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Breaking Free

Chapter 20

"I keep myself alive just to die more
Every day."

Motionless In White "Scissorhands"



After an agonizingly silent walk down the street, they finally approached the pathway for Gage's house. Brushing past Daryl, Mia strode up the cement walkway towards Gage's house with nerves so frazzled she was fairly certain the butterflies in her stomach had morphed into pterodactyls during the short walk. Clenching her fists tightly at her sides, she attempted to will away the mounting anxiety by squeezing the tips of her short nails into the palm of her hand, but failed miserably.

She wanted nothing more than to rewind the morning all the way back to when she was happily sprawled out on her bed, snoozing peacefully. Hell, if she had the ability to rewind, she wouldn't stop at this morning, but would dial back time all the way back to before the damned world had fallen apart. Not that doing so would have saved humanity from the brink of extinction, but it would be nice to be able to go back and appreciate one more morning in her husband's arms.

Standing on the front stoop, Mia glanced over her shoulder to see where her newly appointed shadow was lurking and found Daryl obnoxiously close behind her. “I doubt Gage needs you to spy on me when I'm in his house. Go lurk somewhere else.”

Mia narrowed her eyes when Daryl did as she requested and headed towards one of the guard's empty chairs near the front of the pathway and flopped down on the dented metal seat unceremoniously. She honestly didn't know what was more annoying at that moment in time, the fact that he did as she told him to, or that he did so without arguing with her. Mostly, it was just that she was in a foul mood and it wouldn't matter what Daryl did, because anything that he did was going to annoy her.

Cursing beneath her breath, Mia raised her hand to bang on the door and let out a squeak of surprise when it opened before her knuckles made contact with the wood. Face to face with Gage, she turned all of her annoyance towards the presence of Daryl Dixon to the man in front of her. Pushing past him, she stepped into the house and found two of the three concubines that lived with Gage sprawled across the couch. Pointing at them, she ordered, “Out. Gage and I have to talk in private.”

Thankfully, the women were used to being ordered about, but typically not by Mia. However, they obliged in her orders, albeit all the while taking their sweet and precious time, as well as both shooting death glares at Mia as they headed upstairs. Once they were out of the living room, Mia whipped around to find Gage leaning against the doorway with an amused expression on his handsome face.

“You could have asked nicely. They'd have left without you being a bitch to them,” Gage pointed out with an amused smirk.

“I don't have the time or the desire to play nicey-nice with your whore's today, Gage,” Mia bit out with a snarl. Without bothering to give him a chance to say anything in response, she growled and asked, “Just who the hell do you think you are? Sending a stranger into my house to guard me? The hell is that about?”

“I said you wouldn't like what I'd do if you kept sneaking around,” Gage shrugged his shoulders and pushed away from the doorway to walk towards Mia, stopping just short of where she stood, seething in anger, to sprawl across the couch his women had just vacated.

“I haven't gone anywhere since you gave me that warning!” Mia argued, her voice raising slightly with each word.

“So I changed my mind. So what? You'd have snuck off eventually, we both know it. This way I know when and where you slip off to, because he's going to be on you twenty-four seven.” Gage propped up one foot onto the coffee table, the heavy black sole of his boot clunking heavily against the wood, and inspected a tiny hole that was forming in his blue jeans. When he spoke again, the smile that accompanied the words sent a chill down Mia's spine. “And, when he fuck's up and loses you, or lets you get hurt, at least I won't have to kill a part of our group.”

“So, you just wanted a stranger to watch me so you don't have to kill someone you know if he screws up? That's almost as fucked up as the reason Daryl said you sent him, that he didn't want to fuck me or some shit.” Mia shook her head in disappointment, hating to see what the Gage she grew up with had turning in to.

“Oh, that was part of the reason, Mia. He doesn't look at you like you're piece of ice on a hot day. In fact, the loathing in his eyes when he looks at you made him the perfect candidate. Hell, not even Jimmy looks at you with that much hate in his eyes, you must have really pissed him off when you were interrogating him.” Gage chuckled, put his foot down from the coffee table and stood up. “This way, I only have to kill him if he gets you hurt, not if he fucks you.”

“You're insane. Have I told you that lately?” Mia shook her head and threw up her hands in an emphatic gesture. Exasperated, she said, “He's not staying with me. Not in my house, not around town, not at all.”

“You don't want him in the house with you? Fine. He can sleep on the porch like the stray he is, Mia. But, mark my words, he is going to watch you for me. All day, every day, and not a damned thing you can say will change my mind.” Gage ground out his words, his dark eyes flashed angrily at her, before one corner of his mouth quirked up and he said, “Of course, there is one thing you could do to make me change my mind.”

“Ugh, get over yourself, Gage. I am not screwing you.” Mia rolled her eyes and frowned in disgust at Gage's offering. “I'm not one of your house whore's.”

“”No, you're more than that.” The softness in Gage's voice, the sudden change in his tone, made Mia blink in surprise, her hardened posture relaxing ever so slightly as a glimpse of her childhood friend showed himself. But, just as soon as the Gage she once loved peeked through, he was gone again. The cocky expression and amused smirk firmly in place once more, Gage continued, “Move in here with me. I'll kick the girls out, I don't care about them, Mia. Just you. It's always been you. Move in, I don't expect anything else. Live with me.”

