A Love Story: Mia and Oman

Hey,

I'm back with another installment of my series A Love Story. This is Oman's story. My first thought was to pair Oman with Emily, but Terrance came in and I knew that was not going to happen.

So I decided to just write Isla and Brett's story next. However, Oman and Mia stood up and took control. So here is their story. Brett and Isla pop in, but they have their own story that will be told as soon as I get the chance to write it.

For now, I hope you enjoy reading about Oman and Mia.

All the characters in this story are above the age of consent.

Enjoy

IR2R

*****

PROLOGUE

In a wide open field, two small children played as their grandfather watched. Keamon was proud. For two that were so young, they overcame insurmountable odds.

Keamon sighed, he was not old, but he'd raised his child. His wife had died the year before and he was tasked with the responsibility of raising his grandchildren. His grandson looked at him. His eyes were those of a much older man, a man that had seen rough times. The young boy watched his grandfather, knowing he was recalling sad times. Keamon shook off his doldrums, and smiled at his grandson, hoping to relieve the worry the child seemed plagued with.

Oman returned his grandfather's smile. He knew this man cared for them and for now they were safe. However, in his short years on this planet, he'd learned not to get too comfortable for something bad always happened.

"Oman, come." His sister called, and he would join her. After all for her entire life, he was her protector and always would be. She giggled as she chased a bunny. Oman laughed, and frolicked along. He laughed as he and his younger sister played.

Keamon smiled; his granddaughter was beautiful. She was a mirror image of her mother. It still hurt knowing she died at the hands of the man that was supposed to love and protect her. One careless mistake, one second of not focusing, and life ends. That was not the worse, but how she died. Learning that she was abused, beaten daily ripped him apart. He knew things were bad. He promised her mother that he'd bring their daughter home. He failed, and he was determined to raise her children with the understanding that no one had the right to mistreat them.

"Grandfather," Oman called. "Is everything okay?" he asked. Even at the tender age of seven, this child worried. He would never truly enjoy being young and carefree. Keamon smiled at home and answered, "I am fine, little one. Go, play with your sister. She waits for you." Oman glanced back at Isla; he smiled and dashed off.

*****

Oman Storm was having a vision. It was terrifying. Isla was being attacked and he could not help her. In his vision Isla screamed and a beautiful woman intervened. She fought off his sister's attacker and stood guard over her as the culprit ran.

Oman woke up and called Isla. She did not answer her phone. Worried he jumped out of bed, ready to head to the city. Donning jeans and a wife beater, he rushed to the chief's home. Chief Joe answered at his first knock, he too sensed something was wrong. He demanded that Oman calm down and called some of the tribal elders. As the few men arrived, Oman's phone rang. It was Peter Graves. He needed to go to the city and check on his sister. He was headed to the city immediately.

*****

"ETA fifteen minutes, two assault victims, both female, both alert. One has severe lacerations, but conscious." The EMT's announced.

The call came into the emergency room of Newark County Hospital on a busy Wednesday night, Peter Graves cursed. When he agreed to tale a shift, he expected some patients but not an overflow like tonight. He called Kim and told her he had an emergency coming in. She did not have to wait up for him.

His wife sighed. She understood, and that was why they decided not to have kids. She worked full time building her boutiques, and her husband was constantly on call. Soon they both hang up. He went to see his new patients, and Kim watched a movie. The ambulance arrived. Both girls were brought in together. He walked into the emergency room and saw one young lady sitting with a nurse applying a pack to her head wound. One of the interns could deal with her. He walked into trauma to treat the girl that was stabbed.

"Dr. Graves, her BP is 117/75, her pulse rate is stable. She has severe bleeding from the stab wounds in her abdomen." The emergency room nurse reported. At this point Peter stopped reading the medical data and looked at his patience. His heart stopped, ISLA!

He had to focus. Using years of training, he disassociated himself from the patient. He examined her and sent her for scans. She was stable. She was rushed to surgery and he exhaled. He had to call someone. As soon as he had a chance, he ducked into his small office and called Dad. Earl answered and woke Bria immediately. The two were coming to the hospital. Peter went back to work.

Peter stopped outside of the trauma room that held the second victim. He walked in. "Good evening, Ms...?" he waited.

