I guess I didn't really think it through. No, I certainly didn't think it through.

But what was I supposed to do when she was ready to walk home?

I couldn't let her go. I didn't want to.

"So." I breathed heavily once we were airborne. "Briefly..."

“Oh, no, no, no." She interrupted me. "We have over two hours of flight ahead of us. Don't miss anything or trust me I'll be off this plane before we land in Seattle." Suddenly, she's not sexy anymore when she's angry. This is a different type of anger.

"All right." I swallowed hard. "Any preferences on where to start?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Try from the beginning." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the seat across from me.

“I was born on the twenty-second…” I stopped when I saw her murderous look. So no humor, got it. “Okay, no jokes, sorry.

"I'm glad you get it."

I exhaled heavily, not knowing if it was a good idea to go as far into the past as I was going. "I grew up in Queens with my siblings, Killian, Kai, Finn, and Val. Our mother left a few years after Val was born. I told you a few things about our father, you can guess the rest. He left, though not willingly, when I was about fifteen."

It was only now that I realized how long it had been since our time in Queens.

"Killian is the oldest of us and he took care of us. He got involved with bad people or good people, depending on your perspective. While he was slowly rising to the top in New York, we moved to San Francisco where I met Theo." I smiled at the memories. The good old days. "Once Killian stopped by, Theo and I accidentally got into something not nice. Even after it was resolved, Killian thought it would be a good idea for Theo to come with us if he wanted to. He saw potential in him."

I didn't want to worry Maya unnecessarily that her brother was hoping we'd ask him because he wanted out.

"We left, you know that." Since you've made it clear enough that Theo has left you alone. "And our family has slowly become one of the main ones in New York. Have I bored you yet?" I raised an eyebrow, hoping so.

"Keep talking." She said without any emotion.

"Okay...we killed people, smuggled drugs and weapons, and the rest of what I told you before. In time, as expected, different people started coming after us. Dangerous people." I elaborated, though I'm sure she gets it. "Killian's men once mistook a woman for someone they were looking for. Luckily for him, it was a woman who belonged to the white snakes. I guess you want me to explain what that is, don't you?"

“If you would be so nice." She faked a smile.

"Women, trained to kill from a young age. Nyx is also one of them. And Eris, the woman we accidentally kidnapped, is also a white snake. I mean, she was. She ran away. That's a longer story than two hours." I exhaled. "Long story short, Killian hired her to find whoever is sending people after us. While she was doing that, my little brother fell in love and lost his head, or rather his heart. A year ago, when Killian and Lyssa..."

"Wait, what?" She interrupted me. "You said Eris and now Lyssa. Sebastian if you're lying to me…."

"No, sorry." I stopped her. "Let me explain. Eris is Lyssa. Lyssa is Eris. Same person, different name. It's a really long story we don't have time for."

Maya only breathed heavily, but continued to listen.

“So next…Lyssa got herself into trouble because she had a brilliant idea to blow up a building." I must point out a wonderful idea. What could go wrong, right? "But it didn't go as planned and she got stuck there. She died."

For the first time, emotion appeared on Maya's face. Compassion.

"We thought so for eleven months." I continued. "We went on with our lives thinking she's dead. One day, Killian decided it was a good idea for me to get out of the house, so he sent me and Theo to see you. You know the rest."

"Oh you mean how you moved into my apartment? Yes, I know." She snorted. “A little hard to forget."

I shook my head. “Luna, Theo's girlfriend, called him once and said Lyssa was alive."

"What?" She looked at me confused.

Yeah Maya, I had the same reaction.

"I don't know the exact details, but when she came back she didn't remember anything. That's why Theo had to go back. I don't know what was going on while he was there since I was taking care of your ass most of the time."

"You say that like it's my fault. I didn't ask you to stay."

I ignored her and continued. "When you were getting ready for the wedding today, Theo called and said Lyssa remembered and everything was fine. He also said he would come." I swallowed hard. "And that I should go back to New York."

"And where is the problem?" She frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

“Because I told Theo…don't kill me please…that you don't want to see him and that you need more time." You mean, you didn't want to leave. "He said it's okay, that he'll come when you're ready and he'll tell you everything and blah, blah, blah...you can imagine the rest."

She was silent, she studied my face as if trying to see if I was telling the truth or not.

"So?" I spoke after a while.

"I'm waiting for you to tell me the truth."

"About what..."

“I'm not stupid, Sebastian." She snorted. "You are lying to me."

Sebastian. She called me Sebastian again and not Acker. She only does that when she's upset or drunk and I doubt she's had time to drink right now.

I don't like it when she calls me that. I don't know why since it's my name.

"Maya I..."

"No." She interrupted me. "That last part, you lied. You didn't tell me the whole thing."

"What do you mean? I don't know what to tell you."

"Why did you tell Theo I didn't want to see him? You never asked me."

