On Thursday, Mariana was wrapped up in her bed, with her laptop in front of her except she couldn't bring herself to write. For the past thirty minutes, she couldn't stop thinking about what she said to Micah the other day. It came out so suddenly from her mouth and to be honest, it wasn't even him that she was mad at, she was still upset about what Electra had said and unfortunately, that anger got the better of her.

She sniffed and then closed as a tear trickled down her eye. She was no longer upset but now it was replaced with a bitter feeling of regret so she wanted to sleep it off for a few minutes to see if it will go away.

She was about to doze off until she heard a loud buzz from her phone. She groaned and fumbled through the sheets to grab it. Once she brought it to the light, she was surprised to see a message from Crystal.

Crystal: Hello my girl, how are you doing?

Mariana: I'm fine, just a little tired.

Crystal: Yeah I don't blame you because of what's been going on recently, that's why I wanted to ask if you would be up for something.

Mariana: Oh, what is it?

Crystal: Since I noticed that you and Micah have not been getting on that well lately, I figured you two need a bit of space, so why don't you come to Milan with me and my girls?

Mariana: Really? When?

Crystal: We'll be leaving this Sunday and staying for most of next week.

Mariana pondered over that offer with a surprised look in her features. She figured that Crystal had no idea what she said to Micah otherwise she would probably not be this kind to her right now, and it just made her feel even more guilty. But she still smiled and she would love to go and spend some time abroad.

Mariana: Okay I'll come☺️. Thank you.

Crystal: It's okay my lovely. Come stay with us on Saturday so we can just leave for the airport the following morning.

Mariana: Okay I'll see you then☺️.

Crystal: Bye❤️.

Mariana put her phone down and she felt a bit better in this happy turn of moods. She still felt but now she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders so she can now start her research for her article when all she had to worry about now was taking time off work.

She grabbed her laptop, sat up, and then began typing away on Google.

****

On Saturday, she was at Micah's house while Mylah was seated on the floor between her mum's legs. Her bum was comfortably resting on a cushion as Crystal was doing two chunky Dutch braids on her hair, with a jar of jojoba oil on the side and a wide-tooth comb.

Mariana was sat peacefully opposite her. She had straightened her hair for tomorrow and dyed it dark gold with the ends re-curled. She was now helping out by placing gold cuffs around Mylah's fuzzy ends. She also helped with Makayla's hair which was done yesterday.

Mariana then came across two very big cuffs in the pack, one which had small diamonds and the other was regular gold.

"Oooh," she said, holding it in her palm. They looked like they were made for royalty and she thought they would look extremely nice and perfect on the hair, so she put them at the start of the braid and near the end.

"Wow those cuffs look so nice," Mylah squealed as she loved the feeling of getting her hair pampered like she was a princess. She couldn't wait till she could jump up and look at her new hairstyle in the mirror.

Crystal noticed this and suddenly stopped braiding. "No take those out Mariana, they're too grown-up for her."

"What..." Mylah pouted in fear. She didn't want her big, boojiee cuffs removed, and neither did Mariana want to remove them. She actually seemed confused on how they were too grown-up for Mylah.

"Mom please let me keep them on, they look so pretty," Mylah pleaded.

"Are you sure you want them?" Crystal said, slightly re-thinking her decision.

"Yes please!"

Crystal sighed. "Let me see them."

Mariana passed them over to her and Crystal peered at them very carefully in the palm on her hand. She scruntinized them and had the most grumpiest frown at how flashy they were.

But eventually, she didn't find them that bad and thought they looked okay. "Okay they are good," she said and gave them back to Mariana.

Mylah cheered silently and settled back with relief.

"So what are we gonna do in Milan?" Mariana asked with curiosity.

"Well it's going to be fashion week so we will be going to see a fashion show."

"Oh, nice!" She squealed excitedly. She was even more excited to go to Milan. She had never been to a fashion show before but seeing all those pretty outfits made her giddy.

Suddenly, Micah entered the room, looking down at his phone and with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, but when his eyes traveled up to meet Mariana's, a frown settled on his face on the possible complaint that will erupt from her mouth.

"I suppose you're going to find some random thing wrong with me and then start complaining about Electra, Mariana." He kissed his teeth at her.

"What—I— I haven't even said anything yet!" Mariana whined out in defense. She was just sat there, innocently minding her own business, and then Micah comes out with this random accusation.

Crystal started laughing as she brushed away some hair that stuck out. "Micah, ¿por qué le habla' a tu chica tan duramente?" (Micah, why do you speak to your girl so harshly). 

She tried to hold in her laughter but it was impossible seeing Mariana's stunned face. "I know I shouldn't be laughing but Mariana's reaction is so funny. Poor girl looks so confused."

"I am!" Mariana whined again. She looked like she was in the middle of crying and being shocked. Her mouth was still open it didn't move, it was frozen.

When Crystal had finally finished Mylah's hair, she jumped off the cushion and then stretched her back which was a little strained from sitting down for too long.

"Thanks, mom!" Mylah said, hugging her.

"Aw that's okay my baby," she said and gave her a big kiss.

"Hey Micah, can you help me with something?" Mason asked as he came in.

"Why don't you ask some random girl off the street for help as you always do?" He shouted out of nowhere.

Mason took a step back as his eyes became wide. "Um, what?"

"Why can't you just stay out of my business?" Micah shouted again, his speech slightly slurred as he drank more whiskey.

