“Maybe it’s time you had your own transport,” Carla commented as she drove Mia to Annie’s house.It was the night of the date, and Mia hadn’t really been paying attention to what her mom had been saying. She’d been too focused on not being sick from nerves.“What did you say?”“A car Mia. I’d rather that than have to keep ferrying you round everywhere.”Mia gave her mom a side-ways glance. “Okay. Well, that would be great.” After everything that had happened between them recently, the last thing Mia would have expected would be her mom buying her a car. Maybe she just didn’t want to spend any more time with her than necessary.Carla nodded. “I’ll have a look round town tomorrow when you’re at work. It won’t be fancy though okay? Just something to get you started.”“No. Okay, thanks. Really.”Mia’s mind st

  “Popcorn, milk duds, or both?” “Both. And a soda.” The words were out before Mia could even stop herself. Despite the situation, she kind of loved the movies. There was that feeling excitement. Right from getting all her favourite snacks. This movie theatre was quite old fashioned too. There was plush red velvet everywhere and the unmistakale smell on popcorn.  Tyler laughed. “What ever you want babe.” And with that, his arm was back around her shoulders. Maybe she should have declined his offer, but she had to get something out of this ridiculous evening. “Make sure you don’t bust out of that dress after all that, Mia,” Savannah spat. Mia was about to respond, but Tyler got there first. “I wouldn’t have a problem with that.” He shot a wink at Mia. “Come on Tyler, lets get the tickets,” Ryan said, wanting to end the exchange. When the boys got in line, Tyler turned round to face Ryan. “What g

As Mia made the drive over, she still couldn’t believe that Ryan had offered to sort out her new truck. When he’d offered the day before, she’d almost expected it to turn into a joke. For him to turn around and go ‘hah! Not really!’ Then she started to worry that he would do that once she got all the way to his house. She pushed the thought away. No. They were friends now, right?Ryan’s house was on the edge of town. The whole property was encased in fir trees, making it a private spot that couldn’t be overlooked. Mia realised that this was probably the reason no one had witnessed any of the abuse perpetrated by his dad at home.A long pebbled drive took her down to an outbuilding where Ryan said he would be, and as promised, he was standing there waiting for her. He looked different today. There was no football jacket. Just a pair of old jeans with marks down the front, and a dark t shirt. For the first time since she’d

Mia wasn’t sure how Ryan had managed to sedate Savannah after she found out about him helping out with the truck, but she didn’t hear another word about it. Stranger still, she didn’t appear to kick up a fuss when Mia hung out with the group the following week or continue to join them for cheerleading practice.Now Tyler was sure Mia wasn’t vomiting any longer, he tried to up his charm to the max. However, Mia was now more comfortable with her position in the group, and she hoped she wouldn’t need to play along with him much longer.During one lunchtime, Trish bought up the subject of Halloween.“So, my parents are going to be out of town next weekend. I know it’s a bit early, but what about a party?”The whole group looked up with interest. House parties were a rare treat, as most of their hang outs were at the creek.“That sounds great!” Annie piped up. “Sophie are you in?”

Tilly had insisted doing the photoshoot the very next day. Mia suspected she was worried that she would back out if she didn’t pin her down soon. Mia had assumed that the photo shoot would just be her posing in her normal clothes. How wrong she had been.“I feel ridiculous,” she moaned. She tugged on the flowy white fabric that Tilly had insisted was a dress but felt more like a small bed sheet. Even Hamlet was looking up at her with a confused expression.“You look amazing. It’s totally perfect for this project. You’re like a wood elf spirit or something.”Tilly’s theme was ethereal. She’d decided that she wanted Mia as some kind of natural goddess. Mia just felt like a natural idiot.Mia sighed. “Whatever you say. Now what do you want me to do?”They’d come to a part of the creek Mia hadn’t yet explored. It was further down than where the popular crowd hung out, and for