Page 39 of The Fight For Survival
Mia:Really? He couldn't wake me first? I swear those two men will kill me with stress one day.
I smile at her dramatics.
Me:It doesn't sound like he is with Kane anymore, so he might be on his way home.
Mia:Thanks, Bray.
Me:You're welcome, sweetheart.
Damon comes back into the room. "Cade knows everything," he sighs. Even though it's fucking tragic, I'm glad Cade knows. I don't think I would have been able to look him in the eye and not tell him. "Let me get that message out to my friend. After that, we should sit with Mia until Cade comes back."
Mia opens her front door, looking tired and resigned. When she sees Damon and me standing there, she brightens up a bit, surprise on her face. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"
"Thought we would keep you company," I smile, walking in when she widens the door for us. "Yeah thought maybe we could play some more truth or dare," Damon winks at Mia as I groan. "We are not playing truth or dare. I don't want to see you buck naked for a second time, thank you," I tell Damon with a mock frown on my face. I am being truthful when I say I don't want to see him naked again, but I would play it if Mia really wanted to.
Mia blushes, but she's smiling, which was our intention. "How about a movie? I can make some popcorn," Mia suggests. "Perfect," Damon says, rubbing his hands together, "I'm choosing!" I look at Mia with worry. "Are you sure you want to let him choose? Last night he made me watchThe Notebook," I wince. Mia's eyes turn dreamy as she looks at Damon. "You watchedThe Notebook?" Damon smirks my way, "seen that movie about ten times. You've got to love a sappy romance."
Mia parts her lips, and I want to punch the fucker. He knew what he was doing, winning her over with shit like that. "Hey, I watched it too," I pout, causing Damon to snort. "He fell asleep within the first half hour." I send him a death glare. How dare he throw me under the bus like that. Mia giggles, and I send her awhat can I say?Look.
I follow Mia into the kitchen, where she starts prepping the popcorn, throwing a bag into the microwave, and dialing the time. "How are you doing, sweetheart?" Mia opens a cabinet, reaching up high to get a large bowl.
Seeing her struggling, I reach up from behind her and grab it for her. My large body envelops hers as I lean into her and over to reach the bowl. I realize my mistake for helping when my crotch brushes against her ass. I freeze in place, hand to the bowl as I catch her vanilla scent from the closeness, and I have to close my eyes to contain my reaction to her. Pressed this close to her, she's going to feel what she does to me. I suck in a breath and grab the bowl, slamming it down a little too hard and wincing, hoping it isn't cracked.
Mia slowly turns around, brushing my groin with her ass in the process, causing me to hold in a groan at the torturous move. I don't step back even though I should. I look down at her as she stares at me. The heat in the room ratcheting up a notch.
"I'm just worried about Cade," she whispers, answering my earlier question. She licks at her bottom lip as she stares at mine. The move causes me to swallow hard. I put my hand on her cheek, taking her attention from my lips to stare into my eyes.
"Whatever he tells you, Mia, you will get through it," I tell her. Her eyes widen, and she croaks, "you know, don't you? What was in Cade's letter?" I give a short nod of my head. I glide my hand into the hair at the back of her neck, massaging lightly with the tips of my fingers.
"How bad is it?" she asks, a tremble in her voice. "Bad," I whisper. "But I don't want this to destroy you, Mia. Regardless of the situation, we hold on to any shred of happiness because we both know anything can happen in life. In a split second, everything could change."
Mia knows pain and loss like me. She knows how important it is not to let the pain consume you. How easily grief could hold you down and eat away at any scrap of happiness you have left. She knows because of Chase, and I know because of Evie, my sister.
The tears in Mia's eyes fall, and she rests her head on my chest. My heart beats faster as I pull her into me tighter. We stand there for a minute. The microwave's ping pulls us apart, making us jump. Mia laughs awkwardly, and I have to turn away from her to hide my erection. I try to distract myself by going through the fridge for a few soda cans and taking them into the living room.
"Hey, what took so long?" Damon asks, a knowing smirk on his face as he eyes my dick. "Fuck off," I grumble, causing him to snicker. "Don't choose a sad movie. Mia needs to be cheered up," I warn him. "Already sorted. Who is up forThor, Love, and thunder?" Damon shouts so Mia can hear him too. "Awesome, I've been waiting to see that!" She shouts back. Okay, now a Marvel film, I can do.
About halfway through the movie, Mia ends up with her head in my lap and her feet on Damon's. I'm massaging her scalp while Damon rubs her feet, and Mia looks asleep, but she laughs at the right parts of the movie, so I guess she is just relaxed. "Okay, that couch has seen way too much action lately," Cade says from behind us, making us all jump. "Cade!" Mia shouts in relief, wiggling off us to get to him. Cade doesn't look annoyed to see us like we were, just drained.
He pulls Mia into him, closing his eyes as he buries his face into her neck. After a few seconds, she pulls away, hitting him in the chest. "You scared the shit out of me! Why didn't you tell me you went to see Kane? And why did you steal my letter?" Mia has her hands on her hips and fire in her tone. He looks well reprimanded as he looks down at his feet. "I'm sorry, baby. What was written in that letter got to me, and the need to see Kane overrode everything else. I wasn't thinking about what it would do to you. I'm sorry for that."
Mia looks down and whispers, "Braylon told me it was bad. How bad?" Cade looks at me, surprise and betrayal on his face. "You knew?" Damon cuts in. "Only because I told him last night. I only found out before I left Texas."
"Can you all stop talking in riddles? What is it?" Mia cuts into the conversation like a knife. Cade looks at her. "Let's get through tomorrow first, baby. After that, I will tell you everything. I promise." Damon leans into me, whispering, "what's tomorrow?" I swallow the lump in my throat. "Their son's birthday."
Mia nods slowly, pain in her eyes. "Okay fine. Why did you take my letter? Do they say the same thing?" Cade reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tattered-looking envelope. "It's not the same, but I think you should wait to read that as well, but the choice is yours, baby."
Mia pulls the letter from him and makes her way past us all. "I am so sick of secrets. If any of you keep anything from me again. I will murder you all." Damon snorts and then coughs when I hit him in the stomach. "What? She so tiny," he says, rubbing at his belly. The door slamming tells us Mia is in her bedroom, and we have all been dismissed.
"You left Kane after he told you about his past?" Cade suddenly hisses, looking a Damon with anger. Holding his hands out to ward Cade off, he says, "It's not like that. I was fucking gutted when he told me about his past." Damon says with urgency. Cade comes closer. "You stilllefthim to come here." Damon looks at me for help.
Do we tell him our plan?No more secrets."He came to me because I know someone who could help us track down those men that hurt Kane," I say quietly, just in case Mia is listening in. Cade's face changes to a coldness that sends chills up my spine. Then just as fast, it changes again to defeat. "I tried convincing Kane to let me get revenge, but he wouldn't agree to it." Damon steps forward, "you know he won't move back here while those men are still here somewhere."
Cade shakes his head, "he has agreed to get therapy, and when he can, he will move back." There's a hopefulness in Cade's eyes that sends shards through my heart.
I push past Damon and stand in front of Cade, grabbing his shoulders and shaking them to gain his attention. "You really think therapy will be enough? Think about it. Kane's walking down the street one day, and he bumps into one of those monsters that destroyed his life. Do you think enough therapy in the world could help him handle something like that?" Cade's face drops, and he shakes his head, tears pooling. I pull him into a comforting hug before pulling back. He clears his throat and then, with determination, asks, "What's the plan."
Mia