"Mia, Mia White" She replied.

Peter nodded, and explained what he was doing. "Ms. White, you have a few contusions and a concussion. I want to keep you overnight for observation. Is there someone we can call?"

Mia spoke, "My parents aren't living. My sister is... No, there is no one. Look, I'm not really hurt. There is no need to keep me here." she insisted.

"I'll make that decision; now, let me examine you." He stated calmly. A nurse joined him and they checked Mia for other unseen injuries. Peter ordered an MRI just to make sure she suffered no internal damage. She decided that the cuts on her face would not require stitches, so he used an adhesive strip to repair the contusions. He was certain she had no broken bones or damaged organs, but before he decided she could leave, he'd wait for the test results.

"Wait, my friend, Isla? Where is she?" she asked.

"Isla is recovering. I'll call Oman when I leave you." Peter explained.

Mia gasped, "You know Isla and her brother?" she asked. What would Oman think? Would he know this attack was her fault?

Peter noticed that her blood pressure was becoming elevated. He frowned, and added. "Mia, you survived, and you stopped him from hurting Isla. You have no reason to be so worked up. The police will catch him. Try to stay calm, alright." He cajoled her.

Mia sighed, as a nurse knocked. "Dr. Graves, an officer is here to talk with Ms. White. Can we let her come back?" she queried.

Mia looked even more frightened. Peter sighed, "Yes, but give me a few minutes." He sat beside Mia, and held her hand. "You need to talk with the detective. Tell him everything he needs to know. They need to catch this guy." Mia nodded and Peter then left her room.

Ms. White, I'm Officer Belinda Williams, this is my partner, Officer Marian Hurt, we need to ask you some questions about the attack." She explained.

Mia sat up straight, and nodded. The officer was nice, compassionate. "His name is Russell Lakes. He takes classes with us. I've known him for a while, and last month, I agreed to go out with him." The officer took notes as Mia explained. When they were done, both officers stood to leave.

Officer Hurt looked into Mia's eyes and saw the guilt she knew would be there. She never understood, how women blamed themselves in these situations. She stopped and spoke, "Mia, what you did was very brave. You stopped a sexual assault on your friend and you forced a dangerous predator from your home. Not many women would have known what to do and we would have a more sinister crime to deal with. He is at fault, Mia, not you and not your friend. We will catch him. I promise." Mia nodded and soon the officers Another officer entered with a camera. He asked Mia's permission to take pictures of her injuries. He took a lot of pictures. Soon the officers left, and Mia was alone once more.

A technician came in and took her for test. Mia relaxed. The staff was so friendly and caring here that she could almost feel safe for once. She was worried about Isla. Russell tried to rape her. He was holding her down, trying to force himself on her. Isla fought him but his sheer size overpowered her. If she had never introduced him, her friend would have not been hurt.

Meanwhile, Isla was in recovery and was alert now. Peter went in to speak with her. He asked the usual questions, and stood to leave. Isla stopped him, and asked if he could call Oman. A call from the police would cause the situation to be worse. Her brother would imagine the worse. Peter smiled and told her he'd call for her immediately.

Peter left Isla and went to his office. He was still shaken up, but he did not know it. He saw he had a missed call from Kim. He quickly called her back. She was worried about him and needed to know if he was alright. Peter smiled. He was the luckiest man on Earth to have such a caring woman at home. Then he thought about the things he had done. Kim would never know. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Peter then called Oman. Oman answered feeling dread. He'd just awakened from a nightmare. As soon as Peter's number appeared he was ready to go.

He was already with the chief and ready to drive out. The elders felt he was too upset to drive alone and wanted to wake someone, but Oman didn't want to wait. He needed to get to Isla now. One of the tribal elders wives called Sunnet. She and Jacob were in town quickly, leaving there son, Hunter, with Ja'Mal and Kerri. The alpha told them to call as soon as they learned what was going on.

Jacob made him promise to drive safely and told him to call as soon as he made it to the hospital. Oman agreed and took off. Three hours later, he drove into hospital parking lot.

*****

As he rushed into the emergency room, Emily and Snake were there and met him at the door. They were buzzed in and taken to Isla. Oman rushed into the room and saw that his sister was bruised and bandaged. "Isla, who did this?" he asked.

