17. Ruined

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MAYA

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MAYA

The same Tuesday morning, the late winter breeze danced inside from the crack of the window behind Mr. Standall and kissed my skin, leaving sudden coldness over my bones.

Mr. Standall had finished reading my diary and shoved it towards me across the desk with an unreadable expression.

"So...what you think?" I swallowed hard, tucking my hands under my thighs. I suddenly regretted giving him the diary in the first place. Knowing he had read every page in my diary, made me feel exposed as he could see right through me. As if I had given him access to every dark corner in my mind. As if every dirty secret within those pages were inked to my skin and on full display.

However, this diary explained why I did what I did better than my voiced thoughts ever could.

"I have one thing to confess and one question," he paused and I nodded, giving him the approval to continue. And then he looked me right in the eye and said, "Maya Greene, you hold a strength within you that only a few people in this world have."

Astonished, my jaw slightly dropped and I felt my eyeballs widen. I stayed like this for at least ten seconds, causing him to chuckle by the sight of how ridiculously shocked I looked.

"Wait. No scolding, disgust, anger, disappointment, or...or at least a scowl?" I questioned in disbelief.

Disbelief consumed me so badly that I blinked several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. However, even after blinking countless times, Mr. Standall still had the same soft smile on his face that reached perfectly to his honey brown eyes.

"Okay, wait so let me get this straight. You've basically read my diary filled with my horrible secrets and actions. Aren't you at least a bit angry?"

He nods. "Yes, I am angry about one thing, which leads to my question. Why did you lie when I asked you if you were okay during our first meeting in this office?"

I was about to immediately reply, but instead shut my mouth and closed my eyes. I leaned back in my seat and sighed. When I opened my eyes again, that soft smile was still there with a hint of curiosity dancing across his eyes.

"Lying to you was so much easier than telling you all the things I had on my mind. Faking a smile is so much easier than explaining why you're so sad. It's just...easier."

"But is it right?"

Shoot. He got me there.

I shook my head. "No. It's not."

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