By Sunday evening, the sky dulled into a silver-gray that never quite reached storm. Wind tugged lazily at the trees outside Maya's window, and for the first time in weeks, she found herself sitting in front of her mirror -- not to impress anyone, not even Damien.
Just… to see who was still in there.
The girl staring back at her didn't look broken anymore.
She looked tired. But grounded.
Her phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a single message.
Come out. You'll want to see this.
No context. No emojis. Just Damien. Always vague. Always right.
The side lawn by the fountain was quiet when she arrived. That part of campus rarely saw traffic on weekends. Too many ghosts there.
It was where Logan had broken her.
Where Damien had kissed her.
Where everything began to shift.
He was already waiting, leaned against the edge of the fountain, all dark clothes and sharper silence. A few students milled in the distance, but none dared interrupt. He glanced over when he saw her, his gaze dragging slowly.
"No sketchbook?" he asked.
She blinked. "You never said to bring it."
"That was the test."
She smirked, folding her arms. "And if I failed?"
"Then I'd have to remind you you're more than a girl with ink-stained fingers."
She tilted her head. "You're annoying."
He didn't deny it. "You're glowing."
"Stop saying that."
"It's still true."
They fell into a long pause, the sound of the wind shifting dry leaves at their feet.
Then Damien's voice dropped. "They're coming."
Maya followed his gaze. A group had spilled from the admin building. Laughing. Too loud. Too full of themselves.
Brielle was at the center. Phone in hand, one manicured finger tapping at her screen as she angled it for a selfie with two of her friends. Her crop top barely covered her stomach. Her laughter cut through the stillness like broken glass.
And there, just behind her, Logan.
Not touching her. Not smiling. Just following.
His hands were shoved into his jacket pockets, his shoulders hunched.
"Notice something?" Damien said under his breath.
"He's not even pretending to like her."
"Exactly."
The group veered left, heading toward the quad -- except Logan.
He hesitated.
Then turned.
And started walking -- straight toward them.
Maya's breath caught. "Damien…"
"Let him."
"I don't want a scene."
"Then don't give him one. Let's see what he wants."
Damien's tone didn't change. But Maya caught the subtle shift in his stance, the way he straightened. Shoulders tensing. Jaw set.
Logan reached them in ten strides.
His eyes flicked to Damien first -- hostile. Then to Maya. Something in his face twisted when he saw her standing beside his brother. So close.
"Can we talk?"
Maya's heart jumped. The request alone was loaded. She hated how easily her stomach clenched.
"Now?"
Damien moved before she could respond. "She's not free."
"I didn't ask you."
"I don't care."
Logan's eyes narrowed. "Always so quick to speak for other people. Nothing's changed."
Damien stepped forward, voice low. "Say that again."
Maya pressed a hand lightly to his chest. "Damien. Don't."
He looked down at her. Just for a second. Then stepped back.
She turned to Logan. "What do you want?"
"I want to talk."
"You made that pretty clear weeks ago."
"I mean.." He paused, glancing at Damien, clearly restraining himself. "Alone."
"She's not a secret," Damien said flatly.
Maya exhaled, her voice calm. "It's fine."
Damien gave her a look. "You sure?"
"Yes."
He stepped away slowly, but not far. Just enough to give them space. His gaze stayed locked on Logan, the kind of silent threat that didn't need words.
Maya folded her arms. "Say what you need to."
"You look different," Logan said, scanning her face. "Better."
"Don't."
He hesitated. "I wasn't lying."
"Yes, you were. You did more than lie."
The wind caught her hair. She let it blow across her cheek like armor.
"I said a lot of things," Logan muttered. "Things I shouldn't have. I was angry...confused. My family..."
"Your family didn't say those things. You did."
He looked at her like she'd hit him. "Maya…"
"You humiliated me. In front of everyone. Then walked off like I never mattered. Now you want to talk?"
His hands twitched at his sides. "I regret it."
"You should."
Her voice didn't break. That surprised her.
Logan stepped closer. "I miss you."
"Don't say that now."
"Why not?"
"Because Brielle's over there snapping selfies like she didn't win something she didn't even want."
He flinched. "That's not..."
"You don't get to rewrite it, Logan."
"I didn't think you'd survive it," he said quietly. "I didn't think I'd care this much."
Maya's throat tightened. Not because it hurt. But because of how little it did.
"You shouldn't care," she said. "You made it clear I wasn't worth keeping."
"I never said..."
"You did," she snapped. "Maybe not in those words, but I heard you loud and clear."
Logan's face fell. "Damien's just doing this to get to me. You know that, right?"
She blinked. "What?"
"He never cared about girls like you before."
Maya's lips parted, a slow, chilling realization sinking in.
He meant it. Every word of that. He still thought she was small.
From a few feet away, Damien had heard it. He didn't move, but his hands curled into fists at his sides.
Maya stepped forward until she was close enough for Logan to feel the shift in the air.
"You're right about one thing," she said softly. "Damien's not like you."
And she turned her back to him.
Walked away.
Damien met her halfway, falling into step beside her.
"You handled that better than I would have," he muttered.
"Don't thank me yet," she said, her voice shaky. "I'm still deciding if I should've slapped him."
Damien exhaled a dark laugh. "I'd have framed the moment."
When they were far enough from the fountain, she stopped walking. Looked up at him.
"He still thinks I'm nothing, Damien."
Damien studied her for a long moment. Then said, "He's scared of you now. That's why he says things like that."
"I don't want to be scary. I just want to be… enough."
Damien didn't touch her. Not yet. But his voice dropped to something quieter. Something more fragile.
"You were always enough. You just forgot. I'm here to remind you."
Her eyes didn't leave his.
And for once -- she didn't look away first.