Mia and Henry had already carried all her cameras in the studio. So she put her earphones on and blasted some Queens Of The Stone Age. The slight evening breeze brought the delicious fresh bread smell towards her way, and that's when she knew she had to get something to eat. She still had two hours until the appointment, so she quickly went to the bakery just a block down. The smell was growing more robust, the closer she got. She reached a rather sketchy alleyway, but the bakery was easily spotted. The building must've been at least a hundred years old, and the metallic sign could barely be seen behind the moss covering it. Mia pushed open the dark oak door, and all the smells hit her at once. Intoxicated by the aromas, she got startled by a woman's voice.

"Hey there love, what can I get for you?" Her voice excited, as if Mia was the first customer she had seen all day.

"You must be doing something right, cause I smelled those pastries from a block away." Mia chuckled as she gave the middle-aged baker a warm smile.

"If only everyone else thought like you." Her tone slightly disappointed, but her smile never faded. She wiped her hands on her apron and reached closer to the counter. "So what's it going to be for you today?"

Mia looked around the counter, filled with pastries, bread, doughnuts, cupcakes; everything you could dream of, and everything looked and smelled delightful. "Wait, is that cheese pie?" Mia pointed to the pastry on the further back.

"It is indeed!" She exclaimed haughtily.

That reminded Mia of Greece; her grandma used to make the best cheese pies in town. Even when she was just a toddler, Mia would always try to help her beloved grandma make those infamous cheese pies. She just loved the scent of it as it was getting baked, and the hotness of the cheese as it melted in her mouth. "I'll definitely have one of these then please."

The baker smiled brightly at Mia, and she started packing her pie. That's when Mia remembered that she didn't have any food by the studio, and she always wanted to have a little something for her clients.

"Can I also have a couple of the chocolate cupcakes, a jam and a chocolate filled doughnut, and a couple of pretzels as well?" Mia didn't know what her client would like, so she decided to get a bit of everything.

The baker smiled heartily, showing her wrinkles that she had fully embraced. "Someone's got an appetite. You're expecting?"

"Oh, no, no. I've just got an appointment with a client in a couple of hours, and I don't know what they like." Mia quickly explained. The baker just smiled and gave an understanding nod before she started packing the rest of Mia's stuff. As she was doing that, Mia started thinking.

I have been more hungry for the past week or two, but I can't be pregnant, right? I'm on the pill.

"That's all for you. The total is £12.87." She bagged everything up and processed the transaction through her till.

"Thank you, I'll come back tomorrow morning to grab some bread." Mia handed the baker opposite her a 20-pound note. "Keep the change."

The baker's eyes were filled with gratitude as she took the cash. "Take care." Her voice almost cracked.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Mia slightly winked at her before heading out. Her empty hands were now full. One the one hand, she had the bag of pastries , while on the other, she was holding the cheese pies, taking small bites on her way to the studio. The sweet yet bitter taste reaching down her throat felt like heaven.

She got her keys out and unlocked her apartment, instantly going upstairs to the kitchenette. She put all the pastries in a bowl and got it downstairs, resting it on the coffee table. Getting to the studio room, she started plugging in all her lights and made sure they worked. She then proceeded to fix the settings on her cameras before making sure she had enough memory cards; sometimes she needed more than expected, so she always carried around ten cards with her. Just in case.

At 7 o'clock, Mia heard the bell chime, her client was right on time, and she lowkey loved it. She hated when people, or even herself, were late. She opened the door with a warm smile. In front of her was standing a beautiful blonde girl, about 5'9, her fingers fiddling on her duffle bag as she was looking on the ground.

"You must be Judy, please come in. It's getting chilly around this time." Mia tried to sound as friendly, and as approachable she could; the client in front of her seemed nervous.

"Thank you." Judy replied, but her voice was quiet. "And sorry about the time, I couldn't get out of work any earlier." She was apologising; her brows furrowed as she finally looked up.

Her bright blue eyes captivated Mia, and her light brown freckles just added to her innocence.

Oh, she's gonna look perfect on camera.

