All of our demons

Twelve: No cake

Happy f*****g birthday

One concussion.

Three stiches.

A cracked rib.

And a whole lot of bruises.

That was what Mia received for her birthday. Recovering in her hospital bed with her eyes closed. Mia listened to her parents concerns over her.

‘How could this have happened?’ Lucy stressed and Mia felt her push her hair behind her ears while checking she was still okay. ‘How did we let this happen, David?’

She kept her eyes shut.

‘We didn’t the school did!’ Mia could hear just how pissed he was felt his anger filling the room.

Mia kept her eyes closed.

‘Yes we did! We knew she wasn’t having a good time at school… I just never imagined it would be… this bad. I thought a few name calling was normal.’

‘Normal? How the hell is someone picking on my daughter normal, to you lucy?’

Mia remained quiet with her eyes closed.

‘It happens to everyone at school. kids are cruel, especially girls ’ Mia took comfort in her mums hand holding hers while stroking her hair. The bulling had always been bad, really bad but I never got to the point where she was admitted into a hospital. There arguing continued on and on and Mia kept her eyes shut she didn’t want to talk about what happened she didn’t even fully remember. All she could peace together through the haze of her memory was it was two girls in the bathroom and they were incredibly strong.

‘Maybe we should move her school. Boarding school could be an option.’ David muttered but Mia could still hear him.

‘No’ Mia knew her dad wasn’t going to argue with his wife, not when she said no the way she did. Everyone thought Mia’s dad was a little controlling and wore the pants in their marriage but it was truly his wife who had the final say. Mia knew lucy let David think he was the one in charge but everyone in the family knew Lucy’s words were practical the law. Not to mention David worshiped the ground she walk on. On most days. ‘What if it’s worse at another school, I don’t like it when my babies are too far from me’

‘Masons at uni, that’s far.’

‘Mason is only a few hours in the car and he knows to check in with me everyday and tell me when he is going out for the night.’

‘you are suffocating our kids’

‘I don’t care.’ Mia wished she had her eyes open for this small argument because of how amusing it had turned out. She could imagen her mum sulking and her dad sulking harder after being told no.

‘Did the school say what happened?’ her dad asked but there was no response from her mum the room went silent. Mia was unable to resist opening her eyes just to peek at what was going on.

Sat on her bed holding her hand was her mum dressed in a fitted dress and a pair of heals all of her jewellery in tack but her makeup on the other hand was all down her face.

She shot her eyes away from her mum to her dad who stood in his suit with his fist clenching and eyes blood shot. He was trying to keep it together… all hell would brake loose if not.

Her head hurt, a dull sharp pain behind her eyes began as soon as she opened them letting in the light. Closing them again was her best option to keep pretending she was asleep but her dad caught her. He to rushed to her bed side taking old of her other hand.

‘Mia, sweetheart are you okay?’

No. It hurt. Everything hurt. Breathing hurt.

Breathing f*****g hurt.

She took small slow breaths focusing on the pain in her side. Then the pain in her head, behind her eye the tense feeling in her stomach.

‘Ouch.’ That was all she could get out.

David told her not to move to much. Her mum consoled her while her dad listed of her injuries right before asking how it happened who was the little s**t responsible for hurting his daughter like this. Mia didn’t know if it was smart to stay quiet it could happen again but she was also riddled with fear of speaking up. The damage that just two girls had done simply because they didn’t like her, was terrifying. Mia didn’t remember everything that happened. She remembered Bethany leaving the bathroom as two girls came in and cornered her.

Mia lifted her hand to her lip feeling a cut. ‘A slap really Maeve, you can do better than that, from what I heard this trashy cow was all over Greyson’ Wasn’t the first slap she had received but it was hardest. It was all a little hazy in her mind but she recalled Alice being there. She remembered the look on her face as she observed her friend. Maeve. It was a twisted look she never wanted to see again. she was out for blood, in all her years at school Mia had never received a look quite as terrifying as she did from Alice and Maeve. One after the other a few pieces flashed whenever she closed her eyes.

‘Mia’ her mum called her, trying to gain her attention as she forced the frightening memories to resurface. Mia remember what it was like to have the wind knocked out of her. What it the impact of Maeve’s punch had felt like.