"I haven't even done anything to you! Why are you screaming nonsense?" Mason complained.

Micah then got up and threw the whiskey bottle at Mason. He ducked just in time and the glass shattered on the wall behind. "I hate you and I wish I had no brother!" He screamed.

Crystal screamed at the sound of the glass smashing and shouted at Micah who just stormed off upstairs. Meanwhile, Mason was shocked and couldn't gather his words as he just witnessed the inexpiable anger of his brother.

"Mom, do you know why he's so angry at me? I promise I haven't done anything this time." For the first time, Mason felt hurt by Micah's actions because although he loved teasing him most of the time, he didn't want to go as far as actually losing him as a brother.

"I don't know but just give him some space to cool down."

Mason didn't look convinced as he looked in the direction that Micah ran off in. Mariana had her head down, with her cheeks blistering in guilt. She knew why he was mad, it was because of what she said the other day, but she didn't know he'll make it this far.

"Um, are there any guest rooms I can stay in?" Mariana asked.

"Yeah, there's plenty on the floor above," Crystal replied.

"Okay," Mariana said and started fiddling around with the cuffs. She heard her heartbeat and it made her uncomfortable. She felt like this fight was all her fault so she didn't want to cause any more problems by staying in the same room as Micah.

When it came for the time to go to bed, Mariana got settled into one of the guest rooms that were near Micah's bedroom. The bed was soft and felt really comfortable to go to sleep on, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of loneliness as she didn't have Micah to cuddle with, but maybe she could give him a quick hug before she leaves.

When it was deep into the night, Mariana still couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned but her mind wouldn't just shut down. So she decided to get up and have a little walk around since lying in bed wasn't helping.

She silently crept out of the bedroom, as quiet as she can in order not to wake anyone. The hallway was silent and dim, she could only hear the distant echo of her footsteps, and the creepy shadows that cast along the ground, looking like claws because of the trees.

There wasn't anyone around which made her scared but she was just going to walk around downstairs so it should be fine.

She went into the kitchen and it was so dark that no light penetrated through it. The only thing she could make out was the outline of objects and the heavy, raspy breathing that whispered through the silence. It made the hairs across her arm spike up as she quickly turned the lights on. Like he wasn't even there, Mason's figure appeared in the shade of the bright light, with an all too creepy smile that made him look like a serial killer in horror movies.

She jumped back and she felt her heart almost leap out of her chest.

"Mason, I didn't realize you were there."

"Sorry if I scared you," he said.

"It's okay, what are you doing here anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep so came down here to get a drink, you?" he said, pouring a glass of tequila.

"Same," she said and stared down at the glistening liquid in his hand. She went into the cup smoothly but also made her uncomfortable as it was the only sound that could be heard in the room.

"By the way, do you know why Micah is upset?" He asked as he started gulping it down, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"No!" She answered immediately and almost in a panic. He raised one eyebrow at her and she realized she sounded too suspicious so she calmed down her voice a little. "Not really..."

"You sure?" He said, settling his cup down and slowly walking toward her. She took some steps back, the way his voice became low scared her.

"Um I think I'm going to go to bed now..." she said and tried to run but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"I think it has something to do with you..." he said, staring at her face which was sweating like it had been dipped with water. Her heart was palpitating like a fast-paced drum and she felt like it was going to jump out of her mouth. Her cheeks became as he started stroking them gently.

"But you are so beautiful though..." he said and twirled a bit of her hair, a smirk appeared on.

At this moment, a solemn dread overcame her, like she had a shadow enclosing her in forever darkness, and she now had tremendous regret and fear of the words she uttered that evening. People say 'careful what you wish for' and this was it for her. Her tears began streaming down her cheeks as she tried to get out of his grip, but he only twisted her around so he trapped her against the counter.

"You're so feisty, I love it," he said into her ear and pinned her arms together so she couldn't escape.

She began to scream at the top of her lungs before he pressed his whole body against hers.

"No! Stop!" She screamed and kicked him between his legs. But she didn't see to hit anything and to her surprise, he released her.

Once, Mariana felt his grip no longer, she rushed away from the counter and stared back at Mason like she had just seen her whole life flash in her eyes.

He started laughing and then went back to his drink. "Don't worry, I wasn't actually gonna do anything, Micah would kill me."

She wasn't convinced and sprinted upstairs. She didn't feel comfortable sleeping on her own tonight so she built up the courage to go to Micah's room. She slowly opened the door and he was deep asleep in his bed. She went up to the side and gently shook him.

"Micah," she whispered.

He wasn't completely awake but he groaned and his body moved slightly.

"Um, can I sleep with you tonight?"

He didn't say anything but just slowly opened the covers as his eyes were still closed. She dived right in and he closed it behind her. She huddled closer to him as the heat of the bed pulled her in and so did his arms, hugging her close like she was a teddy. He was still asleep but she wanted to say something before drifting off to sleep herself.

"Micah I just wanted to let you know, I'm sorry for what I said about Mason. I didn't mean it and it was just out of anger. You're the only one for me Micah and I would never want to put you through the same pain, I love you."

He didn't respond but she had a feeling that he still heard her and that was all she needed to go to sleep in peace.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I know one thing Mariana and Micah have in common, they are getting angry at the wrong people 😭.

But don't worry, the next chap will definitely make you smile😁😁❤️.