"Lilly?," I heard a panicked Maya saying.
I better adjusted the phone next to my ear so that I could rest my head on the pillow at the same time.
The curtains were closed and, judging by the dim light, it was barely the break of dawn.
"Uhh why did you wake me up so early? There are at least a couple of hours till school starts." I was about to tell her I had a headache and that I wanted to go back to sleep, when my moans were cut off.
"What are you talking about? What school? IT'S FUCKING SATURDAY!"
"You're pissed at me or what? My head pulsates as if it'd had its own beating heart, I don't need you screaming," I said while feeling my temper rising.
Silence.
Great, now she's quiet.
"If today's Saturday, then what happened to Friday, huh? Did we all travel in time or what?"
"Honey," she said quietly, "you don't remember a thing, do you?"
"Wait, don't answer that," she added quickly. "I'll be there in fifteen." She hung up.
I was speechless.

Only after I'd checked the time, did I put my phone down. It was indeed 2 o'clock sharp, Saturday, 5th of October.

Taking a better look at my room, I saw that the curtains were actually pulled back and that the dim light was not coming from the rising sun, but from the moon.

I got up and went to the bathroom. I washed my face,then took a long look at myself in the mirror.
My usually unlined face was now quite weather-beaten and furrowed, my shiny honey-brown eyes were now faded and mundane. I could see my cheeks sucking in little by little and the bluish lines which were marking the blood vessels getting more and more prominent. My once light skin was now completely pale, emphasizing my under eye circles: I didn't look like a breathing human at all. I stood horrified and watched how my bare arms started to waste away, until they became bone thin. I wanted to scream but my voice cracked. I tried to catch my breath while a lump formed in my throat as if I was going to cry, but my eyes remained dry.

I took a step back and immediately heard a terrible crack. I was in agonising pain.
While falling to the ground, I saw my foot twist in an unnatural angle. Flashes of red came to surface near my ankle and blood followed. Lots of blood.

Then a pair of hands grabbed me. A warm fuzzy feeling took hold of my foot until it was completely numb. Another crack and the shimmery white of my metatarsals disappeared completely.

"Go," he told me. "Go now or they will finish you off."

The second his words came out of his mouth, I was back in my bed. I remembered Ashley Frostwire carrying me out of the library and leaving me in the wrecked imperial gardens.

I thought of the blinding light I had seen when I'd passed out and my room immediately lightened up. I could still see him standing in the doorframe, his emerald eyes on me. It was so hot in there, that, for an instant, I thought I saw fire building up in those eyes.

I felt how my body was being pulled in all directions. I wanted it to end and I was fighting.

A second later, I woke up for real. I was all covered in sweat and I could feel the fever making its way through my body. I jumped right out of bed and felt a light sting in my right foot. Looking closely, I saw a reddish horizontal scar going from one side to the other and a few stiches near my ankle.
I quickly made a full body check and, after I had ensured the rest of me was back to normal, I looked at my phone. It was 2:15, Saturday, 5th of October.

There was a knock at the door and then Maya walked in.

~Maya's POV~
¤3rd of October, 19 o'clock

Beige trench coat.
Black, lace crop top.
Black skinny jeans.
Nude stilettos and burgundy lipstick.

After I'd straightened my hair and put on some perfume, I gathered all the courage I could summon and opened the door. Leaning on his polished Mercedes, Ashton stood gracefully with a bouquet of gorgeous red roses in one hand. There had passed exactly two years since the day we'd made our relationship official. Though there had been a lot of fights between the two of us lately, I still hoped we could pull it through. That is why this date, this special date of ours was his ultimatum. Tonight I was to decide whether or not staying together was worth it.

When he saw me, his lips curved into one of his newly acquired smirks. He used to give me a broad, genuine smile whenever we met, but those times were gone.

"Hello, beautiful," he said while taking a step forward. His playful eyes checked me out and, judging by the look of his face, he was more than pleased. Even though he wasn't by far the same Ash I had fallen for, I still got a funny feeling in my stomach every time our bodies touched. I tried to slow down my heartbeat when he placed one hand on my waist and slowly moved it down while he kissed me.

His jawline and eyes reminded me of Johnny Depp. That combined with his messy sandy-blonde hair and the powerful man look of his, he was quite a catch.

He offered me the flowers and then, like the gentleman he was, opened the car door for me. If there was something which hadn't changed for the worse at him, well...those were his manners.