Mia felt her lungs constricting it was hard for her to take in air.

They didn’t stop when she fell to the ground…

Mia couldn’t breathe, there was not enough air in the room to fill her lungs. They were burning, she felt like her lungs were on fire.

It wasn’t enough that she was on the floor…

It wasn’t enough that she was in pain…

It wasn’t enough that she was bleeding…

It wasn’t enough that she was losing consciousness…

It wasn’t enough that she was scarred… they wanted her petrified.

Her parents were to close, she needed space to breath, She was gulping down air trying to push her parents away. They were to close they were stelling the oxygen from around her. She need it! they needed to get away from her. Her blanket was weighing her down to much she shoved it off her legs and to the edge of the bed while her parents look at her fighting to control her breathing.

Mia was traumatized.

To scared to speak up.

To scared to ask for help.

To afraid to go near Greyson.

Wish granted. She said to herself through her panic attack. She tried prying the sticky tabs of her chest she didn’t need to know how fast her heart was beating she could feel it. A nurse rushed it trying to calm her down but it was of no use. Mia didn’t need help she needed everyone to get away.

Now!

Panic attacks weren’t a super common thing for Mia to experience now they didn’t happen everyday not even once a week at least west RAD was good for something, she thought as she busied herself with the wire hanging form the drip on her hand. It had taken her a few minuets to calm herself down and help from the nurse who rushed into the room. Mia was now taking in the room continuing to name the objects around the room quietly until she was fully calm.

‘A light brown side table’ Mia wasn’t oblivious to the strange look her dad gave her as she continued on with her list. ‘Floor to ceiling windows with a view of the carpark. Light grey curtain’s.’

‘Mia’ her mum tried to hand her a glass of water, but Mia didn’t want it. It took her a few more seconds of naming things before she could look directly at her parents.

‘What happened?’ her mum asked so broken and so hurt.

‘Mum, you’re makeup, it looks terrible.’ Her mum smiled through her few tears. ‘I have makeup wipes in my school bag.’ Her bag was not in the room, it was at the school in that bathroom. Lucy told Mia it was fine that she will wash it off in the toilet once she knew Mia was okay.

‘Mason has been calling nonstop, he wants you to give him a call as soon as you feel well enough to.’ That made Mia smile. She loved her brother verry much they were like befriends and she knew she would have to call him in a second or he would not stop worrying.

‘We have a meeting with the school tomorrow morning, but I want to hear from you what happened before I go to the police.’ David announced as he now stood at the end of her hospital bed looking as professional as ever. His face would not give away how scared he was for Mia he would not let her see just how angary and scared he was about what happened but Mia already know she heard her parents arguing about it.

‘The Police?’ Mia gasped. ‘What for?’

‘Mia. You are in a hospital. You were assaulted at school what do you mean what for?’ The school wouldn’t allow there name and reputation to be dragged through the mud and her dad knew that but she saw the determined look in his eye. ‘Who did this to you?’

‘I don’t remember?’ she said looking down.

‘Mi-’

‘I don’t remember dad. Okay.’ He sighed and gave up but she knew this was not over. He left the room in a huff mentioning something about getting the doctor to come back in now that she was awake.

The fear Mia felt didn’t have time to consume her as a knock on the door and a blond girl popping her head in floored her.

‘Lexi?’

‘Hi, I, um I brought your school bag and coffee, if you would like it.’ Mia had no idea what to say she had only spoken to the girl maybe one or twice before but she came to visit her at the hospital like friend would.

‘Hello I’m Lucy. Mia’s mum.’ Lucy wasn’t one to have her kids friends call her Mrs Holland. Lexi held out her hand for Mia mum but Lucy only took the bag from her.

‘How are you feeling?’ Lexi asked moving around Lucy giving her a smile.

‘Sore. What are you doing here?’ Mia was waiting for her mum to leave and give them a minuet alone but she planted herself back in the chair and watch as the beautiful blond held out a coffee for Mia with a smile.

‘I came to check on you.’

‘Why?’ Mia wanted her to leave. She was friends with Greyson and she didn’t want to face the consequences of having a potential friendship with someone who was linked to Greyson.

