Chapter Six Maia
Chapter Six
Maia
Blood roared in my ears as I took in Jackson sprawled on the floor, cupping his jaw with pure hatred in his eyes. And it was only intensified by Decker, who looked seconds away from drop-kicking his brother down the hallway.
Because of me.
Guilt swamped me. I couldn’t do this. Not to either of them. It didn’t matter that, for the first time in my life, I’d felt the thing my friends talked about. What people always said existed, but I’d never believed to be true.
I released my hold on Decker’s suit jacket. He clearly felt the loss of contact instantly and turned.
“Maia.”
I shook my head, the loose waves of my hair swirling around me. “I—I can’t.”
Then I took off down the darkened hallway, Deck’s hand slipping from my waist. I tried door after door until I finally came across one that opened.
I slipped into the lowly lit room, taking in the space around me. It was like some museum gallery with paintings on the walls and a few pieces of furniture scattered around so you could take in the art or maybe have a meeting. Who had a freaking gallery in their house? Frederick, of course.
But the pretention didn’t matter because it was at least quieter in here, the music and voices muffled by the thick walls. My fingers lifted to my lips. They still buzzed.
It was as if some sort of phantom energy would forever live inside them now. I didn’t know if I wished I could erase it or lock it there for all eternity, even if that was all I’d experience.
I dropped onto a small sofa, the rigidity jarring my spine. If I had oodles of cash, all my furniture would feel like clouds—none of this cement masquerading as comfort.
Tugging on the ribbon of my mask, I let it fall to my lap. Dang masks. In every sense of the word.
The ones we’d worn to the party, the ones we wore in everyday life. Because as I really thought about it, I’d been playing the role of happy Maia for far too long. When I hadn’t been, not entirely happy anyway.
My eyes burned as I took stock of how I’d made my life smaller and smaller. Made myself smaller. Because it felt like nothing about me had been right. Too nerdy about animals and nature. Not sophisticated enough for Jackson’s colleagues and events. Too boring.
But it wasn’t Jackson I found myself angry at now. It was myself. Because I’d let him treat me that way. I hadn’t walked away until I got slapped with something so ugly I had no choice.
Now I had to figure out who I really was, and who I wanted to be. Because I’d been slowly erasing parts of myself to make someone else happy.
“Maia?”
I turned at the quiet, hesitant voice.
Henry slowly crossed from the doorway and rounded the ridiculous sofa. “Can I sit?”
I tried to force a smile but couldn’t quite make it work. “Sure.”
He awkwardly lowered himself to the seat.
A soft laugh left my lips. “Feels like cement, huh?”
Henry’s face screwed up. “Why would someone spend money on this thing?”
An authentic grin came then. “It probably cost like ten grand, too.”
“What a freaking waste.”
“For real.”
Henry was quiet for a moment. “You okay?”
I thought about how to answer that in a way that wouldn’t be an outright lie. “No. But I will be.”
“Looked like there was a pretty big commotion in the hallway.”
I smoothed my hands over the hem of my dress, tugging it down. “Note to self: Don’t kiss your ex’s brother.”
Henry’s eyes bugged out a fraction. “The punch suddenly makes a little more sense.”
“Whoops,” I muttered.
“You were with him for a long time. Jackson, I mean.”
“Too long.”
Henry tugged off his mask and studied me like he did his schedules and spreadsheets. “I never got why you stayed with him. He didn’t seem to like you very much.”
I winced.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that—”
“No,” I cut him off. “You said it exactly right. He didn’t like me very much.
” And now I couldn’t figure out why he’d stayed with me for as long as he had.
It didn’t make sense. I knew Jackson had a selfish streak.
He’d always been that way, focused on what was right in front of him and not much else.
But it was as if someone had removed my blinders over the past year, and I truly saw it now.
But knowing that I settled for that kind of treatment . . . it hurt.
“Not liking you just proves what an idiot he is,” Henry muttered.
That had me fighting a laugh. “You’re a good friend.”
His cheeks flushed. “Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “So, you knew them both for a long time?”
I nodded. “We grew up down the block from one another. Jackson was the center of the group, while Deck was the quiet observer.”
But Deck wasn’t just an observer. He acted when it mattered. Showed up when it counted. More than that, he was real. His words might’ve been few, but they were always the right ones.
When I didn’t get into the college program I’d hoped for, it was Deck who’d showed up to check on me.
I could still see his face, dark scruff dotting his jaw as his gray eyes cut me to the quick.
“It’s their loss, Birdie. You deserve to be somewhere you’re valued.
Cherished. Because you bring a light to the world that it desperately needs. ”
My mouth went dry as I wondered what else those words might’ve meant.
As I thought about every single time Deck and I had shown up for each other when Jackson was nowhere in sight.
I couldn’t help wondering if I’d been oblivious to the fact that I shared a deeper bond with my ex’s brother than with him.
“What?” Henry prodded.
I swallowed hard. “Just questioning every life choice I’ve ever made.”
“You gonna go for him? The brother?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I can’t.” I couldn’t do that to the West family. I loved Jackson and Deck’s parents. I wouldn’t drop a bomb on their lives.
Henry straightened his shoulders. “I’m just going to say this. You deserve to be happy. We all do.”
I stared at him for a moment. “We do. And you, especially.” Henry was kind and caring. Always checking in on the people around him—like he was with me right now.
He patted my shoulder. “We’ll find our way.”
“Maybe with Vi?” I suggested.
His eyes widened a fraction. “Really?”
I shrugged. “Might be worth asking her to dance.”
Henry seemed to think about it for a second. “Maybe I will.”
I grinned. “Good. And thank you for always being a good friend.”
Henry flushed. “Anytime.”
I pushed to my feet. “I’m going to get some air and then head back to the dance floor. See you there?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, sure.”
I slid out through another door and into a maze of rooms that finally opened to a back patio that led all the way around the massive castle. It was freezing, but I needed the bite of cold. The snow came down harder now, but this part of the patio was nicely covered, so I simply took it all in.
I stayed there for a long time, just watching the snow fall, my lips still buzzing as thoughts of Deck swirled around me like the snowflakes. A flash of light caught my eye. One shimmering streak and then another, flying toward one another.
The comets. The Star-Crossed Lovers. I couldn’t look away as they seemed to collide in midair, sending sparks flying around them. Some part of me wondered if they hadn’t been able to work it out forty years ago, and if this was their second chance.
I couldn’t seem to tear myself away, even after any glimmer of the comets was gone. As though if I stayed there, I’d get some reassurance that they had worked it out. It never came.
When a shiver racked my body so strongly I nearly toppled over, I knew it was time to go inside again. I wove my way around the patio, hoping to find a door that led to the back hallway I’d been in earlier. I just had to pray the West boys would be long gone by now.
My steps faltered as I saw something in the shadows. A lump. No, a person.
I ran forward, nearly tripping on my stupid heels to get to them. A woman. Her fair skin glowed in the low lights of the patio’s sconces, and her red hair streamed out around her like a halo. But that was when I realized it wasn’t just hair.
It was blood.
So I did the only thing I could.
I screamed.