Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 109: Please Don't Be In Love With Someone Else

This is the same night as last chapter, where Nat and Kat go on a date, but from Maya's pov.

April 24, 2028

Maya

Maya had been waiting for this opportunity, like a lion lying in wait in tall grass for hours for the perfect moment to jump its prey; the house to herself for a few hours. And not because she wanted peace and quiet, or the living room TV for herself at night. No, she wanted it so she could finally invite Brooklyn over.

In the past month or so, she'd been to her house a couple more times, mostly after school. Whether that was for homework or for fun, Maya didn't mind, she'd take any opportunity to spend time with Brooklyn. Every minute with her was wonderful.

But while she liked it there and Harry was a fun dad, she started to feel guilty about always being there and never inviting her over to her own house. That changed tonight.

Taking the stairs and locking herself into her room, Maya sat down in the middle of her bed, her text chain with Brooklyn open on her phone. Her heart pounded and she could feel herself turning onto a road of overthinking, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard as she chewed on her lip.

Be casual about it. That's what she was going for. Don't make it a big deal, just ask her if she wants to watch a movie. Just two friends having a girls night in an empty house. A very empty house...

Stop it.

Maya sighed and just started typing the first thing her brain could come up with.

''Hey! My moms won't be home''–

No. That was way too suggestive. Quickly, she hit backspace, making sure to stay far away from the send-button.

''Hey! I have the house to myself tonight''–

In no way was that better than the last one. The goal wasn't to creep Brooklyn out.

An annoyed grumble rumbled in her chest. Why did she suck at this? She deleted the text, thought a bit longer about it, and then typed;

''Hey! Want to watch a movie at my house tonight? I got popcorn :)''

Short, simple, to the point. Something she also could have sent to Camila.

With her bottom lip between her teeth and her knee wiggling up and down, she waited for a response. Brooklyn either texted back instantly or an hour later because she was busy.

In this case, she came online within seconds, and Maya's heart jumped when the three dots appeared, indicating she was typing.

It was not a big deal if Brooklyn was busy tonight, since these plans were very last minute, but Maya didn't know when the next opportunity would arise.

''Say no more, you convinced me!! What time?''

Joy surged through Maya's veins, her stomach doing a leap. A huge smile spread across her cheeks as she sat up straighter, quickly typing the time and her address in a message back.

And so, within a minute, the plans were made and all the details worked out. Now on what to wear...

It was torture to sit through lunch with her moms and not wiggle in her seat impatiently. She wanted to tidy up her room, pick out what to wear, and then watch as many episodes of her favorite show as needed to distract herself.

Luckily, her moms seemed too caught up with their own plans to notice anything odd, and they didn't ask questions.

Maya snuck upstairs as soon as she could and stayed in her room for the rest of the afternoon, mentally making lists on what to do downstairs as soon as her parents left.