Mag-log inChapter 3.
Maya's POV. The call ended, and tears filled the brink of my eyes. I swept my skin with a shaking hand, the other clenching the phone in a tight grasp. Tossing the phone on the bed, I ran my hands past my hair from the front edge to the back, my hands clapped over my ears.I needed to take on more shifts at the menial jobs I held. That was the only way to raise money for her kidney transplant and start her chemotherapy. I knew it would affect my grades.
As a scholarship student, I had less privilege to retake failed subjects than students who paid school fees. The best way to go about this was to drop out of school and resume when I would be fully ready. My stomach was in a mess, in uproar, and the foul acidic taste filled my mouth as I prepared my "leave of absence" letter. A message from Kierra popped up on my phone. I flinched and tapped on it. "Hahaha! Thinking you could get to Nathan by flirting with his rival? You will only make things terrible for yourself" I stiffened, typing back, the aggressive taps of my fingers on my screen mirroring the turmoil inside of me. "What audacity, bitch! Flirting with anyone is my business." She responded again via message. "Pained? Don't tell me you don't feel like an asshole when your boyfriend of so many years chose me. Lols! Feel free to sob, poor girl." "Whoa, whoa, bitch. Shouldn't you be more concerned about taming your new dog's cock? Go to hell! And fuck off!" I threw the phone onto the bed and sank into the silk sheets, my heart racing over my mum's health. I needed to triple my hustle and get Mum back to life. That was all that mattered now. As I walked through the corridor of the school to the counselor's office to hand over the letter, students murmured, whispers stung my ears, and fingers pointed at me.....with Davies's name on their tongues. Some girls threw me death stares, some hissed, and some stared at me irritably. I dropped my head low as if their stares plunged into my skin until I collided with a figure, and the letter fell from my hands. The familiar musk smell hit my nose first before I met his beautiful eyes. Davies Jnr, the hockey captain of the Westbridge team. He picked up the letter and unsealed it. "Should I read it out loud or will you confess yourself?" I attempted to snatch it, and he raised it higher, my fingers grazing the air; then I fell into his chest. I resisted the urge to remain in his chest and pulled back. "We are in public, Davies. You have put me in more trouble than you imagined. Hand me back my letter." I barked. He seemed not to be affected by my threats as he continued to unseal it, licking his lips, and his eyes widened. "You are dropping out? Damn! Didn’t take you for a dramatic exit type." "My decisions shouldn't be your concern. Hand me my letter!" I yelled, jaw clenching, and his eyes shifted from smirk to stern. He raised the letter in the air and tore it into pieces, the tearing sound slicing deeper than a knife to the gut. "Are you mad? How dare you?" I scrambled for words, but nothing came. I felt like biting off his left ear. I almost kicked his balls. He swayed his hip sideways and rubbed his temples as he watched me drown in anger and frustration. "Accept my fake dating contract, and I will grant your mother's medical treatment ASAP." He dug his hand into his mini-bag and pulled out a document, shoving it at me. I stared at the words A FAKE DATING CONTRACT, and my heart raced as I jolted backward. A CONTRACT? I blinked several times and rubbed my eyes with my thumb to clear off the sleep in my eyes, but I wasn't sleeping. He actually brought a CONTRACT. My chest heaved up and down as the contract sat heavily on my trembling hands. I wanted to tear it. I wanted to sign. Jesus! I hated that I wanted to sign it. Davies Jnr was a son of a popular billionaire in the city—more reasons why girls swooned around him and wanted him badly. He could singlehandedly pay off my mother's medical treatment without killing an ant. "Is that what you do now?" I blinked faster. "Using a girl's weakness to get her into your bed?" He laughed humorously. "Scrap that, Maya. I am trying to be generous here. You help me clear my tainted reputation, and I pay your mother's medical bills." "Why should I do that for you, hockey captain?" I gritted my teeth. He leaned closer and smiled. "At least your mother's medical treatment would be paid for, much better than just being a lover girl for your