It was 7.55am, five minutes before the garage opened for another day, and Harvey intended to take that time to have a catch up with his sister.
"You alright, Mia?" He asked as he entered the reception area.
Mia was usually always the quietest in the room, so that wasn't new however, today he could tell something was up. Her mind had seemed elsewhere over the past few days and while she would usually make some attempt at polite conversation with all the garage employees, she had been completely disengaged this morning.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"
"Something is up. I can tell."
"No. I'm okay." Mia began shaking her head but it wasn't convincing enough.
"Mia, I may never have been the smartest kid in the class but I'm also not stupid." Harvey remarked and the 24 year old could not help but laugh at that comment. It was the truth.
"I don't know... there's just a lot on my mind but it's all stupid stuff."
"Nothing is stupid. What is it?"
Harvey had always been the most protective of Mia out of all of his siblings. The pair had been close growing up and as the most confident, he had always been the one to be by her side, making sure she didn't get lost in the crowd.
Although they were older now and no longer lived under the same roof, nothing had changed. Harvey saw Mia daily at work, meaning he was always very aware of how she was doing. That also meant he found it very easy to spot when things weren't so good and instantly felt the need to fix whatever it was.
"Life has just been weird. Like I don't know what to do with myself." Mia began, finally taking this moment of peace to open up to her brother. "I feel like I've been so distant with a lot of people, especially my friends... I feel like they're drifting away from me and I don't know what to do about it."
"Why do you think they're drifting from you?"
Mia shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know. My anxiety has been a bitch which doesn't help, so all I want to do is stay in my little bubble, which I know is a terrible idea. But I feel like they're all moving on with their lives and I'm just sitting around doing nothing."
Mia had struggled with anxiety pretty much her whole life. It had caused her so much hassle, preventing her from doing everything she wanted to do. However, she had also remained strong throughout and with the support of her family was still battling through it today.
It did mean though, that she suffered through periods like this where she just felt so overwhelmed in the life she was living in. She could be doing absolutely nothing but would feel exhausted and just wanted to shut herself away.
While her social life wasn't terrible, Mia also craved her alone time to get her through each day. Without that, she just felt herself being drained of all energy.
"What do you mean they're moving on with their lives?" Harvey asked, already knowing where Mia was going with this.
"Wanting to move into their own places and leave home." Mia replied simply, confirming what Harvey had been expecting to hear. "Which is great for them but now I feel so much pressure to do it too."
"Do you want that though?"
"No, not yet." Mia began shaking her head, being completely honest. "...but there is so much pressure to want it because everyone else does."
"I get it, trust me I do." Harvey agreed, knowing that although they were very different people, he could feel his sister's pain. Throughout life there was always so much peer pressure to follow the crowd, even if it wasn't exactly what you wanted. "But you don't have to do all that shit because your friends are. If it's not what you want, you're only going to end up forcing it."
"But part of me feels like, why don't I move out? Like, I'm lucky, I could do that. I could afford it and mum and dad always said they'd help anyway..."
"Yeah but if it's not what you want and you're happy as you are, there's not point in doing it just to fit in, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess but I still don't know. This sounds such a petty thing to be so stressed about but I can't get it out of my head." Mia sighed, feeling pathetic for even making this such a big deal but it felt good to finally say it all out loud.
"It's not petty. If you can't get it out of your head, you just need to try it."
"What do you mean?"
"Try moving out of home." Harvey suggested, while Mia was still watching him in confusion. "See what's it's like and then decide if it's what you want to do. You might hate it or you might surprise yourself and actually love it, but you won't know unless you give it ago."
"It's not that simple, Harvey."
"Yeah, it is. Come and live with me and Reece for a bit." Harvey began before watching Mia's face screw up, causing him to laugh. "I know it sounds like the worst idea in the world but trust me, we'll be tame and you can see what it's like."
"I love you, Harv, but I don't see that going down well. You'll probably put me off for life."
"Nah, I promise." Harvey chuckled. "We'll make it good and calm too. You won't be uncomfortable."
"I don't know..."
"You lived with me for most of our lives, Mia, I can't be that bad."
"But it's different." Mia was refusing to give in to her brother's grinning face. Once this boy got an idea in his head, he wouldn't let it go easily. "It wasn't your own place then and you weren't living with Reece. It's different from living with your parents."
"Come on, at least just give it a go and then I'll let you judge. You can do it rent free, no contract, leave when you like... it's the best offer!"
Although it sounded like an awful idea and way out of Mia's comfort zone, she did trust her brother. She knew Harvey would go out of his way to make sure she was happy, even if it did mean taming his own behaviour for a while.
Therefore, she knew she had to at least give it a try. She could sit around all day everyday, worrying that she was missing out, or she could actually put it to the test and see if the whole thing was as exciting as everyone made it out to be.
"Okay then, yes. I'll come and live with you." Mia sighed, finally giving in and watched the excitement build up in her brother.
"Fuck yes!" Harvey sang while reaching out to pull her into a hug.
Mia felt like all the air had been squeezed out of her, as he was hugging her so tightly but couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.
This may be the worst idea ever but it would definitely be an experience. She could not doubt that.
"I'll make it as drama free as possible." Harvey promised, yet that wasn't an easy promise to make when he was already surrounded by so much drama and gossip himself.
....
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