Mia was honestly so shocked by what Gage was suggesting that she didn't notice he had slowly closed the gap between them until he was only a few short feet away. Before she could readjust her position, put some furniture between them or something to keep a barrier up against Gage, he was wrapping his hands around her upper arms and pulling her close against him. The hardness of his chest pushed against the softness of hers, the muscles she felt now a stark contrast to the scrawny teenager whom she had once danced with at prom. Had their circumstances been different, Mia could have easily seen herself falling into Gage's arms for comfort, but looks were only on the surface and that superficial quality had never been what Mia looked for in a man. Had Gage Winston retained his gangly frame and braces from high school, he would have had more of a chance with her now, because back then he had been one of the sweetest men she had ever known. His problem now was that he hadn't made a move on her back when she had actually found him attractive.

Now? All the muscles, height and staggering good looks couldn't save a man with a shitty personality. Not in Mia's book anyway. Now, Mia was on the verge of repulsion as she stared up into the chocolate gaze of her childhood friend, because staring back at her was an arrogant asshole who thought he could bully her into doing what he wanted her to.

Lifting her hands up as best as she could, Mia pressed them against his chest and tried to use the leverage to wriggle out of his hold. Unfortunately, there was little she could do with her petite frame to get out of his grasp, besides physical pain and she didn't want to go down that route unless it was absolutely necessary. “Gage, let me go, please?” She asked and hated to hear the pleading tone in her voice. “You're hurting my arms.”

“I'm sorry.” He said as he loosened his hold on her arms, not letting go as she asked, but at least he wasn't crushing them with his strength anymore.

His curly locks spilled forward over his shoulder as he looked down at her, dark and thick, luscious in a way that they hadn't been when he was younger, back when he had kept his hair cut painfully short in an attempt to lessen the curl. Mia drew her attention from his hair back up to his eyes in time to see his mouth descend on hers, pressing tightly against her unwilling lips as though it had every right in the world to be there. Muttering her objections against the unwanted kiss, her muffled words fell upon deaf ears as Gage deepened the kiss and tightened his hold on her arms once more.

She struggled against Gage, managing to pull her lips away from Gage's at the same time she twisted and jerked her knee upwards to ram solidly against his balls. His hold on her arms disappeared, his arms dropping down so he could cup his damaged privates in his hands, as he stumbled away from Mia with a litany of curse words spewing from his mouth.

“Don't you ever do that again! Do you hear me?” Mia ground out angrily as she swiped the back of her hand across her lips to get the taste of Gage off of them. Shaking her head, she looked at him with disappointment coloring her eyes and asked, “What happened to the Gage I used to know? Huh? Is he even in there anymore? Because he would never treat me the way you have lately.”

“Of course he wouldn't, Mia. That Gage had no fucking dick, he just followed you around like a goddamned puppy and you know what that got him? Not a fucking thing! That's what. That pathetic little shit got to take you to dances when no one else would go with you or watch you cry when you and Brian would fight.” Gage snarled at her in response, no longer bent over clutching his balls, but obviously still in pain if the expression on his face was any indication. “You walked your pretty ass all over that guy, Mia. You don't get to do that anymore. Either move in here with me, be with me, or get used to having that fucker outside shadow your every move. There's no other option.”

“I thought we were friends back then, Gage. Everything you did for me back then was what I thought friends did for each other, I guess I was wrong.” Mia pointed out with sadness in her voice, as she slowly inched her way towards the front door. “But, I guess we weren't friends like I thought we were.”

“I wanted more than that. Still do.” Gage took a step towards her, but stopped when he got a good damned look at the expression on her face. “It can be different, Mia. I can be what you need.”

“You obviously don't have any fucking clue what a friend actually is and for that, I feel sorry for you.” Mia took a shaky breath and blinked away the tears in her eyes, focusing on the anger seething inside to get her through that moment, instead of focusing on the sadness. “You know what, Gage? There will never be anything between us, because the man you've become isn't someone I find attractive. You're mean and I never thought that you, of all people, would become such a bully. Not after everything you went through in school. But, you did and that's just not a quality in a man that I find even remotely appealing.”

She tried her best, she really did, but the heartache that had been building up inside for years came spilling out and as the tears cascaded onto her cheeks, Mia let her guard down and Gage sensed the weakness and descended once more. Luckily, she wasn't completely blinded by the tears and side stepped his advance as he closed the distance.

“You don't get to touch me, Gage. You don't get to make me feel better anymore. You've lost that right, because we aren't friends anymore.” Mia choked on her own tears as her words caused her heart to realize exactly what was happening. A line was being drawn and for the first time since she was five years old, Gage was on the opposing team from her. She was officially losing one of the most important people in her life, and that thought put yet another crack in her fragile heart.

As she fled from the foyer, jerking open the front door to dart outside with tears falling from her eyes, Mia had to wonder just how many times her heart could get damaged before it would break altogether.



Notes

Thank you so much to everyone that is reading this story and a HUGE thanks to those who leave me such nice comments with each chapter. I truly appreciate you all!

Comments

@Serenity
I look forward to it....always was one of my favourite stories on Fan fiction.

Lewis Lewis
6/5/18

@lewis7


Glad to see you under any name! Thanks so much for all the comments! I am hoping that my muse shows back up, so I can write some more. I have had some ideas about writing short, one shot stories with Sam and Daryl from Need You Now. There were several scenes I had sketched out that didn't make it into the actual story, so I would like to write them out and post them if muse cooperates.

Serenity Serenity
4/25/18

Back to signing in as Lewis 7 as mel2a has stopped working!!
Love this story and really going to miss it and your brilliant Daryl story telling.
Will keep an eye out for you for future stories.
Thank you for your stories and writing talent.
xx

lewis7 lewis7
4/22/18

@Arubaredx


I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for commenting and good luck with the move!

Serenity Serenity
4/19/18

In the middle of packing to move so everything is crazy, but managed to finally catch up on your final chapter:) A very joyful ending, and very deserved for them too. Very much enjoyed this journey.

Arubaredx Arubaredx
4/18/18