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Chapter 21: Maya

"Idiot..." I mumble to myself.

I stare at the ground, void of anything.

He'll leave you, the voices inside my head whisper.

He'll abandon you just like your parents have.

He doesn't care about you.

My eyes widen in horror.

No! I don't want to be left alone! I don't want to be abandoned!

I get up in a bolt as tears flow down my eyes in blind realization that I can't let things end like this. I can't. I won't allow it. I run out the classroom and I spot Cale's figure by the end of the corridor and I run after him. I can't let him leave me behind.

I run, I sprint as fast as I possibly can, ignoring the silent tears flowing down my face, or the insufficient amount of air entering my lungs, or the burn in my legs. I just run. Until I stop.

Cale turns around slightly to look at me as I collide against his body, throwing us both off balance. I fall on top of him and he grumbles as I cry harder, gripping tightly onto his shirt, letting myself be enveloped by his scent. He smells so nice.

"Maya?" He asks, his voice soft. It's soothing. He tries to make a move to get up onto his forearms, his abs contracting at the same time. I stop sobbing, instead I just let myself calm down against him.

"Can we stay like this a little longer?" I ask, my voice slightly higher than I had anticipated it. He stops trying to get up and lets his head against the floor.

He props one arm onto my back and I find myself be completely surprised by the action, but also reassured by it. He still cares. He hasn't abandoned me. I permit myself to give a pained but grateful smile against his drenched shirt.

I plop my head up, letting my smile be seen by him. He looks at me with curiosity and slight confusion.

"Cale I care about you." I say giving him my brightest smile yet.

His eyes widen momentarily before he closes them.

For a second I instantly regret what I did. Why the hell would I do that? He hates women! He never trusts anyone. There's no way he'd trust me in return. He'll push me away like he did with everyone else. He'll definitely leave me behind. I want to internally curse until I get engraved in my head how stupid that just was.

"Do what you want." He mumbles.

I feel my mood gradually but quickly rise. He's not pushing me away, nor appearing disgusted by me.

"Cale, I really do care about you."

He opens his eyes.

"Okay, I get it. Can you get off me now though? You're slightly heavy."

I laugh out loud then smile at him warmly.

Then something I never ever thought would happen, just happened. He smiles at me. Just slightly, but he smiles.

---

Hey guys!

So in this chapter the major revelation is that Cale might be caring more about Maya than he makes it out to be. He keeps acting cold towards het but now you get the sense that he might slowly open up to her but is that really true? Or is it one of his tireless games again to get to back off later on?