Then, inevitably, it all came crushing down.
"So," he said matter-of-factly, "I was thinking about hanging out with Michelle as well; you know, just the three of us. She doesn't have anything planned for tonight so I thought it would be nice." My face dropped. He was really that dump?! Michelle, his supposed best friend who missed no chance to flirt with him, was by no means the key to our getting back together. "What do you say?" he asked.

I had never been the one to keep my temper under control, so I hit him full-face with my anger and frustration. "How the hell can you ask such a thing?", my voice was rising and he flinched. "After all that has happened between us? You know this relationship is at a goddamn dead end, don't you?" I was now looking straight at him, piercing him with my fiery eyes. "This," I continued, "this was your chance to make things right and you still have the marvelous idea of bringing along the one you hooked up with behind my back!"

"I was drunk, how many times do I have to tell you this? We were both drunk." "And it's not like I was the only one all over somebody else," he added.

"How dare you?" I added, completely outraged. "How dare you use this against me when you know as well as me that I was moments away from being raped by that asshole??"

"Raped?" he asked sarcastically. "You still think that someone like him would have raped you?" "Like, seriously, Jonathan Zudds has~it~all. He's handsome, charming, smart and well built as well," he said while his face was getting redder and redder, "he could have anyone, so I'm sorry but I don't see any reason why he would choose you."

I was more than just taken aback, I had never, ever expected such a thing. I had to will myself to speak.
"Oh my God...all this time, I've thought it was Michelle, when in fact...in fact it's been Jonathan all along."

"What? What on earth are you talking about?"

What I said next was a continuous flow of words, no breaths taken in between.
"Four months ago. I found your poem, remember? You were saying something about hideous love and memories from LA. I thought you were talking about your parents house, I mean..yeah, it's not a romantic love, but it's still love. But that poem was not for me, was it? It was for him and you were actually talking about the week he spent with you in LA, when God knows what happened between you."
I filled my lungs with the crispy air.
"Stop the car," I said.

"Maya, you don't mean that."

I just glared. He let out a sigh and said, "At least let me take you home."

"I said 《Stop the car》!" I repeated through gritted teeth.

He pulled over. "So what does this mean?" he asked. "At least give me a chance to explain, please."  "I know we're not ..that good.." he continued hesitantly, "but I really don't want to lose you. We can still be friends, right?"

My response was a humourless laugh. "Hmm no, I think I'll pass," I added, " and for your information, we are not good at all." "It's over, Ash." I stepped down the car and started towards the nearest bus station.

When his car was out of sight, I finally let my mind wander. It felt awful. I felt awful not only because I hadn't noticed that my boyfriend had feelings for that Jonathan, but also because, without realising, I had taken it upon me to make Ash a good person again. It had been like a personal challenge and I failed it like a pro.

On top of that, I hadn't even known it was possible to be claimed by such powerful sadness as the one which took hold of me then. All I wanted was to go home and watch Gossip Girl in my pyjamas while eating junk food. And that was what happened.

The first thing I did when I got home was check the refrigerator. I put my phone on mute so as to be sure I was not to be disturbed while cleansing my aura with fast food and TV. At 11 o'clock the miserable me was already fast asleep.

¤4th of October, 7:30 a.m.

"Maya, why aren't you up yet?" I heard my dad saying. I turned my back at him.
"Maya...," he said while coming closer to my bed, "I'm serious, if you don't get up now, you're going to be late."

"Umm, about that..I don't think I'll be able to go to school today. I think I caught a cold."

"Yeah, sure, nice try," he said while throwing the blanket off me. I tried to get it back but he placed it even further. I let out a groan.

"Okay, okay," I surrendered, "I'll just go get ready."

In ten minutes, I was in my car, with music playing out loud, speeding to school. I was filled with disappointment when I passed near Lilly's and didn't see her there. I really needed to talk to her.
***

I slid into my seat in Literature, my first period, waiting for Weasley. My mind was spinning with hundreds of scenarios, most of which consisted in different outcomes for me and Ash. I hadn't passed the first phase( as in shock) so the reality was yet to sink in. I still didn't feel like a single person, that was why, in my view, I was entitled to daydream.

