Page 19 of Rough Trip

"Yes, yes, that’s right,” she replied, saying as if she were waving her hands around to dismiss the stupid topic. Mia was truly grateful to Fiona for taking care of both her and Sage. She hadn't had the slightest clue what they would've done without the help.

" Thank you so much, Fiona. It’s really appreciated,” she said.

“Well, you're welcome. Now I've also sorted out a house for the both of you. I need you both to live there, for safety reasons,” Fiona said.

Mia could already tell that it would be awkward between herself and Sage as he had already started to ignore her. Was the sex bad for him then, she wondered.

“Oh, Fiona, that's so wonderful. Thank you so much again. I will definitely tell Sage the good news. I'm sure he'll be pleased,” Mia said, even though she knew that was a lie.

"Look, Mia, all I need you to worry about is the club. Now I have to go and sort out some business. Please keep me updated with regards to what happens,” she said.

“Yes, of course, Fiona." And with that, the phone went dead.

It was within a few minutes that she got a text message with the address of her new home, a home she would have to share with Sage. She knew that it would be hard but they didn't have a choice. Fiona sounded extremely serious about them living together and Mia would do anything to make sure Fiona knew she was listening and doing as she was told so she could earn her trust back. Even if that meant living with someone who clearly wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

Mia couldn't help but feel a little hurt by Sage’s attitude toward her. When they had gotten to the hotel the previous night, Sage had been adamant at reception that they needed separate rooms and for the first time on the entire trip he didn't join Mia for dinner, and she couldn't imagine why. Sage wanted her just as much as she wanted him and she knew that so why was he acting this way toward her, she wondered. If he regretted it then Mia supposed there wouldn’t be much she could do but he didn’t have to snub her. She was a big girl and he could just be honest with her. She wouldn’t fight it.

Mia tried to push it out of her mind as she had other things to take care of. First, she had to go collect the keys. Fiona had left them with the relator so Mia took it upon herself to call a taxi and head out. Sage had already left his room. She found that out when she reached reception and she was informed that both rooms had already been taken care of. He was definitely avoiding her. He had never just left her before even the night after they had gotten carried away in the hotel room but she supposed that was only because he had to bring her here. Maybe he would’ve left her there if he could’ve.

Mia looked at her phone and hesitated for a few seconds before she dialed his number so she could inform him about the living arrangements. She’d have to tell him somehow, even though she already knew he wouldn’t be happy about it. He picked up on the first ring.

“Hello, Mia.” Clearly, he had her number saved, unlike Fiona. He sounded so formal over the phone, it was beginning to feel as though the night before had never actually happened. She knew it had, she could still feel his lips on her skin, she could still remember him kissing her freckles across her shoulders; she hadn’t made that up.

“Hey, Sage, um, I'm just calling to let you know about the living situation. Fiona told me this morning that there’s a house already waiting for us. I'm heading out now to pick up the keys,” Mia said. She had had a dream about them being together not that long ago. She had pictured them living together but she never imagined it would be like this.

"I was meaning to come by your room to tell you that I had headed to the bar to pick up my bike but I didn't want to disturb you." She could tell that was a lie. She knew he just didn't want to see her. The sting of rejection got a whole lot worse. Why couldn’t he just be honest with her?

"Oh don't worry about that," she said as she tried to act like it didn't matter. "I'll send you a message with the details of the house so you know where to go."

"Thanks, Mia, I’ll see you later then,” Sage said just before he hung up.

Mia couldn't let herself think of Sage too much. If she did, it would just hurt, so she had to distract herself and although she knew the money was for living expenses, she decided that it would be a good idea to get a few art supplies. After all, she did want to focus some of her time on art again.

After collecting the keys she asked the taxi driver to take her to the best art supply store in town.

She wasn't disappointed when she walked into the store. It was covered in row after row of paints, acrylics, paintbrushes, canvases in all sizes. She could not contain her excitement as she walked through every aisle picking out all the things she'd need to start from scratch. She knew she shouldn’t go overboard so she only bought the things she knew she would need to start at a beginner’s level.

After she had done her shopping she headed to the house. Upon arrival, she was completely taken aback by how huge the house was. From the outside, she thought it must have at least six bedrooms, for what Mia didn't understand. She thought it looked like one of those houses that you see on TV, where famous people show you how extravagantly they live. Fiona had seriously outdone herself. Mia had never lived in a house that had more than two rooms. When she had been struggling just off the streets, she lived in a studio apartment where nothing was separated. You’d go from the kitchen straight into the lounge which would be turned into a bedroom late at night with a tiny bathroom on the side. She couldn’t imagine how it would feel now living in a house almost the size of a mansion.

She entered the house and took the time to walk around every inch of it. She had to take it all in to even believe 100 percent that she was actually there and that the house was actually real. It all felt like a dream to her. She knew she still had a lot to prove and to make right with Grier and Fiona but they were seriously the nicest people she had met. Who on earth would give anyone a house like this along with a rather large lump sum of money?

She had been close, there were seven rooms. Four bedrooms, two looked like main bedrooms with larger beds than the other two rooms. All rooms were decorated with grey bedding, fluffy white rugs, with matching headboards and bedside table set. The beds all looked extremely comfortable and if she were a child she would definitely have jumped on all of the beds in turn. There were three offices and she already knew she'd claim one for herself. They all had a large mahogany desk and a leather-backed chair, and all the desks had computers already installed in place. She noted a huge kitchen, extremely elegant looking with mostly white walls and clean marble lining the countertops, and all the cupboards were already packed with all the utensils they'd need for cooking as well as a fully stocked fridge. There were six toilets, four being ensuites and the others for guests. There were four garages although Mia didn't have a car and Sage only had his bike.

The interior of the house was extremely warm and inviting, mostly lush browns and soft pillows scattered across the couches that occupied the two lounges the house had. There was one dining area. The house was something Mia had never dreamed of living in and she was extremely grateful to get the opportunity.

Sage only arrived at the house in the evening, once Mia had already made dinner and settled into the house. He took a tour of the house by myself and without saying a word to Mia, he chose one of the rooms at the far end of the house. Mia definitely knew that he was ignoring her. Although she had been pretty confident about it before, this just confirmed it for her.

Well, Sage had made it clear that he didn't need Mia around that much. She decided to make one of the offices into her art room and constantly distracted herself with painting whenever she got emotional over the situation. She couldn't stand how she had begun to feel, again feeling like she didn't belong. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her though, she still had to maintain some sort of composure.

Over the next couple of days, Mia had barely seen Sage. He would constantly leave her at the house while he would go to the bar. They had been sent together to run the bar but Sage had begun to make it extremely uncomfortable. Why does he have to act this way, Mia thought.

One night Mia could no longer take him ignoring her and she decided to go look for him throughout the housing, finding him in the farthest room the house.

Sage had spent the last few days trying to ignore Mia, it was easy enough when he had the bar to go to and so he would often leave her at the house to get away. She had been nice to him, constantly making sure he had food to eat, and she never brought up the way he had started to treat her. He knew that it wasn’t the ideal situation and he also knew that she couldn’t be happy with it but to Sage, there was nothing else he could do. He needed to separate himself even if that meant hurting her feelings which he knew he did. It was just something he thought would be for better for them both. They were there for business, that was it. He was extremely irritated with Fiona for putting him in this position so he had to call her to let her know how he felt about it.

She picked up almost immediately.

“Hello, Sage,” she said. “How are you finding Florida?” she asked.