Page 15 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)
Chapter Eleven
MIA
“ M um asked about you again today,” Sinnett says as I pour myself a cup of instant coffee. It’s nowhere near as good as a proper iced latte, but it’ll do for this early on a Saturday.
Groaning loudly, I grab my mug and walk out onto the back porch, sinking down into the cushioned couch Gran has overlooking the backyard. Morning sunlight streams down in sheets of golden light, brightening up the space. I sit with my phone in one hand and my coffee in the other.
“What about this time? If I am still alive? If I have considered going back to study Law, because that seems to be the only career that I’m allowed to have,” I mumble angrily.
He scoffs into the speaker, and I smile.
At least Sinnett is on my side of this whole argument.
“No, she was asking about you in brG.”
“Barrenridge is not hard to say!” I shout into the phone.
Sinnett just gives a low chuckle. “Whatever, twinkle fingers.”
I groan. “So, it wasn’t about her disappointment in me?”
“Surprisingly no. Maybe she has finally accepted that you won’t be taking over her business when she retires. ”
“She should have known that when I tested positive for dyslexia in eighth grade, Sin. Seriously, how am I to be a professional when I can’t even read out loud? Half of her job is reading reports.”
He’s silent for a moment, so I take a sip of my mediocre drink. Seriously, it tastes like milky dirt at best.
“I think she’s worried,” Sinnett grunts out.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” I mutter softly.
Sinnett hums in agreement. “Look, I know everything with Ryan happened a while ago, but don’t you think you should just talk with her?
Maybe telling her everything will help? She's your mum, after all. She should know what happened to you, Mia. And then you won’t be living with all this guilt from screening her calls, and honestly, I’m getting tired of them asking about you. ”
I snort bitterly. “Sorry for being such a nuisance for you.”
“That’s not what I mean, twinkle fingers,” he bites back. “Mum asks about you every time they call me. She’s worried about you, because she has no idea what happened. Why are you so afraid to tell her what he did to you?”
My face scrunches as guilt pains my insides again. I know I should have told her about Ryan taking advantage of me, but then it’ll prove her right, and I’m not going to do that. She already thinks that I’m a failure, so why add more fuel to that fire?
“I’m just not ready yet, Sin.”
“Why? Do you honestly think Mum would blame you for what happened?”
I shrug and pull my knees up to my chin.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to talk about it with her.
Look, I am going to therapy and getting the help I need.
Telling Mum will just tighten her restraint on me, and I feel like I have only just gotten out of her hold with the distance between us.
You know what it’s like, Sin. Mum and Dad are suffocating.
I was constrained by Mum, and then Ryan used me and threatened me when I tried to leave.
I just want to be away from it all.” My voice comes out hoarse, throat beginning to burn.
“I know they are controlling, believe me, I feel it on a daily basis. I’m not going to tell you what to do, and I think most things aren’t their business, but maybe this is something that she should know about.
It’ll help her understand why you need the space and time for yourself.
You haven’t spoken to her or Dad in weeks.
They are worried that something is going on, and I’m the one having to update them on the small things. ”
I exhale slowly as my eyes squeeze shut.
My pulse jumps in my throat as I murmur, “I don’t want them to think that I’m not good enough.
They already think that. I have put this wedge between Mum and I.
” I hold in a tear that threatens to slip from my lashes.
“The boy she told me to stay away from assaulted me, and I’m not ready to tell her, Sin.
I just can’t right now,” I choke out the words.
I hear him sigh as my finger wipes under my nose. “They don’t think you’re not good enough, twinkle fingers,” my brother murmurs. “And as damaging as Ryan was, Mum would understand that it wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault.”
I huff a hollow laugh. “Yes, they do. They have been disappointed in me since I changed my course at uni. Mum warned me about those friends I mixed with. She told me not to get involved with Ryan. How will it look if I tell her now that she was right and that everything I did was wrong?”
He's silent for a minute, and I throw my head back on my couch cushions. My stomach twists in an uncomfortable way as guilt eats at me slowly. I know I should have told Mum when it happened, but I couldn’t face her.
I didn’t want her to know how weak I felt, and how I still feel useless and worn after all this time.
“You’re right. They have always been controlling over us. If you aren’t ready, then I don’t blame you. Tell her when you think the time is right.”
