A new house guest

Author's Note: Hi, everyone. I am back from my hiatus and continuing the story. If you're not a newcomer, I suggest re-reading the last few chapters before starting the new ones. As I mentioned in the comments, I lost my notes and had to re-gather them from Chapter 1. While going through the story again, I edited and tried to resolve some inconsistencies. If you notice anything else out of place, please let me know.

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With everything that happened during the day, you forgot that your daughter had spent the day helping her best friend, Mia, move into your home. In fact, you were so distracted during your journey home that you almost walked by Mia, sitting on the couch in the living room.

The overhead lights are off, and she watches a show on the old television in darkness. Teenagers walk across the screen, hand in hand, with too-serious expressions on their faces. They are blurry, a consequence of a too-old TV and poor quality cable. Another thing you need to fix.

You expect to see Karina with Mia, but the petite girl is alone. You check the time on your phone as you walk up behind the couch to check on her. You have a few updates from the Affection Multiplier, but you brush them aside. It is nearly eleven. Where did the time go? Karina and Nadia are probably already asleep, explaining why Mia is down here by herself. They wouldn't have been able to get the spare bed down from the attic without your help.

Mia doesn't notice your approach, and you hesitate to disturb her. She sits on your old, worn couch with a threadbare blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her thighs are drawn to her chest, and her chin rests on the crest between her knees. She's awake, though, and you think it would be stranger to not say good evening to her.

You rest your hands on the spine of the couch and say, "so they tossed you downstairs to sleep on the couch, huh?"

She jumps in surprise and snaps her head around to see you with a sudden jolt of energy. Her eyes are wide in alarm at first, but they relax as she realizes who is behind her. The sudden burst of adrenaline leaves her, and she sags. "Lev," she smiles, her tiredness evident in the slow flitter of her eyelashes.

You walk around the side of the couch to speak to Mia better, her eyes tracking you as you move. You lean against the arm of the couch, careful not to invade her sleeping space. She continues to smile at you, the corner of her mouth struggling to stay up. As you settle against the couch, she straightens her knees into a crossed sitting position, her elbows on each knee and palms under her chin for support.

"It's not too bad," she says. "I get to watch TV all night, which is new. We never had a TV at home for long. Mom would always pawn them for liquor money as soon as we got one." Her tiredness wins out, and her smile fades.

"I can't say ours is much, but you can use it whenever you want. That goes for everything in this house, Mia. What's ours is now yours. I want this to feel like home for you, while you're here with us," you say back.

The younger girl lazily smiles again and scoots closer to where you lean against the arm of the couch. "Thank you," she says and leans her head against your hip. She stays there, unmoving, and you gently tease your fingers through her hair. After a few moments, she looks up to you. "I really mean it. Thank you, for everything, Lev."

You don't know what to say. What else would you have done? You wouldn't leave her on the streets. Letting her live with you was the only option. Instead of speaking, you simply nod, and continue to stroke her hair.

She rustles under her blanket, no doubt getting more comfortable, but then pushes it aside. She leans away from you, stretches into the living room air, and jumps to her feet. She falters, unsteady, but then turns to you.

For the first time that evening, you're able to see what she is wearing. A black spaghetti strap tank top with a pair of grey cotton shorts. The clothes hug her petite frame like a glove. Her hair falls down over her chest and back in raven black locks, darkened by the lack of light.

You eye her, curious. Mia smirks at you, then steps closer. Another step closer. "Think I could get a goodnight hug?" she asks.

"Of course," you say. Always. You lean away from the couch and close the few steps between you and the young girl. Her hands dart around your waist, interlocking behind your back, while you wrap yourself around her narrow shoulders. She breathes into your chest, her ear planted against your heart, and relaxes. "Goodnight," she murmurs. You feel her breasts pressing into you, and you realize she isn't wearing a bra. You hadn't noticed in the dark, before. "I am really glad that-." She pauses. "Lev, what is that?"

