Chapter 26 Maya
Maya
I shouldn’t be listening to this damn podcast.
It was dark by the time Maya pressed play on an episode of Dead Airwaves, and she regretted it immediately.
Her list of mistakes was already long, but she didn’t need to add “scare the shit out of myself” to it.
Three days had passed since the Instagram post, and she missed his voice. Terribly.
She couldn’t bring herself to listen to the recordings Theo had uploaded. All of Paul’s chapters were sitting in a Dropbox folder, waiting for the rest of Yvette’s to join them.
Maya wasn’t sure when—or if—she’d go back to his apartment.
And he hadn’t suggested a time either.
Instead of reaching out, she’d called her brother and apologized. Before Nate could accept it, he’d dragged her for a good five minutes. He roasted her taste in men, her inability to “keep it professional,” and the way she’d let her control-freak tendencies land her in a laughable mess.
But underneath the jokes, there was a thread of something gentler. “Be nice to him,” Nate eventually said. “I think he really likes you, and he’s nervous about where things go now.”
Maya shoved him off the phone when he said he was going to tattle on her to their parents. Still, she felt better after talking with Nate. They seemed to have reached a tentative peace agreement.
However, things still felt tense with Theo.
Maybe that was why she punished herself by listening to a creepy story about two friends camping in the woods.
He’d woven in ambient forest sounds: rustling leaves, distant snapping twigs, something low and heavy breathing in the background. One camper had heard his friend leave the tent to go pee, but what came back to the tent… wasn’t his friend.
The story put her completely on edge.
But she couldn’t turn it off.
She took another sip of wine and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
The story was ramping up now, a low whistle in the trees as this guy tries to figure out what’s off about his friend.
It was the kind of subtle, creeping dread Theo was especially good at.
A sudden thunk made her flinch.
Her wine sloshed.
She froze, heart tripping over itself.
It came again. Thump. Something against the balcony door?
She paused the episode, the silence somehow felt worse.
Maya stood, tiptoed to the edge of the room, and peeked around the curtain—
—and found her neighbor’s cat perched on the railing, a plastic planter with spilled dirt below him.
She sagged against the window frame, muttering, “You little shit.”
The cat meowed like she was interrupting his evening.
The fear she’d felt, and the instant relief, made her think back to something Theo had said about horror.
“These are the fears you can control.”
Her neighbor’s cat was hardly a monster, but for a split second, Maya had imagined the worst. Now, standing barefoot in her living room, heart still racing, wineglass trembling in her hand, she realized that her real fears might be more manageable than she’d thought.
“Just call him,” she said to the empty condo.
When she found her phone, she stared at it for a long moment. Thumb hovering. Breath shallow.
Then she tapped his name.
It rang once. Twice.
She almost hung up on the third.
Then—click.
“…Maya?”
His voice was low, tentative. Like he wasn’t sure if she meant to call or if it was some kind of mistake.
She swallowed. “Hey.”
A beat of silence.
Then: “Hey.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and plowed ahead. “I listened to one of your old episodes and I got scared of monsters. Could you come over?”
Another pause.
Then, softly: “Of course.”
Maya let out a breath.
“I’ll be there in twenty,” he said, voice steadying. “Can you text me the address?”
She closed her eyes, remembering he’d never been to her home. “Yeah. I will.”
“Okay, I’m on my way,” he said. “Also, stop listening to my show at night.”
That earned him a breath of laughter. “I won’t ever do it again.”
She ended the call, heart thudding, and then texted him the address. After that… she just stood there for a second, still barefoot. Still holding half a glass of wine.
What was she supposed to do now? Light a candle? Change her outfit?
She set the glass down and caught her reflection in the nearby window.
Eyes a little wide. Hair in a loose twist. The soft cotton tank she’d been wearing all day was suddenly too soft, too clingy.
Maya padded into the bedroom and stared into her closet like it held answers.
She wasn’t getting ready for a date. But she also wasn’t not.
She changed her top. Then changed it again. Put her hair down. Pulled it back up. Said “calm down” out loud which didn’t help.
