MAYA

I ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind me leaning on it as I tried to catch my breath. I slid to the floor hugging my legs to my chest when I realized I was too weak to hold myself up. It was all happening too fast and even though I had been preparing myself for two weeks I still couldn't bring myself to tell Elijah the truth.

My reaction to him being hurt had been idiotic and not well thought out. I hated lying to Elijah but there's no way I could have him the truth in front of his whole family.

How could I have been so stupid
and reckless?

Elijah obviously didn't believe my lie which meant I had to come clean to him soon. I was scared, oh so scared but it needed to happen before any more accidents happened and I reacted as stupidly as I did.

I didn't know if Elijah had noticed but I had been off all day. I had been getting lost at target intentionally to avoid being alone with him for too long. I had even cussed out that old lady to relive some of my frustration. Normally I'd have let her words slide but I'd engaged her which was very unlike me. I couldn't carry on as I was so as much as it scared me I would have to talk to Elijah.

I should have listened to my aunt and been honest with him from the beginning because there was nothing like the right time to tell someone that they were forever linked to you. I had waited too long and it was finally time to clean if I didn't want shit blowing up in my face.

"Maya are you in there? Are you okay?"Amanda asked me knocking on the bathroom door.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute."I replied swiping off the tears that had fallen from my eyes.

"Okay hurry we're about to have dinner."She replied and I realized that I'd been gone too long.

I heard her footsteps fade away so I got up from the floor and dusted myself. I peed, threw some water on my face to cool down before exiting the bathroom feeling much calmer but still scared to death.

Everyone was gathered in the formal dining room where Florence had laid out a beautiful Thanksgiving dinner. I took my place next to Elijah who smiled as soon as he saw me pulling me into a side hug.

"Are you okay?"He asked me and I nodded.

"Yeah but you and I need to talk after dinner."I requested him knowing it was now or never.

"Okay, we'll talk."He agreed and by the tone of his voice I could tell he had an inkling on what the discussion was going to be about.

Oma led us in a word of prayer and as soon as Bernard curved the turkey we were all free to dig in. There was so much food I couldn't possibly eat it all so I chose some of my favorites to fill up on. The Olsen's had huge appetites so they were definitely going to clear the table.

Dinner was filled with light hearted banter that helped ease the tension looming over Elijah and I. The Olsen's were a great family and they all loved me just as much as I loved them. I didn't want to lose them in my life so I hoped that everything would go well after I told Elijah everything.

Dinner was amazing but it all came crumbling down because of one stupid accident.

"Eli, pass the the gravy. Be careful it's hot."Tamara requested him.

"I wanna pass it."Millie demanded even if she was too short to reach the middle of the table.

"No honey let Eli pass it. You can pass me the salt."Tamara replied.

"No! I wanna pass the gravy."She yelled.

She reached for the gravy just as Elijah was passing it and it slipped from his hands pouring all over his lap and hands. After that incident it all turned to chaos.

Elijah jumped back in pain and I mimicked his actions since I felt like my hands and lap were on fire too.

"Fuck that's hot."Elijah cried trying to reach for something to wipe it off.

"No, don't wipe it. Go wash it off with some cold water."Her mom yelled at him.

"Maya did you get burnt too?"Amanda asked me when she saw me rubbing my hands as if I was burning too.

"No! I uuh..."I choked up trying to come up with a believable excuse but I couldn't find one because I was in too much pain.

If I was feeling that way then Elijah must have been in agony.  I saw him run upstairs and ignoring everyone else I followed after him. He walked into his bedroom stripping everything down to his boxers as soon as he was past the door. He walked into the bathroom turning on the shower and staying under the cold stream. As soon as he felt some relief so did I and the pain in my arms and thighs faded to a dull ache. I sighed in relief because the amount of pain I'd been in was immeasurable. The moment the pain was gone, only then did I realize what had just happened. I had just reacted the same way I did earlier when Elijah got hurt but this time there had been an audience. There were no more lies I could tell so I had to come come clean.

I could see Elijah still shirtless under the shower but he was not talking or looking at me. I decided to leave him alone for a few minutes while I gathered my thoughts. I walked back into the bathroom and collected the clothes he had taken off putting them in the hamper. I then got him some fresh clothes, a towel and some burn ointment and put them on the bathroom sink for when he was ready.