‘I was the one who found you. Me and Callum?’ Lucy perked up and listened more intently on their conversation. ‘I would have been here earlier but Miss Humpfree and Mr Preston were intent on making sure I would keep my mouth shut.’ Mia noted that Lexi didn’t seem happy about having been told to stay quiet.

‘And will you?’ Lucy asked.

‘Absolutely not, Some bitches attack Mia for no reason and leave her alone in the state she was in. Whatever you need, I’m here Mia’ Mia wished she could believe those words but Lexi was practically a stranger to her. A stranger who was friends with Greyson and the twin sister to Millie.

She looked so much like her it sometimes hurt to look at Lexi. From what she heard about Lexi she was nothing like Millie. They were chalk and cheese.

‘Are you going to take the coffee?’ Lexi waved it a little.

‘Sorry. I don’t really like coffee.’ Guilt at her for not liking coffee. Lexi had gone out of her way to buy her a coffee but she turned it away.

‘That’s fine, Lucy would you like it.’ Mias mum took the coffee with thanks. She looked Lexi up and down to better gage her, Mia saw her noting in her head what she liked and didn’t like about this girl.

‘I like your shoes.’ Lucy said.

‘Thanks there Alexander Mc queen. Got them on sale last week, I think the sale is still on.’ Lexi smiled back at Lucy and Mia instantly knew Lexi was mum approved if she chose to take her up on that offer of friendship.

Not likely. I don’t want to get beaten up again.

It wasn’t long after Lexi gave Mia’s mum her coffee and discussed shoes that Lucy left the two girls alone to have a chat Mia definitely noticed the completely unsubtle way that her mother asked Lexi to see if Mia did in fact remembered what happened.

‘so…’ It was a little awkward between the two since they had never hung out before like this. Lexi would smile to her in the school halls or a say a quiet hello in passing but apart from that one time in the café they had never spoken one to one. ‘Do you remember what happened?’ Lexi asked

‘No’ was Mia tammied response.

‘Lire’ the blond scoffed narrowing her eyes. Mia was not budging she would not tell Lexi anything. ‘Fine, don’t tell me. I will just find out on my own. It can’t be that hard to hack the school cameras or find someone who can. Or I can tell Greyson to just beat the s**t out of everyone until someone confesses to hurting his girlfriend.’

‘I’m not his girlfriend.’ Mia snapped.

‘Yeah… you try telling him that... and him’

‘No. I don’t want to see him anymore.’

Lexi tilted her head to the side her straight blond lock falling over her shoulder. ‘Why?’ She narrowed her eyes on Mia moving closer to her, she was scarring Mia. Mia looked at Lexi’s beautiful stone face hard with an intimidating expression until it dropped and dread was her new look. ‘Mia… did, did Greyson…’

‘No! it wasn’t him’ She saw Lexi visibly relax before sitting up straight and looking her in the eyes. How could she even think it was him.

‘so you do know who it was.’

Mia looked passed Lexi and to the plane hospital wall.

‘I can’t help you unless you tell me, I promise from this day on no one will lay there hands on you… aside from Greyson, I can imagen you want his hands all over you.’ She hinted.

‘Oh, my god. Lexi.’ Mia was red as anything. Why did people take joy in embarrassing her? Lexi had this energy around her that made people relax and want to let loose. She made Mia feel nervous but at the same time safe. She felt free around Lexi maybe it was because she had no filter and would do and say what she wanted and not care. Mia wished she was like Lexi. The brunet bit her lip trying not to laugh at Lexi’s comment but it was inevitable.

Mia as scared as she was did want Greyson’s hands all over her especially now that she had tasted his lips.

Lexi smiled widely showing off her perfect smile and dimples. Mia wanted to laugh to let herself be happy for one second then she realised what happened to her when her ribs hurt from chuckling and her face from trying not to smile. ‘Why did you think it was him?’

‘No, reason.’ There was a reason The laughter stopped and she watched as Lexi turned serious, ‘so whose asses am I kicking into an early grave.’ Mia wasn’t going to tell her, she really wasn’t it would just make things worse. If she told then she would be a snitch. Mia would not given them all another reason to hurt her. She was scarred to end up back here. Snitches get stiches right?