By the time the knock finally came, she didn’t feel ready, but she opened the door anyway.
And there he was.
Devastatingly handsome. Slightly rumpled with tired eyes and the start of a short beard. He looked like he’d come straight from bed and thrown on whatever was closest.
The hoodie was soft and worn, sleeves pushed halfway up his forearms. The backpack slung over one shoulder made him look younger, like a grad student showing up for office hours with too many feelings and not enough sleep.
He was breathing like he’d jogged the last block.
“Hi,” she said, her voice quieter now.
Theo exhaled through a smile. “Hi.”
She stepped back, holding the door open wider. “Come in.”
Theo hesitated just long enough to make her wonder, then crossed the threshold, pulling the strap of his backpack off his shoulder.
“You want me to sweep your home?” he asked softly, a crooked smile playing at his mouth. “Make sure no monsters followed you out of the podcast?”
She huffed a laugh, closing the door behind him. “Honestly? I wouldn’t say no to that. The episode I listened to was about a mimic in the woods.”
He nodded once. “Alright. I’ve got salt, a couple candles, and an unsettling amount of folklore knowledge. Let’s do this.”
He set his bag gently on the kitchen island, and something inside gave a soft mechanical thud.
Her eyes flicked to it. “Really?”
“Not really.”
Maya bit back laughter as she led him to the living room.
Theo followed quietly, and she wondered what he thought of her home.
She thought the space was warm, lived-in, and a little chaotic.
A throw blanket on the floor. A wineglass only half-finished.
A pair of fuzzy socks abandoned near the coffee.
It was a far cry from his minimalist living conditions.
She sat on the couch. He stayed standing for a second, then settled into the other end.
Neither of them spoke right away.
It was Maya who broke the silence. “Was he really angry?”
Theo glanced over. “Nate?”
She nodded.
He shook his head slowly. “No. I think he wanted to be, but Sammy saved me.”
Maya smiled softly. “Of course she did.”
He rubbed his palms on his thighs. “It was… weird. Weirder than I expected, honestly. He didn’t yell. Just asked if I was in love with you.”
That made her blink.
“I told him I didn’t know,” Theo added. “That it’s early. That I care about you a lot and I’m not messing around with your heart.”
Her throat tightened. She nodded once, eyes on the floor.
“I think he accepts that,” Theo said. “But…the school media lab’s on pause.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
He shrugged. “That’s not on you.”
She took a deep breath. “You say that but I probably ruined your ethos as a horror podcaster with my book.”
Theo let out a quiet laugh. “My ethos is taking a beating, but that’s not your doing either.”
Maya turned toward him on the couch, one leg tucked under her. “Be honest. Have you gotten a lot of hate mail from angry dudes with skull rings and neck tattoos?”
He smirked. “Not directly. The guys on Reddit who are calling me a ‘cuck-simp’ aren’t the kind of people I want to reach anyway.”
Her jaw fell. “They’re saying what?”
Theo shook his head. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Oh, I’m not worried, I’m mad,” Maya snapped, sitting up straighter as anger climbed hot in her chest. “I hope those guys choke on a dick. No, I hope they choke on an entire box-set of dicks. That kind of shit makes me want to strangle someone.”
Theo’s brows shot up, eyes wide, and he blinked at her like he wasn’t sure if he should intervene or take notes.
“You don’t have to strangle anyone on my behalf,” he said carefully, a corner of his mouth twitching. “Not… immediately, anyway.”
“Don’t tell me who I can and cannot metaphorically murder,” she fired back, jabbing a finger at him for emphasis.
“Because I know what it’s like to be told you don’t belong.
I know exactly what it feels like to stand at the edge of some shitty little table and hear that your stories don’t count, that you’re not good enough to sit with them—”
“Maya.”
Theo said her name gently, just enough to cut through the sharp edge of her anger. She blinked at him, mid-breath, expecting a rebuttal. But his expression wasn’t dismissive. If anything, he looked… awed.
“You don’t have to convince me,” he said softly. “I already know where you belong.”
The heat in her chest shifted, molten now instead of fiery, and her throat went tight for an entirely different reason.
