Endless Summer/ ✔️

Not so Perfect

"Daniel," I started. He held up a hand and put his tooth brush away. "I get it, Maya. You had to go see him. What I don't get, is why you had to kiss him."

"I didn't kiss him. He kissed me and I know that's a bullshit excuse but that's the truth," I defended.

"I think this is something we should talk about later," he whispered as he attempted to leave the room. Bella began to cry downstairs but I put a hand out to stop him

"Corbyn's got it," I assured as I listened. I could hear someone downstairs comfort her as she cried. Once she quieted, Daniel sighed and looked at me. "I guess it's time we decide on something."

I cocked an eyebrow. "We have been deciding on things since we met. What could we have to possibly talk about now?" I asked.

Daniel didn't answer as he pulled me down the stairs. "Will you guys watch Bella for a few minutes? Maya and I are going to go outside to talk about some things," Daniel asked. Corbyn nodded and worry washed over his face.

As Daniel and I sat on the patio, he lit the fire place and waited a few seconds for it to get hot. "I've messed up so many times in this relationship that you don't know about," he started. He looked over at me and furrowed his eyebrows. I could tell the gears in his head were turning. And that was never a good thing. "I guess we both have to be truthful."

"Daniel, that was-"

"Wait," he said, cutting me off. "I have been with other people since the accident." I felt my heart shatter. We had both been doing wrong to each other but he was doing it repeatedly.

Slowly, I looked away, trying to conceal the tears that were starting to fall. After a few seconds of silence, Daniel put his hand over mine. As much as I wanted to rip it away from him, I didn't. All I could do was ravish in the warm that he was giving my hand. I was sure that everyone inside, could see what was going on but I didn't care.

"Daniel," I whispered. I turned to finally look at him and saw that he was also crying. "What has happened with us? It's like we just fell apart."

"I know. What do we do?" He asked, wiping away one of my tears. I moved my entire body to face him and pulled my legs to my chest, tucking my feet under Daniel's legs.

"We talk. We ravish in the memories and at the end, we decide what we should do," I suggested. Daniel gave a little smile before putting a hand on top of my knee.

"Do you remember the day we met? Cause I remember every minute of it. I know what you were wearing, my first words I ever spoke to you...Is that weird?" Daniel began. I chuckled, ran my hand over my nose and shook my head. "You had on a blue shirt that explained your love for the sun and you were looking for someone safe. I believe it was because,"

"I was being stalked by a creep," I finished. "You were the first person I saw and you looked so welcoming. And you were so helpful, I just couldn't get you out of my mind after that. I still can't." Daniel smiled and leaned his head back on the couch. The air around us got a little cooler but the fire fought against it, keeping us warm.

"And then you had all of the triangle drama with Jonah and I," he stated. I let my smile fade as I recalled the horrible moments. "You had met Jonah and got a few coffee stains and you were completely head over heels for him. And then I came in the picture and things got really awkward and confusing for a while. I still don't know how you chose me over him. The girls always chose him in school."

"It was a very hard choice. But you seemed better for me back then. Was I wrong? I don't think so. You helped me get over Bryce," I said. Daniel stiffened at the mention of his name. "And I thought we were doing so good. We watched Lauren grow a human and only had very tiny bumps in the road."

"And then there was the passing of your mother. I remember what a terrible tome that was for you. You were so weak and broken but you still had a smile on your face everyday," he pointed out. I felt my heart falter at the mention of my mother. I remember everything about that time. I didn't want to get out of bed, eat anything or talk to anyone. But when Daniel and Lauren forced me out of bed, I had a smile on my face. I didn't want anyone to see the real pain I had going through my body.

"You were my rock, Daniel. You made sure I ate, talked, showered, lived. "

"And then Bella. That little girl in there,"

I smiled at the mention of the baby in the house. "Yeah..." I trailed off. "Peter and Gabriela thought that I would be suitable enough to be her parent? Then there was that long time in the lawyers office that was exhausting. I remember crying the night the deal was finalized. I thought I would never be a good mom and look at me now."

"You are the best mom I've ever seen. To be thrown into that as soon as you turn eighteen and having no idea what the next move was," Daniel said. I watched inside the house as Jack held Bella over his head, smiling and saying something to her. Sitting beside him, Jonah had Alyssa, a bottle in her mouth. Picture perfect. "I was so willing to help take care of her and adopt her one day in the future. You thought I was crazy-"

"I still do," I interjected. Daniel giggled before sighing.

"And then there's the music thing. Getting shows knocked out of the way and signing with a label. Putting all of that hard work into the music and finally getting it to pay off. You know," Daniel said, turning his body towards me. "I have always thought the music thing wasn't going to go anywhere and then you and Lauren came along and everything started to fall in place. You guys were our lucky charms and we will all be forever grateful for you two."

We sat, unmoving for the next five minutes. I began to cry again as my mind ran through all of the possibilities. We could either break up and go on happily, or stay together and risk hurting ourselves again.

"I think we should break up," I whispered. Daniel squeezed my hand and drew in a deep breath. "Daniel..."

"I know, I know. I was thinking of that too but I wasn't going to say anything," Daniel said. He cried a little harder and sat up to put his head in his hands. I looked towards the house and squeezed my own eyes shut. But that didn't stop the tears and the sobs that escaped my throat.

"Maya," Daniel said. When I opened my eyes, Daniel's were bloodshot. "I want you to know that I will always love you. There isn't anything I would change. Everything that happened, has been the most important things ever."

"This sucks," I said as I leaned my head back. The sun was keeping things warm and I realized the fire had died out minutes ago. "This wasn't how I pictured this talk going. I thought we were going to be alright."

"We will be," Daniel assured. Without another word, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. It took a few seconds for one of us to pull away and when we did, my heart was racing. "I'm still gonna love you, whether you want me to or not."

"It has been one hell of a ride," I smiled. Standing, I held out my hand. "Now come on, we have a little girl waiting for us."