Page 105 of Prove Me Wrong
“Mia…” Her voice breaks as her tears fall. “You should never have kept this inside for this long. I could have helped you.”
My head shakes, lips rolling together as I rein in my silent cries. “I didn’t want him to hurt you, or Dad, or Sinnett,” I croak out.
Her hands squeeze as I let out a sob, using all of me to keep everything inside in control.
Mum exhales shakily. “Do you know how much this is hurting me, Mia? Ryan might not have touched me, but you keeping this inside for three years is just as damaging. The fact that you couldn’t tell me this hurts.”
“I didn’t want to prove to you that I was a failure. That I had been used and abused, that he broke me down to nothing. I felt like I couldn’t be fixed. Like I?—”
Mum rises and comes around, hugging me tightly. All my controlled tears let loose, falling lazily down my face as I cried into her shoulder. It feels good to be this close to her again. For her to know what I’ve been through, and how shattered I feel. The scent of her perfume wafts up mynose, familiar and comforting, and my hand bunches in the silkiness of her blouse.
“I love you, Mia,” she squeezes out, and that makes every dam in me break loose.
Crying loudly, I don’t even care if people are watching us. I feel protected right now, and it’s finally mending a part of my heart that I thought for certain would be severed forever. “I love you too, Mum,” I croak against her ear, her tears dripping onto my neck. “You never keep anything else from me, all right?”
Nodding, I hold onto her tightly like I’m a little kid again, and the only thing that made me feel whole was holding onto my mum. I’ve forgotten what her hugs feel like, the peach scent of her shampoo, the heat of her skin mixing with mine. My mind is settling when I realise how much I have missed being this close to her, and that I never want to keep secrets as heavy as this one from her again.
She wipes my face clean with her hands before sitting back in her chair opposite me, releasing a shaky breath. If people were watching us, they aren’t anymore, and I’m grateful that I don’t have to see their intrigued expressions.
Sighing heavily, I gulp down my glass of water before lifting my gaze to hers. “There’s something else you need to know,” I push out.
Mum’s mouth purses. “What is it?”
My hands rub at my elbows for a beat before I push them away, not wanting to give in to that habit anymore. The knotting in my stomach continues as I run my hand through my hair, the sound of cutlery clanging jarring me. “There’s someone I met in Barrenridge while I was staying with Gran. A man.”
Her eyebrows lift, Mum’s blue eyes sparkle from both tears and intrigue. “A man?”
I dip my chin once. “He’s her neighbour, and has a little daughter, Jade. I helped him out, looking after her two days a week, and… I loved it. She’s sweet, and Noah is very patient and nice…” I shut my eyes once again. “But I ran away from him after telling him everything. That’s why I came here for the job interview.”
Expecting her to reach out and hold my hands again, my eyes flicker open to see anger in her features, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “You walked away from him?”
Swallowing, I nod again. “Yes. His mum was there, and she told me everything I didn’t want to hear. That I wasn’t good enough. That Noah was moving away to be closer to them, and I believed her. I thought Noah was a part of this, too, but he told me he wasn’t.”
“Do you think he was telling you the truth?”
My tongue runs along my lip, collecting tears before continuing. “I do. I don’t think he knew his parents were going to be there. It felt… wrong. And he didn’t want me to leave, but I felt so used in the moment. I thought running would be easier than facing my fears and emotions, but now I know that it was the wrong thing to do.”
Mum’s tongue pokes the side of her mouth as her head hangs between her shoulders. “You love him, don’t you?”
My eyebrows arch with surprise.
She stares at me, gaze narrowed and finger pointing in my direction. “I know what that face means, Mia. I’ve been in love. I know exactly what it means. You walked away from the man you loved to try and impress your father and I?”
Gulping, I wipe at my nose, adjusting my posture to try and get comfortable in this wooden chair. “No, that’s not?—”
“Mia, you shouldn’t have agreed to this interview if it was just to prove to us a point. You should only do something because you love it. I wentinto Law because I love fighting for justice, and yes, it bites at my free time, but I love my clients and co-workers. It’s what I wanted to do when I left school.”
“It wasn’t to prove a point… at least I don’t think it was,” I murmur, frowning a little at my own words. “I just didn’t want to come back home empty handed.”
“But you didn’t. You had a job that you loved, you even said so yourself.”
Nodding, I bite down on my lip, making them tremble less as I stare into Mum’s large eyes sparkling with understanding. “I did love it,” I mumble, knowing now that she wants to see me happy over anything else. I hate that it’s taken me this long to realise, but I'm starting to feel some relief knowing that Mum doesn’t hate me for walking my own path instead of the one she carved out for me as a kid.
Her hands reach out across the table, holding onto mine and squeezing them tighter. “So, what are you waiting for then?”
Swallowing, my gaze holds hers for a long, unblinking minute because I know exactly what I need to do.
Chapter Forty-One
