Small Things
1357 Words
*Chapter 4: Small Things*
*Day 1 of the Deal*
Liam didn’t talk to her.
He left a sticky note on her locker before first period.
_Chem notes from yesterday. Mr. D said there’ll be a quiz. -L_
No “I miss you.” No “I’m sorry.” No paragraphs explaining himself.
Just the notes.
Maya stared at it for a full minute before opening her locker.
The handwriting was the same. Messy, looping, with the way he always dotted his i’s with little hearts when he wasn’t paying attention.
She crumpled the note.
Then smoothed it out and stuck it in her notebook.
She told herself it was just for the quiz.
She told herself she’d throw it away after.
She didn’t.
*Day 3*
It rained. Hard. The kind of rain that made Westbrook’s parking lot flood by 3 PM.
Maya stayed after school for chem help. Mr. Delgado kept her 20 minutes going over equilibrium constants. By the time she walked out, her mom’s car wasn’t there. Shift ran late. Again.
Liam’s car was parked by the curb. Window down.
He didn’t say anything. Just gestured to the passenger seat.
Maya hesitated. The deal said no talking. It didn’t say she couldn’t get out of the rain.
She got in.
Silence all the way to her street. The wipers squeaked. The radio was off.
He turned the heat up when he saw her shiver.
At her driveway, he said, “Drive safe tomorrow. Storm’s supposed to get worse.”
That was it.
Maya got out, closed the door, and watched him drive away.
Her hands were still cold. But she wasn’t shivering anymore.
*Day 5*
Aisha noticed first.
“You’re different,” she said in chem. “Lighter.”
“I’m not.”
“You check your locker before class now. You didn’t do that before.”
Maya didn’t answer.
Liam had been leaving notes every day. Not long ones. Never personal. Just homework, reminders, “Mr. D changed the test date.”
Small things.
It would’ve been easy to ignore if he wasn’t so consistent.
*Day 7*
Follow-up at St. Luke’s. Bloodwork, scan, the whole 4-hour ordeal.
Maya walked into the waiting room and saw him.
Hoodie, jeans, book in his lap. He looked up when she came in, nodded once, then went back to reading.
Her mom raised an eyebrow.
Maya shook her head. “Don’t.”
Four hours later, when they were done, he was still there. Same page.
He walked them to the car. Didn’t speak. Just held the door open for her mom.
On the drive home, her mom said, “He seems different.”
Maya stared out the window. “He’s keeping his word.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Maya didn’t answer.
*Day 10*
Sarah posted a story.
Picture of her and some new guy at the beach. Caption: _Some people never change. Good riddance._
The comments blew up. People tagging Maya. “OMG is that about you??”
Maya didn’t reply.
She didn’t need to.
Ten minutes later, Liam posted a story.
Blank black screen. Text: _Not all of us stay the same. Some of us grow up._
No tags. No names.
But everyone knew.
Aisha screenshotted it and sent it to Maya.
_He’s fighting for you._
Maya didn’t reply. She saved the screenshot.
*Day 12*
Chem quiz.
Maya forgot her calculator.
She realized it 30 seconds before the test started. Panic hit her chest.
Liam slid his over her desk before Mr. Delgado could say anything. No eye contact. Just set it down and went back to his seat.
She got a 94.
Highest in the class.
She almost said thanks. Almost.
Instead she left his calculator on his desk after class with a sticky note: _Thanks. -M_
It was the first time she’d written to him in 8 months.
He didn’t say anything the next day. Just left a note: _Anytime._
*Day 15*
Maya had a bad day.
Not chemo bad. Just… tired bad. The kind where everything felt heavy and pointless.
She sat in her car after school and didn’t go home.
Ten minutes later, Liam’s car pulled up next to hers.
He didn’t knock. Didn’t text. Just sat there.
They sat in silence for 20 minutes. Two cars, side by side, engines off.
Then he drove away.
Maya went home feeling a little less heavy.
*Day 18*
Aisha cornered her after school.
“You’re different,” she said again.
“How?”
“You smile when you think no one’s looking.”
“I don’t smile.”
“You do. At his notes. At his car. At the way he waits outside chem even when it’s freezing.”
Maya didn’t deny it.
“Does that scare you?” Aisha asked.
“Yeah,” Maya said. “It terrifies me.”
“Good,” Aisha said. “Means you still care.”
*Day 21*
The deal was halfway over.
Maya had a shoebox under her bed full of sticky notes. Chemistry. Physics. A reminder to drink water. A doodle of the cat again.
Liam had never asked for anything. Never pushed. Just showed up.
She wasn’t angry anymore.
That scared her more than being angry did.
Because if she wasn’t angry, what was left?
*Day 25*
Maya got a letter.
Official. UC Berkeley.
Accepted.
Full ride for biochem.
She read it three times before it felt real.
She wanted to tell someone.
She walked to his locker after school.
He was there.
She held the letter out without saying anything.
Liam read it. Twice.
“Berkeley,” he said quietly. “Maya, that’s… that’s huge.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
“I’m proud of you,” he said.
Not “I miss you.” Not “Don’t go.” Just proud.
Maya felt something in her chest loosen.
“Thanks,” she said.
It was the first real word she’d said to him in a month.
*Day 28*
The month was almost up.
Maya realized she didn’t want it to end.
She’d gotten used to the notes. To the rides. To the way he sat in the corner of the hospital waiting room like he belonged there.
She’d gotten used to not being alone in it.
She wasn’t sure if that was good or dangerous.
*Day 30*
After school, Maya walked to the empty football field.
Liam was already there. Sitting on the bleachers, feet dangling.
He saw her and stood up. Didn’t speak.
Maya climbed the bleachers and sat next to him. Not close. Not far.
The stadium lights were off. Sunset painted everything orange.
“So,” she said. “Month’s up.”
“I know,” he said.
She looked at him. Really looked.
“You didn’t mess up.”
“I know,” he said again. Quieter this time.
Maya took a deep breath.
“I’m not mad at you anymore.”
Liam’s breath caught. “Maya—”
“Let me finish,” she said. “I’m not mad. But I’m not over it either. And I don’t know if I ever will be.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “I don’t expect you to be.”
She turned to face him.
“So what now?”
Liam looked at her like she’d just given him the world.
“Now,” he said, “we talk. If you want to.”
Maya looked out at the empty field. At the sky turning pink.
At the boy who’d spent a month proving he wasn’t the kid who’d broken her.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s talk.”
Liam sat down next to her. Close this time.
“Where do we start?”
Maya thought about it.
“Start with why you didn’t give up.”
Liam exhaled.
“Because I never stopped loving you. Even when I didn’t deserve to.”
Maya swallowed hard.
“That’s not enough, Liam.”
“I know,” he said. “So I’ll keep showing you. For as long as you’ll let me.”
The sun dipped below the bleachers.
Neither of them moved.
*[End Chapter 4]*
- Writer