"I prefer times like this to be honest, less noisy outside," Mia admitted as she motioned for Judy to sit on the sofa. "So, what's going to be your poison? Tea or coffee?" Mia followed Judy to the sofa, slapping her hands on her lap.

"Oh, nothing. I'm good, thank you though." Judy politely declined.

"Yeah. No. I'm not having this. Come with me." Mia tried to joke around as she motioned for the blonde to follow her upstairs. She immediately turned the kettle on for the water to boil and grabbed two cups from the cupboard, along with the instant coffee. "So your nerves are sky rocket

high, so two sugars?" Mia held up the teaspoon and sugar jar, waiting for Judy's reply.

"Yes please." She cracked a smile.

"Heh, I'm getting good at this." She whispered to herself, but loud enough so Judy could hear, making her chuckle. Mia smiled to herself at the sound of her voice, feeling that she started to get more comfortable slowly. She poured the hot water into the mugs and stirred lightly.

"I would give you alcohol, but that would be completely unproffesional of me." Mia snickered as she gave Judy her mug. "That's why I only put a small shot in." She gave her a playful wink and started heading downstairs.

"Can you really tell I'm nervous?" Judy chuckled.

"Yeah.." Mia admitted as she sat back on the sofa, urging Judy to follow her. She took a sip from her coffee, and Judy was quick to copy. "So, tell me about yourself."

Judy started getting more comfortable, still thinking that Mia put alcohol in her coffee. She opened up more to Mia. Telling her how she always wanted to be an actress, but her mum was always against it. So many times, she made Judy feel worthless and uneasy in her own body. That is why she was always so uncomfortable around people. Judy confided in Mia that she had been secretly seeking a counsellor's help and how he urged her to take that big step without having to worry about her mother. She was terrified, and Mia could see. In Judy, Mia saw her younger self and how she was trying so hard to gain her mum's acceptance, only to lose herself in progress. In her bright blue eyes, she saw the horror of trying to go against the person who's supposed to love you unconditionally. But in her smile, she saw the hope of redemption, freedom even.

"Let's go take some pictures then." Judy perked up from the sofa, full of energy and confidence. Feeling like she was drunk from the alcohol Mia supposedly put in her drink. But little did she know that this was all her. The confidence was her own; she just needed someone to show her that. And Mia was glad that she was the one to show her.

"So what kind of music do you like?" Mia asked Judy as they walked into the studio and turned on the lights.

"Have you heard of The Forest Rangers?" Judy took her place in the middle of the backdrop.

Mia raised her brows and turned on her speaker, connecting it to her phone. "Katey Sagal Forest Rangers?" She asked, waiting impatiently for a reply.

"Of course." She muttered as it was the only right answer.

"That's my girl." Mia whispered and put on her Forest Rangers playlist, the first song being Son Of A Preacher Man. It was one of Mia's favourite's, and as soon as she saw Judy dancing, she realised it was hers too. Mia gave her no warning; she wanted to take some shots while Judy was still in her natural state. Her blonde hair was flying in the air as she was spinning and turning. Mia had to take a picture of that carefree smile she had at that moment. It didn't take long for Judy to realise that Mia was shooting already, but that didn't stop her. She kept dancing and whirling around, carefree and without an ounce of worry written on her face.

After about an hour of shooting, Judy was feeling exhausted by all the dancing and singing. Mia took her upstairs and turned her pc on as she laid the sd cards in front of her. She motioned to Judy to take a seat next to her. The blonde girl put her hair into a messy ponytail as she sat next to Mia, fanning herself. Mia silently chuckled at her movement and continued loading up the photos on her computer. About 800 photos showed up, and Mia opened a blank folder before shifting on her seat to face Judy.

"Okay, I'll leave you for like ten to fifteen minutes, so you can choose which ones you like, and put them in this folder. I will then come back, and we can look together to see if we agree. Okay?" Mia explained as she got up from her seat so Judy could take her place.

"Sounds like a plan." Judy gave a warm smile as she sat to where Mia previously did.