The last bell rang and Weasley was nowhere to be seen. That didn't strike me as totally abnormal, as he was a heavy sleeper. When class was finished, I went to his locker but he didn't show up there eighter. I took out my phone and felt the chills forming down my spine when I saw all of the missed calls and messages. Five calls from Lilly's mom, 3 messages, also from her, asking me about Lilly, and another one from Weasley: 《CRN I'm at Lilly's》.
CRN meant come right now so if by that time I hadn't been certain something was going on, now I was sure.

I grabbed my stuff and hurried towards Lilly's. On the porch, near the gorgeous wood swing I loved so much, laid Weasley's bike. I knocked and Mrs Sommers opened the door.

"I just saw your texts," I started, "and messages and..oh God, I'm so sorry, last night I was with Ashton and then I put my phone on mute and I..."

"Maya, stop," said Lilly's mom, "come in."

I stepped inside and bumped right into Snow. Its hairs rose when I unintentionally stepped on one of its paws and it digged its claws into my foot. Auch.

"So where is she? Is she okay?" I asked, while rubbing my foot.

"Yes, she is now. I called you last night because it was already half past eleven and she hadn't come home. We eventually called the police and had them help us look for her. It appears she had a lack of Calcium and passed out."

She went to the kitchen and shouted a "Would you like something to drink? We have.."
Lilly's father showed up just then. "Tea," he said. "As usual, no soda, no beer, no juice, you ask them if they want anything as if they actually had where to choose from," he said, giggling. "Hey, May, how are you? Those two scared the hell out of you with their calls, huh?"

I just felt embarrassed for the whole situation. "Eh, that's OK, my love here," he said while looking at his wife "tends to be a little overdramatic. Lilly will soon be as good as new." "Hey, look, I found some cookies. Maybe we can eat them with milk..if we still have any." He took out a plate and poured some chocolate flake cookies on it. "Honey, are you sure these haven't gone stale?"

Mrs Sommers just sighed and returned to the living room, where I finally sat peacefully near Snow, on the couch. "You know," she told me "he may seem chill and funny now, but last night he was the most freaked out of us all."

"Where did you find her?" I asked.
"Beta X2, on a bench near the elm tree. She might have felt dizzy and sat down. Ohh..sometimes I just wish she wouldn't be so adventurous. I've told her so many times not to go near the woods or the field when it is dark outside.

What is really weird is where we found her: near a lily field. Hadn't it been for my husband going to his office to look for some papers, we would have never found her."

"Oh my God," the air was quite cold now, I didn't know what to say. I was positive L. was involved in something serious, possibly implying the dreams which she was so obsessed with. I then realised that Mrs Sommers must have taken my quietness for sadness and concern for Lilly's health.

She looked at me sympathetically and simply told me, "she's in her room. The doctor said it may be a while until her body is fully recovered, so she's going to need a lot of rest."

"Thank you," I said while climbing up the stairs.

I was met with a disappointed look from Weasley who, God knows why, was positioned like a guardian in front of Lilly's room.

" 《Excuse me, Mrs Sommers, I couldn't help look for your daughter because I was with my sweet Ashton》," he said, mimicking my tone and facial expressions perfectly. But of course, I couldn't acknowledge that in front of him.

"I don't sound like that," I responded, "and I would like to see my friend so step aside."

"Why? Isn't your sweetheart enough? You're always Ashton this, Ashton that," he said furiously. What was it with people and their moods those days? "I almost had a heart attack when I got called, at 4 a.m., by Lilly's mother, to let me know they had found her. I almost had a heart attack out of terrific happiness. You know what that is? No, of course you don't. Why? Because you were with Ashton."

After a dramatic second of silence, I asked, "You're done?"

"Not in the slightest," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Can I enter now?"

"No, you can't because she is sleeping. Not even her parents are advised to keep her up for too long."

And in that moment, I swear ...I was officially done. Mentally done. So I just turned around and left.

I completely skipped school that day and when night came, I couldn't sleep at all. Therefore, at 2 o'clock in the morning I got dressed and went to see Lilly.

I just couldn't bear the distance anymore.

At 2:15 a.m., Saturday, 5th of October, I walked into Lilly's room.

******************************
Hey thereee, I know this chapter is way longer than the previous ones, but I had so many things to write about. What do you think of Maya's point of view? And of the new Maya- Weasley conflict?
I would love to hear your suggestions.

Thanks for sticking with my story even though it's been a while since I last updated.

Please vote and comment.

Love you lots,
M.