Page 22 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)

Chapter Sixteen

MIA

“ I s she out?” Gran asks when I come downstairs, looking like a zombie.

My hair feels like a matted ball of yarn, the tee I’m wearing has Jade’s mashed peas smeared on it from dinner still, and my socks are on inside out— but I guess that one isn’t really that bad .

My feet ache, and my stomach is rumbling so loudly, like it has a voice of its own.

Nodding, I fall onto the couch beside her in Noah’s living room. The light from the TV screen illuminates the spacious room. My body melts into the soft fabric as Gran clasps my hand, squeezing it tightly. “You did well today.”

“Jade wouldn’t stop crying,” I mumble as I focus on the new medical show Gran is currently watching. I think it’s meant to be funny, but I’m not really listening. My brain is too exhausted to focus on the dialogue.

“That happens when they are sick,” Gran reminds me, pushing hair behind my ear and smiling sympathetically. “Bet you thought babysitting would be a walk in the park when you first agreed to help out Noah, didn’t you?”

My head turns to glare at her, and she just giggles at my silence.

My shoulders roll backwards as I stifle a yawn. “She’s a good kid. I just feel sorry for her because she must be in so much pain. And I think all she wants is her dad because she was pushing me away for a bit, but then when it was too unbearable, she gave in and let me help her.”

Gran nods knowingly. “She is a daddy’s girl.” Her wrinkled smile deepens. “But you are doing great, Mia. It’s not easy looking after someone else’s child.”

I blink at her before blurting out, “Like you’re having to look after me?”

Her pink-stained lips pursed tightly together. “That’s not the agreement we had. You moved here to help me with my arthritis.”

“And now you’re the one taking care of me…” I mutter, huffing out a breath.

Focusing back on the TV, Gran hums and switches it off, grabbing my full attention.

“So what if I am taking care of you? You were distant and alone for a really long time. And since my Joe has passed, I have been feeling the exact same way.” My heart sinks at her admission, knowing how hard it must be for her without Grandpa being around.

“I just thought us being together would help. That we’d have each other to lean on. ”

Her hands clutch mine tightly, and my gaze lowers to my lap. I have never hidden anything from Gran, and I’m not going to start now.

“I know I was distant after everything, but I didn’t mean to be. I was just struggling?—”

“Yes, but you never need to struggle alone, dear.” She cuts me off in her sweet, tender voice, making my eyes glass over.

Shutting them, I continue. “I know, but I needed time to understand everything, and to accept what happened. I also spent weeks in Sinnett’s apartment without stepping foot outside.

I was so terrified by the idea that Ryan was out there.

He didn’t know where Sin lived, but what if I ran into him outside?

” I sniff softly. Gran lets me speak my thoughts in the silence of Noah’s house.

“I wouldn’t have known what to do. Would I have broken down when I saw him?

Or would I have fought back to try to feel something other than fear and uselessness? ”

“Mia…” Gran breathes, but I keep going.

“That’s how I felt for months . Every time I stepped outside, I was constantly looking around, expecting him to show up to finish what he started.

” I stop to rub at my forehead, feeling the ache in my chest intensifying.

“Then, after eight months, I realised that I’d never see him again.

That I literally was nothing to him. He wanted one thing from me, and when I finally broke and got free from his suffocating control, he just left me broken and empty.

He never wanted me for anything but to use me, and it’s a sucky feeling to have. ”

Eyes prickling with tears, my lips tremble uncontrollably, but I hold it all in, burying my emotions deep down like I prefer. I hate that I’m still not in control of them. Those memories alone can bring me to tears, breathing more life into the anxious monster internally controlling me.

Gran’s saddened face falls even more when she pulls me into her comforting embrace. My throat burns as I keep myself from breaking down, swallowing away the cries that are trying to break free from my screaming lungs.

“You are not useless or broken, Mia,” she whispers into my ear, and for a minute, I want to believe her.

Maybe I’m not completely fragmented. Not completely hopeless.

It’s a nice thought to think, before the memories flood my mind seconds later, reminding me of how ruined and afraid I am down to my core.

“I feel like I am, Gran,” I sob, giving in to the pain throbbing in my chest. “I still can’t control my panic attacks or keep myself from shaking when there’s a man near me.

If I don’t know them, then my mind instantly thinks of them as a threat.