Mia gave her a small pat on the back and headed downstairs. She immediately went to the photo room to turn off all her equipment. She realised that her speaker would soon run out of battery, so she put it in her bag. She didn't want to leave anything plugged in while she away because you never knew what could happen. After Mia made sure that she turned everything off, she headed back to the living room area. Tidying up the coffee table, Mia put the rest of the pastries in the bag with her speaker and left it by the front door in case she forgot about it. She picked up the empty coffee mugs and headed back upstairs to the kitchenette.

"How's it going?" Judy was only a few meters away, but Mia had to raise her voice slightly because she had just started washing up the cups, and the pouring water would make it difficult for Mia to pick up a response.

"Pretty darn good." Judy replied from the next room, copying Mia and slightly raised her voice to be heard. Mia chuckled lightly as she rinsed the coffee mugs and left them to dry before joining Judy again. She sat next to the golden locked girl and realised how happy she looked.

"Judging by the smile on your face, you've found some good ones." The red-haired stated, motioning to the pictures.

"I have so many that I like but I can't choose only six. Because apparently my agency only wants six." Judy sighed and showed Mia the email she recently got from her agent.

"Well, let's have a look together then." Mia smiled warmly and got closer to the computer.

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After an hour, we finally chose the top six pictures that I would end up retouching, but we made a deal to email her all the pictures regardless. I escorted her to the front door, where she hugged me and told me how much she appreciated me. I hugged her back, urging her to take care commuting back, as it was already dark outside.

Being a girl, alone and in central London was always dangerous. You never know who you can come across, and I didn't want to imagine what could happen.

She disappeared into the darkness as I grabbed my bag and keys. I made sure I double-locked and called Henry until I got home. I was always scared to be walking alone in the dark, and I would always be on the phone with Steph if I had to walk somewhere alone. I woke her up so many times, but she was never annoyed at me for that. She would be on the phone with me until I felt I was in a safe space. But I didn't have Steph anymore, Anya wouldn't talk to me, and Freya would always be with Anya trying to convince her to speak to me again. So Henry was my only choice, and even though I hate admitting it, he is my safe place. After Steph died, he was her rock, the one she could trust, the one who wouldn't leave no matter the circumstances.

"Hey babe, done for tonight?" His soothing voice rang in my ears as he picked up. He sounded like he was eating something.

"Yeah, what are you munching?" I chuckled as I looked both ways before crossing the dark road.

''Uhm, nothing." He hesitantly gulped.

"Henry Dalgliesh Cavill, we were supposed to have snacks with the movie." I speak in an authoritative tone, trying my hardest not to laugh.

"Okay, hear me out though." He spoke in a more defensive tone now. "I was making sure everything was nice and ready before you came home. So I decided to make the popcorn so we wouldn't have to make it when you came. But after I made it, I couldn't help but realise how good and crunchy it looked. It was calling my name babe. It wanted me to eat it, and you know I can't say no."

"Tsk tsk, and to think I was bringing you some donuts. I guess they're all mine after that." I replied sarcastically.

"But babe, you know donuts are my kryptonite." He started whining.

"Well, that's unfortunate." I smirk to myself and head to the finally lit road. The light was green, meaning I could cross the road. "I thought I was your kryptoni-"

I didn't have the time to register what had happened; my eyes were wide shut. All I knew was that I felt the cold asphalt on my face, and I couldn't feel my legs. I slowly opened my heavy eyes, and the first thing I saw was my bloody hand and shattered pieces of glass all over.

Suddenly I felt someone grabbing my hair and bringing me to my back. Only then did I realise that I must have broken my ribs, because a sharp pain hit me, and I could barely breathe. My eyes still felt heavy, and I was disoriented; I couldn't make up who was in front of me. The figure seemed to be getting on its knees to examine the damage further. I felt those rough hands on my hair again, as whoever was there wanted me to look at them.

"I told you you would regret it. I gave you a warning didn't I?" I heard this familiar voice, a voice I hadn't heard since the filming in Budapest. A voice that I hadn't heard since my leg accident. Opening my tired eyes, I see the familiar brunette.

