Chapter 12 – Bruises and Betrayals

As the weeks rolled by, Maya and Liam had officially been a couple for almost two months. That was a record for her. Normally, she ditched relationships before they even made it to the one-month mark—but this? This felt different. With Liam, she was actually happy. Genuinely happy. No games, no pressure, just butterflies and kisses and texts that made her grin at 2 a.m. She had no intention of ending it… and she really believed he felt the same.

That morning, the group strolled through the school gates, sleepy but laughing. Maya was caught off guard when strong arms wrapped around her from behind, followed by a warm kiss on her cheek. She turned her head, already smiling. Liam.

“Hey, you,” she said softly. They shared a quick kiss, but as he leaned in for more, she lightly pushed his face away, noticing her friends watching.

He pouted, lips still hovering near hers. “Oh, come on,” he muttered with just a hint of playful irritation.

She gave him a mock pout. “Later,” she whispered, booping his nose. But he couldn’t resist stealing one more kiss, and another, until the girls behind her started to shift uncomfortably.

“That’s enough, babe,” she whispered. “We’ll have the whole lunch period together, I promise.”

He sighed but nodded, pressing one final kiss to her forehead before walking off.

Mina let out a dreamy sigh. “Your luck is unreal. First, Luke—who literally knew your every mood—and now Liam, who's just… sweet perfection.”

Maya smirked, but her voice dropped to a mischievous hush. “Speaking of dreamy boys, I overheard Tim talking to Eric the other day...”

Mina froze. “Wait, what?! What were they talking about?” Her eyes sparkled with barely restrained hope.

“Oh, you know. The game,” Maya said casually, biting back a grin.

Kerrie snorted. “You just exposed yourself so bad.”

Mina groaned. “Ugh, fine! Yes, I’m in love with Tim. But it doesn’t matter, okay? He doesn’t like me, and even if he did, we couldn’t be together—our parents are close friends, and it’d just be… weird.”

Then, like fate was listening in, a quiet cough behind them made Mina go stiff.

They all turned, and there he was. Tim.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked gently, eyes locked on Mina.

She looked like she was going to pass out, but nodded.

Maya leaned in and whispered, “See you at the station.” She gave her a subtle push toward him, then the three girls walked off.

Kerrie frowned. “Wait, station?”

Maya sighed. “Yes, I told Liam I’d be with him at lunch. Did you already forget?”

“Oops,” Kerrie muttered.

Emma side-eyed her. “Listen sometimes.”

“I’m sorry!”

“Hey, hey!” Maya cut in, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “No fights, okay? It’s a good day. Kerrie, she didn’t mean it like that. Em, just say sorry.”

Emma rolled her eyes but relented. “Sorry.”

Kerrie grinned. “Apology accepted.”

Maya shook her head with a soft smile. “Now go, both of you. Have fun. I’ll see you later.”

As Emma walked away with Kerrie, she glanced back. “You know, since you beat the crap out of Mark, he hasn’t said a word to you.”

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Maya said, smirking. “That day when you got the crystal back, I went through that alleyway on the way home?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well, some guy called out to me. I tried to ignore it, but then Mark grabbed me. Told me to leave. Like he was… I don’t know, worried? And he had this insane black eye.”

Emma blinked. “I swear, Mark is so weird. One second he’s soft, the next he’s telling you to stay away. What even is he?”

“Exactly! I broke his face and he still looked out for me. Weirdo.”

Both girls laughed. “Weird,” they said in unison.

Suddenly, a voice behind them cut through the moment like a blade.

“Stop talking behind my back unless you want a knife in yours,” Mark growled.

Maya spun around, unbothered. “Oh look. Mister Black Eye. They didn’t give you the black belt at the dojo so you got that instead?” She poked his chest with a smirk.

Before she could blink, Mark grabbed her wrist and yanked her toward him, his face inches from hers.

“Don’t fucking test me,” he said, voice low and cracked—like he was holding back more than anger.

For just a second, Maya saw it—something glinting in his eyes. Not rage. Not hate. Pain.

But she didn’t have time to unpack it.

“Listen, almighty Mark,” she hissed back. “If you still think you’re better than me, you’re dead wrong. I’ve already proven I’m not scared of you—and I’ll prove it again if I have to.”

“Alright, that’s enough!” Andrew barked from the doorway. “Not in school. Go to your seats.”

Mark let her go, shoving her slightly as he stepped back.

“Dick,” Maya muttered.

“Bitch,” he replied.

They both sat, arms crossed, tension thick between them.

---

When the lunch bell rang, chaos erupted. Students sprinted for food, chattering and laughing. But Maya didn’t rush. She strolled out calmly, heading toward her and Liam’s usual meeting spot.

He was already there, leaned against the wall, staring at his phone. She approached, smiling. “Babe?”

No answer.

“Babe?” she said again, waving her hand in front of his face.

Slowly, he looked up.

“What took you so long?” he asked. His voice was low. Cold. Almost… threatening.

“There were a lot of people in the hall,” she replied, her smile faltering.

Without warning, he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, slamming her back against the brick wall. Pain shot through her skull, and stars danced in her vision.

“Babe… that hurt,” she whispered, barely audible.

But he didn’t care. He crushed his lips to hers, rough and forceful. This wasn’t their usual aggressive kiss. This was… wrong. Too much. Too fast. Too violent.

Her heart raced—not from passion, but fear.

She pushed his chest, squirmed, tried to break the kiss. But he didn’t budge. His hands moved to the hem of her shirt, tugging it upward. She yanked it back down.

“Liam, stop!” she gasped. Her voice was shaking, desperate.

He didn’t.

Her mind froze. Her body refused to react. She felt like a puppet cut from its strings, powerless. She had powers—she had strength—but right now, nothing worked. Nothing came.

Until—

He was gone.

The pressure disappeared, and she fell to her knees, gasping for air.

Liam lay on the ground, unmoving.

She blinked through tears, and then felt arms—strong and steady—wrap around her from behind.

She collapsed into the embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.

Mark.

He held her close, one hand protectively behind her head, the other gripping her shaking shoulder.

“Touch her one more fucking time,” he growled at Liam, who groaned on the ground, “and it'll be the last thing you ever touch.”