CHAPTER 34
*PAST*
“A visitor with a gift”
Aaron
Maya was sleeping. I wanted her to sleep in my bed, but after the events, I thought it would be better to give her some space. She was staying in one of the guest rooms. This one had a king bed and an en suite bathroom. Normally, at least one of my siblings was always using this room for different things because we didn’t have a lot of guests coming.
I thought that the big bed would be better for her; she had space to sleep peacefully, or at least as much as she could. I wanted to ask her more questions. She said to her mom that her dad had stolen from her. Her voice had broken when she said that. I was scared to ask how much money it was. My family was well off and I had never had to worry about money, and I didn’t realize how lucky I was until recently.
My grandpa told me that he was going to distribute his will soon. He didn’t want to wait to be out to see how we enjoyed the money that my grandparents had gained working hard. I told him that I didn’t care about it, just that he was okay. And he told me that he knew that, but that he wanted me to know that he would get me the money before going to college. He said that he would probably put the money of my siblings in a trust fund with the exception of Niko and me—both the oldest and over eighteen. The rest would have to wait a little to enjoy the majority of it.
With the money, I was more than able to pay for college, and I was more than able to help Maya go to college, too. There was no doubt that she would get some scholarship from universities, but in case she needed anything, I could help. The only problem was her stubbornness. She would deny the help and maybe be mad about it. I needed to think of a good way to approach it so she understood that I didn’t want anything back.
Even if things didn’t work out between us, she was one of the most important people in my life, and I wanted to be there. I knew that she was going to do great things in the world, in whatever she decided to do. She would get there and be the best, but she also deserved a breather, not having to worry about the money that her dad stole. She got defensive the last time we talked about money, and I didn’t want to cause her more grief, just wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay. That we both could get a solution to help whatever she needed.
If not, I could always tell her that I would take the money back when she started to succeed. I could tell her it would be like an investment.
It didn’t sound the best. I needed to think more about it. I told my family to let me know when Maya woke up while I took a shower and went to my room. I needed to rest some. I tossed and turned, but I was able to sleep for a little until a sound woke me up.
My parents were arguing. My brother was there and an unfamiliar voice was there, too. I didn’t feel with enough strength to find what was happening, but when the voices didn’t stop, I decided to go and ask them to talk lower or they would wake up Maya, too.
I went down the stairs, getting closer and closer to where the voices were. It was difficult to understand what they were saying, and before they saw me, I hid behind the door.
“You don’t understand what’s happening here. She is not who you think she is.”
The female voice now sounded familiar, but I couldn’t figure out who it belonged to. I wanted to see her face. “I know her better than everyone else. I gave birth to her. She grew inside me and I want all the good things for her, but you are making a mistake. She’s lying. She must have been hit somewhere else and then lied about it. I now realize that your son was not the one that did it, but I also know that my husband didn’t do it either.”
It was Maya’s mother. Why did my parents let her pass? “She is scared, or I don’t know what’s going through her brain, but my husband is innocent. I need to talk to her and bring her home. This has been a horrible mistake, and my husband is taking the blame for it. He is scared to go anywhere; his reputation is ruined. We need to clear his name.”
“Ma’am, we were all there when your daughter told you it was her father who did this. She was heartbroken, and we know that she didn’t want to tell the police because it’s her father. She is the victim in all this,”
my dad said.
“Exactly. She needs to rest and have people to help her with her injuries. The doctor said that it would take a month to get the cast off. Then she will need rehabilitation. Not to mention the scars emotionally that she has right now,”
continued my mom.
“I was there. I entered the house when I heard screams and your husband was grabbing her by the broken arm and wanted to hit her again. I know what I saw. My brother and I were there to check on her. She didn’t call to tell us that she got home, so we were extremely worried, but we didn’t expect to find that. She was shaking like a leaf when we got her into the car and into the hospital. She was in shock.”
I was grateful for my brother.
“You are wrong. You must have seen something else.”
Maya’s mom sounded angry. My rage was becoming stronger with every word. I could understand her pain, but she needed to start seeing her husband for what he was and help her daughter.
“Ma’am, you need to leave. Maya’s eighteen years old and can decide if she wants to stay with us or not. We adore her; she’s like a daughter to us. As a mother and wife, I can’t even begin to understand how painful all of this might be. We know that you work very hard and have always been nice to us, but right now, you need to put your priorities in order. Make sure that your husband isn’t lying and hold tight to your daughter—”
my mom was saying until she heard a sob from Mrs. Amery.
It was obvious that this situation was excruciating for her, but I couldn’t feel as sympathetic when I remembered how she left her daughter in the hospital alone when she was sad and broken after telling her what really happened. There was also the fact that she wanted to frame me because she thought I could do that to Maya. I wasn’t that worried about them, even if my parents told me that technically I’d broken into Maya’s house. They didn’t scold me because my brother told them how injured Maya was. They, in fact, looked at me with understanding when they saw the bruises and cast on Maya. My mom even broke down crying.
“You have no idea!”
