1 - Different things

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Six years later....

Even on a bad day, Mia was lucky. The day Derek announced he didn't see a future with her, she had found the apartment of her dreams. She had been watching the renovation of the Victorian style home as she drive past every day on her way to work. With her car stopped at the red light, she looked over at its progress. Months before she decided to see inside the house even though she never expected to need an apartment.

The day the 'for rent' sign appeared in the front yard, she called for an appointment and secured a viewing on her way home from work. So in love with the design and craftmanship, she planned her argument to convince Derek why they needed to move. She never had the chance to give her speech.

When she walked into their apartment  he said, "I've been thinking we need a break."

"A break?" She repeated. Did she hear him?

"You want something I don't."

"What are you talking about?"

He had been the one to ask her to move in over eighteen months before. She had been living with her parents, so it made sense. He was nine years older, but she didn't feel the need to rush to the altar and didn't even hear her proverbial ticking clock.

"Everyone has been pressuring me from the beginning."

"Everyone, but me. Ignore my family. I do." She was the youngest — the baby. If she listened to her family's advice, she'd still be thirteen and dotting the I in her name with a tiny heart.

He shook his sexy shaved head. She had told him she'd touch it when he was still her doctor — her surgeon. That was the first thing she did when she met him again. She ran her hands on it like it was an eight ball. If she asked the question, 'will we have sex?', the eight ball would have responded, 'definitely'. Despite her sister's warning they became a couple. It was real, at least to Mia. It felt real when they were in bed and when he begged her for his favorite cookies — oatmeal raisin. They were a couple when they hung out with her sister Brenna and Noah. Her brother-in-law was Derek's close friend. Maybe he had been feeling pressure since her nephew Declan was born.

"Marriage isn't what I want. Maybe never. I think you should move out."

"Now?"

"Unless you want to sleep with me for old times' sake, but life isn't one of those sappy songs you like."

Biting her tongue, she wanted to say, if they had sex he would change his mind. Instead of crying, she stood frozen in disbelief when he walked out the door with his gym bag over his shoulder. The first thing she did was call the leasing agent to confirm she wanted the apartment. Then she packed a bag and drove to her sister's condo.

Brenna opened the door with Declan on her shoulder. Mia reached out and touched his back as she stepped inside. Her sister didn't notice her bag.

"Where's Derek?"

Mia took a deep breath before she spoke the words. She knew once she said them, they would be real. "He told me we want different things. He asked me to leave."

Brenna's eyes grew wide as she registered the bag which was hanging at Mia's side. "He what?" Her voice startled her infant son and he let out a loud cry.

Noah, who had been at the sink and had only called out a greeting when she arrived, came running to his wife's side.

"What's happening?" He looked ready to spring into emergency mode.

"Your jackass friend just ended it." Brenna's words were accurate, but she said them in a singsong voice, as she soothed Declan from her previous outburst.

A scowl crossed Noah's face, but docter calm, cool and collected didn't raise his voice like his wife. "He's an idiot."

Mia nodded as she sunk into the couch and Brenna handed her the baby. Maybe he was scared, because she enjoyed holding her nephew. She and her mother often fought over him. It was in good fun, but as much as she loved her little nephew, she never mentioned wanting one of her own — at least not right away. She should have been crying, but she only felt numb.

Noah whispered to Brenna loud enough for Mia to hear. "It's shock. She's in shock."

Maybe she was in shock, but deep down Mia knew she didn't love Derek enough. She felt the loss of his companionship and the life they had shared for two years. Her strongest emotion was anger, because she wasted two years with him. At twenty-eight, she was still young. Mia should have known Derek would never commit.

"I'm not in shock. I just feel stupid. The good news is I already found an apartment."

"You what?"

"I had been admiring a house for months and this morning a sign was in the yard. I called and looked at it. I thought my biggest problem was convincing Derek to move. I think I need some furniture."

"How do you know it's even available?" Noah was the voice of reason.

"Because I called the minute, he left for the gym. I'll sign the lease in the morning. I need to text Celia to let her know I'll be late for work."

"See Bren, we don't need to worry she has it under control. She reminds me of her older sister." Mia loved her brother-in-law, but her sister didn't look as convinced.

Brenna fussed over her. "Are you okay? It's bath time, do you need one of us to sit with you?"

"No, go. You can talk about me while you're doing the bath thing."

The minute they walked away, she heard the whispering. Not only were they talking about her, but they were spreading her news, because her phone rang.

"Sage, I'm fine."

She had to hold her phone away from her ear, as her normally refined sister-in-law vented through the phone. It was as if Derek broke up with her. He did in a way, he broke up with the entire family since they had welcomed him with open arms.

"I can't believe he did that. Seriously, how can he not be ready? He'll be ancient soon."

Mia laughed. "I guess we were on the wrong page or I wasn't enough for him. I don't care what his reasons are." She did. "I wouldn't go back to him now if he begged me with a rock bigger than yours and Brenna's combined."

"That's just gauche. You're too petite. You wouldn't be able to wear it. Believe me, I know people who do."

Of course, she did. She was an only child and heir of Petersen Shipping and Container. The people she knew were wealthier than wealthy. Mia should know because she worked for one of them as the CFO of the Whitby Charitable Foundation. Her boss, Celia Whitby probably had a five carat ring.

Sage was irate Derek had dumped Mia. In fact, Mia surmised Sage was more emotional over the breakup than her. Not that Mia didn't shed a few tears, but any sadness was mixed with excitement whenever she thought of the home of her dreams.

"I'm just saying I'm done with him. I gave him two years of my life and if I wasn't good enough, then it's his problem, not mine."

She wasn't sure she believed herself, but it sounded good.

"If I see him again, I'll... I wouldn't let him perform surgery on me if he was the last surgeon on earth."

Mia wanted to laugh, but she loved Sage for her passion. She was her sister and Mia was secretly glad it was Sage and not Mia's brother, Aidan who called. Aidan would probably threaten to beat him up. It wouldn't end well for her brother, because Derek worked out more. In fact, that was one of her complaints. He spent a lot of his limited time off at the gym.

Noah brought her blankets and a pillow for the sofa. "Hey, are you really okay?"

She shrugged. How could she know? "I guess I'll have to be."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I expected him to change when he met you. He was always dating, but never seriously. I should have stopped him. I should have known."

"Noah, none of this is your fault. I wasn't blind. God, his age alone was a clue." She put her hand up, because he was going to argue. "You were different. Once you found the right girl, you realized relatively quickly. I guess I'm not the right girl for him."

"Just so you know he'll have to answer to me."

Mia hugged him. "I'm tired. I love you guys."

He nodded and went to bed with his wife.

Brenna had tried to discourage her from dating him, but her older sister could be bossy and she ignored her. She was hoping for her wish to come true — for true love. Deep down she knew Derek wasn't her true love. Maybe he sensed it too.

When they started dating, she argued with Brenna. "I met him on my own when I had my appendix out. He's already seen inside me."

Mia had smiled, because Brenna was shocked, but Noah laughed. She thought Derek was hot when he was her surgeon and flirted with him from her hospital bed. He may have been good looking with his smooth shaved head, but he couldn't commit and she was glad he hadn't. She would have married him and missed out on her true love whoever he was. The fountain was magical, after all.

Mia would like to say she slept, but she was restless all night. It could have been the sofa or the baby crying, or the nocturnal cat prowling around, but she missed Derek more than she wanted to admit.

Let's all point out the irony from Sage!

Thanks for voting ⭐️


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net