner of your heart too... right?"
He nodded with a sniffle.
She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him. "And since you're so tall," she pressed her ear against his chest. "I can hear it beating for me whenever I want."
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Aren hugged her back.
After a minute, Mia pulled back. She wiped the remaining tears from his face once more before speaking. "Are your..." She wasn't sure what to call his adoptive family. "guardians waiting for you to come home?" Mia asked.
Aren smiled a little at her question. "You can just call them my parents."
Mia smiled back. "Are your parents waiting for you? It's getting pretty late."
He shook his head. "They don't pay much attention to me. They probably haven't even noticed I'm gone."
Mia nodded understandingly. "Well, we have to go to the hospital together early in the morning, anyway. Do you want to just sleep over?"
Aren raised his eyebrows at her.
Mia blushed and hit his arm. "Not like that, you weirdo!"
