2. Maya
Maya
They hadn’t been lying. From US History through Chemistry, Calculus (which I found myself bamboozled by), to Policy, they were in each one.
Only Henry had disappeared at lunch time.
The twins, however, led me to a back table, dropping their backpacks—and carefully placing mine next to me—before grabbing their lunches from their bags.
I sat there with a pleased expression on my face, happy to get a break from class and still be able to spend time with them.
The table offered a fantastic view of the garden that was in an open-air pavilion at the center of the school.
“Where’s your lunch?” Ledger asked with a slight frown. My chest constricted because I really didn’t like that upset look on his face.
I hummed and looked away. “Don’t have one. We only eat supper, usually.”
Both twins stilled.
“You can go buy one up there,” Anani offered, throwing a thumb back at the long lunch line.
I flushed, licking my lips nervously. “I’ll have to bring money tomorrow.”
Both twins frowned, Ledger pushing half of his sandwich toward me. It was made of a light bread and peanut butter. I happily took it but didn’t make a move to eat it right away, knowing I would probably showcase my hunger by scarfing it down.
“So what’s your plan after school, peanut?” Anani asked. His gaze was still darkened from the conversation about food, but apparently he was willing to move on.
I smiled at that nickname. Much better than ‘little one,’ although I was positive it meant the same thing to him.
The ‘firefly’ name was growing on me as well.
I liked those little bugs; they used to fly in through the basement window and light up the room.
My chest warmed at the positive memory buried amongst the others.
“Well, I’ll probably walk around town for a bit before heading home,” I offered casually. I was proud of that statement. It sounded like something a normal teenager would do. Nothing to see here; I’m just exploring the town. Not avoiding my trailer and abusive mother.
“You walk to school?” Anani sputtered. “It’s freezing out.”
Or not.
I tugged on my hoodie. “All warm and cozy, I promise.”
Ledger frowned and pulled out a sleek black object before asking, “What’s your number? We can pick you up each morning if you text us the address.”
Number? Oh! That was a phone. I’d read about those, and Jed had gotten my mother a matching contraption—although Ledger’s phone looked far fancier and more expensive than theirs had.
“Texting? You would need a phone to do that, right?”
Both pairs of eyes darkened at my admission, and I flushed a bright pink. Before they could respond, a solid arm crashed over my shoulder and caused me to hiss in pain. I flinched, and I’m positive it didn’t go unnoticed by either of the twins sitting across from me.
“Malloy,” Anani snapped, “get your fucking arm off her.”
The arm was instantly gone, and a worried pair of brown eyes appeared next to me. I frowned and scooted back slightly. This guy didn’t give me a bad feeling, but my back hurt a lot, and I was worried my new friends would notice if he kept touching it.
Plus, he didn’t make me feel like how Henry and the twins made me feel. This was more like the lumpy, grainy grits that my mother used to give me on cold mornings.
“Now, what’s a pretty girl like you doing sitting with these jokers?” Malloy said, chuckling. Jokers? I was concerned about Malloy’s well-being. He was my size and taunting the giants across the table. The pipsqueak would end up getting killed.
“Stop hitting on her,” Ledger muttered.
I was na?ve about the world; I knew that.
However, in the past six days, I had completely devoted myself to reading anything and everything I could get my hands on.
I had some general knowledge from homeschooling, but my cultural knowledge was all but absent.
After reading a few magazines like Cosmo and a hefty stack of newspapers, I knew a little more than I used to.
For example, thanks to Cosmo, I now knew that ‘hitting on’ someone was what you did when you liked them. I supposed I had never been hit on in my life before. Although, the darkness, on those lonely nights in the basement, used to hold me.
God, I was a freak.
What would these boys think if they knew how inexperienced I was? How naive I was? Or the fact that I’d never been hit on, or kissed? These were things that I was gathering were normal for highschoolers, but until meeting them, it hadn’t been something I’d ever considered.
I couldn’t ignore the excitement that fluttered through my stomach at the appearance of their smiles.
I would probably never be normal enough for someone to like me, but at least I could have friends.
The butterflies would have to go—now I just needed to find someone to tell me how to get rid of them.
“Right, ’cause that’s what I was doing.” Malloy rolled his eyes, not looking bothered in the least. “Where’s Henry?”
“Busy,” Anani responded. His jaw was tense, those bright eyes trained on the place between Malloy and me. Ledger, though, was focused on my shoulders and face. Could he tell I had bruises? Crap. I hoped not.
After that, our lunch was quiet, with Malloy only making occasional commentary as I slowly ate my sandwich.
When the bell rang and the three of us walked toward the gym, Ledger made a proposal. “Come hang out with us after school.”
I nodded and agreed. “Sounds fun.”
Anani looked relieved, and Ledger tossed me a small smile.
I walked into the girls’ locker room, a god-awful space lined with yellow and green tile.
As I made my way to Coach Julie’s office, accompanied by the occasional drip of leaking showers, I kept my eyes on my feet, not wanting to attract any more unwanted attention.
