After a few weeks, crutches became the new norm. Wobbling from class to class, unable to thread through the snow with the pair of sticks. Mia was miserable.
She had found herself unable to do the things she loves, unable to be independent and unable to be Mia and it haunted her.
What's more, her chance to play alongside her friends and for her country was slowly slipping away and her wounds were so severe that the chance to ever play hockey again was dissolving.
Aunt Sarah decided to extend her stay in Minneapolis to help clean her niece's wounds and clean her brother up. He was found, on the night of the incident, passed out in front of a bar that had thrown him out. Bombay found him in that condition and ever since she found out Mias' career was in jeopardy, he's been more absent than ever.
The news that the man was in sick and a tortured relationship with alcohol shocked everyone as Mia had hidden it all so well. It was important to her that nobody found out and that nobody would talk about it.
When it comes to no talking, that's the new bond Charlie and Mia shared. No communication, no words, looks, stares or smiles. It was like they didn't exist with each other, even though they shared a classroom every day. There were no words because nobody knew what to say.
Charlie blamed himself and Mia blamed herself.
Charlie knew this couldn't go on forever. As he took the ice for practice, she now had a reserved spot on the sideline. When he ate lunch, she sat across him, two seats to the right and between a part of the bloodthirsty Bash Brothers looking for any reason to launch an attack on some Varsity kids.
Andrew returned to school before Mia, who had to recover before stepping foot in a school again. When she saw him for the first time since that fateful moment, he was a different man. You usually can't tell the difference between any of the brain-dead varsity bimbos but Andrew always stood out, and now he blended right in.
She brushed passed him, and continued to walk as he called her name. When he approached her in the lunch line she would walk away and when he ran up to her car, she told her aunt to drive. Due to his jealousy, she may never play hockey again, maybe that's exactly what he wanted.
After school, she sat on the sideline, like usual. She liked to do a bit of homework while watching practice, Bombay always throwing his eye over to her. It killed Mia to have to just sit there, even if it was her own choice to attend. Soon, her aunt arrived to pick her up and Charlie noticed that she was becoming less dependent on the crutches she needed. She in fact could support herself, not for a long time but she could still stand. It has only been a few weeks but he knew that this wasn't it for her.
They would drive back to a dark house, her aunt trying to make conversation but Mia had become less talkative. Derek wasn't home, although his absents wasn't noticed as dinner was served and Mia went to get ready for bed.
She lay there thinking about where it all went wrong, how it could be fixed if it could be fixed. In a way, moving here was the best and worst thing that ever happened to her. Because it changed her. First it was mental but now she was physically different.
As she lay there thinking about the new life she had only lived for a few months, a slight sound was growing. It started out small and unnoticeable, until the banging got bigger and bigger. She rose up and looked for the source, which revealed itself to be coming from the window.
She pulled it up and looked down to reveal the guilty culprit standing there, armed with more rock ammunition.
"Are you trying to break my window?" She shouted down and he looked confused.
"Well, it took you long enough to answer me!" Charlie shouted up.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him.
"Get shoes and a coat-"
"Are you kidnapping me?"
"Mia, hurry up.." He signed in disappointment.
"And why should-"
"Can you drop the sarcasm for five minutes and hurry up? Take a chance.." He shouted up, a smirk revealing itself.
"That's so cringy, Conway.." She smirked back.
"Just get a move on, Williams.."