"Oman, I am fine. Mia came home and stopped him. She saved my life. Emily, can you check on her, Peter said she was fine earlier, but she's..." Emily stood and told her she'd be back.

She walked to Mia's room and knocked quietly. She entered and the young woman was watching a talk show. Mia spoke, "I know you. You're Isla's fiend. Is she OK?"

"She's fine. Thanks to you. How are you feeling?" Emily asked.

"I'm OK." Mia sighed.

Emily did not believe her. She had gone through a trauma. She had taken a beating, and saw a man sexually assaulting her friend. She was not OK. Emily sighed, and rubbed her baby bump where her daughter was extremely active.

"Mia, I want you to know...' Emily stopped when Mia rudely cut her off.

"Look, I'm fine OK. The bruises will heal. They always do. Go take care of Isla. You are her friend after all, right?" She turned her back on Emily effectively dismissing her.

"Mia, Mia, please listen. " Emily pleaded.

"Look lady, just leave me alone alright. Take care of Isla." Mia said finally. Emily quietly left her room, worried about the angry girl that was inside. When she returned, Isla knew Mia had spoken to her rudely. She also knew that was a defense mechanism when Mia was afraid. She faced Oman. Just as another doctor walked in and asked everyone to step out. They did and he examined her and wrote some notes.

He left and everyone returned. Oman sat to talk with his sister. He was going to search for the guy that did this. Isla talked with her brother, who was still shaken. He saw the attack. He had a feeling that he should have driven up here earlier, but dismissed the feeling. His ignoring a sign led to Isla being hurt.

Peter came in and told everyone she would be fine. She had a broken arm, but it would heal. He told Isla that she could go home, but Isla froze. She faced her brother, "Oman, check on Mia and see if she has left."

"No, she has a concussion. She needs to be monitored." Peter explained.

Isla exhaled and said, "You don't know Mia. Oman, please go check on her."

Oman met her roommate once but the meeting was brief. The girl was just rude and short with him. Despite the fact that she seemed to dislike him on sight, he owed this girl a debt of gratitude. He walked to her room to find her dressed and attempting to leave.

"Mia, Dr. Graves wants you to stay here tonight. What are you doing?" Oman asked realizing she was trying to leave.

"You tell me, Mr. Smarty, what does it look like?" she answered tartly.

"I want you to accompany Isla and me. We're going to visit with friends for a few days and I would feel better if you were with us and not alone." Oman explained. He realized she had no intention of staying in the hospital. If that was the case, he needed her to be with them, until she was well.

"Um, look, I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself." Mia replied. "Take care of your sister."

Oman was speechless. The girl was so rude. He walked back to Isla's room and she became upset. "Oman, she cannot be alone right now. I know her. She will do something stupid and get herself hurt. Please, go get her and make her come with us." Isla pleaded.

Before Oman could respond, Snake stood. "She's coming with us."

He went to Mia's room and she was shocked when the big man walked in. Snake did not mince words, "Look, until this guy is caught, you're not going back to that school. You are going with Isla and her brother. Now you need to decide how this will go down. Are you going willingly or do I throw you over my shoulder?" Snake asked. Mia's heart raced.

She could not show fear so she faced the big man, and told him she was going back to her apartment. Snake shrugged his shoulders, "The hard way then." He sighed.

"Look, um..." Mia paused, noticing his tats.

"Snake." he answered.

"Look, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Besides, I don't have the option of taking a day off. I have to work." Mia explained, knowing her protest were falling on deaf ears.

Snake nodded. He truly understood, but somehow he knew she was not being truthful. "OK, well today, call in sick. After all you do have a concussion right and can't work. I'm sure your bosses will understand. Besides if they don't I know a few lawyers that will eat their asses up in a wrongful termination lawsuit." Snake explained.

Mia sighed. This guy was not budging. She was going with him whether she wanted to or not. Mia sighed once more, and resigned to accompany the big man that was currently standing in her room.

Snake waited as Mia grabbed her bag and the two of them walked to Isla's room. Mia smiled when she saw that her roommate was alright. She rushed to her. "Isla, are you really OK? When I saw ..." she clammed up.

The other people in the room were quiet. She stopped and looked around. "Hey, Mia I'm OK thanks to you. The police wants us to come down and give statements. My brother is going with us, OK." Isla added.