Mrs. Amery said. “You think my daughter is this kind of saint, but she isn’t. She’s selfish, and conniving, and a liar. She wants money. She is jealous of all the fancy things that you have. She wants them for herself—”
“She isn’t like that,”
my dad said. “We have seen your kid grow up to become a sweet, hard-working girl that wouldn’t even take a cent that she hasn’t earned. She has been teaching my kids for some time now, and she is the most patient and kind teacher they have ever had. Extremely smart, too. I am appalled that you can talk like that about your own kid. We know that this is hard for you, but we are not going to let you talk poorly about Maya.”
I entered the room. I was sick to my stomach to hear her talk like that. I was furious with her. She needed to leave now.
They all looked at me when I entered. I could feel their gazes, but I was too focused on Mrs. Amery. She looked deranged, on the brink of breaking. I didn’t say anything to her, even though she wasn’t my favorite person by far. She was still Maya’s mother, even if she didn’t behave like one. It was Maya’s decision to cut ties with her or forgive her for this betrayal.
“Hi, Aaron,”
she said mockingly. “I heard a rumor that you are always trying to fix broken things. The Golden Boy, they call you. It must have been so easy for Maya to play the victim role and make you want to be her savior.”
She laughed loudly. “I feel sorry for you. You have let a fox in your chicken coop.”
She grabbed her big bag and came closer to me. My parents were on alert. Tense.
“You want to know what I found in her room years later? Think of it as a gift. Well, a gift cannot be one that was yours to begin with.”
My heart started to beat fast. She looked at me, and she didn’t have any resemblance to Maya.
She took out something from her bag. I knew what it was before she even put it in my hands. I didn’t look at the object. I continued to look at her.
“Isn’t this your beloved, special book that went missing years ago?”
I looked down and immediately recognized it as the one that my grandpa gave me when I was a kid. The object that caused the downfall of my friendship with Maya. Now, it was taunting me again.
She was shaking the book side to side, looking at me mockingly, like she just won the battle. I wanted to scream. My mom grabbed the book. “This is—”
“Oh, hi, sweetie. We were just talking about you.”
I turned around and found Maya frowning at the book. “You have a lot to answer to this family for. I must say that I have to apologize for my part in all of this. When you told me that the book was missing, I thought that there was no way that my daughter could do it. I didn’t raise her like that, but imagine my surprise when I found this book way later. Because she is my daughter, I didn’t want to say anything for fear of repercussions and gossip. You know how this town loves gossip. But I can’t continue—”
“Aaron, I—”
Maya said, while I said to her mom at the same time, “Shut up,”
knowing in my soul that she hadn’t taken it. “We all know that she didn’t steal it. You are lying. You started with this crap speech trying to make us drop your daughter, and because you realize that we didn’t believe a word you said, you use the book.”
“Poor, innocent Aaron. Then how did the book end up at my house?”
“I don’t care. I know she didn’t do it. I don’t care about the book. I care that she was hurt and you are doing nothing to help her. You are just trying to hurt her more. I felt sorry for you at first, but now I don’t. No one deserves this. She’s your blood. And she’s your husband’s blood, but apparently that doesn’t mean anything to any of you. I want you gone. Now. Don’t talk to her. Don’t look at her. Leave her alone until you change your mind or she wants to see you for some miraculous reason. Now, get out of my house.”
She was furious. She marched to the door, and I put myself between Maya and her mother when she passed. I didn’t trust her. She slammed the door, and that was the only sound for a while. Maya didn’t say a word. She was looking at me intensely.
“Maya, darling, we want you to know that you are more than welcome in our house. You can stay for as long as you want. I’m sorry that you heard that. I don’t want to make excuses for your mother, but she will realize how wrong she is. It will be your decision to forgive or not. Let us know if you need anything. Truly, Maya. We are here to help. We love you, and we are very proud of you.”
My mum hugged Maya softly and then pressed my shoulder. I appreciated that they didn’t ask her about the book. They left the room.
“I’m sorry, Aaron. I never wanted this to happen. Your family has too much going on right now. How’s your grandpa, by the way?”
“He’s fine. The doctors said that he needs time to recover, but that it was a miracle, the operation and the little damage that it caused.”
“That’s amazing.”
There was another beat silence, and it seemed like Maya didn’t know what to say. “I know that you have questions about the book. I promise that I would never steal it.”
“I know, my love. I know you. I grew up with you, Maya. I know that I wasn’t the best for the first years after the book. We started this weird dynamic of trying to make the other lose. I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you the first time. I have been trying to leave all in the past, to apologize for not believing you, but my pride was too big. I thought that you wouldn’t care, that too much rivalry has passed between us to mean something, to ask for forgiveness. I was an idiot.”
She was shaking her head.
“I was an idiot. I also let my pride get between us. I felt like I couldn’t let my guard down. You become my best friend, my favorite person, so fast, and then I felt betrayed. We were kids, and I should explain and understand why you think that. It makes total sense, but I didn’t. I don’t know where she got the book. I know it looks bad, and I will answer all the questions that you have.”