I sat cross legged on his bed waiting for him to come out when he was ready. I knew he had a lot of questions and I was ready to answer all of them.

"Hey, are you guys okay?"Florence asked popping her head into the bedroom.

"Yeah Eli, is in the shower."I replied giving her a sad smile.

"What about you? Are you okay?"She inquired.

"Yeah I'm okay."I answered even if I was furthest from okay.

"Well okay then. Make sure he uses the ointment so his skin doesn't blister. We'll see you guys downstairs when you're done."She said.

I nodded and she gave me one more small smile before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

I was nervous and scared but I knew Elijah and I needed to talk so I forced myself to stay put and wait for him. He kept me waiting for about twenty minutes and when he did come out he wasn't even looking at me. It was already bad yet we hadn't even said anything to each other. He was dressed in the grey hoodie and the black sweatpants I had laid out for him.

"Did you use the ointment?"I asked him.

"Yeah."He replied showing me the half empty tube in his hand.

"How are you feeling?"I inquired hoping to get more than one word out of him.

"Confused."He answered taking a seat on the chair next to his bed.

He was keeping distance between us which was scary but necessary, for him probably.

"I know that, I meant physically."I insisted.

"I'll be fine. Maya stop playing and tell me what's going on."He asked me calling me by my name.

That meant that I was in trouble and things were getting serious. He never used my real name, ever, unless he was mad at me.

"Okay I'll tell you but you have to promise me to keep an open mind."I requested him.

"I'm all ears."He assured me looking at me directly for the first time since he walked into the bedroom.

I unwrapped my arms from around myself so I'd stop looking so defensive and faced him fully.

"You remember how I used to get really sick as a child?"I asked him.

"Yeah it's the reason why your parents took you back to Nigeria since they couldn't find a cure here."He replied.

"Yeah because there was nothing medically wrong with me. I was dying but I didn't have any disease that the doctors could see no matter how many tests they took."I replied.

"What does that mean? How can you be dying if there nothing wrong with you?"He asked me.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself because things were about to get ugly. Time for some real talk.

"As human beings we're made up of four things, body, spirit, mind and soul. If one of those dies so does the rest of you slowly but surely."I started.

"Yeah sure that's science."Elijah reasoned.

"Yeah it is but doctors can only treat the body and the mind but what about the soul and spirit."I asked him.

"What are you driving at?"Elijah asked confused.

"I'm saying that my soul was dying and there was nothing the doctor's could do for me. My parents took me back to Nigeria to find someone who could help me."I explained.

"Like a witch?"He asked looking confused and I didn't instead to but I laughed.

"They prefer medicine men or women but yes more or less."I answered.

"So a witch told you that your soul was dying?"Elijah scoffed.

"You promised to keep an open mind."I admonished him.

"I'm trying but what you're saying is unbelievable."Elijah laughed.

"No it's not because it's the explanation you want and one I need to give you."I expressed feeling frustrated that he wasn't listening.

"I'm sorry, you're right. Please explain because I do want to understand."He insisted maintaining a straight face.

"My parents took me to a dibia in the village, that's igbo for healer. She told me that my soul was dying and taking my body, mind and spirit with it."I explained.

"So how did you get better?"He asked me getting to the most crucial part of our discussion and how he was involved.

My next statement was either going to make Elijah hate me or bring us closer. I hoped for the latter and decided to just blurt it out. Like ripping off a band aid.

"I needed an anchor. Another soul to keep me alive."I replied.

"Okay and...." He trailed off still not making the connection.

"My anchor needed to be someone who would be alive as long as I would and my parents were old and already soulmates so they couldn't support me. My aunt couldn't either so I had to find someone else and that's where you came in."I explained.

To say Elijah was shocked would be an understatement. He froze in place and were it not for the rising and falling of his chest and the fact that I was still standing, I would have thought that he had gone into shock.

"Please say something."I begged when he didn't move or talk for a few minutes.

"What does that mean?"He asked stirring out of his thoughts.

"It means that you and I are linked for life. You and I are like soulmates, not in the werewolf stories kind of way but more like I need you to survive that's why everything you do affects me, especially anything physical."I replied.

"Your soul is anchored to mine?"He whispered.

"Yes."

"So what happens if I die?"He choked out eyes wide in shock.

"I'll follow soon after."I replied honestly.

