~ 🖤
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There were footsteps behind her.
Heavy. Determined.
Maya turned too late.
Jax had found her again — in the back hallway behind the gym after the last bell. His eyes were red-rimmed, haunted, and cold in a way they hadn't been before. Not even after Mira's death.
> "You weren't supposed to choose him," he said, voice hoarse.
Maya froze, fingers tightening around her bag. "You don't get to say that."
> "I told you the truth," he whispered. "I gave you everything. And you still went back to him."
> "Because I'm not yours," she said softly.
> "You were never hers either," he snapped. "And yet she owned you until the end."
He stepped closer, and Maya could smell the lingering storm in his clothes — wet, angry, and desperate.
> "Do you even know who you are without her?" he hissed.
> "Yes," Maya said. "Now I do."
But Jax wasn't listening.
> "He's using you," he growled. "You think he cares? Elias only wants what Mira had. And now that she's dead, he's playing with her shadow. You."
She didn't flinch.
> "You're wrong," she said. "I was never her shadow."
> "Then why does it feel like she still owns us all?"
Jax slammed his fist against the wall. The sound echoed.
Maya turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist — not hard, not violent, but tight enough to make her pause.
> "I loved you first," he said, his voice cracking. "When everyone else looked at Mira, I saw you. And you never saw me back."
> "You saw what you wanted to see," she whispered. "Just like Elias did."
> "You think he's different?" Jax spat. "That he won't destroy you too?"
Maya pulled her hand free.
> "He already did. And I let him. But at least now I'm choosing my own ruin."
The gym door opened behind them.
Elias stood there.
Still. Silent. So calm it was terrifying.
His eyes locked on Jax's hand.
> "Touch her again," Elias said darkly, "and I'll break your fingers."
Jax laughed bitterly. "So this is how it is? Maya, the broken twin, and Elias, the mourning monster."
> "Say her name again," Elias warned, stepping forward, "and I'll remind you who buried her."
Maya stepped between them, placing a hand on Elias's chest.
> "He's not worth it."
> "You are," Elias said, not looking at her. "That's the problem."
Jax's smirk vanished.
> "You think this is love?" he asked. "What he's doing to you? You think bruises and obsession mean you're chosen?"
> "No," Maya whispered. "But it means I'm wanted. And for the first time in my life, I want to be wanted for me. Not because I'm a twin. Not because I'm a mirror."
Jax's jaw clenched. "You're making a mistake."
> "Maybe," she said. "But at least it's mine."
Elias wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, like claiming her wasn't just a habit now — it was instinct.
> "She was never yours to keep," Elias said, eyes locked on Jax. "You had your chance."
> "And when you break her," Jax said, "don't pretend you didn't know you would."
He turned and walked away.
And Maya let him.
Because in that moment, she wasn't afraid of being broken.
She was afraid of how much she liked the way Elias had already begun to do it.
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