Chapter 17: Goodbyes

Beep, beep, beep, beep…

Mia's hand comes from under her great-grandmother's hand-made quilt and slams down on the alarm. She moans and stretches out. The cool air that often wafted through her grandparent's farmhouse causes chills to go up to her spine. Her arms retreat back under the covers and she buries her head under the quilt for a few moments. She doesn't want to leave the warmth of the blankets or the safety of the farmhouse… if it can even be considered safe anymore. Anything was better than moving to a completely different town… again. The cycle would never end, as long as Joel Rogers lived, breathed and walked this earth.

Mia inhales sharply and shuts her eyes, wanting to fight the tears rising inside her. Despite always being under constant surveillance and unable to go anywhere on her own, the young girl doesn't want to leave her grandparents or the place she'd been calling home.

Out of all the people that she's stayed with over the years, they were by far the best. They gave her the love and support she needed during this tough time; something her mother could not give while she was out finding a job. The elderly couple were never afraid to do whatever was necessary to keep Joel away and had given her a sense of normalcy, what their granddaughter lacked the most. Even though she wasn't technically their grandchild by blood, they loved Mia and wanted the best for her. They protected her, taught her important lessons like responsibility and working hard to achieving the goals, but most of all, they were always able to make the best of a bad situation. They managed to find ways to help her cope and keep her entertained… she was the undefeated champion of Yahtzee and was working to beat them in Scrabble. Unfortunately, work on the farm, time with the family dog and cat, and parlour games were not enough, and Zeke and Elena Denbrough knew this all too well. Mia needed to be with other children her age and she needed to be able to go places without a pall of fear hanging over her or having to look over her shoulder every minute of every day.

It hurts that she must leave the safety of the farm, and what made it worse was that they were doing this at one o'clock in the morning too. The reason for rising at this early hour was because of the pattern Joel Rogers had established in the months of stalking his daughter and his ex-in-laws. Every night, the drunken monster would frequent at one of the town's bars and stay there until they closed at two p.m. He would then drive to the exact point on the road where the police could not arrest him, and he'd camp out there until the bus came to get Mia in the morning. Some of the other local farmers would see him passed out in his car while they worked near the road during their daily chores. They hated that he was there and knew his reputation, but technically he was on a public road and there was nothing that they could do to get rid of him. If he wasn't badly hungover, he'd follow the bus and again keep his legal distance from the school. He'd then follow the bus home again and wait until night fell where'd he'd repeat the routine over again. Therefore, the grandparents and granddaughter were leaving now to reduce the possibility of Joel following them as he was still probably demanding another drink somewhere.

Down the hall she can hear her grandparents shuffling around, clearly having heard the alarm as well. Their voices were muffled by the wooden walls, but Mia could hear the sadness in their voices. They wanted the best for her, and they wished that things were very different.

The teenaged girl curls up into the fetal position under the quilt and wipes her eyes, wondering why everything had to be so complicated and why the world had to feel so dark and vengeful. What had she ever done to deserve this kind of life? She'd seen the other kids in her class with happy families; doting mothers and fathers and rambunctious siblings that looked forward to seeing them at the end of each day, while she looked forward to being escorted home by armed police. Would it be such a bad thing to just run off and live somewhere by herself? Leaving her past behind and never having to worry about her "father" again.

The sounds of footsteps snap her out of her thoughts. The door to her room opens.

"Mimi?" Her grandfather's voice says softly. That was his nickname for her, something that was endearing and embarrassing at the same time.

"Yeah?" she whispers.

"We have to go, sweetheart,"

"I know," she says. "I'll be down as soon as I change."

"Okay princess," he nods before shutting the door.

With a heavy sigh, the girl finally pulls herself out of the cocoon of protection she'd created out of a faded old quilt.

She turns on the bedside lamp and puts her feet on the hardwood floor. The cold sensation is instantaneous and shoots up her like a lightning bolt. She shudders while looking at the faded floral curtains that were always very bad at keeping the sunlight out, especially when she was lucky enough to be able to sleep in. She goes to the old rocking chair that held her change of clothes; everything else had been packed and is waiting by the door and she begins getting dressed. Mia looks around as much as possible, trying to memorize everything before it's gone. The crack in the roof that was likely going to start letting rainwater or melted snow in, the old mirror hung on the wall across from her four-poster bed, the painting of a prairie hung near the window, the dresser which had paint chipping from it, and then the quilt that kept her warm on cold nights. All these things seem insignificant but truly meant the world to her. She wished she could just capture a picture of it and hold it forever.

