Page 3 of Take Her On

Grandma slapped her hand away with a chequered tea towel, which was also always conveniently nearby, like an extension of her arm. “How will you run around that football field if you’ve a belly full of rubbish?”

“I’ll run extra laps to burn it off.” She ran her fingers over the tablecloth, circling the picture of a chicken as it darted across the fabric. Seeing Jamie moving into Carly’s house had put her on edge. The idea of her in Carly’s space made her blood boil.

Maya needed the chocolate reprieve. “How about half a biscuit?” she asked. Grandma shook her head, but before she could speak, Maya continued, “You could have the other half. We can share it.” Her grandma’s hazel eyes flicked to her, and Maya saw the temptation, just for a second. “Go on…I won’t tell Mum. It’ll be our secret.”

A smile spread across Grandma’s face, lifting the wrinkles around her mouth. “Fine. But I get the bigger half.”

After they’d eaten the last of their digestive, Grandma stood slowly, gathering the yellow biscuit tin into her thin arms. Grandpa wasn’t the only one who was losing weight. The sight made Maya frown.

“So, Maya, any plans for today?” her grandma asked, her back still to her. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to be moping up in your bedroom again.”

Maya sighed. Everyone in the house seemed to be unhealthily obsessed with the amount of time she spent up there. It wouldn’t surprise her if they’d set up a secret monitoring station in Grandpa’s room.

“You don’t need to worry about me, Grandma. Let me worry about you.”

Grandma didn’t miss a beat. “What about your studies?”

“It’s the summer. We don’t have any.”

“What about the flat?”

Maya stiffened. “What about it?”

“It’s not too late for you to move back once university starts. I’d manage, you know.”

Maya had gone back and forth about it in her mind over the summer. Hannah and Maddie had been so understanding and supportive of her situation, and Maya missed them a lot. Maddie didn’t know how to deal with most emotional situations and would steer clear of any outbursts. Hannah was the opposite. She always seemed to have a tissue in her pocket, some chocolate in the cupboard, and a superpower for making people laugh when they felt like crawling into a hole.

It was refreshing not to have to hide her feelings all the time, but now she had to get used to putting them back inside their box again.

Admittedly, this wasn’t how she’d imagined she’d be spending her last year, but with Mum working away a lot and Grandpa’s health deteriorating, she couldn’t leave Grandma to deal with the cooking, cleaning, washing, and looking after Grandpa on her own. It was the right thing to do.

“Are you fed up with me already?” Maya joked, forcing a small smile. She collected the mugs from the table and stacked them in the dishwasher, flipping it closed with her heel.

“I worry about you up there,” Grandma said.

Maya wet a cloth and glided around the counters, mopping up the biscuit crumbs. “I’m fine.” She felt Grandma’s gaze on her as she rinsed it in the sink. When she’d hung the cloth over the tap and turned back to face her, Grandma sighed.

“Alright then, let’s try this another way. If you don’t stop moping, I’ll make you come to Witch Club with me. Linda will brew you something to give you a kick up the arse.”

They shared a genuine crack of laughter. Then Maya shook her head, her eyes catching on the small glass vase that always had a space on the countertop. The plastic lily inside stood proud and forever blooming, but more often than not, it just got in the way. Mum insisted on keeping it, though. Maya couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just get real flowers.

“I appreciate you being here, love,” Grandma said, her voice softening. “But ever since Carly moved, you’ve not been yourself.”

Maya flinched at the mention of her name. Had she been so obvious? Did Grandma know how she felt about her? Did everyone?

Caught off guard, she couldn’t meet Grandma’s gaze. Instead, she inspected the flying chickens on the tablecloth again. Talking about her feelings never came easy.

Luckily, Grandma spoke again. “When are your friends back?”

“Hannah gets back from Scotland on Sunday before classes start, and I think Maddie is back from Newcastle around the same time.”

But this year, Maya wouldn’t be in their flat to greet them.

“Right. Yes. I remember now.” Grandma nodded, retaking her seat at the table. “They’ll be back in a few days then.” She opened her mouth to say something else, then pressed her lips together. The yellowing clock on the wall ticked away a few seconds. “You’ll make even more friends next year when you start work.”

Next year. Work. Maya tried to squash the nerves bubbling in her stomach, but it was too late. Her heart had already quickened, making her throat tight and heavy at the same time. “Yeah,” was all she managed.

She hated this feeling that came with any talk of the future. Not just talking with her grandparents or Mum, but with Carly, too. And lecturers, and teammates—basically, whenever the subject was mentioned by anyone who cared enough to ask, Maya’s body responded by shutting down completely. It was too much change to think about.