Chapter Eight: Half-Open Doors.
288 Words
Maya hadn’t planned to stop by Alex’s place again so soon, but Jade had asked her to pick up a parcel Alex was holding for her. When she arrived, Alex was in the middle of rearranging her living room, boxes scattered everywhere.
“Come in—ignore the mess,” Alex said, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Maya smiled and stepped carefully between stacks of books. “Are you moving out?”
“No, just… making space,” Alex replied, her tone light but her eyes flicking away.
While Alex dug around for the parcel, Maya wandered toward a shelf where framed photos leaned against the wall. She picked one up: a picture of them at university, arms slung around each other, carefree. Beside it sat another photo she had never seen—Alex with a group of people Maya didn’t recognize, dressed in ways that felt bold, almost defiant.
“These your friends?” Maya asked, curiosity sharpening her voice.
Alex froze for a fraction of a second before answering. “Old friends. From a different time.”
Maya caught the hesitation, the way Alex’s hand tightened around the parcel before passing it over. Something unspoken hung heavy in the room, like dust unsettled by a sudden breeze.
On her way out, Maya glanced back and noticed the bedroom door ajar again, clothes draped hastily over a chair. She thought about the mirror, about the tension in Alex’s voice, about the unfamiliar photo.
As she stepped into the sunlight outside, the feeling was no longer just curiosity. It was the sense that Alex’s life ran deeper than she had ever dared to imagine—and that she was only now brushing against the surface.
- Writer
