Chapter 7 Maya

I stopped in my tracks trying to understand what I had just heard.

The sheer nerve of Jason to ask me to be his girlfriend admitted everything going on. I slowly turned and looked at him, walking back to meet him slowly.

"What the fuck" I asked, looking at him as if he had insulted me.

"I mean think about it," he started, trying to make sense.

"Tiffany said we were dating and nobody had heard of our side of the story," he said, trying to touch me.

I moved back enough to prevent his hands from touching me.

"So you think, going online and saying that you actually cheated on Tiffany with me is the best idea?" I asked, looking at him, trying to understand if he was actually thinking, or was he just trying to act on impulse again.

"That's the thing, we aren't going to agree that I cheated. Unlike her, we are going to say the truth and let everyone know we are now official. It might calm the waters," he said, trying to sound convincing.

I laughed a bitter dry laugh as I walked up to him and touched his body slightly.

"You are burning up, you should go lay down and get some rest," I said before turning back to leave. He held my hand and the anger that ran through my spine was maddening.

I quickly withdrew my hands from his grip, giving him a warning look.

"Don't you ever?" I said, pointing my index finger at him.

"Look, Maya, I know you are angry, I dragged you into my mess—"

"Dragged?, Jason, you ruined my life. I was fired from work, I'm a social reject," I said, trying to suppress my anger.

"I'll pay you," he said, opening his palms as a gesture.

"You are insane, Jason, stay away from me," I said, walking away.

I had to wait ten minutes for a cab before going home because someone decided to deflate my tire on a Tuesday afternoon with a note glued to it.

"Why don't you walk, bitch?"

Since then, I either took the bus or ordered a ride and, since I didn't have enough funds to throw around, I walked to school in the morning and took a cab back home.

I turned to my left and caught Tiffany and her friends laughing at me. Tiffany gave me her middle finger before getting into her luxurious car and driving off.

For years, I have gone through memory lane a million times trying to understand where it all went wrong.

We were inseparable as kids, we used to be neighbors and I remember my mum dropping both of us off at school when her dad couldn't afford gasoline.

Her mum died during labor, so it was her and her dad. Her dad usually brought home different girls, lavishing his funds heavily on them.

Sometimes she'd come to my house crying that she was hungry, and her dad had locked himself in his room with some girl and my mum would take her in and give her something to eat.

We'd build a pillow fort during sleepovers and when her dad was drunk and being vile, she'd come into me through the window, and I'd cuddle her to sleep.

The way she switched up shocked me and, since then, I have never really given myself out to friendships.

Mostly because every time I try making friends they call me an assaulter and throw things at me.

I remember sitting alone close to the dumpster after I was able to clear my name and keep my scholarship.

She and her friends would constantly make snarky remarks about me and throw things at me.

But I couldn't tell the authorities because they'd always support her.

I stood by the side of the road as tears tricked down my face as a car horn brought me out of my thoughts.

"Let's go ma'am," the cab man said as I entered.

I got to my house and threw my bag on the floor, sat on the floor to read the letters that I initially picked from the mailbox before coming into the house.

And there it was my eviction letter. My homeowner had come over on Sunday to remind me about the rent and then tried to hit me and when I refused, he promised to evict me if I didn't pay my rent before the end of that week.

Justin had brought food for me earlier in the morning. I had been cut off electricity, so I ate the cold leftovers before sitting down to map out tomorrow's expenses before sleep took the better of me.

The next morning, my alarm woke me up, I quickly had my bath and made a little breakfast I ate before going to Hayley's.

I wanted to meet Hayley and know if I could get a little loan from her to front some of my impending bills.

"I'm sorry, Maya, but business has been slow recently, following the media backlash from Tiffany and her fans," she said, nodding her head.

"I really wish I could help. I'm sorry, but I could help you with some money for breakfast, lunch and dinner," she said before reaching into her drawer and pulling out five hundred pounds, squeezing it into my hands.

"Please manage this, it's all I can give," she said. I nodded, cleaning my eyes with the back of my hands before walking out.

I went to the library to at least settle down and focus before going on with my day.

I had managed to convince some of the seniors to give me their assignments so I could help them for a little token and they agreed.

I was deep into doing my stuff when Jason walked in with a food box from Chick-fil-A in his hands.

I groaned as he greeted me.

"How did you even know I was here?" I asked, refusing to raise my head to look at him.

"I was looking for you and I saw when you walked in, and I decided to come meet you after I stopped over at Chick-fil-A," he said, dropping the box on the table and the sweet aroma of fried chicken and fried chicken filled my nose as I tried to swallow the saliva forming in my mouth.

"I'm not interested," I said, pushing the box away facing my book again.

He took a deep breath before pulling a chair and sitting close to me.

"Have you thought about what I said?" he asked, looking at me.

"What did you say?" I asked, turning my head from my book to look at him.

"About you being my fake girlfriend?" he said, placing his hands under his chin to support his head.

"You never said anything about a fake girlfriend," I said, scratching my head with my pen.

"Come on Maya, it's for the benefit of both of us," he said, trying to sound convincing.

"Look, I know you don't want anything to do with me, and you completely hate everything, but your life and my life are in shambles, and only I can fix this," he said, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Besides, I said, I'll pay you, I know you need the money," he said, hitting me at my weak point.

There was silence as I sat contemplating the whole thing.

I needed to pay my house rent and I needed to restock my fridge.

I definitely needed the money, but agreeing to be Jason's pretend girlfriend didn't sound like a good idea to me.

But it seemed like the only way out.

"Fine but on my terms," I said, pointing my pen at him. He raised his hands as a gesture of surrender.

"So you accept my gift?" Jason asked, pushing the food box to me again.

I looked at the box one last time before taking it.

School ended in a blur and, as usual, I stood outside to wait for the cab.

Jason pulled over and offered to drop me off. I told him I wasn't interested. After much back and forth, I agreed.

As he was about to drive off, a car came at full speed, crashing into his.