Mia's POV........
"Amber, can you please get the door?" Michelle asks.
Michelle, Amber and I are in our apartment, scattered around the living room.
I'm lying on the couch, reading 'Divine Evil' by Nora Roberts, to distract the thoughts of what happened three nights ago. Michelle is sitting on the floor, texting someone with her phone and Amber had just left for the kitchen to get something.
We just heard the door bell ring.
"Sure" Amber says.
I see her walk towards the door.
Few minutes later......
"What's taking her so long?" Michelle asks.
"No idea." I say.
"Amber!! What's going on?!!" Michelle asks.
We get no reply from Amber.
"Who'd be at the door?" Michelle asks.
"I'm gonna go check." I say as I dog-ear the page I'm reading so not to miss it whenever I wanna get back to it. I stand from the couch.
Reaching closer to the door, I hear Amber muttering something to someone I don't know.
I open the door.
I see Jace standing in front of Amber.
"I need to......Mia...." Jace utters after he looks away from Amber....up to me.
What's he doing here???
"I told him to leave but he wouldn't." Amber says.
"Why're you here?" I ask Jace coldly.
"Umm......there's.....there's something important I need to tell you." Jace says.
"I told you she....."
I interrupt Amber by giving her a low tap on the shoulder.
"What's it?" I ask Jace.
"My uncle......Professor Harris wants to see us.....in his office. It may be something concerning the sessions we had." Jace says.
Why now?
Why not when things were cool between me and Jace?
And I can't ignore Professor Harris....
"Okay. Be there in less than an hour. You can go." I say coldly.
I turn to walk back inside the apartment.
"Uh....he said we should come together." Jace says.
I pause and look at him.
Why together????
"I'll be out in few minutes. Come on, Amber." I say as I finally walk into the apartment with Amber behind me.
*************
Jace's POV......
"I'll be out in few minutes. Come on, Amber." Mia says as she walks into the apartment. Amber follows her.
"I'll just wait out here....for you..." I say not minding that Mia had already gone into the apartment.
My uncle had asked to see Mia and I at his office. He said he wanna thank Mia for tutoring me. I came to her apartment to let her know but her friend, Amber, kept trying to send me away. She said Mia is still not ready to see or speak to me. It's been like three days now that Mia hasn't spoken to me. Amber advised me to stop calling or texting her so not to get on her nerves more and I've been doing my very best not to do so. It's been really hard though.
With Mia's cold attitude towards me, this may be really awkward for the both of us.....going to my uncle's office together. I'm pretty sure she won't talk to me. She wouldn't even look me in the eyes anymore. I don't know how I can get Mia to give me a chance to explain this misunderstanding.
Maybe I should try again today....
Yeah.....
**************
Mia's POV.........
"Do you really have to go with him?" Amber asks, following me behind.
I'm heading to my room to get changed and follow Jace to Professor Harris' office.
"Where's she going?" Michelle asks, following too.
"Professor Harris' office......with his nephew." Amber says.
"Was Jace the one at the door?" Michelle asks.
"Yes" Amber answers.
"Is she going together with him?" Michelle asks.
"Yes, I just said that." Amber says.
"Why do they've to go together?" Michelle asks.
"Oh God! Jace said his uncle asked him to come with Mia. Now can you stop with the questions?" Amber asks.
"What? No! Mia, I can go out there now and tell Jace to be on his way. He may have lied just so he can gain an alone time with you. You're obviously not ready to speak to him yet. Infact, I'm going out there now." Michelle says.
"Don't overreact." I say as I open my room door.
"Mia, are you gonna be okay.....with Jace around you?" Amber asks.
"I may not be okay but I can't think of any other choice. I respect Professor Harris a lot and nothing's gonna change that.....for now, at least. If he said we should come together then I'm going together with him. I can't disrespect him because of what his nephew did. It's meaningless." I say.
"Are you gonna talk to him at all?" Amber asks.
"You shouldn't." Michelle says.
"I don't plan on talking to him but there may be need to." I say.
"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Amber asks.
"I'll be just fine, don't worry." I say.
"You're gonna take the car, right?" Amber asks.
"Yeah" I say.
*************
Jace's POV......
The apartment door opens and Mia steps out, looking really simple.
"We're taking the Jeep." Mia says, walking towards the Jeep that's parked just few meters from where I'm standing.
I see her unlock it and open the door to the driver's seat.
"You coming or not?" Mia asks me.
"Oh....right....yeah...." I stutter before reluctantly moving to the Jeep.
Few minutes later........
Mia and I just got to the campus after driving in thick silence.
Mia's apartment is only few minutes to the campus but with the silence and cold shoulder, it felt like eternity.
This is gonna be hard.....
How am I even gonna speak to her if she's like this???
Mia parks the car somewhere in front of the campus and we both step out of the car.
