Maya sighs. “Slept okay.”
Silence washes over us as I drain my coffee and wash it up in the sink.
“Are you okay with Skye this morning? I know you have class later. But I’ll be back.”
She blinks at me in surprise. “Oh, you’re leaving so early?”
Because the more time I spend with you, the more I’ll fall in love with you.
I have no idea how that’s even possible, but fuck, every day I somehow adore her more than the last, and it’s dangerous for my mental stability.
There is nothing I want more than to spend every second I can get with Maya, but now I think a little bit of distance is what I need. I shouldn’t rely on them for all of my stability and happiness. I need to do that on my own, and I can’t when I’m following her around like a lost puppy.
“Yeah…” I trail off. “I’ve got things I need to do. That okay?”
Maya’s mouth parts. “Yeah, of course.”
“Okay,” I say as I lower my head, grab my belongings, and get dressed. “Say good morning to Skye for me. I don’t want to wake her up.”
“Sure.” Her voice wobbles as she watches me walk to the front door. “I’ll see you later.”
My mouth slants to the side in a half-smile. “Bye.”
The second I’m outside and in my car, I lower my forehead to the leather steering wheel. My heart aches to leave them, knowing we could be having cosy family mornings together, breakfast, and everything else.
But that’s far from my reality.
After a few minutes of pondering my next steps, I head to the gym to get out of my own head. I haven’t been going as regularly as I should be, but my life has changed drastically over the last few months. I should still take the time to look after myself and my mental state.
I face the mirror and hold two dumbbells between my hands until I sense a figure appear beside me. My eyes land on the reflection to find JJ staring back at me.
“Hey, man,” he says as I shove off my headphones. “Didn’t even see you in here.”
“Hey,” I murmur.
“You good?”
My mouth parts, and I contemplate lying, but what’s that going to solve? Lying to everyone around me is what put me in the hospital to have my stomach pumped.
“Just having a weird few days,” I confess.
JJ’s blue eyes soften. “Wanna go grab breakfast after this?”
I’m nodding before he even finishes his sentence. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”
When we finish our gym session, get showered and head over to our favourite diner in town, my shoulders feel a little lighter. It’s always a worry when I’m by myself and drowning because my mind can easily wander, but with JJ here, it makes things bearable.
“How are you doing? Haven’t seen you for a little bit. I rang you last night, but you didn’t answer.”
“Ever since that attempted break-in at Maya’s, I’ve been wary of leaving them alone at night. And I’m sorry, I didn’t see my phone. I had a tough day.”
JJ hums as he raises his apple juice to his mouth. “Understandable. What’s been going on?”
I release a morbid sigh. “Everything.”
“What does that mean?”
My back presses firmly into the plastic chair, and I tilt my gaze downwards.
