Chapter Seven
Maya
The Emmerdale credits continued to play on the TV, with an empty cup of tea on the table. A wise person should never try to come between Grandma and her love of the soaps—and certainly not mention how unrealistic and repetitive the storylines were…Not unless they wanted a clip round the ear with the red tea towel.
Mum was away with work again, and Grandma was about to have her biweekly “Witch Club”, as Grandpa had sweetly deemed it years ago. Basically, an excuse to eat scones and biscuits and do the occasional Tarot card reading. Each to their own.
Maya collected Grandma’s cup from the table and took it into the kitchen, sighing when the dishwasher needed emptying. She put the plates away, humming a tune to herself. She stopped dead in her tracks, arm reached out to stack a mug in the cupboard, when she realised what she was singing.
“ Just Can’t Get Enough. ”
Slamming the mug into its place with a little more force than needed, she shook her head. That damn song, along with that damned blonde woman, had been creeping into her head uninvited over the last few days.
Not ideal.
“What did that mug ever do to you?”
Grandma’s voice jolted her, and she spun around. She was wearing a long red dress, with her favourite black cardigan hanging off her bony shoulders.
“You look nice,” Maya commented, pushing another mug into the cupboard.
“Thank you, dear.” Her grandma ambled over and placed a cool hand on Maya’s arm. “Everything alright?”
“I’m fine. You looking forward to Witch Club?” She emptied the last mug from the dishwasher drawer and started to restack the dirty ones. Unfortunately, there were only two, and she had to face the inquisitive eyes of her grandma once again.
Grandma let out a soft laugh. “Yes. Those spells aren’t going to cast themselves, you know. Did you notice how Mrs Corstow’s moustache has grown back?”
Maya broke into a smile. Mrs Corstow was an old grumpy git of a woman who used to complain and moan about them playing in the streets as kids. The way she used to scream from her doorway, you’d think they were trying to steal her garden gnome collection, not playing catch. The old lady and Grandma had always had disagreements ever since.
“Have you got your wand ready?” Maya teased.
Grandma patted down her cardigan and pulled something out of her pocket. “Here it is.” It was her middle finger.
They both burst out laughing. Grandma moved to the kitchen table to collect her leather handbag. Her gaze drifted over the room before landing on Maya again.
“You know what you need to do? Tabl—”
“Tablets at eight, yep.”
“And if he’s in pain—”
“He can have two more from the red box.”
Grandma smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “Thank you, love. I appreciate you being here. I know it isn’t always easy.”
“I’d do anything for you and Grandpa.” Maya swallowed the lump in her throat, surprised by the honesty that had come out of her mouth.
“And we’d do anything for you.” Grandma cupped Maya’s cheek with her hand, a gesture that made her feel seven years old again. Grandma had to reach higher to touch her now, but her hands were still as soft and still smelled like vanilla. She flashed Maya another smile—this one genuine. “I’ll see you later, then. And hands off those chocolate biscuits, eh?”
With a wink, she disappeared out of the kitchen.
A little later, with the house quiet and tidied, Maya headed up to Grandpa’s room with his tablets and two hot cups of tea. She knocked softly on the door with her elbow, barely balancing the tray in her arms. Inside, the room was dark; Grandpa’s profile was lit by the strange elephant light that used to scare her when she was younger. She placed the tray on the table and gestured to the taller lamp in the corner.
“Do you mind if I turn this on?” she asked.
“I might turn t’ dust,” he commented, his broad Yorkshire accent drawling through. “But go ahead.”
Maya smiled, glad to see his humour was intact. These were generally good days. He was still unable to walk much, his movements slow and shaky, but conversations with him were similar to conversations with pre-stroke Grandpa.
The extra light highlighted the stains on the cream carpet—evidence of dropped food or drinks, even the nose bleeds he suffered occasionally. The room needed a good dust, too. She made a mental note to clean this weekend.
“Do you mind if I sit with you for a bit?” she asked.
Grandpa’s mouth drew up at one side. “You usin’ me as an excuse not to study? ”
She let out a laugh. “You got it.”
“Very well.”
She relaxed into the soft blue armchair beside him and handed him his non-spill cup and straw. “It’s hot. So wait a few minutes.”
“Bossy, just like ya grandma.” He smiled. “How’s football goin’? You started the season yet?”
“A couple of weeks. Can’t wait.” The university season was shorter than most owing to the smaller number of teams in the league, which meant a November start. The top two teams, without a doubt, were Millton and the Harriers, which was why those games always had so much weight to them every year. They were ultimately the championship deciders.
“Give ’em hell, kid.”
“You know it, Grandpa.”
