I recommend re-reading "Chapter 17: Drive" before reading this
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"Here" she heard a kind voice before a beautiful sunflower came in front of her eyes "It's not ice cream but I hope you like it"
The person holding the sunflower had hazel eyes, a color brighter than the sun. The smallest of smiles adorned his face as he stared at her.
She smiled happily while taking the sunflower from his hands and muttering a small thank you. Before the boy could say anything else, she heard her name being called at a distance.
"Mia! I told you not to run around!" her mother scolded as the little girl pouted a little and her small hands tightened around the soft flowers.
An idea popped into her mind.
"Mom, it's for you" she gave the sunflower to her mother as her mother glared at it for a few seconds, contemplating whether to remain mad or melt.
She of course melted as she crouched down and hugged her daughter. After parting, the mother took the flower and offered a smile to her daughter "Thank you baby"
Mia's eyes widened in surprise. It was the first time in months she had seen her mother smiling at her, otherwise, all she had witnessed was her mother weeping silently behind closed doors.
"Make sure it doesn't happen next time" Abigor's stern voice, made the mother-daughter snap their head up at him.
The mother instantly stood up and bowed in front of him "I apologize Mr. Hayes"
Her mother tugged at her hand as she started dragging her away towards their home. Mia, being the curious one, turned around to look back at the kind boy who had offered her a beautiful flower.
Her dark eyes met his hazel ones as she waved back at him happily. A small carefree smile surfaced on his face as Mia felt giddy inside.
He had the most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen in her 10 years of life.
Soon, a small cream-colored house came into her view. The house Mia and her mother had moved into recently. A burning upside-down car adorned the sidewalk as dark clouds gathered around the sky.
Sometimes it'd be burning cars or burning machines, and sometimes it'd be burning bodies.
The mafia war was a curse to the general citizen. Both the American and Spanish mafia were savages.
Mia's head snapped towards the sound of the door opening of the house beside them as her mother's pace increased. Just as their neighbor was about to step out, her mother pushed her inside the house harshly.
Mia hissed in pain as she rubbed her frail wrists because of her mother's tight grip till now.
"Ms. Leighton!"
Mia heard her neighbor's voice as her mother smiled looking towards them. Mia had never seen her neighbors because her mother would make sure no one saw her ever.
She doubted that the neighbors even knew that she was here.
"Where have you been? It's not safe out!"
The neighbor continued as her mother shook her head carelessly "just some necessary items to feed my stomach" she joked while tightly squeezing on the poor flower in her hand.
The young innocent mind of Mia failed to notice the cold sweat that broke through her mother's face as she gulped quietly trying to end the conversation.
The neighbors laughed a bit "Anyway see you, Ms. Leighton, let's catch up later!"
Her mother finally closed the door and leaned against it, sighing out in relief. The stem of the sunflower was almost crushed but surprisingly the flower looked as beautiful as ever.
Mia's mother noticed her daughter looking sadly at the flower as she extended it to "Go and put it in the vase honey".
Mia smiled brightly while nodding as she grabbed the flower and ran inside the kitchen to grab a vase.
When she was finally out of sight, her mother's legs trembled uncontrollably and they finally gave out as she slipped to the floor. Her heart hammered against her chest as tears after tears escaped her eyes.
The fear of losing her child overwhelmed her as she slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle her tears.
● ● ●
"Mom?" Mia whispered while chewing on her burrito.
Her mother hummed as she stared at the news channel, the number of deaths and the number of places bombarded had increased effectively.
"When will all this stop?" her childish question made her mother flinch.
"I-I don't know baby, it will soon-"
"When will dad come back?"
Her mother's head snapped towards her direction, her hand clenching against the remote. She quickly wiped away the tear forming in her eyes and looked away again.
"He will come back soon, I'm sure of it" her mother did not sound sure at all, it all felt like she was trying to convince herself too.
Mia didn't miss the small teardrop that escaped her mother's shimmering brown eyes, the mother-daughter duo shared the same color of beautiful eyes.
Mia was a little more sensitive than the kids her age, she knew what was going on. Her father suddenly disappearing almost 6 months ago did not do her mother any good.
Her mother cried almost every day.
Her father was never the one to stay with them always, but, he almost always came to visit them once a week. Mia was told that he couldn't stay because of his work.
But Mia knew that it was just an excuse.
The one thing the young kid could not decipher was why her father did that. She knew he loved both her and her mother dearly. So. . .why?
"If you are done, go to sleep baby" her mother's small voice whispered as Mia nodded obediently while jumping off the kitchen stool.
Mia's eyes caught the sunflower, which had brought a smile to her mother's face after months, one last time, before walking back to her room.
Mia tucked herself under the duvet as she picked up the photo frame near her bed.
Her mom with luscious long brown hair wearing a blue sundress sat on a couch with her dad sitting on a different couch beside it. He had dark hair and tanned skin with piercing green eyes.
