CHAPTER 42
*PAST*
“Prom”
Maya
The day of our prom came. I looked at myself in the bathroom’s mirror. I was wearing a teal dress with some gold filigree on it. It was the prettiest thing I owned, and it made me feel confident and happy. It was a bittersweet day. I was going to walk with my classmates to the big stage and then say goodbye to my high school chapter, to say hello to the college one. I had fought so hard to be here today, to have the acceptance letters that I wanted. To be able to afford college, and yet there were still things to worry about once I left for college, but I was counting my wins.
I was excited to see Aaron’s reaction to my dress. I spent time on my makeup and … did my hair. I felt pretty and accomplished. I wanted to jump from happiness.
I also had a little surprise for Aaron. We both wanted to take our relationship a step further, and I had a feeling that today might be the day. After the day on the lake, we both danced around it, not wanting it to press the subject.
I thought Aaron was nervous about it, too. He wanted to be special. I knew that being with him would make it special, even if we did it in his car, but I wanted it to also be something that he loved and that he could remember with so much affection. I wanted to follow him on this. He wanted romance and he deserved it, so I had a little plan of action for it. It obviously didn’t mean that we would do it today, but it would be a good end to our prom night. It was also to celebrate all the years of high school that we had spent competing and driving the other up the wall.
I passed my hands over the front of my dress and made sure my hair was perfect. Cassie did an amazing job; she styled it an intricate bun with some braids on it. It looked elegant. I looked older with the makeup and the hair done, but in a good way. Like I was a woman ready for the world instead of the hardly-swimming-afloat teenager that I had been for all high school.
A knock sounded, and I turned around to check the door. Before opening, I asked who it was.
The familiar voice of Aaron replied. I opened it and watched closely for his reaction. He was halfway to saying something when he stopped and looked at my face. His eyes roamed my eyes, my lips, and then he looked at my hair. His eyebrows flew up. I turned my face around to make him see my hair. He dipped his eyes lower. He swallowed when he saw my cleavage and continued all the way down.
I was giggling. I felt so light, so loved, so adored. I felt like I was on the top of the world.
I opened the door more, so the light from the window could illuminate him completely. He was gorgeous. His hair was done. His suit fit perfectly, and he had a little boutineer on his jacket. It was the same color as my dress. His eyes were the brightest blue, and it matched the flower as well as my dress. I had picked it up on purpose; it reminded me of his beautiful eyes.
I ogled at him openly. I couldn’t believe he was mine. He wanted me back.
I jumped into his arms and kissed him. He was shocked at first but then returned the kiss with the same fervor. I passed my hands over the lower part of his hair, not wanting to mess his hair for prom. That needed to wait until later.
We stopped the kiss before it could turn into more and looked at each other. He had some of my lipstick on his mouth. It was adorable. He looked at me with so much passion. I wanted to melt onto the floor.
“Aaron, stop kissing your girlfriend. You both need to go to collect all the prizes that the school offers.”
“I think they are going to realize that they can’t give all the prizes to the same two people and start to give it to the rest.”
“It’s not our fault that we are this good at this many things.”
“Your kids are going to be mini geniuses.”
Aaron and I avoided looking at each other. We definitely hadn’t had the baby talk. At all. It was in another stratosphere than we were in. I mean, theoretically, mini Aarons would be the cutest babies ever. Especially if they also had some of me in the mix. I imagined a little kid with Aaron’s DNA in a suit and spelling in a contest, and I was dying of cuteness. I mean, I didn’t die of cuteness when he was wearing the suit and won the contest. I was too busy trying to destroy him and then being angry about losing. But now, with time and perspective, I could say that he was the cutest.
Aaron and I grabbed hands and decided to leave the conversation for another time. We went down the stairs. His parents and siblings were at the bottom of the staircase, taking pictures of us. When we stopped at the bottom, they started to hug us and congratulate us.
Aaron’s dad was clearly proud of all his son had accomplished.
My chest hurt. In front of me, there was a real dad, taking care of his family, wanting the best for them, loving them fiercely. It wasn’t jealousy. I was elated and grateful that Aaron didn’t have the same daddy issues as me. Also, it helped me see a healthy role model of a father. I had seen his dad drink before, but he never did it like my father. I knew addictions were horrible and hard, but I feel like I could also be sad and angry that I had to live like I did because he had an addiction. Maybe it was wrong, but I didn’t care. He had called me selfish. And maybe he was right, but he was selfish, too.
I pushed those thoughts to the side and focused on the great family that was in front of me. They were my found family. Those who wanted the best for me. Who had helped me in times of need. Who had shown me what unconditional love was when it was directed at me.
I was always going to be grateful for all the times that they stood up for me. I loved them so fiercely. Especially Aaron. He was the definition of soulmate in my dictionary. My peace. My safe space. My dear, dear nemesis. And my love.
