Maya sat at the corner of the library, her eyes glued to the textbook before her, but the words blurred into a mess of meaningless letters. Her mind was far from studying. It had been like this all day—heavy, chaotic thoughts swirling in her head. The silence of the library felt stifling. The calm that normally comforted her now pressed down on her chest. She was suffocating.
Eddie sat across from her, his eyes flicking up occasionally, concern deepening with each passing moment. Maya wasn't herself. Normally, she would be cracking jokes, challenging him with her teasing remarks, or staring him down as if daring him to break the silence first. But not today. Today, she was distant. Unreachable.
"Hey, Maya," Eddie said gently, his voice cutting through the heavy silence. His gaze softened as he watched her, wondering what was going on behind that unreadable expression. "Is something wrong?"
Maya didn't look up. Her fingers absently flipped a page, though she wasn't reading. Eddie frowned. Something was off—deeply off. This wasn't the Maya he knew. The Maya who thrived on attention, on controlling every room she entered. The Maya who wasn't afraid to show her sharp edges.
He leaned forward, his voice quiet but insistent. "Maya?"
Her eyes flickered up, catching his gaze for a split second before quickly looking away. She didn't answer immediately, and Eddie felt an uneasy knot form in his stomach. What was going on?
Finally, she spoke. Her voice was a whisper, fragile and heavy with a weight Eddie couldn't quite grasp.
"Today's the anniversary," she murmured, her eyes distant. Her gaze seemed to be locked on some faraway place—somewhere beyond him.
"Anniversary of what?" Eddie asked, confused, not understanding. "What anniversary?"
Maya's lips trembled slightly, and for the first time since he'd known her, she seemed vulnerable. She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as if she were gathering the strength to speak.
"My twin sister," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It's been three years since she died."
Eddie's breath hitched in his chest. "You have a twin sister?"
Maya nodded slowly, her fingers gripping the edge of the book in front of her. "Her name was Mila. She was… everything I'm not." She looked at Eddie, her eyes flashing with a mixture of longing and bitterness. "Prettier, kinder, smarter. People loved her. My parents loved her more than they loved me. And I—I was nothing."
Eddie blinked, stunned. He had never known this about her. Maya, the confident, untouchable girl who always seemed like she had it all together—had a twin? And one she had lost?
"Maya," he began, unsure of what to say. "I—"
"My parents still don't care about me," she cut him off, her voice shaking now. She looked down at the table, a tear slipping down her cheek that she quickly wiped away, as if trying to deny its existence. "They never did. They don't even remember that I'm here."
Eddie felt his chest tighten. He had never seen her like this. Never even imagined that beneath all the bravado, Maya was carrying something so deep and painful. The realization hit him harder than he expected.
"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, leaning in closer, his voice filled with concern. "How could they not care about you?"
Maya took another breath, her eyes focused on the table now, as if it were easier to speak to it than to him. She bit her lip, as if unsure how to continue.
"They wanted me to be like her," she whispered. "They didn't want me. They just wanted me to be her. I was never allowed to be me." Her voice broke, and she quickly looked away, her hand clutching the edge of the table like it was the only thing holding her up. "I had to live her life. I had to do everything she would have done. I couldn't fail, Eddie. I wasn't allowed to fail."
Eddie's heart sank as her words hit him. The weight of what she was saying was suffocating, and for the first time, he realized how much pain she had been hiding behind her mask.
"You… You had to live her life?" Eddie asked, barely able to process what she was saying. "But Maya, you're not her. You're your own person. You can't keep trying to be someone else."
"I don't know who I am anymore," Maya whispered, her voice cracking as her tears started to fall freely. She didn't even try to wipe them away this time. "I've been pretending for so long. Pretending to be perfect. Pretending to be someone I'm not. I don't even know who I am. I just want to stop pretending."
Eddie felt the tightness in his chest deepen. He had never seen her so broken, so raw. This wasn't the Maya he knew. He wanted to say something comforting, but the words felt inadequate. Instead, he found himself moving closer, reaching out to her without thinking.
"Maya…" he said softly, his voice tender, unsure. "You don't have to keep pretending. You don't have to live for anyone but yourself. You're allowed to be who you are. You don't need to be perfect."
Maya's shoulders trembled as she let out a shaky breath, her tears flowing freely now. "I'm tired, Eddie. I'm so tired of pretending. Of being someone I'm not. I just want to be me. But I don't know how anymore."
Eddie didn't know how to fix this. He didn't know what to say. But he couldn't just sit there and watch her fall apart. Without thinking, he reached for her, his arms pulling her close. She tensed at first, but then she collapsed against him, burying her face in his chest, her sobs muffled against his shirt.
Eddie froze for a moment, unsure of how to react, but then he held her tighter, his hand gently running through her hair, trying to offer some comfort. She cried in his arms, her body shaking with each sob. She was breaking in a way Eddie couldn't comprehend, and it tore at him to see her like this.
"Maya," Eddie whispered, his voice barely audible, "you don't have to do this alone. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
For a moment, there was only the sound of her sobs, the raw pain filling the space between them. Maya clung to him, and for the first time in a long time, Eddie felt the full weight of what she had been carrying.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Maya pulled back slightly, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, though she still sniffled. She looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I never thought I'd say this, but thank you for saving me."
Eddie swallowed hard, his heart aching for her. "You don't have to thank me," he said softly, his hand resting on her arm. "You don't need to be saved. You just need to be you."
And for the first time, Maya smiled—not the usual smirk she wore, but a genuine, broken smile.