The Deal
1596 Words
*Chapter 3: The Deal*
Graduation rehearsal was a mess.
Sweaty auditorium, 300 seniors in caps and gowns that didn’t fit, Mr. Jensen yelling about “spacing” and “decorum” like anyone cared.
Maya stood in line with the M’s, staring at the back of the stage. Her legs still got tired faster than they should. Chemo hangover. That’s what Dr. Reyes called it. She called it annoying.
“Line up! Maya Chen? You’re next!”
She moved forward, rehearsed her walk, took the fake diploma, smiled for the camera that wasn’t recording. Two minutes and she was done.
She was heading for the exit when she heard it.
“Maya.”
Liam’s voice. Low, careful. Like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to use it on her.
She stopped but didn’t turn.
“Not now, Liam.”
“Two minutes,” he said. “That’s all I’m asking. Two minutes.”
She turned.
He looked wrecked. Dark circles under his eyes, hoodie wrinkled, hands shoved deep in his pockets like he didn’t know what to do with them. He’d cut his hair. Shorter than before. It made him look younger. Stupid.
“What do you want?” she asked.
The hallway was mostly empty. Everyone else was outside for the class photo. Just the two of them and the echo of Mr. Jensen’s voice from inside.
“I messed up,” he said. No preamble. No excuses. “I know you know that. I just… I need to say it out loud.”
Maya crossed her arms. “Go ahead.”
“I kissed Sarah because I was scared,” he said. “You were talking about UC Berkeley. About leaving. And I thought if I ruined it first, it wouldn’t hurt as much when you left me.”
Maya blinked. That wasn’t what she expected.
“That’s stupid,” she said.
“I know.” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I’m stupid. I was stupid. I thought I could control it. Control you. Control losing you.”
He took a step closer. She didn’t move back.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me,” he said. “You don’t owe me that. I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend again. I’m not even asking you to talk to me.”
“Then what are you asking?”
He swallowed. “I’m asking if I can spend senior year proving I’m not that kid anymore. No texts. No calls. No ‘hey how are you.’ Just… let me show up. Notes when you’re sick. Rides when your mom’s working late. Silence if that’s what you want. But let me try.”
Maya stared at him.
The boy in front of her wasn’t the guy from the party. He looked tired. Honest. Like he’d been carrying something for two years and finally set it down.
“I’m not the same person you cheated on,” she said quietly. “Cancer changed that.”
“I know.”
“People tell me I should be grateful I survived. And I am. But I’m also angry. All the time. And I don’t know where to put it.”
“Put it on me,” he said. “If you need to. I deserve it.”
Maya let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“You hurt me, Liam,” she said. “Cancer didn’t teach me to forget that.”
“I know.”
“If I say yes, and you mess up again, I’m done. For real this time.”
“I won’t.”
“You said that before.”
He flinched. Fair.
Maya looked at the exit sign. At the sunlight spilling onto the floor. At the guy who used to bring her hot chocolate before 7 AM math tests. The guy who sat with her in the hospital parking lot for six hours without saying a word when she got her diagnosis.
“I’m not saying we’re back,” she said.
“I know.”
“I’m saying you get one month. No talking. Just actions. If I feel like you’re doing it for show, I stop it. If I feel like you’re doing it for me, we talk after.”
“One month,” he repeated. Like it was a lifeline.
She nodded once.
“Don’t make me regret this.”
She walked away before he could answer.
---
That night, Maya lay in bed staring at her ceiling.
Aisha texted her: _How’d it go?_
Maya replied: _I’m stupid._
Aisha: _Elaborate._
Maya: _I gave him a month._
Aisha: _…_
Maya: _Don’t say I told you so._
Aisha: _I’m not. I’m proud of you. That took guts._
Maya tossed her phone aside.
She didn’t know if she believed him.
She didn’t know if she believed herself for giving him the chance.
But she knew one thing.
Sitting in chem class pretending he didn’t exist was exhausting.
And she was tired of being exhausted.
---
*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.” 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.
*Day 3*
It rained. Hard.
Maya stayed after school for chem help. When she walked out, her mom’s car wasn’t there. Shift ran late.
Liam’s car was parked by the curb. Window down.
He didn’t say anything. Just gestured to the passenger seat.
Maya hesitated. Then got in.
Silence all the way to her street. 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.
*Day 7*
She had a follow-up at St. Luke’s. Bloodwork, scan, the whole thing.
Liam was in the waiting room when she got there.
He didn’t come to her. Just sat in the corner with a book, nodding when she walked in.
Her mom raised an eyebrow. Maya shook her head. “Don’t.”
Four hours later, when they were done, he was still there. Reading the 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 didn’t answer.
*Day 12*
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.
But 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.
Maya screenshotted it. She didn’t know why.
*Day 18*
Chem quiz.
Maya forgot her calculator.
Liam slid his over her desk before the test started. No eye contact. Just set it down and left.
She got a 94.
She almost said thanks. Almost.
---
*Day 21*
Aisha found her after school.
“You’re different,” she said.
“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 28*
The month was almost up.
Maya had a stack of sticky notes on her desk. 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 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.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s talk.”
*[End Chapter 3]
- Writer