I loved it when he called me that. I felt validated. I had always had an inclination for words. Him, too. For reading. For romance books. And that also showed in the way that I loved how he said how much he loved me. I loved him to show me with acts, but I needed the words too, and he gave them to me freely.
We took more pictures together. Then, as a family. I also took one of them. They resisted it, but I forced it. They should have one of all of them together.
We went to high school all together. Luckily, there was enough space for everyone in our gymnasium, and everyone from our town that wanted could come. There were no tickets. Everyone just knew when the prom was and came. It was also normal that they left the first spaces for the families whose kids were graduating.
I hadn’t talked with Mom for months now, and I didn’t think she would show. She probably was too busy working or didn’t even remember at this point that she had a daughter. I had heard some rumors that she had problems at her job and that no one wanted to hire my dad after everything that had happened.
The Willows left to search for good seats, and Aaron and I went with the rest of our classmates. We put on the graduation caps and our tunics and left to sit on the seats on the ground in front of the stage. Aaron and I had an important part. We were both supposed to give speeches and collect more than one prize, if what our teacher had implied days before were true. We might or might not compete to see who was the one with the best speech and more prizes.
The graduation started, and two of our classmates came to the stage. She was from the cheerleader squad and he was a QB. They both were pretty goofy and were always making jokes, so they were selected to be the ones breaking the ice of the ceremony.
They seemed to be doing a great job if the laughs behind me were any indication, but I was too focused going over my speech in my brain to get the jokes. I zoned in when they were about to finish. They both seemed pretty emotional about leaving school and not seeing our classmates every day. I mean, I got it. Even though I was a bit emotional and I wasn’t the typical, I must say that it was mostly for Aaron, but I got it.
Then, another two of our classmates came, Lucy and Christine. Neither had caused more harm to me.
Lucy got that Aaron was with me and that there was no chance to be with him and started to leave him alone. I didn’t hate her by any means.
I saw her looking at him a month ago with such a sad face that I felt bad for her. I imagined how it would have felt to see my crush wanting someone else and not being able to make him see me as more than friends. That had to hurt even more if your crush was none other than Aaron Willow.
He drove me up the wall, but he was the greatest person I had ever met. He was like no other. I got her sadness. I would be devastated if I was in her shoes. Luckily, I wasn’t. Aaron chose me and showed me every day how great things could be. With him, I realized that it was hard being in a relationship while focusing on school and work, but it wasn’t impossible. And that it was all so worthwhile.
They called Aaron’s name first. He got up from his chair and went to the stage. I was nervous for some reason. Reluctantly, I could recognize that Aaron was better than me normally in this type of thing. He was charming and good looking, so with little effort he had the audience in his palm. Not that he wasn’t good with words; he was. It was why he was chosen to be the leader in the debate team. Authoritative figures tended to buy his charming good charm, which mixed with a smart mouth and the reputation of coming from a dynasty of richness; he had the world in his hands.
Normally, that would make me jealous or angry, but I was happy that he had that going for him. I didn’t want him to have to suffer. From anything. After seeing him crying for his grandpa, I wanted to protect him from anything that could hurt him. I knew that I could be one of those things, but I wanted to be better for him. I wanted to bring light and happiness to his life like he did with mine.
I saw him going to the stage. We all applauded, and he nodded with a little shy smile on. He had to know what he was doing. That attitude of a good boy was too dreamy. The applause sounded louder. I wanted to roll my eyes. Of course, they would eat that up. I smirked at him. He looked at me and smiled bigger. Oh, yep, he knew what he was doing.
“Good evening, classmates, family, and friends. I was chosen to be the one with the honor to give this speech. It is a great honor that I don’t take for granted. I wasn’t born in this lovely, small town. I was born and raised for the first years of my life in a place that’s about three hours from here. I remember that when my parents told me that we were moving, I was devastated. You see, I only knew that place. I loved it. I still do. So, when they told me that, I was angry and sad, truly heartbroken. We were homeschooled. We had family living close to us. My grandparents, my cousins, all the family that I had ever known. All my world was there. I know. This is not what you want to hear, but bear with me for a moment.”
People laughed. He took a breath and continued.
“I thought it was the worst decision that my parents could have ever made, and don’t get me wrong, I was angry. Until one day, I went to the park with my family. They wanted us to make friends before starting school. To prepare ourselves to socialize with other kids. And while my siblings did it without any problem, I didn’t want to. I decided to sit under a tree and read, not wanting to be friends with anyone. Until one day, a girl with two pigtails and amber eyes came close. She didn’t come to make friends with me. She just wanted to check the book that I was reading. She didn’t pay me any attention. I might have been invisible. She wanted to see the book and check the pictures inside. We spent the afternoon reading. I remember that I was truly happy on the ride back home. The first time since moving. I started to see this new town differently, in a brighter way. And thankfully for my parents, I stopped complaining.”
