Beyond Goodbye

Hooked for Life

“Are you okay?”

Mark looked at Maya with concern.

“It seems like you didn’t get a good night's sleep.”

“Well, it was raining and you know I stayed up all night to watch it and read.”

“I know that. How can I forget? But the next day you are energized and happy, rather than this.”

Mark motioned at Maya’s disheveled appearance and forlorn face.

“Thanks Mark.”

“Maya, I am just being honest. You don’t look your best today and that’s perfectly okay. What is not okay is you not telling me what’s bothering you.”

Maya sighed. What could she tell him? Nothing happened. Well, she could tell him about the two men and that encounter last night, but that would be lying. She wasn’t even thinking of those men. Any normal girl would have been freaked out by what happened, but it seemed not to have fazed her. At that moment, it did scare the living daylights out of her, but that was before Damon showed up.

She couldn’t tell Mark about Damon. What would she tell him? She couldn’t tell him about the sad tug at her heart, or those emotions playing on his face. Mark would just roll his eyes and say it was her bias speaking. He was somehow convinced that Maya wanted to paint Damon as a bad guy because she just didn’t understand him. That, and because she just couldn’t admit he was better than Jared. Maya knew most of the school viewed Damon as better, but she loved Jared and no popularity contest could change that.

They were sitting on a small bench in the school yard where many students were gathered around. It was a nice day, and everyone was making the most of an unexpected lunch break the professors had given them. The principal had called an emergency meeting about some school business and it couldn’t wait. Maya could not be happy enough. She couldn’t concentrate in class, she just wanted to run away somewhere.

“Hi Maya. How are you? Doing good?”

A deep rumbling voice came from her right side and she jumped. She turned towards Damon, and saw his kind expression which was laced with a hidden concern that he only revealed to her. He seemed to not have had any sleep, his eyes looked tired and there were eye bags under his eyes. His hair seemed to be disheveled too, but it made him look even more attractive.

“Y..yyeah Im fine. How are you doing? Hope you had a good night.”

Maya blurted out quickly. She didn’t have time to sort out her thoughts. She felt as if she was caught red-handed thinking about him at that moment. Damon gave her an affectionate smile and ruffled her hair.

“Good. Take care of yourself, and no wandering out alone again.” He winked and smiled at Mark.

“Hi Mark, good to see you.”

After acknowledging Mark, Damon left. The two friends sat there for a moment, thinking about what had just happened. Mark was taken aback at the sudden appearance and the abrupt conversation. There was a bit of a silence in the school yard as people looked on at them. Damon was very popular, and he almost never talked to anyone, let alone ruffle someone’s hair like that.

“Uh..Maya, everyone is looking at us. Did one of us fart or something?”

Poor Mark looked so funny, nervous like that. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. The whole scenario since yesterday has been making her c***k up. She started laughing and Mark looked on as she just couldn’t stop. She held her stomach and rolled on the floor. Mark gave a fond smile as he looked at his best friend. He didn’t know what was wrong, but something very serious was bothering Maya. He wished she would trust him enough to tell him about it.

He really loved her. He wished for so many things. He wanted to reach out and catch her in his arms. That thin, fragile girl with a strong spirit. He hoped no one broke her strength. He knew Maya's mother was trying to do that to turn her into a submissive and obedient mate. Maya never told him, but he knew. He had been with her for so long, he just knew. But whatever was going on right now, he had no clue what it was about. And Damon talking to Maya like that, she had looked so scared when she heard his voice from behind her.

Why would she be scared of Damon? Jared is the one she needs to stay away from.

Speaking of Jared, he was standing by the counter looking on at all that had happened. He had a sour look on his face. He didn’t like Damon. Damon was more popular, more handsome, and he had all that without lifting one finger. Damon was just Damon, he didn’t have to do anything to grab attention. Jared had to work very hard on his looks, his personality, his friends. Even then, he couldn’t beat him.

He saw how Maya had jumped when Damon talked to her, and how he had ruffled her hair. Even now she was laughing because she wanted to shake off her nervousness. He didn’t like the mousey little girl. She hardly had any curves, seemed like that single mother of hers didn’t make enough money to feed her properly. She couldn’t put two words together without stumbling and embarrassing him, and he didn’t like her short hair.

She just wasn’t his type. He believed she was no one’s type, except for that lovestruck puppy, Mark. He looked like he would lick the floor Maya walked on. Jared rolled his eyes. He regarded those beneath him with such disregard. He really was an arrogant guy. To him, though, it was justified. He had earned his popularity and maintained his looks by pure hard work. Every day he thought about his moves and how he would deal with his peers. He devoured books on how to be more attractive, powerful, influential, and develop a top personality.

One day he would be a star, and he was working hard for that day. But Damon stood in his way, that number one spot. He had realized he couldn’t do anything about it though. He had tried to provoke him multiple times and Jared had come to accept that he could not get through to him. Damon was a very chill guy who would never bother about such trivial things.

Right now though, Jared was fuming. He liked the attention he got from that pathetic Maya. He liked how he could ignore her, embarrass her, look at her in disdain and she would still come back with lovestruck eyes. He loved walking on rugs and kicking them around, and Maya was a very willing one indeed. She literally lay down at his feet and begged him to walk all over her. It made him feel powerful and now Damon was about to take that away from him.

He had to do something about this. He had to make sure Maya was hooked on him for life….or until he didn’t need her anymore.