You feel your waistband grow a little lighter, and you realize she has pulled your pistol from within it. Shit. She steps backward, holding the dull metal weapon up to the light of the TV, blinks sharply, and drops it onto the couch with a yelp. "A gun!"

You quickly grab the weapon, double-check the safety, and gently lay it on the window sill facing the street. Mia looks at you with wide eyes, her tiredness gone. "Lev?" she asks, more gently, waiting.

"I..." you start, thinking of how to explain yourself. Mia has no exposure to your broader family. No idea what they are involved in. You start to lie, to talk about how it was for personal protection, or something else, but you stop yourself. Mia lives with you now. Eventually, she would know you lied, and that would only make things worse. You decide to tell her some form of the truth.

"Mia..." you begin again. "I am... I am not the type of man you think I am. Not anymore. I don't think you know this, but my family... They're not good people. They do bad things for money. Illegal things." You pause, letting her take in what you were telling her. She sat immobile, listening for more. "You know I've always worked. A lot. Multiple jobs, doing what I can for Karina and Nadia. And now you. But I realized recently that it simply wasn't enough. I was never going to escape this cycle we're in if I don't do more. I would never be able to be with you the way I want to. I decided to join my family."

Mia cocks her head sideways, her lips pursed. "What does that mean?" she asks. Her voice is unexpectedly calm.

"It means that I, too, will do bad things for money. Illegal things. Not **** kids or anything like that, but still, bad things. I can't tell you the specifics. The gun is for protecting myself and my family. With the things I will do now, it is likely that I am going to make enemies. I can't allow you or them to get hurt."

"And you're doing all of this, to be able to be with us? To protect us?" she asked.

"Yes."

"For me?"

"Yes."

Her eyes water, and thin beads of tears trickle down her cheeks. One at first, then another, followed by a few more. She jumps into you, wrapping her arms around your waist again, silently crying into your chest. Confused, you hug her back. You trace shapes along her back with your hands, trying to calm her. "Are you okay?" you ask, after a few minutes. Her tears stopped, but still, she clings to you.

Mia's gaze rises to meet yours. "No one has ever cared about me this much. Not even my own family." The words are hammer blows against your heart. To see her so alone.

"Mia, you are our family. You know that. I've always been there for you, and I always will be."

She nods, and says, "I know you're not just doing this for me. That it's really for Karina and Nadia. But I'm a part of it, somehow, and that means so much to me. That someone would be so willing to do whatever it takes to be with us..." Another tear streaks down her cheek. You wipe it away, but your touch lingers on her face. You stroke it with your thumb, absent-mindedly. "I don't care what you have to do. I just want you, Lev. Karina. I want us."

Her hand leaves your waist, and you feel it moments later on your cheek. Her fingers lead you downwards, towards her. Her soft, thin lips meet yours in a slow march. Distant at first, then slowly closer and closer. It isn't a hungry kiss. It isn't lustful. It is a kiss of love. Adoration. The kiss of a romance that has gone unfulfilled for too long. She sighs into you, and wraps her arms under your shoulders, hooking into your back and squeezing herself against you. Once again, you feel the tender flesh of her breasts caressing you through thin layers of fabric.

Now isn't the time for that, though. This girl, Mia, needs your support. Your lips form soft indentions on hers as you kiss her back. Your hands travel along her back, teasing her skin over her tanktop. The kiss lingers, as if she's afraid your love will break with the separation of your lips, until you pull away. You look into Mia's eyes again. Their former tiredness is replaced with something else. Happiness. Contentment. You're not sure.

Her eyes break away and look at the gun on the window sill. "Do you really know how to use that thing?" she asks, her voice a faint murmur, barely audible over the TV.

"I do," you answer.

"And you would use it to protect us?"

"I would."

She doesn't respond, instead choosing to lean back into your chest, her arms still wrapped around you. "I love you," she whispers.

"I love you, too," you respond, breathing the words into her lavender-scented hair.

Her exhaustion finally catching up to her, she breaks away and falls back onto the couch. You sit on the floor beside her, stroking her hair until she falls asleep.