Elijah shot out of his seat and it fell back on the floor with a thud startling me.

He started pacing back and forth in front of the bed which was understandable after the information I had just relayed to him.

"Say something."I pleaded after five minutes of non stop pacing.

"Do you get how fucked up all this is?"He yelled stopping to face me.

He was towering over me which was intimidating but I didn't let it faze me.

"I tried to resist it for as long as I could. I fought my parents on it especially since we were doing it without your knowledge. I died twice Eli whilst fighting them and they brought me back each time. The dibia told me that if I died a third time there would be no bringing me back. I didn't want to because it's a burden you didn't deserve to carry but she assured me that you wouldn't know and it wouldn't affect your life so I gave in. The ceremony was performed and I was linked to you. You saved my life Joey, I'm only here because of you."I replied as calmly as possible.

"That's all well and good. I'm happy that you're alive but it ruins everything."He replied with a defeated tone.

"What do you mean?"I asked confused.

"Our relationship, the love we so claim to feel for each other is fake because it was doctored by some village Sherman to keep you alive."He yelled looking at me angrily.

I jumped out of the bed to approach him because he was getting it all wrong. I stepped towards him but he stepped back putting space between us and that slight move broke my heart.

"No Eli. What we have is real and has nothing to do with what happened to me."I explained.

"It has everything to do with that. You say we're soulmates because my soul is linked to yours. I thought we are soulmates because you're the love of my life but it turns out that I'm just your life support machine."He laughed dryly running a frustrated hand over his face.

"You're getting this all wrong."I cried because he wasn't listening to me.

"Am I? Because if it wasn't for me you'd be dead. You don't love me Maya, you just need me to keep you alive. Do I even love you or am I feeling this way because my soul is connected to yours?"He asked questioning the very foundation of our relationship.

"Eli I love you and you love me. Our feelings are real."I tried to assure him.

"And how do I know that? How can I believe you when you just told me that the only reason you exist is because I'm keeping you alive."He shouted.

"Eli it doesn't work that way."I tried to explain but he cut me off.

"You've been lying to me Maya. You used me and worst of all is that you played with my heart or is it soul. You're using me and I obviously don't want you dead but I don't know what to do now after what you've just told me."He expressed.

I took another step towards him and took his hands in mine before he could step back.

"I love you Elijah and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm alive because of you. Yes our souls are connected but that's all there is to it. Your feelings for me are as real as mine for you are."I tried to explain.

"I can't trust a word that you say because maybe you're feeling what all that because you're grateful to me for saving your life. You're probably suffering from damsel syndrome and your feelings for me aren't real."Elijah replied pulling his hands away from mine and stepping back.

"Eli, no please, you have to understand."I begged feeling as if the world was crumbling around me.

"No, you need to leave."He replied taking me by surprise.

"No, I'm not leaving until we talk about this."I begged him tears pooling in my eyes.

"I need to think and you need to leave."He demanded looking away from me.

"Eli no please. You need to hear me out."I pleaded the tears finally falling from my eyes.

"No. What I need is for you to leave. I don't trust you or my feelings for you anyway. I just can't."Elijah chocked out and I could tell he was struggling too.

"What do you mean?"I asked afraid of the answer.

"It means we're done until I can figure out if I can trust you anymore or if we even have real feelings for each other."He replied his voice laced with pain and my whole world crumbled around me.

"You're breaking up with me?"I asked my voice trembling.

"It's not really a break up if our feelings weren't real from the beginning."He answered sounding detached.

Why was he doing this to us? I'd expected some resistance when I told him the truth but I hadn't expected him to break up with me.

"Eli, please don't do this. I love you."I begged my vision blurred with tears.

"No you don't, now please leave. I need to be alone."He requested walking towards the door and holding it open for me.

"I am not leaving you like this. You can't abandon me."I begged him.

"I'm not. I just need to think."He replied.

"You can think when we're together. I can make you understand."I insisted.

"You've said and done enough. What you can do now is leave."Elijah grunted out.

He was getting impatient with me but I refused to budge.

"No."I asserted swiping at my eyes angrily.

"Maya leave now before this gets ugly."He yelled.

"No."I choked out holding my ground.

Without saying another word Elijah walked towards me and picked me up throwing me over his shoulder.

"Eli put me down."I screamed hitting his back but my hits didn't affect him.