A baby stroller sat between them with a chubby baby throwing her hands up in the air, Mia knew that it was her. It was the only photo she had with both of her parents.
She missed her dad more than anything, he was a strict father but he always had a softer side towards her.
"Come back soon Dad" she whispered while hugging the frame as she drowned in deep slumber.
● ● ●
Mia woke up coughing wildly, her throat parched and her eyes watery. Her eyes fell on the digital clock which read 2:00 am.
"Water" she grumbled when she realized that she forgot to bring a bottle to her room.
Her small legs dangled off the slightly high bed as she finally managed to land on the carpeted floor. Her small steps carried her towards the kitchen when low familiar sniffs echoed throughout the house.
Her steps halted as her mother's voice spoke to someone
"I cannot do this anymore Sergio, Mia misses you and the deaths keep rising each day. I'm concerned for our safety"
Mia bit her lower lip as she heard her father's name coming out of her mother's mouth. "Is daddy home?" the little girl wondered as she couldn't help her curiousness and neared the kitchen, hiding beside the ajar door.
A static voice followed her mother's statement, proving that she was talking on the phone with the speakers on
"Aria please, you know how much I love you and Mia. I'm doing absolutely everything here to come back to you guys"
"What are they talking about?" little Mia whispered as she leaned, even more, to listen clearly, the wooden floor creaked lowly in the process startling her mom.
Aria, Mia's mother, stood up from the chair in the kitchen as she looked behind her towards the door. She spotted nothing as the dwindling silence crept in once again.
"Hello. .? Aria? Hello?"
Sergio, Mia's father's voice pulled her out of her daze as she replied still looking around skeptically "Y-Yes?"
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes" her mother replied, knowing full well that just crying about their safety to him wouldn't magically make him appear in front of them.
"Darling, listen. ." he started again while sighing again as the mother's full focus went back to what he was saying ". .I-I think they doubt something. Maybe it's just a feeling but I think they found out"
● ● ●
Mia's heart kept throbbing against her chest as she ran up to her room and hid under the blankets of her bed. Her mother turning around at the smallest of creaks had scared the little child as she had made a run for her life.
She hugged the photo frame once again and squeezed shut her eyes. The heavy thumping of the footsteps in the stairs made Mia flinch harshly.
The next second, the door was opened wide and her huffing mother stood wide-eyed.
Mia bit her lower lip in guilty conscience "Mom I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hear-"
"Baby!" Her mother exclaimed in a hushed tone as she moved forward to her daughter tightly "Come on get up, we need to leave this place"
Mia's confused eyes met her mother's chocolate-colored eyes filled with tears.
"But Mom-" where are we going
"We don't have the time!" her mom interrupted with fear clouding her eyes "Come on! Get up!"
Mia stumbled up on her two little feet as her and as soon as her feet hit the ground, her mother had already started dragging her downstairs.
Mia's eyes filled with fear at her mother's rushed state as she tried her best to keep up, all the while hugging the photo frame tightly to her chest.
Before they could reach the main door, a loud commotion broke out. Blasts erupted in the neighborhood as gunshots were fired.
"Oh my god. Oh my god" Mia's mother repeated as they changed tracks and she peeked out from the window, her eyes widened "NO!"
Mia flinched at her mother's sudden outburst as Aria looked down softly at her daughter, shoving her fears to the side.
"Baby" Aria, Mia's mother called her as she bent down "Mom loves you, you know that right?"
Mia nodded innocently.
"You will do what I say right?" her mother pressed gently as loud knocking on the door echoed in the house.
Mia's gaze snapped towards the main door, whereas Aria didn't even flinch, she had already accepted her fate.
"Tell me, Mia" her mother insisted, drawing the little kid's attention back to her.
"Ok," Mia whispered as the knocking now turned into loud thudding.
Aria smiled and caressed her daughter's cheeks while Mia leaned into the touch. She loved her mother's touch, it was so gentle and delicate.
Her mother touched her cheeks just as gently as she played the keys, Mia could still remember her mother playing the piano every day for her before all this madness. Her mother had eventually given up on her passion in all the stress.
"Go hide," her mother said as Mia's confusion resurfaced.
"But mom-"
"GO baby" her mom interrupted while pointing towards the closed storage beside the television.
The sound of the front door opening made her mother snap as she pushed her daughter into the storage "Whatever happens, DO NOT come out. Mommy will be with you in a bit ok?"
Mia nodded fearfully as her mother quickly closed the storage, Mia could only peak out and see only a bit of the room.
"Aria Leighton right?"
Mia heard a man's voice as multiple footsteps entered the living room. Mia could see 3 men standing in the middle of the room while her mother stood at the corner.
"What's it to you?" her mother spoke up as one of the men with dark eyes and light stubble laughed humourlessly. He looked in his mid-20s.
Suddenly her mother's hair was grabbed by the man as he tugged it harshly. Her mother screamed in pain as the other two guys laughed at the scene.
Mia gasped silently in shock as her hands itched to slam the door open.
