Chapter 4

Mia was inside the police station. Fortunately, she was not there to be arrested but to look for Officer Parker. The jacket in her hand is the reason she was here, or more specifically, her mother. She made her return the jacket personally. She didn’t let me eat peacefully, nagging until I gave in.

She was right. He had brought me home while I was drunk, so I should at least thank him. Though the secretive smile my mother wore all morning has warned her to look out for me. Mia knows that look. She is well aware of her mother’s tactics, and it looks like she is brewing some sort of master plan. Mia prayed that it didn’t involve her and made a swift escape.

She had been waiting for Ethan to return to his desk for 10 minutes now. She had acquired quite some stares from his colleagues, and some even started gossiping. She should have known something was up when the girl at reception was shocked to find that she was Ethan Parker’s acquaintance. Mia ignored the stares she was well versed in ignoring such things and focused on his desk. It was clean and organized. There were several notes attached to the side, with elegant handwriting on them. It was only fair that she analyzed his personal space when he had entered her bedroom. Mia’s eyes wandered, taking in the subtle details of Ethan’s presence, searching for any hint of his personality.

She was tempted to leave the jacket and go to her office, but something prompted her to stay and thank him personally. Mia decided to go to the reception to find out how much longer it would take him to return. Before she could take a few steps, she saw him, and he hurried into the office. Mia was about to greet him, but then she saw a woman trailing behind him.

She had a similar look to him. Maybe she was his mother. The woman was several inches shorter than him, with the same blonde hair as his and the same shade of aqua blue as Ethan. There was no doubt that she was his mother.

As soon as the thought left her, Ethan said, turning to the lady, “mom! I told you I am very busy. We can talk about your friend’s daughter later.”

“When are you going to talk about it you have been ignoring the topic for days now,” she asked, hands on her hips, she didn’t care that people were staring at them, some of them averting their eyes, chuckling slightly as if it was something they had seen before.

Mia did not move any closer to them, standing awkwardly to the side, not knowing what to do. She was here at the wrong time. There is no way she is going to talk to him while his mother is going at it.

“Oh, Ethan, don’t tell me...” his mother trailed off. “don’t tell me you still could not forget her,” she whispered, though no one heard it, but Mia could hear it. As she was just behind them a few steps away. She awkwardly averted her eyes. She realized that it was a private conversation they were having, and she was eavesdropping, even if it was unintentional.

So, before his mother could say anything, she swiftly made her way out of there, or she tried to, before Ethan called her name, halting her steps.

“Mia!” he said, surprise evident in his words. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was just here to return your jacket,” she said, pointing at his desk where she had put the jacket. “Hello Mrs., parker.” She greeted the woman after she felt her gaze on herself. Mrs. Parker narrowed her eyes at Mia. She took a few steps, closing the distance between her and Mia.

“Hello, my dear,” she said, her eyes roaming over Mia’s form in appreciation. “Are you his friend? How come he has not introduced such a beautiful girl to me before?” her tone became dangerous as she turned to glare at his son.

Ethan sighed in resignation. “We are not friend’s mom.”

“You just lend your jacket to any girl, then?” Mrs. Parker questioned, making his cheeks turn pink at the accusation. From behind his mother, Ethan could see Mia holding in her laughter as he was getting embarrassed by his mother.

“We are acquainted through mutual friends,” he said, glaring at both women.

“If I may intrude, Mrs. Parker. Ethan had offered me to drive home after I had drank too much at the party. Don’t worry, he was a perfect gentleman.” Mia assured her, glancing at Ethan and letting him know that this was her thanks for the drive yesterday. “I should be grateful to you that you raised such a perfect gentleman,” Mia added, buttering her up a little bit.

And it worked, as she could see a blush on Mrs. Parker’s pale skin. “Thank you, Mia. May god bless you, I’ll let you guys talk. I have a very important thing to do,” she announced with a twinkle in her eyes and made her exit swiftly. Ethan and Mia were left to stare at her.

“I will also be taking my leave. Thank you for driving me home yesterday.” Mia said, already late for her work.

“Mia, promise me that you won’t drive while being drunk next time.” he asked something like pain glittering in his eyes. Is it connected to the girl his mother was talking about?

“I won’t. I promise.”