He walked out of his room and down the stairs taking two at a time. He didn't slow down or break a sweat. It's like he was carrying a sack of feathers. He walked across the living room where everyone was gathered without stopping.

"Eli where are you taking her?"Someone asked but I couldn't tell who because all blood rushing to my face was muffling my hearing.

"Away from here."Elijah replied opening the door and setting me down.

I stumbled feeling dizzy for a second but he held me up until I could stand on my own. At least he still cared about me.

"Goodbye Maya, I'm happy you're alive but I can't do this."Elijah said once I could see straight again.

"I love you, that's real."I whispered the tears coming back.

"No you don't. You just think you do. Goodbye bug."Elijah said placing a lingering kiss on my forehead before walking back into the house and slamming the door shut behind him.

The whole house literally shook because of the force he had used and so did I. I could hear an argument going on in the house but it was too muffled for me to anything out.

The door opened a minute later and I looked up hopefully thinking it was Elijah but my face fell when I saw that it was Ivy.

"Oh Maya."She whispered sadly. "What happened little mouse?"She asked pulling me into a hug.

"Eli broke up with me."I cried breaking down in her arms.

Elijah had really just broken up with me for being honest with him.

"What happened? I thought you guys were in a really good place?"She inquired.

I didn't know what to tell her. I had no idea if Elijah wanted me to tell other people the truth. It was his family so if he wanted them to know he would have to tell them himself.

"I thought so too."I cried my chest constructing in pain.

"Come back inside, I'm sure you two can talk it out."Ivy suggested.

"No I think it's best if I leave. It's clear he doesn't want me around especially right now. Can you please get me my purse and jacket?"I requested.

"Are you sure?"Ivy asked.

"Yes please."I replied.

"Okay I'll be right back."She said walking back into the house and leaving the door open.

I stood outside in the cold for a few minutes trying to keep it all in. Ivy eventually came back with my belongings five excruciating minutes later.

I put on my jacket, happy to relieve some of the cold I was feeling. If the night had ended accordingly Elijah would have driven me home but that wasn't an option anymore. Violet wasn't around so she couldn't pick me up and I didn't trust ubers so I had to walk home. Good thing I was wearing sneakers.

"See you around Ivy."I waved stepping back.

"How are you getting home?"She asked me worriedly.

"I'm walking."I replied with a shrug.

"It's a thirty minute walk Maya and its already dark out."She reasoned.

"I'll be okay, I need to think and if anything happens I can outrun them. I've got the medal to prove it and everything."I chided with a sad laugh.

"Well okay then if you're sure, be safe."She replied.

"I will. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sorry for ruining dinner."I apologized.

"It's okay, it's not Thanksgiving if nobody storms out but I'm sure you and Eli will fix things."She consoled.

"I hope so too, bye."I said waving again before walking away.

I stood in the driveway for a while looking up at the attic feeling like my chest was growing smaller with each passing second making it hard to breath. When it became too painful to look I walked away leaving a part of my heart behind. I stayed cool the whole walk home, a few tears escaping but I didn't break down.

I was relived to find that the others weren't back home yet so I just let myself in and locked the door behind me without bothering to turn on any lights.

Ted's parents had invited them over for Thanksgiving a few towns over and since I didn't really know them that well I had chosen to be with the Olsen's instead since they were my second family. When I got into my room I went into the bathroom to clean my face. I looked at the dead expression and puffy eyes staring back at me and it reflected how I was feeling inside.

I washed my face quickly and took off all my jewelry except for my necklace and the bracelet from Elijah.

I stripped and put on a T-shirt before crawling into bed covering myself completely with my blankets. Once I was safe in the comfort of my bed I broke down completely.

Elijah had left me and it was the most excruciating pain ever. He was entitled to his feelings but his logic about our love for each other being fake was ridiculous. He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself.

I reached for my phone and decided to text him.

❤️🦒Joey 🦒 🐞

Hi, I just wanted you to know that I've arrived home safe. I love you and when you're ready I'll be here to talk.

I wanted to say more but that was enough for the moment. I sent the message and even though he didn't reply, I saw that he had read it.

I tossed the phone away and went back to crying and mourning my relationship with Elijah. I refused to believe that we were done for good so I took comfort in that. I knew Elijah loved me and once he realized that then I would be waiting for him and ready to fix things.