The titles for Only Fools and Horses crossed the screen, and Maya smiled. For as long as she could remember, he’d watched this TV show, chatting about Del and Rodney like they were real friends of his. It had annoyed her when she was younger, but now their voices were like another part of the furniture—just as much as Grandpa’s bad DIY attempts were. It seemed Grandpa also wasn’t a fan of change. She supposed she couldn’t blame him, not when everything in his life had flipped overnight when he got sick.
The thought sobered her, and she sipped at her tea, burning her tongue.
A strangled noise came from Grandpa’s seat. Maya’s head snapped to him, catching him reaching forward for the remote.
“You want me to get it for you?” she asked.
He grunted, his arm shaking as he finally snatched the remote from the table. Maya waited as he slowly surfed through the menu, eventually landing on the recordings tab.
“Do you want a different episode?” she blew into her cup, trying to stay patient.
He continued down the screen, almost all the way to the bottom of the list, and settled on an old recording of Tracy Beaker , a show she used to watch as a kid.
He hit play, and the title screen lit up, playing the theme tune.
“Grandpa…I haven’t watched this since I was like ten.” The cartoon graphics danced across the screen, filling her with nostalgia.
He offered her the remote. “Do you want t’ watch somethin’ else?”
“I…no. Let’s give it a go, shall we? Maybe we can take it in turns to each pick something. How about that?”
Grandpa smiled a toothy grin. “Perfect.”
She cheersed his cup with hers, and they settled back to see what trouble Tracy was getting into at the Dumping Ground.
* * *
“Dinner is served,” Hannah belted from the kitchen, even though she was sitting by the island counter, less than a metre from Maya.
The steam floated up from the Pot Noodle cups, teasing a satisfying aroma of minimal flavour and maximum convenience—every student’s dream.
Maya inhaled deeply, the chicken and soy sauce teasing her nostrils and causing a rumble in her stomach. It was their first Pot Noodle Night of the term, and Maya had missed this flat so much since moving back home. The familiarity of it all soothed her. With Hannah’s loud, mess-making antics in the kitchen, and Maddie’s refusal to come out of her bedroom until they’d stopped singing, it felt like another version of home.
Hannah stirred her noodles with a fork, flipping her head back to yell “Maddie!” for the third time.
“You know she won’t come out until you turn Britney Spears off,” Maya said.
“Ugh. Fine.” The song cut out mid-verse and just the hissing from the kettle remained. “No more Britney, Maddie. I get it.”
In the corridor, a door clunked open, and Hannah and Maya shared an amused glance.
“Who doesn’t like Britney? I mean, come on,” Hannah mumbled under her breath.
Maddie appeared in the doorway, her pink fluffy dressing gown brightly contradicting the look of contempt on her face. It always made Maya smile to see Maddie in something that so obviously contrasted with her everyday style of grey and black and heavy eyeliner. Her brother had bought her the robe for Christmas one year, and she felt obliged to wear it—despite claiming pink was her least favourite colour. Maya thought she secretly liked it.
Maddie crossed her arms and leaned against the door jamb, casting a scowl in Hannah’s direction. Her black hair hung straight, touching her shoulders. “You know I checked out after her Circus album.”
“What’s wrong with “Work Bitch ” ?”
Maya groaned. “Please, not this conversation again.” Truthfully, she found it entertaining how much these two got on each other’s nerves, but tonight she wanted to catch up, not debate what greatest hits Britney would play if, on a random whim, she and her management team suddenly decided she must tour to Millton University. “Our delightful meal is getting cold.”
Maddie’s face broke into a small smile. “So, how’s things?”
“Better for seeing you in your favourite dressing gown,” Maya replied.
Her scowl returned. “It’s not my favourite, I—”
“Only wear it because it’s cheaper than putting the heating on. Yeah, yeah, we get it,” she teased.
“Well, those niceties lasted for all about two seconds,” Maddie grumbled.
Maya stood from the bar stool, arms open to envelop her in a hug.
“Maya…” Maddie whined but didn’t protest when she squeezed her tight. She patted her twice on the back. “ Yes. Yes. Very nice. I’ve missed you too. Now, can we eat, please?”
The three of them squeezed onto the tatty red sofa, Maddie at one end, Hannah in the middle, and Maya lying with her legs draped over the two of them.
She scooped her noodles out, slapped them between two pieces of buttered bread, added a few splashes of Henderson’s Relish—her favourite table sauce—and squished it all together. She handed Maddie the bottle, and she did the same.
Now it was Hannah’s turn to scowl.
“You’re animals. After I’ve slaved away in the kitchen…for hours …you insult my cooking by insulting sandwiches everywhere.”
“Hey, we’ll have no hate on Hendo’s in this flat.”
Maddie snorted. “And all you did was boil the kettle, Han. Did you strain your finger switching it on?”
They cracked out laughing. God, I’ve missed these two.