I swallowed and knocked on the door, and a woman with messy brown hair looked up at me.
Her eyes were wide, and her skin was like tanned leather over a muscular, athletic build.
I was totally jealous of how strong she was.
“You must be Maya,” the coach offered.
“Yes,” I said, shifting on my feet. “I’m here to pick up my uniform.”
“So you are.” She sighed, checking something on her clipboard. “Here you go.”
Uniform in hand, I went toward the changing area, which thankfully had stalls.
Peeling off my hoodie and hanging it across the stall door, I stepped out of my skirt and pulled on the loose shorts and baggy shirt, trying to avoid the gross water on the floor.
I didn’t want to ruin what nice clothes I had.
Unfortunately, bruises peeked out from my shirt on my bicep and neck. It wasn’t terrible, but it was enough that people would notice. I tugged my hoodie back on.
“There she is,” Anani said in relief as I stepped out of the locker room into the hallway outside of the gymnasium, Ledger and Henry right beside him.
I joined them, trying to ignore the dirty looks some of the other girls offered me.
I wasn’t positive if it was something I’d done or if they didn’t like my friends. Maybe both?
We stepped into the gym, and my face fell. It was hot as heck in here, so hot the glass was fogging. I caught Coach’s eye as I joined the group in the center of the floor.
“Maya, I don’t need anyone passing out. Hoodie off,” Coach Julie ordered.
Oh crap.
I bit my lip but did as instructed, stepping back to shed the extra layer.
No one except the boys paid me any mind, as the rest were listening to the instructions for the day.
I tried to pull off the hoodie carefully so my clothes wouldn’t shift and reveal more bruises on my torso, hoping my hair would cover the bruises on the back of my neck.
Ledger looked me over, his mouth tightening. Did he see them? My eyes shot to Henry and Anani. Yeah. They saw them.
Henry’s eyes were blazing as Anani offered me a heartbreaking look. I ignored them and kept my eyes forward. I needed a story. I knew they would ask the minute she was done talking, and I didn’t need anyone knowing the way my mother treated me.
I only had five days left. Five days until I never had to worry about it again.
“Alright, I need you to jog ten laps,” the coach yelled. The three boys and I took position in the back of the group.
“What the hell are those?” Anani demanded before I could speak. He grasped my arm and pushed up my sleeve, and I cringed at the sound that came out of his mouth. I wasn’t scared of him, but the energy vibrating around him wasn’t sweet, and those eyes were enraged.
“Accident. I had a bad accident about”—my entire life—“a week ago. It’s still healing.”
I hated lying. I was terrible at it.
Anani shook his head but kept quiet…except for that rumble in his chest that had my heart racing and breath quickening.
“What type of accident?” Ledger asked quietly.
The kind that gave birth to me.
“Fell down some stairs while moving,” I muttered.
I felt a cool hand on my neck and knew it was Henry. His chest made a low rumble, but all hesitancy from earlier was wiped away as he peered at the skin. I could practically feel him thinking, and the gaze he offered me was both clinical yet concerned.
“How bad is it?” Henry asked so softly I barely heard him.
“Not so bad,” I responded, then picked up from walking to jogging.
For the rest of class, the guys were quiet. They didn’t believe my lie, and I didn’t blame them. I didn’t even believe my lie.
No one would want to be my friend if they knew how not normal I was. How awful my mother treated me. How I was possessed by the devil and that was why she had to hurt me. No one would even want to be around me.
I was glad these boys made me feel so comfortable, because I wasn’t sure how I would feel around other people. My experiences with Seth and Lorn hadn’t been good, and I hadn’t talked to anyone else really. Well, Malloy I suppose, but he didn’t leave me with a bad feeling, just sort of nothing.
With my friends, I felt like an attention-starved kitten.
I’d always wanted a kitten. There used to be strays that would come near the basement, and one time, I’d even created a little corner for them to stay in during the winter.
I’d been terrified my mother or Pastor Malcolm would find out, but they stayed quiet as their mother left to hunt each day and came back with rats and mice.
She fed her children like a real mom was supposed to.
I think that was when I realized how bad my situation was. When the six of them left one afternoon and never came back, I cried for three days straight, but it taught me that getting attached to things was something I couldn’t afford.
Now that I was going to be free, I wanted something I could be attached to. Something I could love. I really should get a kitten. That would be the first order of business on my birthday.
After gym, securely changed into my uniform, I found the boys waiting for me.
“Come on,” Anani said in a slightly dimmer tone than before, concern shading his normally playful eyes. His warm hand met mine and squeezed gently, and I offered him a bright smile that had the light rekindling.
“Nice car,” I offered. I knew nothing about cars—all I knew was that this one was shiny, big, and black. I struggled to get up into the seat, so Ledger smiled and aided my effort before walked around to the driver’s side, both other boys hopping into the back.
As the car engine started up, my smile grew. This was exciting. This was a freakin’ adventure. Maybe my new life wouldn’t be that bad.