Mia's Heart (The Paradise Diaries) by Courtney Cole Read Free Book Online Page A

walk outside,” the nurse tells him. “She just
hasn’t wanted to go.”
    Gavin
turns to me.  “No?  Put your clothes on, Mia . We’re going outside.”
    I
stare at him.  “I sort of don’t want to.”
    “And
why not?” he looks at me.  “Because you’d rather lay in here and feel
sorry for yourself?”
    “No.”
    Yes.
    Gavin
raises an eyebrow. “No?  That’s not what I’ve been told.”
    I
look to my mother and she appears guilty. 
    “You’ve
been talking about me?” I ask softly.  This actually hurts.  I’ve
been trying really hard this week—to do what everyone has asked of me. And
she’s been talking about me?
    “No. 
Yes.  I mean, I have, but only because I’m concerned about you,” she
stammers.  “Gavin has always been able to cheer you up, so I called him.”
    I
stare at her, but Gavin interrupts. 
    “I’m
going to go outside for a minute, so get your clothes on.  We’re getting
some fresh air.”
    “Have
you always been this bossy?” I ask him.  He grins.
    “Why,
yes.  Yes, I have.  And you like it.”  He saunters out, not
worried in the slightest that I might actually be agitated with him.
    My
mother follows him out and I feel my temper bubbling just beneath the
surface.  But I tamp it down.  I’m sure they’re just concerned. 
Right?
    Whatever.
    I
swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit for a second. Obviously, I’ve
been out of bed here in the room to shower and use the bathroom and
whatnot.  But the idea of going outside, out into the hospital and into
the world and the sunshine, has made me terrified.
    I
don’t want to admit that to anyone because I feel silly.
    But
it’s the truth. 
    I
don’t know if it’s the accident, or if I’ve always been that way. 
    Who’s
to say?
    Certainly
not me. 
    I
can’t remember anything.
    I
pull on some clothing.  A khaki skirt and a cream-colored blouse.  A
pair of tan ballet flats.  These clothes feel foreign.  I can’t
believe I would choose clothing so bland. And so… beige. But apparently,
I did. 
    Apparently,
I was a bland person.
    And
I use the word apparently a lot.
    I
pull a brush through my hair and stare in the mirror.
    Dark
brown hair, green eyes.  I’m sort of small.  Not small in a weird,
misshapen way, but small, nonetheless.  I guess I’m pretty, although I
look a bit pale from being indoors.  I probably should get some sun. 
Some vitamin D therapy might improve my attitude, too. 
    For
some reason, I feel so agitated.  My mother tells me that it’s very
unusual for me, that I’m usually a very cheerful person, but that a certain
level of agitation is normal given the circumstances.
    I
don’t know about that.
    But
then, I don’t know about anything right now.
    And
I’m back to that again.  Sigh.
    I
poke my head out into the hall and find my mother and Gavin talking to each
other against the wall.
    I
fight back the feeling of annoyance that rises in me, the bad taste that is in
my mouth.
    What
the eff?
    If
he’s my friend, why is he in cahoots with my mother?
    And
where the heck did I get a word like cahoots ?
    Can’t
my friend talk to my mother?  I’m clearly a lunatic.  I wonder if I
was before this accident, too, or if it’s a new thing.
    I’m
shaking my head when they notice me. 
    Gavin
smiles.
    “Are
you ready?”
    His
smile is a thousand-watt light-bulb and I relax.  I’m being
hypersensitive, I’m sure.  That’s probably normal, given the
circumstances.
    Gavin
holds his arm out and they both smile at me. 
    And
once again, I am uneasy, but don’t know why.
    “I’m
ready,” I confirm, as I slip my arms around his forearm.  My mother falls
back into my room as Gavin and I make our way down the hall and out of the
hospital.
    The
sun hits me squarely in the face and I blink my eyes. 
    “You
okay?” Gavin asks quietly.  He has apparently noticed that my feet are now
frozen to the ground and I am refusing to move from this spot.
    “Yeah,”
I