InoddedatJasonashe plugged in a small lamp on the nightstand. It was half the size of the regular lamp—meant to be a nightlight—and then walked away. Nico hovered in the doorway, but must have realized that Maya and I had some shit to work through. So he left as well, closing the door behind him.
I held Maya tightly, pulling her onto my lap as she cried. Her head fell into the crook of my neck and rubbed her back soothingly, letting her get her emotions out. “That’s it, Mi Vida,” I murmured. “Get it all out.”
When her sobs eventually slowed and only little sniffles remained, I grabbed the tissue box off the nightstand and set it beside us. I pulled out a tissue and waited until she slowly pulled back. Handing her the tissue, I waited patiently while she grabbed it. Wiping her eyes and nose, she reached for another tissue; tears still streamed down her face.
“I don’t know how to do this,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Fear and anguish made my heart plumet at her words. “Can’t do what, Maya?” I needed her to clarify.
“This! Survive this! I don’t know how to be this vulnerable—this fucking broken!”
“You’re no—”
“I fucking AM! Stop trying to brush it under the rug! I am broken!”
I leaned back against the headboard, arranging with her in my lap and watch her. She doesn’t look broken, there’s a fire in her eyes that hasn’t been there in a long time, since before she came back to Mourningside nine months ago. “You’re not broken.” I shook my head and placed my finger over her lips as she went to argue. “You. Are. Not. Broken.” I stare into her amber eyes. “You are fierce and strong and brave. You fought as much as you could. I saw that.”
“I begged them to kill me.”
“I know,” I murmured.
“I wanted to die.”
“I know.”
“I wished for it every day.”
“I know.”
“I still sometimes wish that I died there.” Her voice broke again as she choked on another sob after admitting that hard truth.
My heart breaks in my chest as I gripped her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I forced her to meet my gaze. “You listen to me, and listen good,” I demanded, my voice low. “You are a survivor. You are fierce and strong and brave.” I repeated my earlier words, hoping they sank in. “There is nothing in this world you can’t do if you put your mind to it. Dax fucking Hillcrest will not ruin you. He will not get the best of you. You will be the one that ruins him. Do you hear me, Maya? Hillcrest doesn’t win. You will—by living your life to the fullest.”
Maya’s eyes shine bright as she stared at me intently.
“I need you to live, Mi Vida. Luz de mi vida, amor de mi vida, te necesito a VIVIR,” I growled the words in Spanish to her.Light of my life, love of my life, I need you to LIVE.
Another sob broke out of Maya at my words, but I knew she didn’t understand what I said. She didn’t speak Spanish.
“Tú también eres el amor de mi vida, pues uno de ellos.”You are also the love of my life, well one of them.
I gasped at her words, my mouth dropping open at her perfect enunciation and accent. “Maya.” I breathed her name.
“Ya han pasado diez años, Marcos.” (It's been ten years, Marcos).
I didn’t know what to say. Obviously, it had been ten fucking years, but what the fuck? “Why?” I asked, utterly stunned that she had learned Spanish in the last ten years.
“I missed you.”
My hand slid from her chin and cupped the side of her face. I pulled her toward me and crushed my lips to hers without a second thought. She moaned and wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning into me. She opened her mouth, and I slid my tongue against hers, massaging it as our kiss turned more passionate.
Breaking the kiss, I pulled away from her gasping. “Maya,” I murmured.
She opened her eyes slowly, her brows furrowed in confusion, the cute little line between them.
“I missed you, Maya. Every fucking day. My heart bled for you. My soul wept for you. Every. Fucking. Day. I woke up every day and wondered if I would ever see you again.”
Sobbing again, she wiped her tears away as best she could. “I saw you every single day. I saw your face looking back at me in our son, and it killed me that you didn’t know him, that you had no idea that he existed.”