Shit. What should I tell her now?

"Try the truth."

Okay, can she read my mind?

“I have my reasons."

"And I have reasons to punch you, so you better talk."

I remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"Oh well." She rolled her eyes. "So start talking about what you're doing in New York."

I exhaled heavily and began to speak. I feel like my jaw will hurt from talking so much, but it will be worth it.

Better that than telling her the reason I'm still here. Because if I said it out loud, it would seem a lot more real.



My head is steaming after everything Acker told me.

I don't know if I need a drink or a toilet bowl to throw up.

I should pick up my legs and run after he told me he killed people. Yes, people, not a person. People! Plural!

But that was not an option at that moment, since we were sitting on the plane.

But surely they had a parachute, didn't they? Maybe I could have jumped.

I blame Julie for my current feelings. Why, you ask? Because she made me read her shitty romance books and Acker's behaviour is...don't you dare say it Maya...attractive.

You're a lost cause.

Something is really wrong with me. I don't have it right in my head!

How can I find someone attractive even after telling me he killed someone? Of course he had a good reason, at least the few cases he told me about. Those people were pedophiles and rapists.

What kind of disturbed person wakes up in the morning and says he's going to abuse an eleven-year-old girl?

The world is messed up.

"Need a second to catch your breath?" I turned my attention to Acker.

"I need a drink. Any chance you can find anything here?" I said desperately. Either a drink or a bullet to the head...No, too early for such jokes.

"I probably should have started with that." He laughed and got up from his seat.

He got lost somewhere for a moment before he sat down opposite me and put two glasses on the table.

"Do you have any questions?" He asked after one drink.

"A ton, but I don't want to think about them."

"You wanted the truth, I gave it to you. Now it's your turn."

"Huh?" My head shot in his direction. What did he say?

"I told you everything I could think of. Things even Theo doesn't know. You owe me something." He pointed at me, glass in hand, before leaning back.

You can deal with this yourself. You got us here with your amazing ideas. I'm not going to help you.

Thank you very fucking much.

"There's nothing here can say." I said quietly as I took a sip.

"Alright then." He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands around the glass as he looked at me intently. "Who is Christian?"

Fuck that. Good luck with that. I'm really interested in how you get out of this.

Shut up. I'm serious.

"Nobody." Those words hurt because Christian was once my whole life. But I can't tell him the truth. I don't want him to look at me differently.

"Maya." He exhaled heavily. "I could find out if I wanted to, but I don't want to. I want you to tell me yourself."

"I..." I felt chills all over my body and tried not to shake.

Come on Maya, you can do it.

After everything he told you, you have to give him something back. It's only fair. You don't like it when something is unfair.

"If I tell you something and you ever mention it somewhere..."

"That won't happen." He cut me off. "Whatever was said on this flight will stay between us, I promise." And I believe him. I don't know why.

I swallowed the stone in my throat and started talking. "I met Christian in San Francisco while my parents were still together. He was a year older and worked at his uncle's during the summer as an auto mechanic. Cars were his hobby." I smiled sadly. "He finished school that year and decided to stay, partly because we started dating."

I put my hands on my legs and looked at them, unable to look into his eyes.

"Theo never met him because he was already gone by that time. Christian knew what was going on at our house and tried to get me out of there, but I couldn't because I hadn't even finished school yet. When my parents divorced, I quickly packed up and we left together to Seattle, where his parents lived." My voice began to break at some words. "I started working for Eddie and he got a position as a car mechanic. Everything went well, his parents liked me and we had an apartment together. One day..."

I closed my eyes trying to calm down.

"One day I was working late and Christian didn't want me to walk home alone after dark, so he picked me up when he got off work." I said in a shaky voice, slowly falling apart. "He was driving and the opposite car..." I shook my head. "It was going right for us." I got out of myself. "It went so fast that..." I took a shaky breath. "Our car rolled over a couple of times, and when I woke up, head down, still strapped in..."

I tried not to imagine his bloody face when I opened my eyes.

"I was trying to wake him up." I looked up at Acker, my eyes filled with tears. "I yelled at him, but..." I shook my head. "I woke up again in the hospital and they told me he didn't make it. His own parents had to tell me their son didn't make it and it was all...all because of me." I let the tears slide down my face.

So vulnerable at this point that if he said anything I wouldn't be able to stop the tears.

"Maya..."

"No." I stopped him. "Please don't say anything." I shook my head with my eyes closed. "I told you what you wanted to know, that's the end of it. We'll never talk about this again." I looked away from him and looked through the window of the plane.

When I closed my eyes for more than a second, Christian's face appeared in my head. I didn't know if I wanted to cry, scream or just feel nothing.

But hey, I told someone what happened. Julie, you'll be proud.

The fact that it's slowly eating me up from the inside...that's not something they care about.



Poor Maya :(