Maya (Book #3)

Chapter 36

If you don't tell them what you did, I will. 

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When we reached the house, I ran out of the car like it was on fire. With a quick thanks to Brooks, I was out of my seat and running through the door into the kitchen. I stopped at the counter and pulled off the baseball cap, releasing my hair before dropping it back down where we found it. Damon looked up from his cereal.

"Hey! You stole my hat!" he complained, jokingly. I knew he didn't mind me wearing it. He stood up and walked over to me, crossing his arms, and looking down at me with a smirk. He stretched a hand out and pulled his sunglasses from my face as well. They pulled loose strands of hair that became twisted across my face. He left them with a satisfied smirk, clearly imagining the new knot in my hair as punishment.

"Are you trying to impersonate me or something?" he teased, giving me a superior look. Any other day, I would start a fight with him for fun.

"Maya," Caleb shrieked, rushing down the stairs and giving me a hug. "I was looking all over for you!" 

"I'm right here," I said weakly, as nausea rolled in my stomach. The coffee and sandwich suddenly weren't sitting so well. And who had turned the air conditioning off? Sweat beaded on my forehead as Dominic came into the room too, filling it even more. I suddenly felt suffocated, like the air was depleting and it was much too crowded in the large room. I turned so that Damon was in front of me, and Caleb and Dominic were both behind me. 

"Maya! Where have you been?" Dominic demanded sternly, walking over to me with purpose. I grew dizzy and focused on Damon's blue eyes with the remaining strength I had.

"Catch me," I mumbled, before falling heavily to the floor. Three pairs of hands stopped my descent at the same time, but they didn't stop my vision from fading to black.

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I woke up in bed, to someone pressing a cold washcloth to my face. It dabbed lightly across my forehead and onto my cheeks, the occasional droplet sliding down my face onto my neck. One tickled me as it slid down, causing me to wiggle and informing the person that I was awake. I moaned as I woke up and tried to move, feeling a heaviness in my limbs that was quickly becoming familiar.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Charlotte said with a kind smile as my eyes popped open.

"Morning?" I asked, mystified, as my head spun. Had I slept through the entire day and night? I looked around in surprise, but my window showed the stars and I realized what she meant.

"Well, it's technically 8:00 PM, but it's morning for you I guess." She said softly, words flowing as if she were singing. I sighed into her touch, wishing it could sap away the fear that was inescapable.

She continued working, wiping my face, and fluffing the pillows behind me so that I was comfortable. Within a minute of waking, I felt my body relax and the fog in my brain start to clear. 

"I feel fine, Mom. You don't have to do that," I said, grabbing her wrist gently and pushing it away. She gave me a little nod and took the towel to my bathroom to wring it out and lay it on the edge of the sink. I watched her work methodically while I thought of what to say. It was clearly time to tell her what I had done. I couldn't risk the news coming from someone else, and I refused to think about the person behind that threat coming close to my family at all. I would do everything in my power to protect them from him, even if that meant losing everything I loved.

I worked up the courage to speak while I struggled over the words.

You know that daughter you had? Funny thing, I think I maybe saw her for a moment when I was her age! And then, well, another funny thing...

I rewrote the phrasing in my mind, groaning and grabbing my head as it began hurting. Charlotte walked back over quickly and scrutinized me with consternation.

"Are you alright?" she asked. I took in a large breath to begin the speech I had loosely constructed, just as a knock came at the door. I frowned and closed my mouth as Charlotte called out, "Come in!" 

"Hi, boys," Charlotte said, waving them in. They found various spots around my room to sit, except for Dominic, who leaned against the wall beside my bathroom door and crossed his arms over his chest. They all looked at Charlotte expectantly. I followed their lead and stared at her with bewilderment. What was everyone doing here?

She gave me an apologetic smile and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"As you know, I called you all here so I could tell you some bad news, I'm afraid. I wish I didn't have to do this now, while Maya is feeling bad and we're all not in the best state of mind, but I think it's important to be honest with you all instead of hiding the truth." She stated confidently, meeting each of our eyes as she spoke. My stomach didn't even flutter with worry like it normally would. There was nothing she could say that could be worse than my current situation. She took a breath in to calm herself and Caleb reassured her from across the room.

 "You can do it, Mom. We can handle it." He said, giving her a thumbs up. The others nodded, but there was something brewing in Dominic's eyes that I didn't like.

"You all know that I've been looking into getting Maya officially adopted. We had collected her birth certificate and information from files found in her last house, and obviously, they were held in the investigation for the location of her uncle. When we finally got them back and the documents were looked at more closely for her adoption, they found a problem," she said, twisting the wedding ring on her finger back and forth.

I waited for her to tell us that it would take a little longer for me to get adopted than we originally planned. Then, she would assure us that she would do everything in her power to speed the process up, and we would trust her. If anyone could do it, it was Charlotte.

 Instead, she gulped and said, "They informed me recently that the birth certificate is a fake. They couldn't find a real one." She looked at me with fear in her eyes and I knew I wasn't understanding the situation. Why was this such a bad thing? People lost birth certificates all the time.

"Did you call the hospital listed? Ask for a new copy?" Dominic asked, walking closer. He was on edge, and I was too. This wasn't the bad news, not yet. Chills ran over my body, and I shivered as Charlotte turned to me slowly. With fear in her eyes, she explained.

"We called every hospital in the area. They said that there was no birth under your name in their records. We think... well... that there is no Maya Rogers." She explained.

I fell back in bed in shock and the boys rushed to my side to comfort me. I watched tears fall down Charlotte's face and knew that she couldn't help me. I didn't know how, but I knew it was connected to him. What had my uncle done? 

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A/N My fiance is mad at me for ruining Maya's life but I told him that she has to be put down before she can rise from the ashes!! If you're like him, don't worry. I'm not going to ruin her life completely! We're just gonna have some fun with it... 

😈