Reconstructing Amelia (unedited)

Chapter 24

November 6th, 2019

*Neo*

I'd managed to keep Alan and his boys away from Mia most of the day yesterday, though they'd barely even acknowledged her at all. I think they all felt bad having her witness something like that. I mean, Javi had even run right at us. I definitely felt guilty; I wanted to protect her but now she'd seen me at my absolute worst. But surprisingly I didn't feel humiliated, I felt free. Like I didn't have this huge looming secret to hide from her anymore. Mia was different than any girl I'd ever met; she was sweet and gentle and oddly mysterious. She had her secrets and I had mine, yet we seemed to have created this rhythm.

"Hey," I whispered to her as she sat in the empty desk beside me, her head resting on my shoulder. Her head tilted up as her beautiful green eyes flicked around the room before resting on Alan who had just walked in. Neither made any attempt to make contact with the other, though Alan's eyes lingered on her way longer than they should've.

"I think the class is starting," she mumbled, sitting up. I nodded, squeezing her hand. She left to her desk and I watched her go the whole way, taking her seat beside Alan. I knew Mia was taking this pretty hard - who wouldn't be? She'd witnessed something quite honestly pretty brutal, and I knew she was probably scared out of her mind. I just hoped I could be enough for her to help her get through it.

***

"You ready?" I asked her with a grin, tossing her the spare bike helmet. She nodded, climbing on behind me, her little arms wrapping tightly around my chest. I had something special planned for her today to cheer her up.

We drove past the elementary school and she immediately began to protest.

"Neo, what are you doing?" she shouted over the wind. I grinned.

"Don't worry! I've got everything under control!"

"What about the kids?" Mia asked, her grip tightening anxiously.

"Nessie's picking them up today, don't worry," I told her. She settled back down as I continued to speed through the city, the chilly November air prickling our skin.

Twenty minutes later I was leading her up a long set of stairs, frozen yoghurt cups in hand.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Mia asked sullenly. I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Nope," She smiled and shook her head in disapproval. We reached the top and I watched her eyes light up at the view.

"It's amazing from up here!" she exclaimed. "Where are we?"

"It's called the Highline," I told her. "It used to be a railroad but now it's a park," She nodded, taking a bite of her vanilla yoghurt.

"This is all really sweet," she said. "But why are you doing this?" I fell into step beside her, just close enough so that our shoulders were brushing together.

"Because," I answered. I took a bite of my own yoghurt, chocolate melting on my tongue. "You needed a distraction. I know what happened on Monday scared you a little,"

"I told you I wasn't scared of you," Mia reminded softly. I smiled.

"I know, I meant everyone else - the entire situation, really. It's not an easy thing to digest," Her brows scrunched together briefly - like she wanted to contradict me, but she didn't say anything.

"I guess so," she replied quietly. We walked in silence for a while, finishing our froyo and tossing the cups away in the rubbish bin.

"Why do you do it?" she asked after a while. Her question caught me by surprise.

"Why do I do what?"

"Fight," she stated simply. I shoved my hands into my jacket pocket, ignoring the weird looks people were giving us.

"I don't know," I answered. "It's what I'm used to. Felix got into it when he was younger a few years after he moved here. He didn't like living here very much and he wanted everyone to know it. After a while, it became this giant thing we couldn't stop," I paused. "My dad got hooked too," I told her quietly. "The things we were doing got too out of hand, and it caught up with him eventually,"

"Neo, I'm really sorry," Mia comforted gently, placing her hand on my arm. I cracked a smile.

"Felix got really angry at the Adams brothers. He blames them for our father's death. I guess he was the once who convinced me to fight them too,"

"Is it?" she asked quietly.

"Is it what?"

"Is it really their fault?" I held my breath, turning and searching her eyes. They were tired and stressed, and a little worried.

"I don't know," I finally said. We both said nothing for a while, walking in silence.

"Do you like what you do?" She questioned. She acted like she knew how it all worked - like she'd been on the other side one too many times.

"No," I replied quickly. "No, not really,"

"Then why do you do it?" I smiled softly, interlocking my hand with hers.

"I won't," I promised her. "Not anymore," Her face lifted into a smile, making her even prettier. My stomach felt all funny - fluttery, almost. I couldn't quite describe it but it made me feel all warm and happy. Jesus, what was this girl doing to me? Whatever it was... I think I liked it.