Texas Shadows

Chapter 15

-FIVE AND A HALF DAYS LATER-

LUCAS' POV

The silence was actually unbearable. There were small snippets of sentences, such as "Good Morning." or "Hows it going." It became hard to be around someone so instantly quiet.

I didn't know weather this was smart or not but I decided to go talk to her. She almost always stayed in her room. Occasionally I could hear her guitar strum, or a few piano chords. I assumed she was writing music, she always did when she was stressed.

Today wasn't much different. When I walked up to her door, I could hear her angel-like voice sing a lyric or more, them more writing. I knocked on the door, and I could hear her guitar being put down.

"You've been quiet." I sat on the edge of the bed watching as she scrambled to put her things away. "Yea, it happens." I wasn't sure if she was angry or serious. "Its just not like you." She pushed the drawer shut causing a thud. "You don't know me."

"I really think I do, short stack." I smiled and she wasn't amused. She sighed and sat down next to me. She fell back sending a ripple through the blankets, her legs dangling off the side. I copied her motion.

"You know what sucks." She blurted out. "What?" Sometimes her brain thinks of odd things. "Falling in love." She talked to abruptly, like she had thought about this a lot. "How so?" I'm allowed to be curious.

"First it starts with the crush, where your questioning if you really like them or not. Then you start to day dream about them, how they would throw rocks at your window at 10 oclock at night with flowers, and ice cream. Or how they would show up on your vacation to surprise you. Then without every really knowing you've fallen," She took a deep breath. "Slowly at first, then all at once" She was always saying these types of things.

I wanted to say something but really how does one respond to that. "Wow."

"Yea." We sat like that for a while, in silence. We seem to do that a lot lately. "Remember when were were 8 and we went to the go kart track." I sat up hoping it would bring her out of her trance. "Then I crushed you, hard." She laughed, remembering the memory. "You have this mixed up, I beat you so bad, Hart." She was laughing and so was I. "Whatever you wanna believe Huckleberry." She kept laughing, her smile was something new.

I leaned over and kissed her, holding onto her cheek with one hand. She wrapped her arms around my shoulder, pulling me closer. My other hand rested on her hip. Niether of us were thinking.

Her arms tugged on my neck pulling me forwards and she leaned back. I moved my hand from her hip to the plush of the mattress, stabilizing her motion. I never knew it was so easy to kiss someone who wanted you back.

Her ringtone interrupted us and I pulled away. I rolled over and flopped down next to her. Fuck. I said to myself. "Hello?" She was panting and so was I.

Riley: "Why are you out of breath?"
Maya: "I was running." She glanced at me.
Riley: "Maya you don't run."
Maya: "The pizza guy called."
Riley: "And so you ran ther-"
Maya: "Riley do you need something?"
She sounded irritated.
Riley: "I just called to check in on you."
Maya: "I'm great."

She hung up and threw her phone back on the nightstand. She turned to me. "Where were we." She leaned in but I shifted. I grunted causing her to pull back again. She flopped back next to me. "What now?" She just sounded annoyed at this point.

"I'm... uh, still with Riley." She laughed sarcastically. "That is your fault, buddy." She smacked me in the arm playfully. Her tone changed quick. "Then why'd you do it, Lucas? I can't seem to figure you out! First your with Riley, you kiss me, still with Riley, make out with me, figure out what you want already!" She always seemed unhappy.

"I... I don-" I started. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Her voice went from calm-ish to angry real fast. She stood up and headed for the door. "Maya wait." She paused, and turned her upper body, feet planted in the same spot.

In that moment I saw the real Maya Hart, not the girl I'd known for so many years.

Her desperation showed just above the surface, almost as if it was popping through the skin. Her eyes filled with passion and love instead of the blue ocean they usually concealed. There was something about the way all her features lined up, every individual feeling showing. Yet there was still something off with her expression. She was... vulnerable.

I didn't say anything and she kept walking.

MAYA'S POV

I wanted to keep running forever. Just keep going and never look back. That was until I heard him chasing me. I was on the steps looking up, he was standing there looking at me.

"You don't know me."

"Your right Maya, I don't know you." I stared at his confident expression. "But I do know that whenever you think about something or someone you bite the left side of your lip. I know that you can sing and play guitar like an angel but wont let anyone hear it. I know that you miss Shawn and Katy even if you wont admit it. I know that you twiddle your fingers when your nervous or how you always wear heels because you feel the need to be tall. I know that you have been through so much yet you keep going. And I know no matter what you will love your friends, because thats just the kind of person you are"

He took a few steps closer. "And I know after I finish this your going to keep running, because you don't believe in yourself. But I do." I thought he was right, I was going to keep running. I turned and looked forward into the bright living room. I turned back and planted my hand on the rail.

"Theres gonna be a time when I stop running." He stared at me, but different now. "And start fighting." I stepped up closer to him. "And I start right now."

I walked right passed him, up to the landing, I worried I would fall. I was trying to find the words to top a speech like that. After a slight pause I spoke my mind.

"I have known you for as long as I can remember, and for the longest time it was just you and me. But this is my life and I want you to know I am both happy and sad, and I'm still figuring out how that could be." I paused.

"Did you know that, a heart can be broken but keeps on beating just the same. And despite the hell you put me through, I believed you had good intentions, because I must have liked you a hell of a lot.
It's a four letter word and I'm saying it to you."

(a/n) HELLO. So i'm going to slow my posting pace because I'm running out of material. I haven't written like anything for a long time because I didn't know what to write and Ive been in a position where I can't write.
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