Calm before the storm
Calm before the storm
Mia watched the both of them with her eyes as wide as a bowl. This couldn't be... right?
It isn't possible right?
She tried to believe as she slowly stood up and watched as the policemen tried to calm Linda down.
"Can you stop it? I didn't cause trouble. They started it. Besides, you shouldn't be worried about me right now." Mary said in irritation as she turned her head so Linda would follow her gaze to see Mia.
"You didn't cause trouble? Then why are you here— oh my!"
Immediately Linda locked eyes with Mia, Linda gasped and her bag fell from her hand.
Mia's brows furrowed as she watched Linda carefully.
"M...ia... what are... you doing here?" Linda managed to ask as she gulped nervously.
Mia couldn't say a word no matter how much she tried to say something.
Even Mira was looking at Linda with so much hatred and anger.
"Officer?"
Everyone suddenly turned when they heard a voice call behind them.
Even Mia returned to her senses and looked at Leo who approached the policeman.
"You are?" The policeman asked wearily.
He had a lot of other important jobs to do but because of this small case of fighting in public, the police station was almost filled up.
Leo took out his wallet from his pocket and took out a card which he handed to the policeman.
"Leo King?" The policeman asked in surprise, getting the attention of all the people who heard him.
Linda was really nervous. This was the second time she was meeting him today and the first time, he hadn't been nice to her.
"I think the police have done a good job keeping these ladies here... how about, you let them all go home now?" Leo asked with a smile.
Thr policeman who was standing now looked at Leo curiously.
"Are you by chance related to anyone here?" The policeman asked with interest.
Leo turned to look at Mia who looked completely lost and confused with everything.
"I came here with my girlfriend, Mia, and her friends are here. Plus her sister who had been missing is here. They probably should go have a reunion party at home.. right?"
Girlfriend? Everyone seated there was rather surprised including Mira.
"Right!" The policeman agreed immediately with a nod before he began the process to release all of them.
A few minutes later, they were all released ans began to exit the station.
Leo didn't know what to do at that moment as he held Mia's hand and led her out. She still looked completely lost as a lot of thought ran through her head.
He had decided to wait in the car earlier when Mia left so he would drive her and Mira back but when he saw they were spending a lot of time inside and heard two policemen who were passing by talk about a girl who was 'having an affair with her sister's friend's father', he began to wonder what that was all about. Was Mira having an affair with one of her sister's friend's father or were they talking about someone else and not Mira?
He thought he should go in and see things for himself and so he went in and after introducing himself to a police officer and let him know he was there for those people, the policeman had let him sit at the other end. So he sat there quietly and watched how Mary yelled at Mia not to raise her voice at her.
He couldn't see the girl's face but he guessed it was Mary, which had greatly surprised him.
Wasn't this the same girl who had been missing and Mia had been making plans to search for her again?
But he got even surprised when he saw Linda hurry inside and her reaction towards Mary.
~~
Mary and Linda walked slowly behind the group. It seemed they were stalling so Mia would go far away before they actually made an effort to walk like two normal humans.
Mia turned to her side and saw Mira who was still staring blankly as James held her firmly to his body.
"Mira..." Mia called her slowly. Mira turned her head to look at Mia. Both had almost the same look on their faces. Only difference was Mira had some bruises on her face.
Mia still didn't know what had transpired between Mary and Mira but it seemed no one was willing to tell her.
Meanwhile, Rachel who was still burning with anger had to be forcefully pulled away by Peter and when it looked like she was being too strong for him to handle, Noah took over.
He grabbed her by the waist and led her towards his car while she kept whining for him to put her down.
Everyone could feel the tension in the atmosphere. They knew this was all a calm before the storm so they wanted to quickly leave the Lucas family to handle this themselves.
Mira managed to force a smile at Mia to assure her she was fine.
"Let's meet tomorrow?" Mira asked her softly.
She wasn't sure she was in the mood to talk. Mira didn't like to cry in front of others. It was the reason she had been quiet since they arrived at the police station even though she had cried while beating up Mary.
Everything was weighing her down. She wasn't sure she could tell her mother about this. Why the whole thing was making her angrier was because her father had actually left her there for his business.
"Do not act rashly Mia. Trust me, you don't want to go sit in there." Mira pointed at the police station's entrance before leaving with James who looked at Mia sympathetically as he walked away.
Since Leo was standing beside her, he was sure Leo would be able to handle things for her... actually... he hoped Leo would stop Mia from acting rashly.
This quietness of Mia showed she was trying to accumulate everything and think properly and that may just lead her to go berserk.
After the others left, it was just Leo, Mia, Linda and Mary left.
"Let's go home." Mia turned to tell her mother and Mary.
Mary had been given a polo to wear from the lost but found bin and had returned the police jacket to the policeman.
Her hair was now in a messy ponytail, the shirt covered almost half of her thigh which made it look like she wasn't wearing a skirt. Her face was bare now and very red from the bruises the two girls had inflicted on her.
Mary finally raised her head to look at Mia and then at Leo.
Leo King.. from the family of doctors, 27 years, photographer. She remembered those facts about him. How did Mia meet someone like him?
Leo noticed the way she was staring at him and frowned.
"Why are you staring at me like that? You also want to hook up with me?" Leo asked dryly as he watched Mary's face which flushed from embarrassment at his words.
Leo eyed her in irritation before going to open the back door of his car. "I think it's best you both come in. There are a lot of things we need to talk about." Leo said. He was doing most of the talking and Mia was grateful for that. She had to constrain her temper unless she wanted to be thrown in a cell and she didn't want that until she knew all that was happening right now.
"This is a family issue Leo." Mary managed to say.
"So I do not think you should get yourself involved."
"So you think?" He asked her sarcastically as he moved closer to her.
"I had no idea you did because all this while, I thought you were sick in the head. And it's Mr King... not Leo." He reminded her about how to address him.
"Mr King.. Mary... is right. We... can settle all of this ourselves."
Before Leo could answer Linda, Mia spoke up in a really cold and quiet voice.
"Both of you... fucking get into the car before I lose my temper."
They could see how tight her neck looked and how clenched her fists were.
They didn't need a soothsayer to explain to them that she was burning from anger and at the verge of losing it.
"And I have every right. Because if I want right now, I can throw you both in jail. It would be pretty easy." Leo smirked and looked at the entrance of the police station behind them.
All the while, Linda knew where Mary was but left Mia to pay the debts and wanted Mia to marry Mr Timothy's son? Just wonderful! And they dared say it was a family issue and wanted him to leave? They wished!
Linda looked at Mary and silently communicated to her with her eyes before she went to the open car to hop in.
Mary also reluctantly followed and got in.
Leo stood in front of Mia and placed both hands on her shoulders to get her attention.
Mia lifted her eyes to look at him and he could see how cold they looked.
"It's going to be fine Mia, I'll protect you." He assured her.
Mia looked at him quietly before shaking her head.
"You should protect them instead."