Maya’s mind snagged on the other bedroom door, the one that used to be hers. They’d successfully avoided the conversation thus far, but she wanted to know if they’d found a new roommate. Perhaps someone from Hannah’s netball team—as long as it wasn’t Chloe. Or maybe somebody from Maddie’s art class. Maybe we could have a new member of the Pot Noodle Gang?
She wanted to immediately reject the idea. Where would a fourth person sit, after all? But the more reasonable side of her brain insisted that change wasn’t always so bad. She and Grandpa had enjoyed doing something different last night.
Plus, without change, she would never have met these two idiots.
“So…” she began, waiting until she’d finished her mouthful of sandwich before continuing. “Any news on the roommate situation?”
Hannah stirred her mug with her fork. “We did want to talk about that, actually. We filled it.”
“Oh, yeah?” She tried not to sound too heartbroken. She was expecting it. She couldn’t make her roommates leave the room open for her just in case she changed her mind. And she couldn’t change her mind, anyway. Her family needed her. “Who is it?”
Hannah glanced at Maddie. “Alex.”
Alex was Maddie’s boyfriend. The two had been inseparable ever since they started dating two years ago. Pot Noodle Night was one of the few nights they got Maddie to themselves.
Maya relaxed a little. “Ah, cool. But what about his roommates?”
“He spends most of his time here anyway, and it’s closer to campus, so he just thought it made sense. Plus, it helps us out, money-wise.”
The mention of money made Maya a little uncomfortable. It had been a concern of hers when considering moving back home. Her room was too much for Maddie and Hannah to cover between them if they couldn’t find someone to fill it. She’d offered to pay anyway, but they’d refused.
Alex was a much safer choice than Maddie’s ex, who’d insisted moving in wasn’t part of a plan to get her back—though the barrage of texts and the stream of flowers delivered to her door suggested differently. And Alex was a much better choice than Chloe.
Maya cringed at the memory of them in the bar. How she’d completely shut down and blown Chloe off when she’d seen Carly leave.
Hannah mistook her reaction and squeezed her knee. “We’re still the Pot Noodle Gang. No matter where we are. Right, Mads?”
Maddie nodded, giving her a small, awkward smile. This conversation must’ve been especially painful for her. She hated any topic that had the potential to result in tears.
And Maya could feel them pricking the back of her eyes.
Dammit. Crying is not a part of Pot Noodle Night.
She swallowed. “I’m glad you sorted it out and it’s working for you both.”
“Yep. Living with a couple is an excellent daily reminder of just how single I am.” Hannah toasted us with her fork. “Cheers to that.”
“Being single isn’t so bad,” Maya said, jostling her. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
They finished their food as Hannah went into great detail about how having no viable options in both men and women made being bisexual a curse rather than a positive.
“It means twice the amount of rejection,” she concluded, having swapped the noodle cup for a beer.
“I think you might be overreacting a tad,” Maddie said.
Hannah blew a raspberry. “Easy for you to say. You and Alex have been together for ages.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s been a walk in the park. We’ve had our challenges too, as you know.”
Hannah reached for Maddie’s hand. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m being insensitive.”
Maddie tapped it for a moment before sliding hers away. “It’s okay. I know you don’t mean anything by it, but nothing is ever linear, is it?”
Hannah’s gaze flicked to Maya’s. It wasn’t often Maddie opened up about things or volunteered much information. She usually liked to stay in the background of their conversations. It wasn’t unusual for her to disappear for periods of time in her room if she got overstimulated before joining them again later.
“Has Alex heard from his dad?” Maya asked carefully.
Maddie shook her head. “Not since he first started T.”
Three months into their relationship, Alex had expressed his need to transition. This had thrown Maddie temporarily into a bit of a loop as well. Did staying with Alex mean reassessing her sexual identity? Or would he be an exception to her preferences?
She’d come out of her bedroom a few hours later, simply stating, “I think I’m pansexual then. ”
And that was that.
Some things were easier for some people. Others took a lot longer to process. Maya guessed she was the latter.
“I’m sorry he’s still not on speaking terms with his dad,” she said. “That must suck.”
“It does, yeah.” Maddie cast her a glance, and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. “But what about you? How’s the love life?”
Brilliant diversion tactic. A classic Maddie. Well played. Well played.
“Have you spoken to Carly yet?” Hannah butted in, finishing the last of her beer.
Maya’s heart wilted.
“What’s happened?” Hannah asked. She never missed a thing.
Maya sighed. “Nothing really. I just saw her leaving the pub with Luke Ingle the other night.”
Hannah’s eyes widened. She’d mentioned a few times about what she’d do if she were caught alone in the locker room with him. She probably needed to get laid more than Maya did.
