Kept In The Dark

Chapter Four

Finally, Mia could breathe a sigh of relief as she waved goodbye to her younger siblings who were off to stay with their aunt Mary for a few hours.

"Bye Katie, bye Will," she called. She waved her hand and watched as the silver car driven by Mary Chandler drove off down the road.

Mia pulled her keys out of her coat pocket and unlocked the back door. She stepped into the house and through the kitchen where piles of washing up waited. She took one look at it and caught a strong whiff of last night's curry-ready meal. She sighed and wished more than anything that Mum was able to cook nice dinners like her friends' parents did.

Mia entered the door into the front room and took a seat on the soft settee. She thought for a moment and tried to focus on the job at hand. For the first time in a long time, she was completely alone in the house. Her normally loud home fell silent. The sound of the clock that hung on the living room wall felt as if a drum beat every second. It hadn't been so quiet since before Mum and Brian got together and before the twins were born. Mia was used to the chaos and the daily laughter and screaming. Silence gave her the creeps and being alone broke her heart. 

After a few minutes, she stood and walked towards the kitchen. She picked up the kettle that sat on the worktop and filled it with water from the sink. She placed it back and waited for it to boil. The sound felt comforting. It broke the silence for a moment and made her feel at ease. She could feel her heart rate slow to more of a steady pace and she breathed a long sigh.

Her favourite beige cup waited on the side. It had been a gift for her sixteenth birthday and was decorated with her name along with the phrase best daughter. It may have been naff but it was the thought that counted. It was one time that her Mum had remembered her birthday and that meant something to Mia. She dropped the teabag in the cup and filled it full of boiling water before adding a few drops of lactose-free milk. She was just about to remove the tea bag when she heard a knock on the front door. Mia turned and took her cup of tea into the front room where she left it on the coffee table. She headed quickly towards the door and opened it.

Laura stood in the doorway, her golden blonde curls flowing freely down her back and her petite blue glasses were perched on the bridge of her nose. A warm glow kissed her skin from a week of sun, sea and sand.

"Hey girl," she said, as she entered the house, "is your mum in?"

"No, she's out. Brian's ill. He's been taken away by an ambulance. He's had a stroke, we think. Or a heart attack."

"Right, so we have the whole house to ourselves. Come on Mi, where shall we look first?"

Mia gave a lengthy sigh as she crossed off the places she'd searched in her mind. She knew for a fact her birth certificate wasn't in the box of personal documents that she kept on top of her wardrobe. It wasn't under her bed, or anywhere in her room, as she'd spend many evenings looking there.

"If it's anywhere it will be in my mum's room."

Laura reached forward. Mia winced as her friend's fingers gripped her arm, pulling her stumbling forward. Mia's mind filled with worries as she headed up the stairs. She didn't have a clue where the document was and whether or not they'd be able to find it. She hoped more than anything that their search would be worth it, but she knew how long she'd looked for it, and hope started to fade.

She stood outside her mother's room and slowly reached forward, taking the golden doorknob between her fingers. She twisted it and gave it a gentle push with her shoulder. The old wooden door creaked but failed to open.

Mia stood back "I think it's locked."

"Come on Mia, give it some welly!"

Mia stepped back a foot. A long scream escaped her lips as her right shoulder collided with the bedroom door. A sound like wood cracking echoed through the landing as it flew open. Mia hurtled through into the room, her shoulder still attached to the door. With a loud bang, it landed inside on the carpet. Mia looked around her. A feeling of confusion and sickness flooded her mind and stomach. Slowly and carefully she pushed herself up. When she was finally on her feet Laura's expression caught her attention.