The yard that is stretched in front of Mia somehow looks wider and longer than before. She thinks that she might break her ankles before she even reaches the end of the yard. The click-clack sound of her heels makes her anxious. There are still people hanging by the pool and in the pool. It must be around midnight but the youthfulness of her college mates doesn't seem to fade away. There are a lot of thoughts that are going through Mia's head and it always happens when she is hurt or sad or disappointed or all of the above.
"Mia, Mia." She knows that Carys is right behind her, yelling her name as she increases the speed at which she is walking out of the house. She won't stop and why even would she stop?
"Mia, please." Carys is persistent and when he finally reaches Mia slightly, he grabs her thin shoulder and forcefully makes her turn around. Mia is easy to give in and turns around eventually.
Carys doesn't actually know what he was expecting from Mia's face but he is slightly shocked to see that Mia is as calm as ever. Her face certainly is of no colour, does it mean that she was not at all hurt by the statement that Carys made before.
"What?" Mia says as she looks up at Carys who is paler than usual. There is a voice in Mia's head that thinks that Carys is here to apologise for what he said earlier and that voice is actually right.
Carys has lost half of his vocabulary right now because words don't seem to come out of his mouth. "I…," he manages to say and then he lets go of Mia's shoulder.
"I am sorry," he says after clearing his throat. His eyes carry an apology but Mia is not even offended by what was said earlier. Should Mia be sorry for herself or must rejoice that she is now at an advantage over Carys? She will never know. She doesn't even know what games they are playing. There must not be any games in the first place.
"For joking about my dead father?" Mia questions and Carys just looks at her. To decipher Mia's words is the toughest job for Carys.
"Yes, of course. That it is." Carys says. The moonlight has descended from the sky and in this faint light, they say people look prettier than they actually are and right now, he sees everything but remorse on Mia's face. Carys have heard stories from people who had an abusive father but when death arrives, in the end, all of them have cried and showed care for their fathers. He doesn't see it in Mia's face right now and something in him tells him that he will never see it ever.
"You can use your father's privileges as you wish, you don't have to feel sorry for me just because I don't have one," Mia says when she notices that Carys is reading her face as much as he can, for as long as he can. It irks Mia to think that someone out there is trying to dig a hole into her heart and turn everything upside down. She can't let it happen.
"Mia, I didn't mean it that way. I don't feel sorry for you because you don't have privileges. I know you can create your privileges yourself." Carys replies and Mia is now looking at his face which reflects the light of the lamp by the rocky path. The blue eyes, the brown hair, the curls that hide the forehead.
"I am just sorry to have said something out of line." Carys finishes and Mia swiftly darts her eyes back towards the room. She can see Tony standing right outside the room by the glass window. It looks like he is waiting for them to finish their conversation.
"You don't have to be sorry. Nobody has the right to feel sorry for me. I am not someone you should pity." Mia says as she looks back at Carys. Carys' eyes are fixated on Mia and it feels like he doesn't notice anything else when he looks at her. Every time Carys has looked at Mia, Mia has remembered it, weirdly.
"And also, I am not sorry to call you a trust fund baby because that's what you are. That's what you truly are. A baby who takes baby steps while his father supports his back." Mia has no filter while she confronts Carys. Is it jealousy? Mia will never say it aloud but it is. A slight hint of jealousy is obvious in Mia's tone and Carys is taken aback not that he has expected any less from Mia.
"Is it so bad to be a trust fund baby? In my opinion, I have the right to my father's wealth. I am sure you must have some of your father's things and you must have kept them safe." Carys replies and it takes Mia back. Far back to when she was fifteen.
A sudden thud, a sudden blast and Mia's heartbeat is about to reach the limit. She has a lump in her throat but it is her job to conceal her emotions. It is her job to remind herself that she is not fifteen anymore. She is twenty-five and right now she is on a mission and she is standing right in front of her target.
"No," Mia says, holding back the shiver in her voice. "I don't have any such things on me, Carys." She says and turns back to walk out of the house.
Carys doesn't chase Mia after that. He is replaying the last word that Mia said right before turning back. Mia said his name. Carys. His name had no potential of sounding so beautiful. Why does he feel this way? He thinks to himself. It feels like his name is echoing in the yard and every echo has the same feeling in it. The bitter, sweet and sincere feeling just like Mia had when she spoke his name for the first time and weirdly enough, this echo of his name also has a slight shiver that Mia had when she took it. Of course, Carys had noticed the sudden change in Mia's tone. How can he not?