Fragile Heart

Chapter Nine

I felt at peace in Lucas's arms. My heart steadied and my tears came to a halt on his shirt.
"Maya, talk to me. "
"I just don't want to talk about it."
He lifted my chin and gently wiped away a tear streaming down my face with his thumb.
"Then let's not talk about it. Let's go do something fun."
He wasn't pushing. I appreciated the space, the understanding he gave me.
"Like what?"
My frown transfused into a weak smile.
"How about we go iceskating?" He suggested
"I've never been."
"Well, I'll help you Maya."
Part of me felt guilty, I was hijacking Riley's date for my own problems. Lucas was my friend though and I could really use a friend right now.
We walked silently towards the subway and took our seats in the corner.
"So, how are you and Riley?" I poked his cheek lightly.
"We're doing fine, she's great." He poked my cheek back.
I smiled. I always took up Riley and I's chats with pointless drama about Joshua. I never took the time to listen to her good moments with Lucas, have they kissed yet? I'm such a mess, I was dragging Riley into my problems and I needed to stop.
"Good." My smile grew from ear to ear. I was genuinely happy for them. They both deserved each other. I guess in a way I deserved the way Josh tugs at my heart. I'm lucky enough he showed interest in me at all...
"Hey Maya, can you please tell me what's the matter now?"
"Later,I just want to be happy right now."
We arrived to the ice rink and I immediately started to shiver. My cheeks and nose were painted a bright cherry red and my teeth chattered.
"Maya, you're freezing."
"No I'm alright." I lied.
He chivalrously stripped his baseball sweatshirt and handed it to me.
"I'm fine, you'll be cold."
"Maya, I'm fine. You're about to freeze over. Put it on."
I smiled at him and stopped arguing because I knew I wouldn't win.
I put on his oversized sweatshirt that dropped to my knees and he laughed.
"What?" I raised my eyebrows.
"You're adorable." He kept laughing.
I punched him playfully in the arm.
We sat down and laced our rental ice-skates.
I stood up quickly and fell on my feet. He reached out his hand and I grabbed it. His hand felt so soft, so easy to hold onto.
"Thanks." I said with a red embarrassed face.
We slowly got into the ice and I stayed planted against the wall.
"Come on Maya, thought you weren't afraid of anything?"
Those words motivated me to show him up. I pushed off of the wall with confidence but quickly felt cold, wetness on my butt.
"Here, hold my hand." Lucas said holding out his hand.
I reluctantly grasped his hand and he pulled me up.
We slowly slides across the ice hand in hand and for a couple of minutes I forgot all about Josh.
"Want to go get some hot chocolate on the way home?" Lucas offered
"Yes, that sounds great." I smiled warmly.
We strutted our way down to the nearest coffee shop.
"Thanks for today Lucas."
"Of course Maya, I'm always here for you."
He reached for the door of the coffee shop and we entered. My eyes drifted right to the back of the restaurant and I felt my eyes getting glossy. Josh was with some girl his age who looked like a Victoria secret model. Josh and I made eye constant and I stood frozen into the ground wanting to disappear.
"What is it Maya?"
He finally looked over to spot the roots of all my sadness.
"Maya, do you want to leave?"
"No, why should I let him dictate where I can be? Let's get some hot chocolate." I smiled.
I wasn't going to be weak again, I was over him and his deception. I found a seat near the window, as far away as Josh and the pretty brunette as possible. Lucas came back over carrying the tray of our drinks and a plate of fresh, warm fries.
"Fries?" I asked in confusion.
"I eat fries when I'm upset, as comfort food. I thought you might want to try it."
I smiled, he was so sweet. He showed me that I deserved more and he transported me to a different dimension. In this dimension, I wasn't a damaged, broken girl. In this dimension, I was a strong girl who didn't need a guy to be happy.
"Thanks dork."
I kept looking over at Josh laughing and flirting with the mystery girl.
I was doing my best to put up a hard exterior because on the insides my gooey heart was withering away.
"Maya, don't focus on him. He's missing out on a great girl. The key to guys is to pretend like you don't care. Just keep looking at me and try to look like you're having a good time."
"I am having a good time..But she's so pretty." I stammered
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."
That's when I knew everything was crashing down again. Riley is his girlfriend. Riley is my best friend. I shouldn't be leaning on her boyfriend because of my boy problems. It wasn't her fault, I was so selfish. I tucked in my chair and walked out holding in my tears. I was growing quite good at this by now.
"Maya, what did I do?." Lucas screamed causing Josh to look over.

JOSHs POV
I saw a pretty girl as I was walking through the park trying to forget Maya. She was tall with slim long legs that made you want to drop to the floor and bow to them. Her face was plastered in make up but she was still pretty, she had long mahogany hair and emerald green eyes that glowed. She wasn't Maya though.
"Hey." spoke the pretty, no named girl.
"Hi." I smirked.
I was back in the game, I needed to get back to my past ways in order to get Maya out of my head.
"I'm Olivia."
"I'm Josh. I know this is kind of straight forward but do you maybe want to go get some coffee?"
She was my next victim.
"Yes, sounds great."
We walked to a small,cozy place around the corner.
"So, do you do this a lot?"
"Huh?" I asked in confusion
"Ask girls you meet on the street to go get coffee?"
"Nope, you're a special girl."
Those words tasted like paper coming out of my mouth. I said the exact thing to Maya, only difference was I meant it with her.
I heard a bell signaling someone had just entered, I looked over to see no other than Maya Hart and... Lucas? She was wearing a huge sweatshirt with his last name and number stitched on the side. It was like she was his property.My blood boiled but I was doing the same thing, moving on. We made eye contact and my entire body shut down. As her and Lucas were laughing, smiling, and throwing fries at each other all I wanted to do was confess my love for her. I couldn't. I was already messing up by kissing her and going out with a girl the next day. She deserves more. I heard Lucas scream "what did I do wrong?" And Maya dashing out biting her lip to hold in her tears. I knew she was about to cry because I've made her cry before. Lucas had his hands cupped around his face. Why was he so invested in Maya? He was dating Riley. I ran over to Lucas abandoning the girl who I didn't care enough to remembers name.
"What'd you do to her?" I said raising my voice.
"What did I do? You're the one tearing her to shreds! She likes you Josh, don't you get how lucky you are. You don't because you're too stupid to realize your letting the best girl you'll ever meet slip between your fingers. She has a fragile heart and you're squeezing and twisting it in your palm."
My anger grew, partly because he was right.
"Well what about you huh? You're doing my niece and you clearly have feelings for Maya." I snapped back.
"Maya is my best friend, nothing more. I can't stand to watch you hurt her."
"I'm not the one she ran out of here crying about."
"If you think this is because of me, you're blind." Lucas screamed.
Everyone in the entire joint had their attention captivated on us. I saw people with their phones out recording this, I knew I would later regret this online but I didn't care.
"I don't even like her Lucas. She is obsessed with me."
With that he punched me as hard as he could. I deserved it. My defense mechanism was lying about my feelings, I thought hurting her was the easiest way to prevent her from getting more hurt down the line.
I hit him back in rage and before I knew it I could hear the deafening sound of sirens.