Page 1 of Rough Love

Mia tried to think of anyone Sage could've mentioned by the name Laura but she couldn't remember anything. He hadn't shared much of his past with her yet and she was sure that he wouldn't but now he would have to. She was 100 percent sure he had never mentioned her before and so the whole situation didn't make sense to her. She knew the only person who could answer her questions was Sage and she decided to call him immediately. He was the only person who could clear all the mess up.

There was no way for her to handle the situation on her own. She had no idea who the woman was nor did she know who Laura was and what she meant to Sage. It was hard for her to think that he had someone else. It was almost impossible for him to be with her and someone else at the same time but Mia knew that some men were capable of that, capable of cheating on women they claimed to care about. Could that be what was going on? Had Sage already gotten bored of her? A part of her thought that is was unlikely, especially after the step he had taken with her. It wouldn't make sense for him to all of a sudden be seeing someone else too. Mia tried not to think about it. She didn't want to think of Sage with someone else.

Of course, Mia knew that he had been with other women in the past. After all, he was 29 and wildly gorgeous but this woman was claiming that she was going to take him back. That was the one thing that didn't sit right with her. Although Sage wasn't an object anyone could claim, the thought of him possibly seeing her and leaving with her made a lump form in Mia's throat. It was possible that he just hadn't recognized her the first time which was why he didn't do anything but even that confused Mia since he had seen the woman's face. Had he just pretended not to know her, she wondered.

Pulling out her phone, Mia dialed Sage's number. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Mia, is everything okay?" he asked. She could hear the concern in his voice. He sounded so genuine it didn't feel like he could have someone else in his life besides Mia.

She took a deep breath and knew that she wasn't going to sugarcoat the situation. She wanted him to react so she could gage where she stood.

"Laura is here," she replied.

Sage didn't reply immediately and a sinking feeling filled Mia's chest. She knew that he recognized the name and she didn’t need to see his face to know that. His hesitation told her everything she needed to know.

“Did you say Laura?” he asked. His voice sounded shaky and shocked. Mia knew the name meant something but he hadn’t mentioned it to her before.

“Yes, you heard correctly, Laura. I think you need to get here right now and explain exactly what’s going on,” Mia said angrily. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t know how to contain the feelings she had in her chest, she just didn't know how to handle the situation.

"Laura? But that's not possible…" he replied.

"Either way you need to get here, Sage," Mia said, her patience for the situation running thin. She watched Lorraine from the corner of her eye, sat hunched over the bar, her head in her hands while her sobbing continued to echo around her.

“Okay, I’ll be there as quickly as I possibly can,” he replied. His voice sounded worried, and the feeling in Mia's chest got worse.

The whole situation still didn’t make any sense to Mia as her mind kept going back to the first night she and Sage had met Lorraine, now Laura. He didn’t act as if he knew her at all and he had seen her. How could he have seen someone he supposedly loved and not recognized her? Mia knew Laura said she doesn’t look the same now but how much can a person really change, and why would they change as well? None of it sat right with Mia the longer she thought about it.

She felt like she wanted to just run away, run away from the mess and drama that had been happening recently. It was all becoming too much for her to handle. It was as if no matter where she went, drama followed close behind her, threatening to ruin her life. She thought about the bad karma that she could possibly have hanging over her. Maybe because she had disappointed her family and done so many bad things growing up, she was getting punished. Could it be that whenever she got comfortable with life something would shift and just fuck it all up for her? She thought that it might be a good explanation for everything.

Mia couldn’t stand still as she waited for Sage to show up. She took to pacing the floor by the bar as she waited, her heartbeat racing in her chest as the anticipation built. If Sage left her now, she would be completely heartbroken. They had grown so much recently that thinking of them separating killed her but she had to look at it from all sides. She wasn’t sure how long Sage and Laura had been together before he had met Mia but she knew she couldn’t be the person that stood between true love and its happy ending, even if it felt like someone had already ripped her heart out and trampled all over it.

Don’t get carried away, she thought to herself, anything could happen once Sage shows up.

Her mind just couldn’t take all the new information the longer the time slipped by. She just wanted Sage to show up and reassure her that everything would be okay and explain what was going on. She wasn't sure exactly what he could say that could make the situation any better. He could say that the woman was lying and he didn't know her at all but why would she lie about it in the first place, what was there for her to gain? Did she really believe that Sage would drop everything he had to be with her? Mia wasn't sure. She hoped that after everything, their relationship truly was stronger than it had ever been.

After waiting for just over 20 minutes, the doors to the club opened and Sage walked in. It took all of Mia's strength not to walk over to him and kiss him, just to show Laura that he was hers now, but she didn’t. Instead, she stood still by the bar and waited for Sage to make his way over to them. He looked from Mia to Laura with a confused look on his face. There was no recognition on his face whatsoever. Could it be possible that Laura was lying? Could her name not even be Laura or Lorraine?

“Mia, I thought you said Laura was here,” Sage said as he stopped to stand next to her. He continued to look from Mia to Laura, not making the connection between what Mia had said on the phone. It just confused Mia even more. She turned to look at Laura who had lifted her head slightly, her body still hunched over the bar and her cheeks still damp from her tears. She didn't say anything nor did she make any move to go to Sage and tell him who she was. Why was she all of a sudden acting like a coward?

