Chapter Four – A Shadow That Wouldn’t Leave
477 Words
Maya noticed Cole before she heard his voice.
She was standing outside the lecture hall with Lina, scrolling through her phone, when a familiar laugh cut through the air too close, too certain. Her shoulders stiffened instinctively.
“Maya,” Cole said, stepping into her space like he still belonged there. “Long time.”
Ethan, who had just arrived, stopped short. Something in Maya’s posture changed. The warmth she’d shown him moments earlier faded into something guarded, almost distant.
“Hey,” Maya replied, forcing a polite smile. “I didn’t know you were around.”
Cole’s eyes flicked to Ethan. He smiled slowly. “Yeah… I transferred back. Guess we keep running into each other, huh?” He turned to Ethan. “You must be the guy.”
Ethan blinked. “Uh yeah. Ethan.”
Cole shook his hand, grip a little tighter than necessary. “Cole. Maya’s… an old friend.”
An old friend.
The words landed wrong.
Maya shifted uncomfortably. “We were just leaving,” she said quickly.
Cole laughed. “Already? I was hoping to catch up.” His gaze lingered on her, full of unfinished sentences.
As they walked away, Ethan stayed quiet. He felt it now that invisible thread tying Cole to her, the kind of history you couldn’t compete with using good intentions alone.
Later that night, Ethan called Cole.
“So,” Ethan said carefully, “you didn’t tell me you knew her like that.”
There was a pause. “Yeah,” Cole replied. “We dated. A while back.”
Ethan exhaled slowly. “And you still…?”
Cole cut him off. “Still what?”
“Still have feelings for her.”
Silence.
“That’s none of your business,” Cole said finally. “Just don’t get hurt, man. Or hurt her.”
The call ended colder than it began.
Meanwhile, Maya sat on her bed, knees pulled to her chest, phone pressed to her ear.
“I didn’t know Cole would be there,” she told Lina. “It was awkward. I think Ethan felt weird.”
Lina hummed thoughtfully. “That’s exactly what I mean, Maya. Drama follows him already. Maybe this is your sign to slow down.”
Maya frowned. “But Ethan didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Sometimes,” Lina said gently, “the wrong thing is getting attached too fast.”
Maya stared at the wall after the call ended. Something about Lina’s words felt… rehearsed. Still, doubt crept in.
Ethan lay awake that night, replaying the scene. Cole’s hand on Maya’s shoulder. The ease in his voice. The past he shared with her.
What if I’m just the next mistake? he wondered.
Across town, Maya asked herself a different question:
Why does it feel wrong to step away from him… even when everyone tells me I should?
- Writer
