Mia walked into the police station with Candace’s company.
After dealing with a couple of procedures, they finally got to see Summer. Summer’s hair was a mess, and she looked so pitiful.
Those bright, happy eyes of hers went vicious the moment she saw Mia.
“Why are you still even here? You’ve won. You don’t need to rub your triumph all over my face. Or you’re just here to make fun of me?” Summer hissed.
Mia went frozen. It took her a while to finally manage to talk, “Believe it or not. I’m just here to take a look at you. Also, I really wanted to know, Summer. I’ve been treating you as my best friend. What have I done to make you hate me so much? You even pretended to be my best friend to frame me. I really can’t believe you’re doing that to me, Summer. Have I done anything wrong to hurt your feelings before? If I have, I also wasn’t aware of that. I can’t even think of anything I did to hurt you so much as to make you do something terrible like this to me.”
“You’re asking me what you have done?” Summer’s voice carried ridicule. And then, her eyes grew cold as ice, “You have everything I don’t have, Weston. You have money, good parents, and friends. But I don’t have anything! I tried so hard in school, but people still wanted to make friends with you just because you’re rich. They don’t even care that you’re just a stupid ass. Mia, without your parents, you’re just a piece of shit! No one would ever want you!”
Mia’s mouth dropped open, “What the heck are you talking about, Summer? You’re so gruesomely sick.”
Summer raised her voice, “I’m saying that you’re a useless piece of shit! Your scores are not even as high as mine in school. People would never want to be friends with you if you’re not rich. And do you know what disgusted me most? You spent money on us not because you wanted to make friends. You spent the money because you wanted to feel you’re better than all of us! You were doing charity!”
Mia took them as friends, and Summer just said she did that because she wanted to feel better about herself.
Mia was suddenly annoyed, yet she couldn’t spit out a single word.
“I knew it! You’re spending money on me because you pity me. All of you are the same! You did all those things for me and lent me help. But you did everything just to make fun of me. You wanted to make me feel inferior around you! I hate your kind so freaking much, Mia. You have everything after you’re born. You don’t even cherish those things, and you deliberately throw them away in front of my eyes. You just wanted to remind me that what I wanted was just trash in your eyes! You were showing off! You were trying to beat me down!”
Summer was getting more and more freaky as she continued, “You have no idea how much I wish I could be just like you. I wish I had parents who loved me. I wish there was also someone protecting me secretly when I was out with friends. Mia, you’re too lucky, and that disgusted me. I hate you so much! I wish you burn in hell!”
So, she had been jealous of her the whole time?
“I’ve been genuinely treating you as my best friend, Summer. Fine. If that’s how you deem me, I guess we shouldn’t meet each other anymore,” Mia didn’t want to continue arguing with her anymore. She whipped around and walked away from that place with tears in her eyes.
She thought she would have cried louder, but she was just sobbing in the car on their way back. Candace had been trying to comfort her and make her feel better.
Mia couldn’t even say something as she thought back to what Summer had said to her.
She had to admit that she was quite dumb in school, and she never cared about her scores.
She thought she didn’t need to worry about those things. She never thought Summer would deem her that way.
Mia let out a long sigh.
Luckily, she finally got to see her “best friend’s true face.
She would never fall for tricks like this anymore.
****
When Thea returned to the hotel after the day’s shooting, Mia visited her room, “Thea, I’m going back home tomorrow.”
Thea blinked. She couldn’t believe that Mia had just talked to her initially. The girl used to avoid her.
Thea was lost for words for a while.
“Geez, your little sister just came to report her journey tomorrow,” Candace teased the sisters.
Mia dropped her gaze and blushed. Thea smiled, “Have a safe journey.”
Mia nodded, “Thanks for saving me, Thea.”
“You’re always welcome,” Thea ruffled her hair a bit.
“You’re gonna go back? When is your flight, though? Do you need a lift tomorrow?” Cody asked.
Mia answered quickly, “Yeah. I miss Mom and Dad. The flight will be at 12. A lift would be pretty nice. Thanks, Cody.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Mia,” Cody’s lips formed into a thin smile as he said these words, “We are a family.”
Mia only felt even more embarrassed. She heaved a deep sigh, “I’m sorry for bringing you guys so much trouble these days. I was being stubborn and stupid. I promise that I won’t do that again.”
Cody pulled a face, “That is understandable, Mia. No one is blaming you. You also shouldn’t blame yourself. You’re just a kid.”
Thea had also explained, “It’s all things in the past, Mia. You don’t need to remember any of that anymore. Remember to spend more time with our Great-grandpa when you get back. He missed you so much. He told me when he called me last time. Summer Break is just around the corner, right? What is your plan?”
Mia sat straighter, “I want to find a job during the break. I want to find out if I can provide for myself this summer.”
A smile appeared on Thea’s face, “Drew and Fritzi will be so proud of you, Mia.”
Mia smiled back shyly.
Beneath that stubbornness, Thea had always known Mia was a good kid.