We start heading towards the location of Professor Harris' office.
Mia moves ahead of me.....to avoid walking side by side with me.
It's pretty serious.
We reach the office.
Mia knocks on the door.
"Come in!" I hear my uncle's voice call out from inside.
**************
Mia's POV.........
"Come in!" Professor Harris' calls out from inside his office after I knocked on the door.
Jace and I just arrived.
We haven't spoken to each other since after we left my apartment.
I know we've not spoken in.....not such a long time but I still don't feel like talking to him.
I open the door and enter the office.
Inside the office........
"Miss Johnson....so good to see you." Professor Harris says.
"Good day, sir. It is good to see you too." I say.
"Jace.....come on and have a seat, you two." Professor Harris says as he gestures for me and Jace to sit on each of the seats across from him.
I move towards the chair by the left and sit down.
Jace does the same.
"So Miss Johnson, how have you been?" Professor Harris asks.
"I have been good." I say.
"Okay. Well, I wouldn't want to keep you in here for long so I am going to go straight to the point." Professor Harris says.
"Okay.....sure." I say.
"First of all, thank you for coming here today. I don't know if you might have been doing something important before Jace came to get you so I'm also sorry if my call for you might have interrupted something." Professor Harris says.
"It is fine, sir. I wasn't really doing anything important." I say.
"This is probably something I should have done earlier but if you don't mind the lateness, thank you, Mia Johnson. Jace here tells me you have been a wonderful tutor and I can bear witness from his recent academic performances. They are really nice, even nicer than before he failed last semester. Thank you so much, Miss Johnson. I owe you one." Professor Harris says.
"Oh.....no, sir, you owe me nothing and there is absolutely no need to thank me. I only did what my professor asked me to do. I should thank you for giving me an opportunity to tutor someone. It helped me understand most things better and it also gave me a chance to share my knowledge. Thank you, Professor." I say.
"I simply did what I had to do for my nephew. He boasts about you to me sometimes. He says that you will make a better professor.....better than myself." Professor Harris says with a light chuckle.
"Oh....he said that?" I ask, trying my best not to catch Jace's gaze. I can feel his eyes on me.
"Yes, he did. He is always so happy talking about you. That is enough to prove how good you are." Professor Harris says.
"I must say, Jace himself is a good student. I wouldn't have successfully tutored him if he isn't. He is focused and determined and also smart. At some point, I thought to myself "What he needs is just a headstart". I have him to thank for making things easier for me and for performing well. It gave me more courage to continue giving him the best of my knowledge. So, thank you, Jace Harris." I say and look at Jace who may have been looking at me the whole time I was talking about him.
He shouldn't get the wrong idea though....
"Thank you too, Mia Johnson, for getting my mind back on track with your wonderful teachings. I have never understood anything as much as I understood my sessions with you. Thank you so much." Jace says, looking straight into my eyes.
I wanna turn away but having to look into his charming eyes after a while feels good.
It shouldn't.......
I turn away.
"Well, I am glad he wasn't a burden to you. I taught him well on that." Professor Harris says.
"Yes, you did." I say.
"How about the other student that you didn't want to disappoint?" Professor Harris asks.
"Oh...Rose....she is fine. She didn't need me anymore at some point so we didn't really continue but her performance so far is fine." I say.
"Okay. Thank you again, Miss Johnson. Thank you for being someone I can count on. I should really owe you one." Professor Harris says.
"Thank you, sir, for counting on me. It is an honor." I say.
"Now Jace, thank you for not being a burden to this young lady. You did well and I'm proud of you." Professor Harris says to Jace.
"Thank you, sir. You promised the best for me and you did fulfill that promise. I appreciate." Jace says.
"You're my family. I'll always do the best I can for you. That being said, you two can now go." Professor Harris says.
"Sure. Thank you, sir." I say as I stand from the chair.
Jace stands too.
"You are welcome. Hope you enjoy your summer." Professor Harris says.
"I will. Have a nice summer too, sir." I say as I start walking towards the door.
"See you around, Jace." Professor Harris says.
"You too, uncle." Jace says.
I open the door and leave the office.
Outside the office........
"Mia....." I hear Jace call out behind me.
I quicken my pace.
"Mia!" He calls out again.
I don't answer him.
"Mia, please!" Jace calls out again.
We're now outside, in the campus compound.
"Mia!" He calls out again and again and again..........
Jace's hand grips mine, causing me to turn and face him.
"Mia, can we please talk?" Jace asks.
"There's nothing to talk about." I say as I force my hand away from his grip. I wanna walk away.
"She forced herself on me, Mia." Jace says.
"If what you're talking about has anything to do with what I saw at that party then I'm not interested." I say.
"I wasn't doing anything with Alexa. She really did force herself on me." Jace says.