*****

Mia looked at Oman and nodded. She was often short with him but she had her reasons. When she was a little girl growing up on the reservation, her family was dirt poor. She often dreamed a handsome man would one day rescue her.

In her dreams, he was tall, bronze skinned, like her. He'd have a square jaw and prominent nose. He'd be strong, but not so broad that she feared him. He'd have a mellow voice that calmed her restless spirit. She recalled the first day she moved in with Isla. Her brother stopped by and spoke. She looked at him and in that moment, she was a little girl staring at her prince charming.

Isla was relieved to see she was also Native American, not that it really mattered, but she wanted to share her apartment with someone she could relate too in some way. The two girls formed an unusual friendship.

Mia was not the type of girl that sat around gabbing about her life. She worked. Isla worked also. They even shared shifts at a local fast food restaurant. They were both healthy girls, not rail thin. Mia loved to cook, and so did Isla. Often they would take turns making large meals. Isla did not date often, choosing to focus on earning her degree. Mia was the same.

The thing is Russell begged her to go out with him. Finally, she agreed, and he met her at her apartment. She introduced him to Isla. Isla was polite, but Russell glared at her. He made her friend uncomfortable. That's why last night's attack bothered Mia. She knew the guy. They only went out once, but Isla told her something was off with him so she ended it. He came over and waited for Isla to come home. He forced his way in and attempted to rape her friend. It was her fault Isla was hurt. If she had never gone out with the guy, then he never would have known her friend.

The two women were discharged and headed to the police station. Earl called and told Oman to have the officers wait for him. He was sitting in with the girls. They arrived and Oman told the detective to wait for their lawyer. The detective assured him the girls did not need a lawyer to give a statement, but Oman said they'd wait. Five minutes later, Earl and Brett walked in.

The detectives separated the girls. Earl told Brett to go with Mia and he'd sit with Isla. Brett wanted to refuse. If anyone was sitting with Isla, it should be him. Earl gave his son the look and Brett reluctantly followed has father's orders.

Detective Stanley Ford interviewed Isla Storm about her attack. She was adamant that the young man went to her school but she had not provoked him in any way. Stanley listened. He asked Isla to describe the culprit, she did. Then finally he had her to sign a written statement. When he finished, Earl addressed the detective.

Officer Ford assured him that they were searching for this guy and would catch him. As they came out so did Mia. She looked shaken and Brett looked pissed. He asked for the captain. Earl stayed with the young women as Brett had words to with the captain. He came out of the meeting still disgruntled as the captain called Detective Larry Morse into his office. The four left and dove back to Earl's home.

Once they arrived, Emily and Brea met both girls. Both girls were escorted inside. Bria had already arranged rooms for the two of them and told them they would not go back to that apartment for now. Isla started to refuse when she noticed that Mia was truly shaken. Mia spoke, "Ma'am, I appreciate it, but I'm going back. That's my home and I won't let him or anyone else keep me from going home." She stated.

Isla stopped her, "Mia, can you stay here for tonight at least? Give the police time to find Russell."

"Isla, I don't belong here." Moa whispered.

Suddenly, Isla understood. She knew how Mia felt. She used to feel the same way then Mrs. Graves sat her down and talked to her. She felt at home with the Graves family now.

"Mia, if you go back. I'm going too." Isla explained. Brett spoke immediately.

"No, Isla, until this guy is caught neither you nor Mia are leaving this house. Mia, mom has your room ready and you will stay here. Isla, you are next to my room." Everyone was shocked. Other than demanding to see the Chief earlier, Brett had been silent all evening.

Mia swallowed, and simply said, "OK, I'll stay."

Isla was relieved, and she wanted to hug her roommate, but Mia didn't really like being touched. So she just smiled. Soon Emily and Snake left. Daniel and Dina had gone and Oman stayed at the Graves' home with his sister.

Isla walked Mia to her room and the two women talked. "Mia, the police will catch him OK. We will go home soon."

"I should have never talked to him Isla." Mia sighed. "I had no idea he was that crazy."

"Mia, what happened is not your fault. The only person at fault is Russell. The police will catch him." She said firmly. "Then it will be safe to go home."