“This is Laura. She says her name isn’t actually Lorraine like she told us the first time,” Mia replied. She didn’t know how she should act. She wanted to run out of the room and not have to deal with the situation at all but it was far too late for that. Sage turned his attention completely to Laura. Her head turned to face him, showing him her full face instead of hiding behind her hands.

Sage didn't react, he just continued to stare at her, his eyes never lifting from her face. Mia could see him look across her face, taking it all in, still not giving anything away as to what he thought. He didn't look at her the way he looked at Mia. He didn't look at Laura like he loved her. Mia had seen that he had been looking at her with love in his eyes recently and the look he had on his face did not look anything like that. Laura stood up from the barstool she sat on and walked slowly to Sage, closing the small distance between them. She leaned into him and brought her lips to his ear, whispering something to him, and it was only then that he reacted. His face lost all its color as his eyes widened. He was in complete shock and Mia was dying to know what Laura had said.

"We'll be back," he said. He wrapped a hand around Laura's arm, his knuckles white as his grip was tight, his fingers digging into her skin. She whimpered under his touch as he dragged her outside. She didn't look happy with the turn of events. She had clearly expected a different reaction from Sage and even Mia was a bit concerned by the look on his face. Mia wanted to protest, she wanted to shout and scream that he should not go outside with her, she wanted to scream 'No!' at the top of her lungs as she watched them leave.

The doors opened and closed as they walked out, leaving her there in a state of confusion and shock. What could be going on? She had no clue how she should feel. What did Laura say to Sage to get such a reaction from him, she wondered. Mia couldn't help but notice that Laura was a beautiful woman. She would be lying if she said otherwise. She had piercing blue eyes with dark chestnut hair, it almost looked black in certain lighting. She was the same build as Mia, maybe a little shorter but not by much. It didn't surprise Mia that Sage would be interested in someone like her. She was however completely different from Mia which she found to be a relief. At least he hadn't tried to find his ex in her.

She didn't bother going after them. She felt as if it wasn't her place to constantly stand watch over them as they talked. It really wasn't her place to get involved in the situation any more than she already had. If it was really Laura, a woman from his past, they would obviously have a lot of catching up to do. Mia took a seat at the bar, burying her head in her hands as she rubbed her temples with her index fingers. Her head had started pounding due to the situation and the fact that she was completely out of the loop. She didn't know what it could all mean. All she knew was that Laura still loved Sage and thought that he was rightfully hers. Mia could throw up at the thought of Sage and Laura hugging and talking outside, possibly gushing over memories from their past. She knew she had chosen a difficult man to love right at the beginning but she hadn't thought it would be this difficult. Surely when you meet the person you're supposed to be with, it shouldn't be so hard to be with them, because to Mia it felt like obstacles got constantly thrown in their direction every time things started to go right for them. Was it possible that they weren't actually meant to be together after all?

Her head continued to pound as her thoughts darkened while she waited for them to come back. Would they walk back into the club holding hands? Would Sage just turn around and leave her? She wanted to cry when she thought about it but she had to stay strong. Nothing had happened yet and her mind was just going into overdrive. There could be nothing to worry about, she thought.

"Mike?" she called. She slightly lifted her head so Mike could see her face. "Please can I get a vodka with cranberry juice," she asked.

Mike looked at her face, obviously noticing how fragile she looked.

"Of course, Mia. It’s on the house too," he said before he turned away to make her drink. She knew everyone had seen the interaction between the three of them and everyone had seen Sage walk with the woman outside. The club was quiet. Everyone continued to talk in hushed tones. Mia could only imagine what they were thinking. She probably looked so weak to them and she was supposed to be their leader.

Pull yourself together, Mia, she thought to herself. Her drink was placed before her and she took a large sip just to calm herself down a bit. She needed to settle her nerves a little while she waited before she started pulling her hair out which she was very close to doing. She wondered if she should leave, if she should just meet Sage back at the house but she realized she couldn't do that without having to walk past them if they were still outside. It felt like she had already been waiting forever when in actual fact it had only been a few minutes.

She watched the clock tick by while she waited, counting the seconds, the minutes as they passed. How long would they talk for? She didn't know, but it felt like a century. She wondered what they could be talking about, what could Laura be telling him to make him see that it really was her. Mia had no picture of the Laura Sage had known so she couldn't know what exactly about her had changed and she wondered if Sage would be able to make out the person he once loved from the new version of her. Could their love be that strong that he could love her no matter what she looked like? From Sage's reaction, it didn't seem that way but maybe he had been convinced now that they were talking.

Mia hated how pathetic she was sounding to herself, how could she have become a woman who would go absolutely insane at the thought of losing a man. She knew she was stronger than that, but the love she had for Sage was almost so powerful it took over her rational thinking. She had to remind herself that it could be unhealthy for her to be so unable to see things logically. As much as she loved Sage she had to remember who she was. She would survive no matter what happened, even if that included a broken heart.