My tongue drags over my lips, and I nod once. “Thank you, Sin.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I hear him move through his apartment and slump down on his expensive couch.
“So, what else has been going on with you since you left three weeks ago. Anything exciting?”
I sniff and fiddle with the hem of my tee when I murmur out, “I got a job.”
“That’s great news, twinkle fingers. In graphic design?”
Shaking my head, I pinch my forehead before muttering, “Not exactly.”
“What then?”
I straighten in the chair and take another sip, trying to soak up all my nervous energy when I tell him about the situation with Noah and Jade. Sinnett is quiet the entire time, and for a few seconds after I’ve finished speaking, causing bile to rise in my throat.
“You’re his babysitter?” is all he can say.
“Yeah, but only two days a week,” I counter, hoping it will lessen the blow.
Sinnett sighs, and my stomach feels like it’s being punched in. “Why, Mia?”
“Why not?” My voice is barely above a whisper. “He needed someone, and I'm his neighbour. Jade seems to like having me around, and I need the money, Sin.”
He grunts, and I feel my heart sink a little. I hate disappointing my brother, and I feel as though that’s all I have been doing for the past few years. “I just worry about you. ”
My hand moves up, rubbing at my elbows as I anxiously consider his words. “I know, but you met Noah. I don’t think he would do anything to harm me.”
“You think?” Sinnett’s voice rises.
I rub a little harder on my skin, feeling the rashes flare up once more.
“He hasn’t done anything to make me uncomfortable. If anything, he’s done all that he can to make sure that I feel secure when I'm with him.”
My brother grunts again, and I can just imagine him rubbing at his face with his eyes closed.
“Fine. But if anything happens, you’re going to tell me straight away.
I don’t care if I get speeding tickets to come kick his ass, because believe me, one hand on you and I’ll be there to knock him out,” he growls into the phone.
I bite anxiously on my bottom lip and nod. “I know you will, Sin.” I pause for a moment, glancing around at the quiet backyard before asking, “Is that what you did with Ryan?”
Sinnett is silent again, and I hear a knock on the front door, drawing my attention away. “No, I couldn’t find him when I went to his place,” Sinnett admits in a murderous voice.
I stand and walk through the creaky house. “You went to find him?”
“He abused and raped you, Mia. Did you really expect me not to do anything?” my brother shouts through the phone, and I have to pull it away from my ear before it bursts.
Whimpering, I stop at the front door with my hand resting on the knob, eyes shutting momentarily as bile pushes its way up my oesophagus.
The sheer memory makes my bones quake and stomach roil as I think about myself being pinned beneath him.
Of how I looked when I turned up at my brother’s door, with bruises and marks and tears and bare feet.
It would have been damaging to see his sister looking that way, but for me, it cut me so deeply that my soul still aches when I think about what he did.
“Thank you, Sin,” I whisper. “I didn’t know you did that for me.” My forehead rests against the cold timber door as shivers of trepidation fall down my back like feathers tickling my flesh.
Sinnett’s tone is equally quiet now. “I’ll always have your back, Mia. You know that. Which is why I’m worried for you.” There’s another pause before he continues in a heavy timbre, “I know athletes, and very few are good, honest men. I just hope that Noah is one of the few for your sake.”
My teeth pinch my lip as thick, hot tears bite at my eyes, threatening to spill from my lashes. I blink them away to stop them from falling down my face. “I hope so, too, Sin.”
"Listen, I need to go. With the Wolves in Townsville this weekend, I need to hit the gym and go through my recovery plan. Coach will be checking in later today, so I need to prepare. I’ll call you tomorrow after therapy.”
I smile grimly before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. Pulling the door open, expecting someone to be waiting for me, I find the doorway empty.
Frowning, I look around quickly. Gran is still out for her morning walk with her friends, which gave me some time to myself. I like that she has some friends she can be social with, especially with Grandad no longer around.
My eyes flicker onto the red ute parked in Noah’s driveway before blinking away.
Going to close the door, I peer down at the brown welcome mat to see an iced latte sitting in a clear plastic cup with a straw propped up against it .
Bending down, I pick it up and read the small note taped to the front.
I thought you could use some proper caffeine. And it’s also a thank you for helping me this week. #34