"Bitch" the man fisting her mother's hair snarled at her face "after ruining my house, you have the audacity to ask me what's wrong?"
The man spit harshly at her face as her mother cried silently, struggling to get out of his hold.
"You think you can destroy the Paulo house and live peacefully huh?" he shouted as he slammed her down on the floor. A harsh kick was delivered to her mother's face as blood splattered out on the carpeted floor.
By now, Mia was full-on sobbing while pressing her palm on top of her mouth meanwhile her other one clutched the photo frame tightly.
Mia was never the one to follow the rules. But she wondered why she couldn't bring herself to open the storage door and try to rescue her mother.
I am a coward.
Her form shook as her mother's cries echoed in the house. Everything was a blur from then on, the naive little Mia didn't know what was going to happen when her mother's clothes were ripped apart or when the men would grunt while cursing loudly as they got on top of the writhing woman.
Her mother kept crying the whole time.
Mia sat inside in shock, not a word left her mouth as she gaped at her mom laying motionless on the floor as tears kept escaping her eyes.
"Let's finish her and go" one of the men suggested as the one with dark eyes, who looked more like their boss, nodded.
"The Hayes already got a sniff that we are here, they'd be here soon," the boss said as he crushed her mom's bloodied face under his leather shoes "If it wasn't for this bitch hiding, it wouldn't have taken us so long to find this place."
A low gunshot was heard as Mia closed her eyes in terror.
The boss had shot the woman on her stomach, deliberately not her heart.
"Die slowly and painfully, little slut" he placed his gun back as her mother placed a hand on her bleeding gunshot wound and groaned in extreme pain.
"Stop fucking around Salvador" one of the men shouted as low sirens at a distance could be heard now "The Americans are here already if we get caught Silverio would find out and you know what will happen if he knew you ended this bitch behind his back right?"
"Yeah" the boss groaned as he looked down at the struggling woman "he wanted to torture her too. Oh well" he shrugged as the three men walked towards the entrance.
"Light this house up like the rest of the neighborhood"
That was the last thing Mia heard before warm flames engulfed the house and their cars speeded away. All the houses were already drowned in gasoline by the Spanish so it took almost no time to light up the house.
Mia opened the door quickly as she ran towards her dying mother, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Mom" she cried out, shaking her mother awake "Please wake up!"
Her mother's eyes opened as the usual brightness of her dark brown eyes dulled, a soft smile surfaced on her face even though she was clearly suffering from excessive blood loss.
"Baby" her mother's gentle voice called out, just then, the flame burned even brighter licking the wooden furniture greedily and multiplying in force "Run away"
"NO!" Mia argued trying to drag her mom out, but to no avail "Mom please at least try to get up"
Mia tried and tried to make her mom sit up and then help her stand up. But her small frame and her mother's limp body didn't help at all.
"Get away Mia, you. ." her mother coughed up blood while clutching Mia's arm ". . you need to live"
"No mom" Mia cried while shaking her head in denial, the fire made one of the wooden planks collapse just beside them as the little girl gasped in fear.
"RUN AWAY" her mother shouted "and don't tell anyone your real name"
Her mother pushed her with the little strength she had remaining "GO!"
Mia stood near the main door crying hysterically as the fire had ceased the whole house "Please" she heard the mother say as she met her brown eyes one last time before a huge wooden plank collapsed on her mother's body.
Mia's heart squeezed as she turned away and ran outside of the house.
A coward.
Her hands threaded into her hair as she cried out into the sky "a coward!"
Her body collapsed in front of her burned-down house as hid her face in between her raised knees.
Maybe minutes passed, or hours, Mia had no idea.
"There's a kid here!"
She heard a voice over the police sirens and ambulance as a warm blanket was draped over her small shoulders before being picked up by a middle-aged woman in a dark blue uniform.
A police officer.
"Kid, what is your name?"
Mia heard over the blurring headache and the recent trauma of her mother dying.
Even a small kid knew that justice wouldn't be given to her if she cried in front of the police in times like mafia wars. It was a useless thought to even consider.
". .and don't tell anyone your real name"
She remembered her mother's words.
"Aria" the little girl whispered as her head spinned, the officer nodded before speaking over the intercom and walking towards the police car.
"You don't know where your parents are right?" the officer spoke as Mia kept quiet and closed her eyes, leaning against the middle-aged woman's shoulder as silent tears escaped the kid's eyes.
The officer got a silent response as she settled her inside the car.
"Yes, most likely orphanage" she spoke over the intercom as Mia's head spinned again.
Multiple voices layered over to her ears as she became unable to process anything.
She heard a familiar voice speaking to another officer at a distance before her consciousness took its toll.
"Yes. . .only a woman lived there. . Aria Leighton"
The neighbor reported to the police.
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I know. I KNOW. STILL a lot of mysteries and shit but I promise it gets all revealed in next chapter.
So please vote and comment on this one!
Did y'all like this chapter?