Chapter 20 "Things Left Unsaid"
MAYA
Marcello's was exactly the kind of place Maya would have loved a month ago dim lighting, candles on every table, Italian opera playing softly in the background. The menu was entirely in Italian, which would normally have made her laugh and make fun of her terrible pronunciation.
Tonight, it just felt like a lot of pressure.
But she'd promised Jordan. Promised to be present. So Maya put her phone on silent, shoved it in her purse, and focused on the man across from her.
"Tell me something good," Jordan said after they ordered. "Something that has nothing to do with school or stress. What's the best thing that happened to you this week?"
Maya thought about it. The best thing had probably been Wednesday, when she and Kelly had found that lead on Delilah Cross. But she couldn't tell Jordan that.
"Ember seems happier," she said finally. "She met this guy Adrian Crane. Basketball player. Really nice. She lights up when she talks about him."
"Your roommate? The quiet one?"
"She's not as quiet as people think. She's just shy." Maya smiled despite herself. "But Adrian seems to bring her out of her shell. It's sweet."
"Young love," Jordan said with a grin. "Remember when we were like that?"
"We still are like that."
"Are we?" Jordan's expression grew serious. "Because lately I feel like I'm chasing you, and you're always just out of reach."
Maya's stomach twisted. "Jordan"
"I'm not trying to start a fight. I just, I miss you. I miss us." He reached across the table, taking her hand. "Talk to me, Maya. Really talk to me. What's going on?"
For a moment one desperate, overwhelming moment Maya wanted to tell him everything. about the possession, about the murders and the curse and the fact that her best friend might be a weapon being used by a vengeful spirit from 1906.
But the words died in her throat.
Because how could she explain something she barely understood herself? How could she ask Jordan to believe in ghosts and curses and reincarnated witches?
He'd think she was insane. Or having a breakdown. And she couldn't lose him that way.
"I've just been stressed," Maya said finally. "About school, about Ember, about everything. But I'm working on it. I promise."
Jordan studied her face for a long moment, like he was trying to read the truth beneath her words. Then he sighed.
"Okay. I believe you." He squeezed her hand. "But Maya, you know you can tell me anything, right? Whatever it is I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
The sincerity in his voice made Maya want to cry.
"I know," she whispered.
Their food arrived fancy pasta dishes with names Maya couldn't pronounce. Jordan had ordered wine, which the server poured with a flourish that made Maya feel underdressed despite her nice outfit.
For the next thirty minutes, things felt almost normal. They talked about Jordan's family his mom's new obsession with making sourdough bread, his little sister's college applications. Maya told him about the time Ember had accidentally set off the fire alarm making ramen at 2 AM.
They laughed. Really laughed. And for those thirty minutes, Maya forgot about curses and possession and the weight of secrets she was carrying.
Jordan was telling a story about his engineering professor's terrible toupee when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his expression shifting to something nervous.
"What?" Maya asked.
"I just, I need to ask you something." Jordan pulled out his phone, scrolled to his calendar, and turned it toward her. "Do you know what today is?"
Maya looked at the date. Friday, November 14th.
She ran through her mental calendar. Not his birthday that was in March. Not her birthday. Not any major holiday she could think of.
"Um" Maya searched Jordan's face for clues. He was looking at her with such hope, such expectation. "Friday?"
Jordan's expression crumbled.
"It's our anniversary," he said quietly.
Maya's blood ran cold. "What?"
"One year ago today. November 14th. You asked me to be your boyfriend at that party at Delta Kappa. We slow danced to that terrible country song, and you said" His voice cracked slightly. "You said you'd wanted to ask me for weeks but you were afraid I'd say no."
Oh God.
Oh God, how had she forgotten?
"Jordan"
"You forgot." He said it like a statement, not a question. "You actually forgot our anniversary."
"I've been so busy, and everything's been so crazy"
"Too busy to remember the day we got together?" Jordan pulled his hand back from hers. "Too busy to remember something that's supposed to matter?"
"It does matter! You matter!" Maya could hear the desperation in her own voice. "I just, I've had so much on my mind"
"Right. School. And Kelly. And Ember. And everything else that's apparently more important than us." Jordan's voice was rising now, drawing looks from nearby tables. "I get it, Maya. Message received loud and clear."
"That's not fair"
"Fair? You want to talk about fair?" Jordan laughed, but there was no humor in it. "I've been planning this dinner for two weeks. Two weeks. I made reservations, bought flowers, bought a new shirt. I wanted everything to be perfect because I thought" He stopped himself. "I thought maybe if I tried hard enough, you'd remember why you chose me in the first place."
"I didn't forget why I chose you"
"You forgot our anniversary. That's forgetting me, Maya."
The table went silent. Maya's eyes burned with tears she refused to let fall.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. You're right. There's no excuse. I should have remembered. I should have been present. I should have been a better girlfriend."
"Yeah. You should have." Jordan pulled out his wallet, throwing enough cash on the table to cover the bill and then some. "But you weren't. And I'm starting to think you can't be. Not right now. Not with whatever's going on with you that you won't talk about."
"Jordan, please"
"I'm taking you home." He stood up. "And then I think we both need some time to figure out what we want. Because this" He gestured between them. "This isn't working. Not for me."
Maya stood too, her legs shaking. "Are you breaking up with me?"
Jordan was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was softer but somehow more final.
"I don't know. Maybe. I just, I can't keep being the only one fighting for us. I can't keep wondering if you actually want to be with me or if you're just too nice to break up with me."
"I want to be with you"
"Then show me. Because words don't mean anything if your actions say something different." Jordan headed for the door, and Maya had no choice but to follow.
The drive back to campus was silent. Not the comfortable silence they used to share, but the heavy, painful kind that felt like mourning.
When Jordan pulled up to Sterling Hall, he didn't turn off the engine.
"Jordan" Maya tried one more time.
"Goodnight, Maya."
It sounded like goodbye.
Maya grabbed her purse and the roses the roses she'd forgotten to even put in water and climbed out of the car. She watched Jordan drive away, his taillights disappearing into the night.
And then, finally, she let herself cry.