Chapter Four

The sun was shining the next morning when Mia woke up from her well needed sleep. She yawned and stretched her body out in the double bed. It felt so good to sleep in a comfortable bed with clean sheets. It took a few moments for her to realise where she was and then she smiled to herself. Pulling the covers off her, she went to the toilet, washed her hands and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Grabbing her toothbrush she brushed her teeth and then decided what to wear for the day. She chose a pair of black leggings, white top and her old black trainers. Taking a mental note to actually go and buy herself some new clothes soon. She pulled her hair into a pony tail and picked up her new phone from the bedside unit.

Mia decided that she might stay another night or two. Maria had been so welcoming and it was nice for Mia to have some friendly company. She had agreed to meet Maria’s two friends which she was looking forward to doing as she had not really had any friend, even at school she had been a loner.

Maria greeted Mia with a big smile when she came down for breakfast.

“Oh my. I think maybe you had a good sleep?” Maria chuckled as Mia nodded happily.

“So my friends are coming this morning for breakfast. They should be here any moment.”

The bell over the door rang that very moment causing the two females to look up.

There was a man and a woman standing in the hallway. The man was tall, about fifty years old with greying hair, a beard and dark eyes that seemed fixated on Mia. She gulped at the weird feeling in her tummy. The woman stepped forward, she held out a hand to Mia. She was also around fifty with short brunette dyed hair. She had friendly blue eyes that seemed to shine when she smiled. Mia noticed how pretty she was and she suddenly felt a little more at ease.

“Hello, Mia. It’s so nice to meet you. This here is my husband David and I am Fiona. I’m so glad to finally meet you.” She gushed. The man rolled his eyes and laughed.

“Don’t mind her, she’s crazy about meeting new people. Especially since we have a daughter around your age.” The man spoke up.

Mia nodded and just smiled politely unsure what to say or do. She felt slightly uneasy around men after what her stepfather and uncle had subjected her too. She could not help but wonder if he were the same as them.

Maria, as if reading her mind, put an arm around Mia’s waist and offered everyone to sit for breakfast. There was rashes of bacon, toast, eggs, beans, sausages and plenty more. Mia had not seen so much food in one go.

The four of them sat together and ate, chatting about their likes and dislikes.

Mia soon started to feel at ease and when it was time for the pair to leave, she swapped numbers with them and agreed to meet again soon.

“Remember, if you have any problems at all. You can call me anytime.” Fiona reminded her for the tenth time. David nodded in agreement. “That’s right. We will be glad to help.”

Fiona have Mia a hug and waved before following David out of the door.

Maria walked them to their car leaving Mia sitting on the sofa alone for a few minutes.

Maria came bustling in through the door humming along to a song playing in the background on the radio.

“Well, that was a lovely morning. I shall get cleaning up now.” Maria informed her. Mia jumped up to help her and together they cleared the dining hall.

“You can stay as long as you like, you know. Fiona and David took quite a shine to you. Maybe I can drive you over to their place soon. It would be lovely for you to meet their daughter. You know, have a few friends your own age.” Maria said causing Mia to frown. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to make friends with people her own age. Back home they treated her like she did not exist. What if the new people thought she was a weirdo and a freak as well?

But on the other hand, it would be nice to have a friend to talk to and hang out with.

“Tomorrow it is then.” Maria grinned making up Mia’s mind for her.

Mia dried her hands on the tea towel and took off the apron. She hung it up and turned to Maria with a small smile.

“Thanks for you know, helping me out so much.” Mia really appreciated the kindness she had been shown.

“Mia?” Maria called.

Mia turned around. “Yeah?”

“You know you don’t have to worry about a thing.” Maria told her. Mia nodded and went to her room. She threw herself down on the bed and pulled out her phone. Not expecting to have any notifications but seeing she had a couple of inbox messages in her F******k. She clicked on it and gasped when she saw it was from her stepfather.

Don’t think you got away to easily, you filthy little rat. I’m coming for you and my money.

Mia quickly logged out of her account and turned the phone off. She pulled the cover over her head and cried her eyes out. Nothing good seemed to last for Mia. He was going to come and destroy her all over again, before she had barely got the chance to live her life happily. Perhaps she did not deserve to be happy.

“Mia? Mia?” The banging on the door awoke Mia. She gasped as she sat bolt upright. Realising that she had fallen asleep, she jumped up to open the door.

Maria rushed in her face full of concern at seeing Mia’s red puffy eyes.

“Mia, what’s happened? You missed lunch and didn’t answer when I knocked. I thought something had happened?” Maria exclaimed.

“I’m sorry. I think I should leave. How much do I owe you for my stay?” Mia reached for her handbag and attempted to pull out some notes. Maria stopped her.

“You owe me nothing. Now please talk to me. What’s wrong?” She said gently, making Mia cry all over again as she blurted out about her stepfathers message on F******k.

Maria let out a heavy sigh and hugged Mia to her chest. This man was not going to get within an inch of Mia, if Maria had anything to do with it.

“I’m sorry, but I think you are much safer staying here. In fact, get your stuff. We are going to Fiona and David’s place.” Maria insisted, she refused to take no for an answer. Mia did not want to be a burden to anybody but reluctantly she agreed when she realised that Maria had made up her mind.

Ten minutes later, they were on their way to David and Fiona. Maria had called them to let them know they would be coming. Mia felt frightened that her stepfather was already on her case. She expected him to jump out any second. Maria noticed how jumpy and nervous poor Mia seemed to be and it saddened her. Mia was different from most girls, she had a lot of potential and Maria could sense she was special. Even if Mia did not know it, she soon would.