Lucy.

I should've known.

"Trust me, I didn't want to get to this point, but you gave me no other choice." Her voice was angry and somewhat raspy.

"Why are you doing this?" It took so much of my energy and breath to ask this question, but I just had to know. I didn't have the time to ask anything else because I started coughing uncontrollably; I felt something wet dripping off my chin, which could only mean it was blood, another indication that my ribs were broken.

"You are a pretty one, aren't you?" She let out a painful chuckle as she got back up, walking away. Or at least I thought she did. But she picked up something from the ground before coming back to me.

"Guess he won't like you for much more." She kneeled back facing me. "If you get to survive that is." All of a sudden, I felt something sharp slicing my cheek across my ear. I let out a yelp; I couldn't scream; my ribs wouldn't allow it. But at the same time, I didn't want to show her that I was in pain. It would only fuel her ego.

"Who would love you now, looking like that?" She laughed victoriously. "Oh, and before I leave you to your inevitable demise, I'll give you another cautionary word. If you end up surviving, which I highly doubt, and you try and tell anyone or going back to Henry, you really are going to regret it this time. Cause who knows who might be next. It could be Anya, Freya, or your beautiful little sister." She smirked devilishly at me before getting back up and heading for the car. The sound of the engine muffled out my cries.

What did I do to deserve this? How does she know about my sister? I've tried my best to keep her hidden away from the world. Mostly because I'm dating Henry, she never wanted to be in the spotlight, so I always kept her out of sight. But how did she find out? How long has she been stalking me?

"Mia!" Someone was shouting, their footsteps growing louder by the second on the dry asphalt. But I could only really pay attention to the sound of my heart. It thumped so quick, and so loud that it felt it would rip out of my chest. My eyes, along with my arms, felt heavy. My cheek throbbed as the searing pain spread across my face, but I didn't have the energy to cover it somehow. I tried paying attention to my breathing, my ribs didn't like when I breathed too deep or too suddenly, and every time I did, they would prick my organs, sending me to a tremendous amount of pain. I couldn't feel anything from my waist down, so I decided not to worry about it for the time being.

Suddenly I felt two warm hands on my face, examining it. And then the sound of fabric ripping before it covered my bloody cheek. Slight pressure was applied, but it didn't hurt.

"What are you staring at? Call a fucking ambulance!" I heard the masculine voice screaming. "Baby, look at me please." He tried to open my eyes before he put his two fingers by the veins on my neck, making sure I still had a heartbeat. The first thing I encountered as I opened my eyes was some dark brown and slightly wet curls. Going further down, I met the familiar blue eyes, with the slight brown hue in the top corner on his left. But Henry's beautiful ocean eyes were now red as tears streamed down his face. He let out a sigh as he smiled as brightly as he could at me. And then he hugged me tightly.

"Ahh!" I hissed in pain, and Henry immediately pulled back, trying to examine where I was hurting. "It's my ribs. And I can't feel anything from my waist down." I managed to mutter, trying not to take deep breaths as I knew I would regret it. Henry slowly picked me up and rested me on his lap, slightly reclined, so my ribs weren't crashing anything else, giving me a chance to breathe properly. His one hand was supporting my back while the other was applying pressure to my cheek.

"Did you see who did it?" Henry was still applying pressure to my cheek as he gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead.

I was biting my tongue so I wouldn't tell him the truth. I couldn't tell him the truth. Even though I feel that I won't survive this, I can't risk my sister or friends to have the same fate as me. Cause when I'm dead, she's not going to have anyone to stop her. "I don't know, it was a hit and run. It all happened so quick." I sputtered, something my ribs didn't like, making me cough uncontrollably. Henry wiped my bloody chin. "Henry?" I whispered softly to him. He hummed in response as he tried to keep my tired eyes open. "Tell my sister that I love her, and apologise to my mum and Anya for me."

"No, I'm not doing that." He couldn't control his tears anymore.

"Please."

"No! You're going to tell them yourself, because you are going to live. The ambulance will be here shortly, just hang on my love." He was caressing my back.