Page 63 of Mating Mia
He steps back, adjusting himself in his jeans with a grimace. “Whoever it is has the worst timing in history.”
I grab the phone, swiping to answer just before it would go to voicemail. “Hello?”
“Mia?” The voice on the other end is achingly familiar, though strained in a way I’ve never heard before. “It’s Ben.”
My stomach drops, all thoughts of Finn and what we were about to do vanishing instantly.
“Ben? Are you okay?” I ask, wondering why my adoptive brother was calling.
“Not really,” he says, and I can hear the tremor in his voice despite his obvious effort to control it. “I thought you should know... Mom and Dad were arrested this morning.”
The kitchen seems to tilt around me, the floor shifting beneath my feet. I reach out to hold onto the counter, knowing exactly why. “Arrested?”
“Child abuse, fraud, kidnapping,” Ben lists, his voice cracking on the last word. “The adoption agency filed charges. They said... they said you were taken, Mia. That they took us illegally. Is that true?”
My heart hammers against my ribs so hard I’m sure Ben can hear it through the phone.
I’m the one who contacted the agency, who set this whole investigation in motion. But I never expected it to happen so quickly, and especially never thought Ben would care.
“Yes,” I whisper. “They kidnapped us. They never loved us, Ben.”
There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, broken only by the sound of Ben’s uneven breathing.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he finally asks, hurt evident in every syllable.
“I didn’t know how,” I admit, guilt washing over me in a nauseating wave. “Everything happened so fast. I was going to call you, I swear, but then Ash was born, and... I’m so sorry, Ben. I never wanted you to find out like this.”
Finn’s hand settles on my lower back, a silent show of support. I lean into his touch, grateful for the anchor as my world tilts once again on its axis.
“It’s okay,” Ben says after a moment, though we both know it isn’t. In reality, I thought my siblings hated me and never wanted to hear from me again.
“Are you... Are you all right?” I ask, desperately wishing I could see his face. “Where are you staying?”
“I’m at Jake’s house,” he says, referring to his best friend from high school. “His parents said I can stay as long as I need to. The police said they’re going to need me to make a statement about... about how they treated us.”
The implications of that hit me hard. Ben will have to testify against our parents, to detail the abuse he witnessed, maybe even experienced himself. More guilt twists in my gut—I’ve thrown him into this mess without warning, without preparing him.
“I’m so sorry,” I say again, the words woefully inadequate. “Do you need anything? Money, or a place to stay, or...?”
“I’m okay,” he interrupts, a hint of his usual stubbornness returning. “I’m eighteen, Mia, not nine. I can handle myself.”
Despite everything, a watery laugh escapes me. “I know. I worry about you.”
“Yeah, well, that’s nothing new.” There’s a pause, then his voice softens. “I miss you, you know. Even with everything that’s happening. I wish you were here.”
Tears spill down my cheeks, hot and unstoppable. “I miss you, too. I love you, Ben. You’re my brother, no matter what some DNA test says.”
“I love you too,” he replies, and I can hear the tears he’s trying to hold back. “I should go. I’ve got a lot of homework to do.”
“Call me anytime,” I insist. “Day or night. And if you change your mind about needing anything?—”
“I’ll let you know,” he promises. “Bye, Mia.”
“Bye,” I whisper, but he’s already gone, the line dead in my ear. I lower the phone slowly, staring at the screen as if he would call back. The timer for the fish beeps insistently, but I can’t seem to make myself move to silence it.
“Mia?” Finn’s voice breaks through my daze. “What happened?”
I turn to him, tears still streaming down my face.
