Only My Mia Cara

My eyes opened to a sharp voice.

The cold wind still kissed my face, but the weight next to me reminded me where I was.

Danna…She was sleeping right beside me.

My heart dropped.

I turned my head.

The ward stood there — arms crossed, eyes furious, towering above me like a shadow.

Oh no.The candle. The mashed potatoes.Us sleeping here all night…

I froze.My heart pounded so hard I could barely breathe.

"What the hell are you doing here, you brat?" he snapped."And who gave you permission to eat and sleep on the damn rooftop?"

He yanked me up by the shirt and I gasped.Danna stirred beside me, but I didn't want to wake her.

I didn't know how to explain it.I didn't know how we fell asleep here.

I just stood there, unable to speak — waiting for punishment.

But then…

"It was our birthday," she whispered groggily.

Her voice was soft, sleepy, brave.

"We were sad… and he brought food."

There was silence.

The ward stared at both of us for a long moment.

He sighed — deep and tired.

"Go downstairs. Don't let James see you up here," he muttered."And don't ever come back here again."

No shouting. No slaps. Just… a warning.

It was the first time he ever spoke to us like that.

He wasn't the worst. Not like James.

We said nothing, just slipped back into the building — down the creaky stairs and into our rooms like nothing had happened.

At breakfast, everything went back to normal.

That same old glue-like porridge sat in our bowls.The taste of mashed potatoes from last night… it already felt like a dream.

I sat quietly, pushing my food around.Danna was looking down too, her lips barely touching her spoon.

Then I felt it — a stare.

I looked up.

Jake.

The one person I hated the most.

He sat a few seats away, watching me, his expression unreadable… until he leaned forward and whispered:

"Birthday to you."

I glared at him.

"Thanks," I muttered, not hiding my irritation.

So he had heard.Probably everything.

"Marry me," he whispered again with a smirk.

I clenched my jaw.

"What do you want?" I whispered back.

He leaned in like he owned the room.

"Should I tell the warden? James?"He won't do that would he?

"Won't I?" he smirked. He said like he read my mind.

I stared at him.

"What do you want, Jake?"

He looked pleased.

"Remember when you told the ward I took extra bread?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"That was Val's bread," I said."She's younger than you. You had no right."

He shrugged.

"So what? You had no right either. You're just like me."

He leaned in again.

"You'll never get out of here, Dante. You're mean. Rude and too kind. You don't belong anywhere."

Before he could say more, I stood up.

I didn't say a word.

I walked across the room and sat beside Danna.

Jake smirked behind me.Mouthed a word.

"Coward."

But I didn't care.

Not this time.

Because sitting beside her — where it was safe, where it was real —That was all that mattered.

I sat next to her in silence, eating the bland porridge like everyone else.The taste didn't matter.I was still thinking about the rooftop. About the mashed potatoes. The candle. Her promise.

Then she leaned in, her voice barely a whisper.Only I could hear.

"He didn't punish us…"

I didn't look at her, but I gave a small nod.

And then—she grabbed my hand.

Just a small touch. Just her fingers curling around mine.But my heart… actually skipped a beat.

"Are you sad again?" she asked, so softly I almost missed it.

I froze.

She always knew how to ask the right things.

Quickly, I shook my head, clearing my throat.

"No, mia cara."

She nodded.

"Okay then."

And just like that, she let it go — never pushing, just trusting.

Breakfast ended and we stood in line, as usual, to wash dishes.Same old cycle.

Then came the chore assignments.

Everyone got paired off — scrubbing dirty hallways, wiping walls, lifting heavy jute sacks.

Me and Danna?

We got lucky.

Same work. Same spot.

Unlucky part?Jake was assigned with us too.

As we all sat on the cold floor with steel buckets and wet rags, Jake kept glancing between me and her.

Then Danna did what only Danna could do…

She smiled at him.

I clenched my jaw.

Why is she so kind?Does she not see what kind of person he is?

And Jake — that smug idiot — returned her smile.Like he thought he had a chance.

I cleared my throat loud enough.

Danna glanced at me, sweet and clueless, and then we all got to work, scrubbing the filthy floor in silence.

Until she broke it.

"What's your favorite color, Dante?" she asked, eyes focused on the rag in her hands.

I blinked.

I'd… never thought about that.

"I don't know," I said honestly."But… my sister loved yellow. So I guess… yellow."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"That's cool."

Then she turned to him.

"What about you, Jake?"

I swear, I almost dropped my scrubber.Why was she asking him?

Jake glanced at me — that smirk on his face — before replying:

"Blue. And yours?" that should've been my question.

Danna smiled brightly.

Too brightly.

"Purple."

She went back to wiping, like nothing had happened.

But me?

I felt it.

That stupid, invisible punch in the chest.That ache like she'd just given a piece of her smile to the wrong boy.

The rest of the work continued in silence.Just the scraping of brushes.The splash of dirty water.

And the words I didn't say.

We were scrubbing in silence.Until a sudden groan echoed behind us — sharp, like someone had slipped.

I turned.Danna turned.Even Jake did.

And then we saw her.

Milly.

She'd fallen hard on the wet floor — a full bucket of dirty water splashed out of her tiny hands, flooding the half-scrubbed floor.

"Milly!" Danna gasped.

Without thinking, she rushed toward her sister.

"Danna, wait—!" I called, trying to stop her.

But it was too late.

The door slammed open, and in came the one person we all feared.

James.

"YOU BRATS!" he roared.

Danna knelt over Milly like a human shield, arms around her sister.Her small body trembling, but she didn't move.

James stormed over and grabbed Danna's arm — rough, like she was nothing more than garbage.

"Let go!" she yelped."That hurts!"

And something inside me snapped.

I ran.God knows where the strength came from, but I pushed James hard.

"Stop hurting her!" I shouted, chest heaving.

Then, out of nowhere—

Jake.

He stepped between us, eyes hard.

"Stop," he said. "It was a mistake by the little girl. Milly just slipped."

James narrowed his eyes at all of us.Then he laughed.

That ugly, cold, twisted laugh.

"Oh, be ready. All three of you."

"Three?" Jake blinked.

"Yes," James grinned cruelly. "Danna. Dante. Jake."

I clenched my jaw.

"And for talking back," he continued, "you two—"He pointed at me and Jake."—will get extra punishment."

His voice dropped, slow and sharp.

"For the rest of the week, you'll eat less food, make every bed, wash every dish, scrub every corner. Got it?"

I nodded stiffly.

Jake glared but stayed quiet.

Then James turned to Danna.

"And you… you won't sleep in the room with the other kids. You'll sleep alone."

"But—" Jake stepped forward.

"Dismissed," James barked.

And like a coward, he walked away.

The other kids… they were smiling.Because they knew they didn't have to work this week.

I looked at Danna.She was still holding Milly gently.

"I'm sorry…" I muttered, my voice raw.

Why is she so kind? Why didn't she run?

She looked up and gave the softest smile.

"It's okay."

Jake scoffed.

"Yeah, it's okay," he said sarcastically. "Thanks for pulling me into this, by the way."

I glanced at him.

"Th…thanks," I said unwillingly.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Well. You do have manners, after all."

God, I hate myself for even thanking him.

Danna stood up, dusting her skirt with quiet dignity.

"Let's work then," she said.

I nodded.

"Okay."

Jake rolled his eyes and followed.

And just like that… we walked back into the room.

Back into punishment.Back into silence.But something in me had changed.

I would take a hundred punishments…If it meant I could protect her again.