Tangled in Love

Chapter 9

Unconsciously, his right finger picked themselves up and pressured the skin between his cheek to join together. When he didn't break out into cold sweat like he expected, Nolan slowly twisted himself from staring into the tremendous, flowing waters for the voice he heard, not believing what was happening.

Nolan's eyes took in her hair, which were still soft and brown and covered her face perfectly. Her hazel eyes full of warmth and safety sparked with energy and her mouth small in size looked like a cheesecake he could engulf his lips and mouth with. She was wearing her Snoopy shirt and blue jeggings, her feet covered with a pair of black Converse sneakers, looking more beautiful than ever. His attention soon transferred to her smiling lips that made his own lips turn up.

His arms suddenly shot out and snaked around Maya's waist, pulling her so close that he could again see her softly colored birthmark, half a shade darker than the color of her skin, just below the corner of her left eye. He crushed her body against his, letting her coolness sweep over his warm body. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he felt a larger flow of rain sliding down his cheeks. And his nose, burning.

"Please, Maya," Nolan begged into her ear, trying to hide his sniffles. "I beg you not to leave me again." He paused, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her gently so that she could see the seriousness on his face, thankfully not seeing the tears that flowed down his cheeks. "Do you hear me?" When Maya's head bobbed up and down, he continued. "I don't care if a car is about to hit me or if I'm about to die. You do not leave me, understand?"

Her smile lighted a path in his heart and his cheeks became as red as his lips, but he pulled her into his body so that she couldn't see the blush on his face. "Have you missed me?" Maya's sweet voice inquired.

"I've missed you so much," Nolan's voice, wobbling with emotions. Abruptly, he cleared his throat and stuffed his face into her shoulders, letting her smell take over his senses. His voice sounded muffled when he softly whispered, "So much. You don't even know."

Maya stepped away from his clutches, sensing the sadness in his voice. "Are you alright?"

Nolan's eyes trailed after her intently, not missing a thing she did. He noticed her hands brushing back the hair that blocked her face. He took in her fidgeting, her legs moving side-to-side. He observed her innocent, light brown eyes staring straight at him and then turning away and blushing. He finally sighed.

"I'm-" he started, but suddenly, he felt tingles on his head, feeling like he was floating. Nolan was relaxed and serene, almost like he was like a dream. No negative thoughts crossed his mind, only happy thoughts like Maya, soccer, and Maya...

A giggle suddenly escaped his mouth, letting him erupt into a pile of small laughter.

A thought flashed in his mind. You're high, it whispered, from the marijuana.

He brushed it away and replied, "I'm not high." Nolan didn't realize that he had spoken aloud.

"Huh?" Maya questioned, her dark eyebrows beginning to furrow as her lips forced themselves in a confused state. "What were you going to say? You're...?" she trailed off.

When Nolan made no notice that he heard her question and continued to giggle, she moved her hand back and forth in front of his face rapidly, turning it into a whirlpool of forceful wind created by his hands. "Hello...?"

Nolan's tongue shot out of his mouth and Maya felt a thick strip of saliva cover the middle of her palm. Impulsively, she pulled back in disgust, wiping the saliva on her shirt, her coldness suddenly now boiling with heat.

"Nolan," she grouched. "Look at me." She turned his chin so that she was staring right into his eyes. "What on earth is wrong with-"

She finally connected what was happening. Nolan was high... It just all added on to the boiling blood rushing throughout her veins. She could almost feel the steam coming out from her nose and hot smoke sprinting from her ears.

Without thinking, in one motion, her right hands made an iron-hard blow to his face, leaving tints of bright red outlying where her hand had pressed against his cheek. Nolan stood still for a second, without a response.

"You're barely even real!" Maya exclaimed, her voice overpowering the crashing waves in the river. "I searched everywhere for you. Everywhere." Her voice rose even louder until she began to scream as loud as she could. "You don't know how much work I put into you! I went to your parents house and they told me you disappeared days ago. So I ran to every guy friend's house I'd think you'd go to and guess what? I came out empty-handed."

Maya took a deep breath, her red face calming down to a light shade of pink. "And then I ran to every girl's house and Sasha told me you were gone, too. I went door-to-door and asked anyone if they'd seen you and no one did." She paused, thinking back. "But finally, a man said that he saw you running down to the bridge and just like I thought, you were going to kill yourself."

She focused on him, red visibly seen in her eyes. "If I hadn't come at that time, who knows where you would have been! Maybe, oh, God, Nolan! You'd be dead right now! Your body being torn apart by the rough waves!"

Clean tears sprung from Maya's eyes. "And now, to find you doing drugs! Why not therapy? Talk to your parents! Your friends! Wait patiently! Anything!" Her voice started to wobble as she began crying uncontrollably, whispering through her tears and sniffles, "But why did you resort to drugs? Why?!" she ended with her mouth wide open and her voice booming. "And I..." she started. "I even jumped in front of a car for you." Her voice suddenly became so quiet that she almost couldn't hear it herself.

"Maybe it would have been better if you died."

She took Nolan by the shoulders and shook him back and forth, his giggles and words vibrating as they left his mouth. "Stop the drugs," Maya demanded, moving closer into his face, trying to get her message across. "It's not good for you." she summarized bluntly.

Nolan's face grew disappointed, a small headache taking over the powerful marijuana. His phase of giggles ended as a single tear fell from his eyes. "I'm sorry," he began, wrapping his arms around her.

Maya yanked herself away and created a thin wall of distance between them. "You're so fake."

She knew she would never get a response. Nolan wouldn't remember what had happened today, she figured with the lowest standards held for Nolan she ever had held before.

Nolan suddenly started to move his legs toward the streets, away from the bridge. He felt lightheaded, his dizziness expanding throughout his head. His shoes barely lifted from the floor, scraping against it in rhythm.

"What are you doing!" Maya said, following at Nolan's heels. "Where do you think you're going?"

Nolan's head hurt worse than it had ever before. Her voice was doing nothing but adding to it. He shook his head to get rid of it, but that caused the pain in his head to expand even more.

With no answer from Nolan, Maya grabbed his arm, but he jerked and her hands slipped off. "Nolan! C'mon Nolan. I know you're not like this. Please listen to me."

Nolan was still silent. "Please," Maya begged. "Please turn around and be the old Nolan I used to know, again. Please!"

Nolan's legs continued to move, each foot moving in an even pattern, right, left, right, left...

"Stop it!" Maya bellowed, running up so she was in front of Nolan.

"Fine," she growled, staring her burning hazel eyes intensely at Nolan, even when he tried looking away to avoid her stare. "You know what! You won't talk to me, fine! But you won't even look at me? What kind of boyfriend do you think you are?!"

She rotated around to where her back was facing him when she said her last statement, not seeing that Nolan was on the ground, his eyes closed and his hands around his throbbing head, his arms leaning against his legs in pain.

"We're over."

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