Now, I was the one shaking my head.
I said that I believed her, but she was scared that deep down I didn’t.
“I don’t want to lose you, Aaron.”
Her voice cracked.
I went to her and touched her cheek. She had tears on the edge of falling. I never had seen her cry. She never did; she thought it was breaking. I would hate for her to cry about this. Not when she didn’t after all the pain and humiliation of her dad. “I believe you, Maya. I mean it. It’s okay. I’m not mad. I just want you to rest and get better, and go back to our debate team and get Ben out of the leader’s place.”
She laughed softly. I included that last part only for that.
“You don’t have any questions?”
“I mean, I have a few, but nothing about the book. I want to know more about what happened and the money that he stole, and if you are going to let us help you. That’s what I want answers to, but I’m going to wait as long as you need to answer them. You just have to communicate with me. Things like I don’t want to talk about this. I prefer if we watch a movie or I need you to kiss me more or don’t kiss me, even if that would be painful,”
I said with a smile. “Or if you need to take a step back and just be friends for a while, that’s okay, too. Whatever you need, my love. Just say it, because even though I have multiple talents, reading minds is still not one of them.”
Her lip trembles. “You are the best, Aaron. I—I don’t even know what to say. You and your family are helping me so much, and I will try to—”
I got closer to her. Her eyes followed my movement.
“Is this okay?”
She nodded. “Can I hug you?”
She smiled brightly and hugged me first. There was still sadness in her eyes, and so many things to heal and be sad and angry about, but this was a good first step. It was awesome, really, that she hugged me. “I thought that you were angry with me.”
“I was,”
she muttered into my shirt. “But you are just too nice, I can’t even be mad at you.”
“I tried to help,”
I said against her hair. She sighed.
“I know; that was what made it difficult to be mad. You tried to help me. You did, but I wasn’t ready for all of this. It’s not your fault. Not even close. But I knew she would take his side. I love my mom; even after this, I can’t stop loving her. I hate her, too. It’s such a weird feeling. I wanted to ask her about the book and what she was going to do now. She said in the hospital that they wanted to charge you and try to stop universities from going after you.”
“I’m not worried about that, Maya. People saw you get into town unharmed. They even saw you in the bus station of my hometown. It’s going to be okay. You don’t worry about it. I think your mom needs time and space. Then, she’ll realize the mistake that she has made, but while she gets there, you are going to get well. You are going to let people help you. You can’t use your right arm. It needs to heal. You are going to focus on high school and on trying to beat me. But don’t think that I’m going to go soft now against you in chess just because you can only use one hand. You are left-handed, so there’s no excuse.”
She was shaking her head against my chest. She raised her head and rolled her eyes at me. “That’s the attitude that I want to see.”
I moved to the hall with her still in my arms. It felt out of this world after the rollercoaster of the last hours. She followed me blindly.
“Now, do you want to eat or sleep?”
*FLASHBACK*
“Broken dreams
Maya
I called my mom again. She was picking up. I sighed. I'll have to wait to see if our day at the beach is still on. It would be the perfect moment to give her my gift. I couldn't wait for her reaction when I told her I bought us flights to her dream destination.
I looked at the phone's clock. Close to an hour since I should have left.
I packed my things and told my husband I would arrive a little later today.
I was picking up my step. I was excited to see my husband, and I was dying to spend the night with him—so much so that the figure standing next to my car almost looked like him.
The poor lighting of the street hinders his features.
I was alert.
Coming closer to the shadow, I saw my husband's face. I had never seen so much anguish, pain, worry, and fear in his eyes. I took a step back.
Something was terribly wrong.
"Maya," he said, "my love." He hesitated. I knew that whatever he said would break my heart. "There has been an accident," he said, getting close to me, his arms surrounding me. "It's your mom," he said in a whisper.
He grabbed my hand, and I followed.
My whole body cold.
I just blinked, and we were in a cold, sterile room.
"You made a mistake," I said, my throat hurting. "This is not the hospital."
My husband closed his eyes. I felt a tremor go through him. His lips quivered.
"Maya, I'm so sorry," said John; he wore his uniform, but this couldn't be. He was the mortician, not a doctor. "It's the protocol."
"I'll go," said my husband. I shook my head.
I entered the room and found two bodies covered by a white sheet each.
He uncovered it, and my mom was sleeping. Her face was serene. A tiny bit of blood on her forehead. I caressed her cheek. Cold. A sickly pale in my beautiful mom's face.
Aaron was next to me, anchoring me.
John covered my mom.
"Just a tiny more, and you can go."
I waited for him to give me some paper to put my signature on.
But he waited for me, grabbing the other body sheet, waiting to uncover it.
My husband tensed next to me.
"Please, Maya," said John.
I walked to him.
For a moment, I didn't recognize him. He was covered in bruises.
"He took most of the impact. You weren't close, but he tried to save your mom. That's what his injuries say. The truck driver didn't survive either."
You never know how old you are going to be orphaned.