The public laughed again. I felt tears in my eyes. I wasn’t going to spill them.
“She was the first friend that I made here.”
He smiled, and I felt my throat closing. “Slowly, I started to see this town differently. All the possibilities, all the nice people, all the good friends that I made during the years. It was a shock to be sent to a school with that many kids, even for me who grew up in a house with six siblings, but they did welcome me and my siblings with open arms. I’m always going to be grateful for all the incredible people that I have met here, and I can say to my mom and dad, that are somewhere in the crowd…”
He raised his arm to point to somewhere in the crowd, laughing. “There they are. That it was the best decision that you have ever made. After having a second son, obviously.”
I could hear some of Niko’s voice and the laughter of Mr. Willow. I turned around, and surely enough, he was clearing his eyes from tears. Then cleaning his glasses. Niko and Cassie were almost shouting, but we couldn’t understand what they were saying. I looked at Aaron, and he was looking at his family with so much adoration.
“Okay, guys, this is my moment. I want to thank them for all the love and support that they have shown me since moment one.”
He sounded choked. “They are the best, truly.”
He waited a moment to get over it and turned to look at me. He smirked.
“I also have to thank Maya Amery for making these years so much fun. For those who don’t know, Maya was the girl with amber eyes that I talked about earlier. We had a little miscommunication problem when we were kids and decided to compete in everything in every single moment. I know that this has caused some interesting moments during the years. We made our classes more dynamic, and I know that some of you have thought that this was all too much to be true.
“It was. We both have a bit of competitiveness in our blood, and that has caused great memories. Maya, I’m forever grateful that I met you that summer day under the tree while I was reading The Treasure of the Sea in all my solitude. I can’t imagine a better person to have shared all these years and awkward phases of becoming a teenager and then, hopefully, a man. You make me better. I want to raise and learn and do everything possible to be on the same level as you.”
I wanted so badly to jump to that stage and kiss him. I just smiled at him and nodded. He smiled widely, and I laughed.
“Lastly, I want to congratulate my classmates for all the hard work that they did to be sitting here, receiving their diplomas. For all their sacrifices. I wish you the best and that you get all that you want from life. We know that this is a small town, so we are all going to know when you accomplish it.”
They raised to applause, and I saw the blush that decorated Aaron’s cheeks. I applauded with strength. I felt tears in my eyes. Then, Aaron smiled low and looked at me. My stomach plummeted. Then returned the smile, but it seemed fake. Something was not good. I tried to make eye contact with him to see what had just happened, but he was being congratulated by our classmates on the way to his chair. When he sat, I tried to see what was happening. He smiled forcefully and nodded, trying to imply that everything was okay to me, but I knew him too well. Something had changed his mood.
It was my turn to do the speech, and all the stress for it came ten times more. I tried to relax, breathing in and out deeply a couple of times. I felt dizzy. I hated talking in front of people. They were applauding until I put myself in front of the mic.
“Thank you, and thanks for all coming today to see us graduate. Most of you have seen us grow since we were just babies, until becoming hopefully women and men that you feel proud of. There are some of us that are leaving this place for at least some years, and I think I can say this in the name of my classmates, that we want to make a good name for this town, wherever we go. To represent this small town everywhere we pass through. To put it on a map and let the rest know how incredible the people are from here. I’m not going to lie, I have had moments during these years where the high school experience just wasn’t for me. Where I just wanted to leave town and never look back. Now, I don’t think like this. I appreciate all the good memories and all the kindness that neighbors have shown. All the special moments that I’m going to keep forever in my heart.”
I looked at the public, and I felt my hands shake. My eyes connected with my mom. She was in the corner. The closest to the door. She was still wearing her uniform, and I could feel her pining and see her tears from here. She cleaned her tears and smiled softly. I felt something fall from somewhere, and I focused again on where I was going. I was on autopilot.
“I want to thank my friends and family for helping me, and for making sure that I was okay and felt loved. I want to thank all my classmates for the good moments and memories.”
I didn’t know how to stop my voice from sounding so far away. It was like my brain wasn’t connected to my tongue, and I couldn’t even retain what I was saying. It was like I was out of my body. I felt cold.
My eyes found Aaron’s, and I started to zone in. He was worried. I must have been killing this speech in the most horrible way, but I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to finish and get home, but for that I needed to finish what I was saying and end the speech, but I just couldn’t. I didn’t even know if what I was saying was making any sense. When I stopped to breathe, my mouth completely dry and my focus on Aaron, I started to feel more like myself.
“Thanks to Aaron, the sweetest rival that one could wish for. I’m also extremely grateful to get to know you and being able to share all these years together. You are the best person I have ever known, and your kindness and intelligence have made me a better person. Thanks to the rest of the Willows, too, who have always been incredible to me, and thank you for choosing me today to be the one doing this speech. Wish you all the best.”