manipulative, toxic boyfriend who offers you nothing." The words slammed my chest, sucking the air from my lungs. Though the weight of his words was heavy, he was right. I had sacrificed from the little I had to please Nathan, but he kept breaking my heart without consideration. I wanted to respond to him, but my words stuck in my throat as my eyes scanned through the contract. "Think about it, Maya. Your mother's medical treatment is worth more than your pride and a toxic boyfriend." He walked away with his back and smirked until he vanished into the next corridor, leaving me totally frozen on the spot, torn between my pride and my mother's medical treatment. After my lectures for that day, I was heading straight to my dorm, fighting my heart to pick up Nathan's call or even respond to his messages. I was avoiding him at all costs, but Nathan would always rummage through thousands of bodies to find me. "Maya, what the fuck is happening on the school handles?" Nathan's eyes brimmed with rage. "What are you talking about?" I decided to say, unbothered. "Don't play dumb here, Maya. Everyone is talking about you and that guy. Explain!" He attempted to grab my arms, but I absentmindedly swatted his hand away. He froze, his eyes switching emotions. From anger to shock. "Why should I explain myself to you, Nathan?" I crossed my arms. He tightened his jaw and leaned closer and spelled the words. "Because you belong to me." I jerked backward, my hands flying to my waist. "I belong to no one! You lost the right to claim me when you decided to throw our relationship away. Move on, because I already have.” Nathan chuckled, masking the anger radiating from his face. "You think that badass would take you seriously? He's going to waste you like other girls he has on his bed. He will lead you on, waste you, and dump you." I flinched, eyes blazing. "That's mine to decide what happens to my body, just like you decide yours with my best friend in the locker room" He pinned me to the wall, his breath burning on my skin, stale and disgusting. A stark contrast to Davies's sweet musk skin. His touch, once relaxing and soft, was now the fuel to the heat brewing under my skin. "I can't believe you, of all people, would stoop so low to give Davies the chance to converse with you. I put you way high above this, Maya." I grinned and looked at him. "The same way I felt when you slept with Kierra, that slut that tossed herself on everyone's bed." Nathan ran a hand past his hair, eyes drifting around restlessly— not in remorse, but in the familiar act he put on when his manipulative gesture played hard on me. "Listen, Maya. I don't want to see Davies close to you. He's my rival, and you know it. Debunk the news that you have anything to do with him right before everyone." I didn't know when my hands landed on his chest as I pushed him away, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "And what if I don't? Me and your hockey rival, Davies, could be a perfect match."MAYANeon lights buzzed loud outside the Wartburg ice arena.Stepping out of his truck, the sheer volume of the crowd hit my ears like a physical wave. Hundreds of students packed the concrete plaza, funneling toward the glass entrance doors. Fans wore blue and red jerseys, painting the night in rival colors. The cold air smelled of burnt pretzels, hot coffee, and raw anticipation.Walking side by side, Davies kept his right hand planted firmly on the small of my back. He scanned the crowd, his protective instincts on full alert.“Hold up, Wartburg!”A shrill voice pierced the chaotic noise.Chloe stepped directly into our path. She held her brand-new iPhone mounted on a bright ring light. Her pink microphone aimed straight at our faces.“Wartburg Gossip Live is back!” Chloe screamed into her camera, bouncing on her white sneakers. “We have the Westbridge Captain and his queen arriving for the main event! Davies, the blogs are going crazy! Chat is spamming fire emojis! You guys are se
MAYA“Wake up, Captain.”My voice broke the quiet hum of the hospital waiting room. Touching his broad shoulder, a gentle shake finally stirred him.Davies jerked awake with a violent gasp. His dark eyes snapped open, wild and panicked, scanning the sterile room before locking onto my face. He sat hunched in a cheap plastic chair, his long legs stretched out over the scuffed linoleum floor. Exhaustion painted dark circles under his eyes. He looked dead on his feet.“Maya,” he breathed out, standing up so fast the plastic chair screeched backward.His massive arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. Burying his face in the crook of my neck, a heavy sigh rattled his ribcage. Returning the embrace, my hands gripped the fabric of his dark hoodie. The scent of wintergreen gum and dried sweat filled my senses.“I am so sorry,” his voice sounded rough, muffled against my skin. “I sat down for five seconds while the doctor checked your head. Passed out cold. I was tir
