Sincerely Yours

Chapter Eleven

M: 'You're seriously not gonna help me clean up?'

R: 'Last night was a mistake, Mia...' I stand in her doorway, slipping my shoes on

M: 'You're saying that as if we hooked up Ruel, I was drunk but I would remember...I'm pretty sure'

R: 'Look, I'll call Tilly and Alannah to help to clean up, I just have to go, ok?' I walk out of her room and start to walk down the status as I hear her footsteps rush out her room, chasing after me.

I turned around to see her in a lace bralette and one of my Free Time trackies. I don't know why but I stood there frozen as she sighed and stepped down the step one above me, connecting her lips with mine. I pull away with a 'Um....'

R: 'Mia...Don't go there...'

M: 'Too late.'

I looked at her as she turned around and went back into her room...What just happened? And why did I regret pulling away?

GRAYSON'S POV

I woke up alone in Elliot's room, hearing plates and bowls clicking together down the hall. I threw on my shirt from last night and walked down the hallway with a yawn.

E: 'Cereal or toast?'

G: 'Uhh, toast' I said as I sat across from him at the kitchen island 'Where are your parents?'

E: 'They took Layla out for breakfast, just thought it was an excuse to give us space after last night'

G: 'I don't know whether I'm in shock or...I don't know'

E: 'Always had a feeling that she was dead? Yeah, I get that...I just kept my mouth shut because of Alannah' he chuckles as the piece of toast pops out of the toaster

G: 'Yeah, I guess so...I honestly hope that Ruel and Mia are ok...Mia didn't look good at all before we left'

E: 'Well, she was clearly fine with it'

G: 'What do you mean?' I said as he passed the butter and vegemite to me and I took the lid off.

E: 'Did Ruel not tell you?' I shook my head as I spread the butter on my toast. 'Mia kissed Ruel this morning'

G: 'Holy shit'

E: 'Yeah, well, I mean, kinda obvious she's had a thing for him for a while hey?'

G: 'Yeah, that's true, I guess she was waiting for y/n to out of the picture'

E: 'Jeez man, that sounds like Mia killed her'

G: 'I mean...'

E: 'Eat your toast' he laughs as I shove the piece into my mouth

TILLY'S POV

I slept over at Alannah's house last night, we both woke up, still pretty much in shock. I mean, we both had a good cry last night, trying to hide it from each other but I know she heard me go to the bathroom to take deep breaths and I hear her sniffing from under her covers. Plus, we both woke up with red eyes. We spent most of the morning signing up for all our classes for our dance studio here, checking back and forth with Mia to see which ones she was doing as well. We started to walk down one of the local cafes where we were so local that the wonder knew us when we walked in.

A: 'I just...I don't know..Didn't expect it I guess' she says as she slides into the booth across from me.

The cafe was a retro theme with records on the wall and pastel colours everywhere. Think Pop's diner in Riverdale but happier... and without the black hood.

T: 'I mean, I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly'

A: 'I mean, it's been about 2 weeks..I'm just surprised that they didn't tell us anything else, where they found the body, how are they gonna determine that it's y/n?'

T: 'Yeah that's true, I didn't think about that' I say as we both grab the menus even though we got the same thing each time we came here.

A: 'I'm just glad they didn't bust us for the drinks, I mean, we would've been ending up with a dead best friend and a fine...Sorry that wasn't funny'

T: 'It's fine...Better to make laughs about it then sit here all depressed about not having her around. At least we have answers' I say, putting the menu down as Maggie, our usual waitress comes to visit us

M: 'The usual girls?'

A: 'Yes please but can I have frozen coke instead of my Fanta?'

M: 'Of course, it will be right out' she smiles and walks away as the door swings open with a ring of the bell

We turn our heads to see two police officers walk in, hands in their pockets and approaching the counter

A: 'What they are doing here?'

T: 'I don't know but just act natural' Alannah nods in response as we both pull out our phones.

I turn my head back around to see them grab an Uber Eats bag and walking out, the door closing the with the ring of the bell.

A: 'We can't live like this....'

T: 'What do you mean?'

A: 'We can't get nervous every time we see a police officer, ok? We just have to normalise it...We shouldn't have to get nervous or act a certain way every time a police officer comes within a 5-meter radius of us. It's not normal and I don't think it should ever be normal.'

She was right. This wasn't normal. We can't live in fear that something terrible is going to happen every time we see a police officer. It wasn't normal. It should never be normal.