I went down the stairs and back to my seat. I felt Aaron’s gaze, but I ignored it. My mom had to be the thing that he saw before that made his smile slip. I didn’t know how I was feeling. A tiny little part of me was happy that she came. That she didn’t lose the opportunity to see me graduate even after our fight. But that didn’t change the fact that she didn’t call or come to visit me. She probably still thought that I was lying. I was also angry. She didn’t deserve to come here and make herself the proud mom when she kicked me out of the house.
But I did have to recognize that she probably got weird looks and not-so comfortable ones from the town. I knew that my father and I weren’t the most loved ones in our town, after the rumors. She had problems at work, but she was still working there from the uniform that she wore. I didn’t see my father—probably drunk or hungover in some corner.
Was she going to try to talk with me? Was she going to leave without talking with me? I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t know how much I spent trying not to think of her when I felt the rest of my classmates rise from their chairs. It was time to receive the prizes. Aaron and I were called to receive the best alumni, surprising us both.
“We have made an exception and have decided to name both of you our best alumni. You both have worked very hard, and we wanted you two to share the prize.”
We both said thanks and smiled at each other. I knew that I wouldn’t have been mad if he was the chosen one, as I knew that he wouldn’t have been mad if I was the chosen one.
Once we got off of the stage, we returned to our places and threw our graduation caps in the air.
Then, music came out loudly out of the speakers and people started to congratulate each other. I was looking for Aaron, but after the chaos that was disrupting, it was nearly impossible. People were jumping, running, taking pictures.
A pair of strong hands grabbed my hand, and I was going to turn to scream at someone until I realized I knew these hands. I turned, smiling big, and saw Aaron’s blue eyes looking at me with sparks, his breath a little uneven. He sighed.
“I have been following you for a little.”
“That didn’t sound stalkerish at all,”
I said cheekily. He rolled his eyes.
“Like you weren’t searching for me.”
“Yes, I was.”
I got closer to him. “And now I’ve found you.”
“But I won. You weren’t even looking in the right direction,”
he said, smiling at me. I shook my head.
“Willow, not everything’s a competition.”
Aaron was going to reply, but his family found us, congratulated us, and started to ask us for pictures.
I saw my mom leaving by the gym’s back door, and I followed her. I was still mad at her, but I wanted things to get better between us. I wanted my mom back.
“Mom,”
I said, after seeing her going her way to the parking lot. She stopped in her tracks and turned around. She had tears falling down her cheeks, and she wiped them off.
“May May. Congratulations,”
she said in a raspy voice.
“Thank you,”
I said softly.
“I—They give you the prize. You’re the best alumni.”
I nodded. “I’m so proud.”
She was still on the verge of tears. Her eyes were red, she had purple marks under her eyes, her hair was a mess, and she seemed to have been working the longest shift in history.
I got closer to her. My heart hurt from seeing her like this. She seemed like a ghost of my mom.
“I’m so sorry, Maya. I should have trusted you. I’m so sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have said those things. I was mad and scared and so hurt that I failed you. I would love to gain your forgiveness back.”
“Mom, I get it. It must have been very hard, realizing that your own husband hurt your daughter.”
“It was, but it was harder for you. I’m an adult, too. I should have taken care of you. I didn’t want to believe that he would have done that to you. I—”
My mom stopped and looked behind me. My boss was behind me, looking curiously between us.
“Is everything okay, Maya?”
“Yes, I’m just talking with my mom,”
I said, calming both women. I wanted my mom to know I was handing her a hand. My boss smiled a little.
“I should be going. I don’t want to ruin your day,”
my mom said. I went to her and hugged her. She cried in my arms. “I don’t want to cry. I don’t want to put this on you.”
“I know. It’s alright, Mom.”
“I promise to believe in you, to gain your trust and forgiveness back if you let me, if you still want me in your life.”
“Of course I do. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
“You’re gorgeous. I love your dress,”
she said between sobs. “My girl is such a beautiful, accomplished woman. I’m so proud, Maya.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
She hugged me tightly.
“Let me know when you want to talk or hang out. We can do whatever you want.”
I smiled at her reassuringly.
“I will.”
I kissed her cheek and she hugged me again, tightly kissing my head.
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Mom,”
I replied with tears in my eyes. She gulped and nodded and let me go.
“Have fun!”
she said before leaving.
I turned and saw that my boss was still there.
“Congratulations, Maya.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t want to see you at work until at least Tuesday, alright?”
I was going to protest, but I knew it would be for nothing. “Also I have something to give you.”
I looked at her expectantly.
“You have it?”
She nodded and gave me the key. I smiled at the key. “Thank you.”
She nodded.
“Now, listen to your mom and have fun for once.”