“I’m sorry, Maya. That must hurt.” She placed her empty beer bottle on the floor. Maya braced herself. “But—”
Here we go.
“—if you tell her how you feel, you could stop this masochistic routine you inflict on yourself. It’s been years. ”
“I know.” She sighed again, picking at the sticker of her beer. “To be honest. I don’t know if I’d even want to be with her now.”
“ What?! ”
That caught their attention. They leaned forward, almost knocking the bottle from Maya’s hands.
“You don’t even want to be with her now?” Hannah’s eyebrows rose comically into her forehead, her Scottish accent thickening. “After god knows how many years of pining, did you suddenly wake up this morning and think, nah, she’s not for me, Hannah was right all along?”
Maya let out a laugh. “No, not quite.” When she didn’t elaborate, she felt their stares burn into her face. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was with her the other night and…I don’t know.”
“And people say I’m bad with words,” Maddie murmured.
But how could Maya explain when she didn’t even know herself? Her feelings for Carly were a blur right now. She couldn’t grasp either end of the tangled strings in her chest to try and make sense of it. She didn’t expect them to understand if she couldn’t.
“I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” She finished the last of her beer, marking the finality of her statement. There was a beat where nobody said anything. Maddie fiddled with the cuff of her pink, fluffy sleeve.
“Any more news on Jamie?” Hannah asked.
The sudden switch sent a lightning bolt through Maya’s stomach. “Jamie? What do you mean?”
Hannah eyed her curiously. “She was annoying you, right? Has she been causing you any more trouble?”
The feel of Jamie’s touch ghosted across her skin, sending an unwanted shiver up her spine. Maya had tried to push any memory of that evening to the back of her mind. The kindness Jamie had shown her, and the wild disjointed way she’d danced. How she didn’t seem to care what Maya thought about her; she was just herself. Truthfully, Maya was a little envious. She wasn’t sure how to let go like that. She always had something on her mind.
Now thoughts of the cheeky blonde-haired striker were joining the mix, and she didn’t know what to do with the tingling in her stomach. Jamie had done something that didn’t happen very often to Maya—she’d surprised her.
“Who’s Jamie?” Maddie asked. “The cute blonde that always wears Nikes?”
“She is not cute,” Maya argued.
Both of them raised their eyebrows. She felt her face flush.
“Interesting,” Hannah commented. “You’re going red.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are,” Maddie said. “Is Jamie the one who’s living with the Morley twins?”
Hannah nodded.
Wait. What? “Jamie’s living in one of the student apartments?”
“Yeah,” Hannah answered. “Why?”
If Jamie was living in one of the student houses, why did she keep offering her a lift home? It would be miles out of her way to do so. And it was so random to house with the Morleys when she had a car. Why not just stay at home? And why not mention where she was living?
“I, uh, just thought she was living opposite me. She’s always there…so it’s just a little confusing.”
“Sounds like you’re keeping tabs on her,” Hannah said.
Maya barked out a laugh. “Yeah. She wishes.”
They both studied her for a moment, their glances revealing something unspoken.
Then Hannah threw her hands up. “Just great!” She shoved Maya’s legs off her so she could make her way to the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” Maya asked.
Hannah pulled her head out of the fridge, her red bun completely dishevelled and spraying hair around her face. “Soon I’m going to be the only single one. How depressing is that?”
“Who said anything about not being single?”
“Beer?”
“Sure, but—”
Hannah slammed the fridge shut, and the insides rattled. Whoever opened that next was bound to get squished by a falling jam jar or a bottle of tomato ketchup. “I just get a feeling.” She flipped the tops off and headed back over, handing a new bottle to each of them.
“Well, feelings aren’t always the best indicators of things. A load of rubbish sometimes.” Maya took a long pull, relishing the cool relief of the beer. “If Carly is anything to go by, I’d have been much happier without feelings getting in the way.”
She also hoped these new contradictory feelings about Jamie would dissipate sooner rather than later. She didn’t need anything else complicating her life. Especially not from someone like her.
Maddie clinked the neck of her beer as Hannah retook her seat. “Alright. That’s enough heart to heart for one night. What’re we watching?”
Hannah huffed something under her breath but passed her the TV remote.
“Anything but romance,” Hannah and Maya said at the same time. They caught each other’s eye and burst out laughing.
How I’ve missed Pot Noodle Night.
They cuddled up on the sofa, pulling an old white bobbled blanket over their legs as they browsed through the different options. Maya wanted to stay rooted in the moment, to laugh at Hannah’s one-liners and roll her eyes at Maddie’s cynical comments, but her mind kept drifting.
Wondering about what other cards Jamie Mellor kept close to her chest.
Wondering if she and Carly had any sort of future.
Or if these strange new feelings brewing in her belly were going to bring on another bout of trouble.