Love maybe
1211 Words
The next two weeks passed slowly.
Not the normal kind of slow—
but the kind where every day feels heavier than the last.
At Hartwich High School, nothing ever really stayed quiet.
But now the noise had changed.
The whispers were softer.
More controlled.
Like people had said everything they wanted to say already—and now they were just watching the aftermath.
Jess had gotten used to it.
Or at least—
she had learned how to pretend she had.
She walked through the hallways with her head up, her expression calm, her movements steady.
Like nothing inside her was falling apart.
Like she hadn’t lost something important.
Like she wasn’t still thinking about both of them—
all the time.
Malakai had changed.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
He laughed less.
Talked less.
Smiled like it didn’t come naturally anymore.
And he never looked at her.
Not once.
Jess told herself that was fair.
That she deserved it.
But that didn’t make it hurt any less.
One afternoon, she saw him across the courtyard, surrounded by his friends.
For a second—
just one second—
she thought about walking over.
About saying something.
Anything.
But then he turned away before she could decide.
And that was that.
Some endings don’t need words.
Tania, on the other hand—
felt like a question Jess never got to answer.
She still came to school.
Still walked through the hallways with that same quiet confidence.
But something had shifted.
Not in how she carried herself—
but in how close she let Jess get.
Which, at this point, wasn’t close at all.
They spoke less.
Looked at each other more.
Said nothing.
Everything felt unfinished.
And maybe that was worse than ending.
One evening, Jess came home to find her mother standing in the living room.
“Did you hear?”
Jess frowned.
“Hear what?”
“The Greyshaws are moving.”
Jess’s heart dropped.
“What?”
Her mother nodded.
“They said it’s sudden. Something about work again. They’ll be gone by the weekend.”
The weekend.
That was… two days.
Jess didn’t wait.
She dropped her bag and ran.
Out the door.
Across the street.
Straight to Tania’s house.
The front door was open.
Boxes were already packed.
Everything looked temporary.
Like it had never really belonged there.
Jess walked in, breath uneven.
“Tania?”
No answer.
She moved upstairs, faster this time.
Her heart was racing.
Her thoughts louder than ever.
She reached the room—
and stopped.
Empty.
The bed stripped.
No sign that anyone had lived there.
Jess stood still.
“No…”
A voice behind her.
“You’re late.”
Jess turned.
Tania stood by the doorway.
Calm.
Composed.
Like always.
But her eyes—
her eyes were different.
Jess stepped closer.
“You’re leaving?”
Tania nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Tania tilted her head slightly.
“Would it have changed anything?”
Jess hesitated.
“I… I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
That hurt more than it should have.
Jess shook her head.
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither is waiting for someone to choose you when they’re not ready to.”
Jess froze.
Because once again—
Tania was right.
And Jess was tired of being the kind of person who stayed silent when it mattered.
“I was scared,” she admitted.
Tania didn’t react.
Jess stepped closer.
“I didn’t understand what I was feeling. I didn’t want to hurt Malakai. I didn’t want to lose everything.”
“And yet,” Tania said softly, “you did.”
Jess swallowed.
“Yeah.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Honest.
Jess’s voice dropped.
“I don’t want you to go.”
Tania held her gaze.
“And do you want me to stay enough to actually choose me?”
Jess opened her mouth—
and stopped.
Because this time—
she couldn’t lie.
She couldn’t pretend.
She couldn’t give a half-answer.
And that was the problem.
Tania nodded slowly.
“I thought so.”
Jess felt something break inside her.
“Wait—”
But Tania stepped back.
“It’s okay, Jess.”
“No, it’s not.”
Tania gave a small, sad smile.
“It is. Because now I know.”
Jess’s voice trembled.
“Know what?”
“That some people feel things deeply… but not enough to act on them.”
Jess couldn’t argue.
Because she had spent too long choosing fear over truth.
Tania picked up a small folded paper from the desk beside her.
She held it out.
“For when I’m gone.”
Jess took it slowly.
Their fingers brushed—
just like that night by the pool.
And just like then—
it meant something.
Too much.
Jess looked up.
“Will I see you again?”
Tania didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“Maybe.”
Jess nodded, even though it didn’t feel like a real answer.
Because “maybe” wasn’t a promise.
It was an ending disguised as hope.
By Monday—
Tania was gone.
Just like that.
No announcement.
No goodbye at school.
No final moment anyone else could witness.
Only absence.
Jess sat by her window that night.
The same place where everything started.
Across the street, the house was dark.
Empty.
Like it had been erased.
She unfolded the paper Tania had given her.
Her hands shook slightly.
The note read:
Some people are lessons.
Some people are mistakes.
Some people are both.
You felt something real. I know you did.
But feeling isn’t the same as choosing.
I hope one day you choose honesty over fear.
— T
Jess read it once.
Then again.
Then again.
And this time—
she didn’t stop the tears.
Because now everything made sense.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
She had loved Malakai.
In a way that was safe.
Expected.
Easy to explain.
And she had felt something for Tania—
something confusing.
Something real.
Something she wasn’t brave enough to understand in time.
And now—
both of them were gone.
Not completely.
But enough to matter.
Weeks passed.
Life continued.
Because it always does.
Malakai moved on slowly.
Jess stayed quiet.
The school found new gossip.
New stories.
New people to watch.
But some things don’t disappear.
They just settle.
Become memories.
Become questions.
Become what ifs.
On the last day of the term, Jess stood outside the school gates.
Watching people leave.
Laughing.
Talking.
She exhaled slowly.
And for the first time in a long time—
she didn’t feel like pretending.
She didn’t feel like choosing what was easy.
Or expected.
Or safe.
She just stood there.
Honest.
Finally.
And maybe that was growth.
Or maybe it was just the beginning of understanding.
Either way—
it came too late for them.
Because sometimes—
love isn’t enough.
Sometimes timing ruins everything.
Sometimes fear makes decisions for you.
And sometimes—
you don’t lose people because you didn’t care.
You lose them because you didn’t choose.
Jess looked up at the sky, blinking back the last of her tears.
And whispered the only truth she had left:
“Love…”
A pause.
Soft.
Uncertain.
“…maybe.”.
- Writer
