The Heart Wants What It Wants

Chapter 17

Riley's POV
1st July 2026
Tuesday

"Luke. What do you mean, you can't find Maya?"

"Mummy said something to Daddy on the phone. Mummy dropped the phone on the couch. Mummy slammed the door. Daddy said a bad word."

"What did Mummy say Luke?"

"I don't know. She was crying. I think she's watched too many movies where grownups do that weird thing with their lips."

"Did she take anything with her?"

"No but she said something about a date."

"What date?"

"15th of April, 2017."

15th of April 2017.

How could I not remember that date.

That's the date when Farkle found a knife.

Two months later, he found me on the floor of my bathroom.

I saw Maya cry.

Lucas saw the scars.

My parents realised their smiling daughter was a wreck of despair.

I thought Maya was crying because of me.

But maybe...

"What was Mummy saying Luke?"

"I'm a girl, not a boy!"

"Hope, dear, where did you brother go?"

"He got hungry, so he's just raiding the chocolate jar."

"Won't Daddy be mad?"

"Daddy can't be mad if he's dead."

"HOPE," I scold. Geez, for a five year old, she's pretty damn smart. She definitely got Charlie's genes.

"Mummy said something about demons."

My blood turns to ice, and my head begins to spin.

Oh god.

Not Maya...

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Maya's POV

I hid so much sh*t from Riley it's not even funny.

As I storm down the empty boulevards, invisible tears pour from inside. I can feel them dripping at an agonisingly slow pace.

I've only ever known one road.

A road of shadows, that may not always be visible, but they're always there.

A road of destruction, so subtle yet so terrible.

A road that I've had to walk alone.

One week has destroyed  me.

What will two weeks do? Three? A month? A year?

The city lights scream at me, as my legs mindlessly move through the maze of emptiness. My mind is in another place.

As usual.

Silence hangs over the city, like an ominous cloud warning of rain.

The rain came.

And I didn't have an umbrella.