“Well, you’re not a cuck-simp,” she said stiffly.
Theo laughed. “Oh, I don’t know… I feel like I’ve been simping for a good cause.”
Maya smacked his arm, making a face. “Gross.”
He ran a hand down his face, still grinning, but when he dropped it, his expression softened. He looked at her with a steady gaze.
“I don’t regret it,” he said quietly. “Any of it.”
The words landed solidly, catching her off guard. He wasn’t asking if she felt the same. He wasn’t fishing for reassurance or dangling it like bait. He was just… putting the truth between them, waiting to see if she’d pick it up.
Maya’s throat tightened.
“I think I’m down bad,” she admitted quietly. “Have been since I first heard your voice.”
Theo didn’t say anything right away, but the look on his face said enough: relief, affection, and something steadier than both.
He shifted slightly on the couch, angling toward her without pushing.
Maya drew in a breath and released it slowly. Then she moved.
Not far. Just enough to close the space between them, enough that when she leaned in, her shoulder brushed his.
“Can I…” she started, but he had already opened his arms.
She folded into him like she’d wanted to all night.
His hoodie was soft and warm, and he smelled like clean laundry and some spicy cologne. Her cheek rested against his chest, and for a minute, they just breathed.
“I think I’ve been scared,” Maya whispered.
He didn’t move, didn’t speak. Just waited.
“Not of you,” she clarified. “Of what it means if I fall for someone who doesn’t get what I do or what I love. I’ve avoided a lot of men because of that, and it’s gotten kind of lonely over the years.”
He nodded slowly, his chin grazing the top of her head.
“I’ve been trying to convince myself that this is temporary,” she went on. “That once the book was done, you’d go back to your own world and I’d go back to mine.” She tilted her head up just enough to look at him. “But I don’t want that.”
Theo met her gaze without hesitation. “Then don’t let go.”
Her eyes burned a little.
“I’m really not going anywhere,” he said. “Unless you ask me to.”
Maya stayed still in his arms, listening to the steady thump of his heart beneath her ear.
Then he added, quieter: “I get it, you know. That fear.”
She looked up at him again, and his eyes were steady on hers.
“I love what I do,” he said. “The stories. The tension. But not everyone takes it seriously. Or they think I’m just the creepy guy with a microphone and a dark aesthetic.”
Maya smiled. “You’re a little nerdy, but you’re not creepy.
His shoulders shook with laughter. “Yeah, well, I’ve dated people who liked the voice and the performance.
But they didn’t want to know me off-mic.
And you’re right…” He swallowed. “It gets lonely. Being in your head all the time. Trying to create something that matters and hoping someone out there will get it. Will get you.”
Her fingers curled gently into the fabric of his hoodie.
“I’ve never had that with someone like this before,” he said, voice nearly a whisper. “The way you see me. The way we work together. It feels real.”
He was so close. The kind of close that made it hard to think about microphones or chapters or anything except the shape of his mouth when he said the word real.
Maya let out a breath, soft and unsteady. “I love the way we work together…”
His green eyes darkened in the low light of her living room, and a small smile touched his lips. “Would you like to work tonight?”
She hesitated, caught between yes and please kiss me.
“I wish…” She gestured to her home with a slight wince. “But I don’t have a professional setup like yours.”
Theo didn’t miss a beat. “You got a closet?”
She blinked. “A what?”
“A closet. Preferably one with coats.”
She stared at him, sure she’d misheard.
He laughed softly. “I used to record in my walk-in back in Portland. Lined it with blankets and old towels. Great sound. Weird vibes, but great sound.”
Maya huffed a laugh. “You’re telling me you want to haul your gear into my closet?”
He shrugged, still smiling. “Only if you want to get some work done. I’m flexible.”
“You’re something, alright.”
He stood from the couch to retrieve his backpack. “I’m committed.”
She shook her head, already turning toward the hallway. “I’m really going to end up narrating my sex scenes in a pile of scarves?”
“Yes,” he said, following behind her. “And the acoustics are going to be flawless.”