I hate it…” I admit in a low voice. “I hate the fact that I'm frightened of any stranger, while other girls don’t seem to care. They don’t flinch when a hand is brushed against their back, or panic when a man feeds them a corny one-liner in a bar. ”

Gran snickers softly.

Sucking in a deep breath, my words come out as a whisper, “I just wish all of this didn’t affect me as much as it does. I wish this had never happened to me.”

Head resting on her shoulder, Gran’s rosy perfume makes my nose tingle as she embraces me closer. Being close to her helps, considering I can’t remember the last time Mum hugged me. It was long before everything happened with Ryan, that’s all I know...

She hums again before adding, “I'm sorry that you have felt this way, dear. And I'm glad that you’re now getting the help that you need.”

“Thanks, Gran,” I mumble into the crook of her neck.

I feel her lips on my hair before she rests her head on mine and softly rocks me side to side in her warm arms. “What did Noah do to make you this upset tonight?”

I pull back to frown at her. “I’m not upset at him.”

Her head tilts to one side. “Oh, dear, I can see it all over your face. Something happened, so why don’t you share it with me?”

Letting out a groan, I nod before murmuring, “He kissed me on the forehead, and I guess it shocked me. I wasn’t expecting it.”

I can tell that Gran is trying to hold in a laugh and fails when I arch a brow at her. Cackles fill the room. I push her away gently, smirking at how ridiculous I sound.

“A forehead kiss. How forbidden,” she mocks before pulling me into her again. “Did you kiss him back?”

“No,” I almost shout, and then wince when I remember that Jade only just fell asleep. “I didn’t kiss him back. ”

Gran rolls her silver eyes. “You should have kissed him.”

“I’m not ready for that, Gran.”

“Why? Noah has proven to you that he’s a very kind, patient man who likes you. I say go for it.”

My arms fold across my chest. “You’re very pushy, you know that?”

Her grey brows flick up and down. “Must have given it to your mum. That’s how she became a very successful lawyer.”

Groaning, my head tilts back on the couch as I shut my eyes. “She tried calling me again today.”

“And let me guess, you didn’t answer?”

I shake my head.

“Wow, and I thought I was the petty one here,” she says with a low chuckle. “You are going to have to answer her at some point. She should know what is going on with you.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, my mind trails off to the screaming match we had at Sinnett’s apartment.

Well, it was Mum screaming and me cowering behind my brother, who I used as a shield.

It was two weeks after I abruptly moved in with Sin.

He didn’t have a problem with me being there, but my parents did.

Sinnett is a rugby prodigy, and I'm just his sister. Our parents had high hopes for the two of us, and Sinnett went in the right direction, playing rugby and getting a contract with a team, whereas I’m seen as the one who failed in all aspects of my life.

I know I am very stubborn and headstrong, but so is Mum.

We have always butted heads, and that’s why I stopped responding to her calls telling me how lazy and ungrateful I’ve become.

“I will soon. When I'm ready.”

Gran looks at me with a pitying expression that stabs me right in the heart when I hear Jade’s piercing scream again.

Digging the heels of my hands into my eyes, I tell Gran to stay put.

Rushing upstairs to Jade’s bedroom, I find her sitting up, bawling her eyes out, head lulled back with her mouth wide open.

“Come on, little lady. What’s wrong?” My words are drained.

Tear-stained eyes search mine as she reaches up her arms for me to grab her. Cradling her against my chest, I kiss her blonde curls before sliding my phone out of my pocket.

Maybe she needs her dad. Heck, maybe I need her dad, because I can’t figure out what’s wrong with her tonight.

Pressing his name, I put the phone to my ear, hearing the ringtone until it stops and Noah’s honeyed voice appears, sending waves through me.

“Grey?” His tone sounds worried.

I swallow. “Jade won’t stop crying. I’m sorry to call you because it’s late, but I think she needs to see you,” I explain quickly. Jade’s cries soften to sobs.

He’s silent for a second before there’s beeping. Pulling the phone away, I see his video request pop up on the screen. I look horrendous, but Jade needs him, and that’s more important than how I am dressed and look with unkempt hair.

Accepting the request, Jade and my face take up a corner of the screen as Noah’s face takes up the rest. He’s already lying in bed, head against the pillows.

Bright green eyes stare into mine, and even through the screen, they are mesmerising and intense.

Golden hair fluffy from being washed, and day-old stubble covering his jaw makes my skin crawl with heat.