five

The sun's rays coming through the open curtains of Nicolas' room woke up Mia, who was wrapped in the same blanket that the boy had taken out the night before. The smell of Nicolas' strong and imposing perfume snuck through Mia's nose, making her smile. The warmth of the memories from the night before made her feel like she was in a fairy tale.

Mia got out of bed and took one of Nicolas' cardigans from the closet. It reached her mid-thigh, and she realized that the boy who had saved her twice the night before was even taller than Esteban, almost as tall as Ivan, her friend's boyfriend. She then realized that her cell phone had been turned off since the night before and that her friends were probably very worried about her.

Mia didn't know how to face Nicolas after causing her so much trouble the night before. She also felt ashamed that she had used him as a pillow, even though she had felt comfortable with his company. The shame made her want to run away from there as fast as possible.

The mission to escape from Nicolas' nice house was a lot of fun for Mia, although she almost regretted it when she saw the shirtless boy making breakfast. But she knew she couldn't face him. Nicolas was so focused on cooking for the beautiful girl sleeping in his bed that he only realized the girl was gone when the front door rang. His princess had run away like Cinderella without leaving her name or her slipper.

"Mia, can you pick me up at the location I sent you?" Mia called Rebecca to pick her up.

"Sure, it'll just take me about 15 minutes," Rebecca replied, relieved that her friend was fine. Neither she nor Sara could sleep.

"Never mind, I'll wait for you at the corner," Mia said before hanging up.

Mia took one last glance at Nicolas' house. She had known since she saw him at her grandparents' party that the boy had money, but she had no idea he had so much. It was a very exclusive area, and the house was beautiful. For a moment, she wished she could go out with a boy like Nicolas, someone she wouldn't have to hide from her grandparents. It would be a love without restrictions, but unfortunately, her heart still belonged to Esteban.

After a while, Rebeca's car approached her. Rebeca's eyes immediately went to the man's garment Mia was wearing.

"Your grandparents have been calling since morning," Rebeca said.

"What did you tell them?" Mia's mind was elsewhere, and she didn't process the fact that her grandparents were looking for her and were probably aware that she had escaped from the party.

"I told them you were with me, but the truth is, she hasn't stopped calling. It's better if you change at my house and go see your grandparents. Your grandmother didn't sound very happy."

All the way to Rebeca's house, Mia was lost, looking out the window. The night before, Rebeca woke up with Sara's call. She tried to call Mia until she was tired, hoping that the girl would communicate and give them her location. After a couple of hours, Sara arrived at Rebeca's house together with Ivan and, strangely, Esteban and a girl she didn't know.

They couldn't sleep. Esteban told them that she had run away with a man, but neither of the two girls could recognize the car in the picture that Esteban showed them. In the end, they didn't know who was with Mia. All morning, the kids were under a lot of tension, and the calls from Mia's grandmother didn't help.

That was the worst. Then, Sara's parents asked her to come back home, but the girl refused to leave without knowing something about Mia. In the end, the call relaxed everyone, but it generated a fight between Ivan and Esteban. The latter didn't want to leave Rebeca's house. First, he thought about running to pick up Mia himself, but everyone stopped him.

It wasn't the best time for the two of them to see each other. It was hard enough having to deal with the calls from the girl's grandparents. If they knew that Mia was with someone like Esteban, who went to illegal races and escaped in a stranger's car, they would surely have a heart attack. In the best-case scenario, they would send Mia abroad.