Mia hears the truck down beside the house rev to life, signalling to her that she had to get a move on. She pulls her socks on and makes sure to grab her pyjamas before turning out the light. She stumbles around the bed and hesitates at the door.

Home is wherever you feel safe, she thinks to herself. It's never about the things inside.

She heads downstairs to find the family's border collie dog, Louie waiting by the door. Her suitcases were likely already in the truck, loaded in there by her grandmother and the dog appeared to be upset that he was left inside. He loved riding in the truck, but even he seemed to know what was happening and that this truck ride was not going to be fun. His tail wasn't wagging like it usually was, nor was his tongue hanging out of his mouth to show that he was happy.

Louie and Socks, the family's calico cat, were bright spots in Mia's life. She loved being able to play with the dog outside, having him fetch sticks and balls, and giving him belly rubs. She also loved that he was always there to greet her when she came home and would do his best to cheer her up when she was sad. While Socks was a cat and more unpredictable, he still loved the opportunity to crawl into Mia's lap and fall asleep there while she was watching TV or just reading by the fire. He appreciated having someone around that would pick him up or feed him treats if he felt in the mood.

But now, Socks is nowhere to be found and Louie keeps staring at the door, hardly moving at all until Mia approaches.

Immediately he turns and ran to her. She kneels and scratches him behind the ears, his favourite thing in the world. Louie lets out a whine and Mia lets the tears fall again.

"I'll miss you, Louie," she whispers, giving the dog a big hug. She holds on for a long time and Louie doesn't wriggle out of it like he usually does. He just sits and accepts the hug. "Take care of Grandma and Grandpa okay?"

The dog's brown eyes blink several times before he whimpers, likely sensing his companion's sadness. Clearly, he wouldn't know what was happening, but he could read the room and knew that something sad was happening.

When she breaks from the hug, Louie licks her face, and this causes Mia to smile through her tears.

"I love you too, buddy," she says.

She then hears a purring sound next to her. Socks is rubbing against her knee. She reaches down to stroke him too. Usually, the feline hated being near the dog, but as if just for her, the cat had made an exception to say goodbye.

"I'll miss you too Sweat Socks," she smirks, a nickname she'd given him long ago.

The cat lets out a small meow and continues to purr before rolling onto his back for Mia to rub his belly. She does so for a long moment before hearing the truck door slam. She knew she has to go.

"Bye guys," she says, giving one more stroke to each of them before grabbing her backpack, the last thing left by the door.

Mia takes another long look around her former home before shutting the door.

She clambers into the back of the truck next to her bags, looking at her grandparents, but they remain facing forward to avoid looking at her.

The truck begins to bump along the gravel and dirt road, its headlights piercing the thick darkness surrounding them. Mia gazes out to where the barn is, taking a last-minute look before the truck turns onto the main road.

Grandpa Zeke accelerates quickly, likely wanting to get out of the area as fast as possible to prevent Joel from seeing them.

Mia's heart pounds in her chest as she leans against the window. She's afraid that she'll actually see her father and that he'll do his best to try and follow them. He was going to find her again; she knew this for certain. So why everyone was putting in so much effort to help her escape made it all seem pointless. She just wanted to leave… getaway and be normal, is it really too much to ask?

The girl leans her head against the window and closes her eyes, not bothering to say goodbye to the town since she'd never had the chance to get to know it all that well. There were no friends, no neighbours, nobody that meant anything to her and that was all because of Joel…

She closes her eyes and wishes like she did every night that this was all a nightmare and she'd wake up in a better life.

…

The car trip is a long and tedious one, but it still gives Mia time to spend with her grandparents. She's being given the chance to cope and prepare to say goodbye to them. They play car games, eat fast food, tell stories, and just enjoy each other's company, knowing that in the back of their minds that it won't be for much longer.

"Just a few more miles Zeke," Grandma Mary says, looking up from the map she's holding on her lap.

Mia looks out at the trees passing by the window, slowly starting to change to autumn colours with the shifting of seasons. It would be very pretty if her mind wasn't so weighed down by misery and hatred for her situation. She knows their journey is about to come to an end when a sign greets the truck.

Welcome to Hawkins, Indiana

You'll Never Want to Leave

A/N: Welcome to Hawkins Mia, your life is only going to become more complicated. Please follow and review.