Mia winced when she moved to sit in a more uncomfortable position on the bed. Lexi gave her a sympathetic smile taking her hand. ‘I heard it’s your birthday… I made a stop on the way here asides from the coffee and its not much but I don’t really know what you like so…’ She handed Mia a card and inside of it was a gift card. ‘Now we can go shopping.’

Mia sat in silence fighting back the tears of pain and overwhelming joy. Lexi was acting like a friend she wanted to go shopping like friends she wanted to hang out like friends it had been so long since Mia had a friend. She missed it. she missed having friends to talk to and laugh with.

‘Thank you’ she said through blurry eyes unable to even look at the gift card properly. Lexi squeezed her hands and tried to avert the topic back to whose ass she was kicking for hurting Mia. ‘three hundred pounds! Lexi I can’t except that, thank you so much but please take it back.’

‘Oh shut the f**k up, that’s pocket change for me and for you as well judging by who your mum was dressed and your dads tailored clothes and you go to an elite privet school… not to mention the house you live in… and you have a designer hand bag for a school bag… an-’

‘Okay… I get it. thank you, but I still think its too much for someone you hardly know.’

‘No its not too much for my new best friend. I’ve been stuck with the guys for as long as I can remember it would be nice to have another girl in our group, just as long as you don’t start sucking face with Greyson constantly when I’m around.’ This made Mia smile before she remembered how and why she ended up in the hospital and her smile dropped.

I heard this trashy cow was all over Greyson.

‘Thank you Lexi but’ Mia didn’t know how to word it. it was going to sound offensive anyway she said it. ‘I don’t want to see Greyson and I don’t want to be around him or his friends. I’m sorry.’ Mia pushed the card back towards Lexi with the expensive gift card inside.

****

Bed rest was a little over the top Mia thought. Mia sat in her room on her bed with nothing to do besides read scroll on her phone or watch T.V. She looked to her bedside table where her birthday card from Lexi stood. Mia’s lips tipped up when she remember how Lexi screamed at her until she told her the truth forced her to take the card be then say yes to shopping on Saturday is she was feeling well enough to go. Mia had made Lexi promise not to tell anyone and she truly believed that she wouldn’t.

Mia let it all out to Lexi once her mouth opened she couldn’t help but spill everything. Lexi had cried much to Mia’s shock. Mia told her who the girls were she also opened up about where she was over the summer holiday. She said why the girls attacked her.

Lexi’s exact words were. ‘Don’t you worry your pretty little concussed head, Mia. I will take care of it, those bitches will defiantly know who’s hit them… and if they don’t I’ll tell them it’s me.’ Mia worried about the look on lexis face and how she paired it with a smile as sweet as anything.

A knock at the drew Mia’s attention away from the birthday card.

‘Hey sweetheart, moms made some dinner would you like me to bring it up or do you feel well enough to come down?’ Her dad came over and tucked her hair behind her ears kissing his daughter on the head.

‘I’m not really hungry.’

‘You need to eat, I’m not doing this again.’

‘No, it’s not that, my head just hurts and every time I breath in my ribs ache. Moving hurts’

‘Okay. I’ll bring some up.’ Mia sighed. ‘How about I eat in here with you.’ He said and Mia shot up from the bed.

‘No.’

‘No?’

‘You’re messy and you spill everything. I’ll come down.’ Mia was going to have a fit if he spilled food in her room again. Mia had to scrub and scrub and scrub at that spaghetti stain to get it out.

‘I’m not that messy.’ She heard him grumble as he followed his daughter out of her bedroom and all the way to the dining room for Mia’s birthday dinner and cake.

‘Mia I promises you they will not get away with this.’ Was her Lucy’s promise as she passed Mia a plate of what use to be her favourite meal.

‘I have a meeting at lunch time tomorrow with the police and our lawyer to see what can be done about pressing charges.’ Her dad said.

‘You know the school will never let their name be ruined like that what good will a meeting do.’ Was one of Mia’s responses.

‘You are my daughter Mia I will do what it takes to protect you even if I have to bring the school down with me, consequences be what they may.’ That scared Mia, god knows what the admissions at the school would do and the investors who kept the school going would do. She still smiled at her dad before looking back down at her food in dread.

You can do this Mia its just food.