MAYA“Tie her wrists tight. The boss wants her secured before he gets here.”The gruff voice echoed through a thick, suffocating fog inside my brain.Blinking hard, my eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. A nasty, bitter chemical taste coated my tongue. My throat burned with every shallow breath. The sickly sweet smell of the damp rag still clung to my skin, making my stomach churn in violent circles.“Bro is tweaking if he thinks we won't catch a charge for this,” a second voice muttered. “Snatching a girl outside a hospital? That is insane behavior. We are caught lacking out here in the open.”“Shut up and lock the back doors.”Cold metal pressed against my cheek. The floor vibrated beneath my body. The faint rumble of a running engine told me I was lying in the back of a vehicle. A cargo van, judging by the lack of windows and the smell of stale oil and rust.Trying to move my arms, a sharp pain bit into my skin.Thick plastic zip ties bound my wrists together behind my
MAYA“Move your feet, Chad! Dogfang will eat you alive if you stall on the blue line!”Coach Vance’s voice echoed through the freezing arena, sharp and demanding. His silver whistle hung from a black lanyard around his thick neck, gleaming under the bright halogen lights.Sitting in the third row of the metal bleachers, my hands buried deep into the pockets of my oversized coat. Frost clung to the plexiglass separating the stands from the rink. Down on the pristine white surface, the Westbridge hockey team ran full-contact drills. Tomorrow night was the main event. Tomorrow night, they faced Nathan.My gaze drifted away from the puck and locked straight onto the team captain.Davies moved like a dark missile across the ice. He wore his black practice jersey, the fabric stretching over his broad shoulders with every powerful swing of his stick. Sweat dripped from the edge of his helmet. He barked orders at Julian, setting up a brutal offensive play that left the defensemen scrambling.
DAVIES"Do not say a single word to me right now."Slamming the heavy wooden door shut, the noise echoed like a gunshot in the cramped space. My boots hit the dorm room floor with brutal force. Tossing my black Nike duffel bag into the corner, a frustrated growl ripped from my throat. My knuckles throbbed with a dull ache. Toxic adrenaline still pumped through my veins, making my hands shake.Maya stood near the center of the room. She folded her arms across her chest. Her dark eyes tracked my every movement. She did not look scared. She looked determined."You are acting like a child, Davies," she stated. Her voice stayed calm, cutting through the thick tension."A child?" Spinning around, my jaw clenched so hard my teeth ground together. "You pulled me back! I had him cornered. He disrespected you. He disrespected my team. I was going to put him in the dirt, and you grabbed my arm!""Because you were about to throw your entire life away!" she fired back, taking a bold step forward.P
DAVIESThat stillness made the hairs on my arms stand up."Bro thought he was the main character," Jax muttered out of the side of his mouth."Shut up and watch," I snapped. "Look at their stances. Look at how they distribute their weight."I studied the Vanguard crew. They did not lean on one leg. They did not cross their arms. Every single member stood poised on the balls of their feet, ready to explode into motion. They were disciplined. They were dangerous.The announcer finished his speech. The crowd went wild."And now, for the exhibition match!" The speakers crackled with feedback. "Vanguard will demonstrate their prowess against the Ironclaw crew!"The grid cleared out. We moved to the sidelines behind a reinforced plexiglass barrier. The center of the arena emptied, leaving a massive circle of packed dirt.Ironclaw stepped into the ring. Five massive guys. They looked like bouncers, all bulging muscle and tribal tattoos. They beat their chests and roared at the crowd. The aud