"Jace, I saw you kissing and touching her.....touching her the same way you'd touch me. It didn't seem like you were forced, it seemed like you wanted it. I thought you said you were okay without sex. You said it wouldn't change our relationship but it did, didn't it?" I ask rhetorically.
"Mia, she kissed me, she made me touch her that way, it was all her. I didn't want any of those and I meant it when I said I'm okay without sex, that just looking at you is enough for me. I didn't do any of those you saw that night." Jace says.
"But you did tell her that I wouldn't have sex with you, didn't you? That may probably be the reason why she forced herself on you like you claim." I say.
"No...no.....I didn't tell her that." Jace says.
"If you didn't then who did?" I ask.
"I've no idea. I really have no idea how she knows about it but I'll still figure it out." Jace says.
"And how do you intend to do that?" I ask.
"I've my way." Jace says.
Way?
"You said I could trust you with my heart and I did. I may not have been able to give you everything you desire but I gave you my heart, I opened my heart for you and all you could do was to stab it." I say.
"Mia, I promise you......"
I interrupt Jace.
"Don't.....don't promise me anything when you can't keep it. You know.....it would've been better if you cheated with a total stranger. Maybe you couldn't control your urge anymore and you found a stranger who's willing to satisfy you, maybe.....just maybe I wouldn't feel so betrayed, but your ex-girlfriend? The same girl that toyed with you and dumbed you? That's something else." I say.
"Are you really sure you wouldn't feel betrayed if it wasn't Alexa? Are you sure you wouldn't still treat me this way if it was a total stranger?" Jace asks.
That's a tricky question.....
The truth is that I'll still feel betrayed if it wasn't Alexa.
"I said maybe. I really thought things like this happened in movies only, probably because I've never seen it happen in reality but I bore witness that it happens that night." I say.
"What're you talking about?" Jace asks.
"It was really foolish of me to think I could trust you. If only I knew I'd be used and abandoned....." I say.
"I didn't use and abandon you, Mia. I already told you Alexa forced herself on me. Why're you saying all these?" Jace asks.
"You know....it's actually pathetic, using me to gain the attention of the person who you were a mere puppet to.....like.....is it even worth it? It's really pathetic of you to even think of getting back with her after all you said she did to you....all you made her do to you rather......"
Jace interrupts.
"Mia.....where's all these coming from? I don't wanna get back with Alexa and never will I ever want to and again I didn't use you." Jace says.
"That's exactly what you did. You knew dating someone else would get her attention and I was foolish enough to be the someone else. I wouldn't make such mistake again." I say.
"You never get it, do you?" Jace asks.
"What?" I ask.
"Why're you so fucking difficult? Have you always been like this? I'm trying my best to explain things to you so to clear this misunderstanding between us. Mia, I called and texted you couple of times but you never responded to any. I sent you voicemails, did you even bother to check them? I know what you saw that night wasn't cool and I had a feeling you'd get the wrong idea about the whole thing but all I'm asking is just for a chance to tell you the real truth about what happened. I'm really trying my best, Mia but you're just making it more difficult. How do you want us to get through with this if you wouldn't even let me explain things to you? Your rigid attitude is really not helping." Jace says.
"The fuck do you wanna explain? What happened that night was enough explanation and I don't wanna hear about it anymore and you were literally stalking me with those stupid calls and texts." I say.
"I wasn't stalking you, I was only trying to reach out to tell you that what you saw wasn't real and that I love you too much to do that to you." Jace says.
"You know.....this is my fault. I should've continued to live the way I've been living.....I shouldn't have thought of abandoning my mom's first advice. She was right.....she was right about guys pretending to love you only to use you and abandon you when they're done with you. You've gotten your ex back so I guess my work is done for you. I should've known better." I say.
"That again. I thought you said you were never going back to the first advice, why this now?" Jace asks.
Did I really say that?
"Well.....I hope you have the happiest pathetic life, back with Alexa. You should stay away from me." I say as I turn to leave.
"You know what......I may be pathetic but I should tell you that you're a coward." Jace says, causing me to pause and turn to him in disbelief.
"Excuse me?" I question.
"You said you were ready to try out your mom's second advice, that you were the one holding yourself back from doing it earlier. You even gave out the impression that you're never going back to the first advice and that you'd be ready to deal with whatever consequences that'd come with trying the second advice, but what're doing now, running back to the first one..... just like a coward. You're not keeping your word and I'm kinda disappointed about that but it's not gonna make me give up on you. I'm just gonna give you some space like you seem to want." Jace says.
I'm quite speechless from what Jace just said.
That I'm a coward??
The fuck....
Jace comes closer to me.....really closer.....
"And just so you know, I'd never cheat on the person I love and I definitely wouldn't lie about my feelings for someone. When I say I love you, I really do. Bye, Mia." Jace says.
He walks pass me.